PSP - is it worth it?

[zurich]

To those of you who have picked up Sony's latest little gem.. what do you think? Off hand, it looks to me like Sony hit this one out of the park, but I would like to hear the opinion of those of you who actually own one.

I'm a few clicks away from ordering a PSP + WipeOut Pure + Lumines (I'm a Mizugichi-otaku here).

 

[GwymWeepa]

To those of you who have picked up Sony's latest little gem.. what do you think? Off hand, it looks to me like Sony hit this one out of the park, but I would like to hear the opinion of those of you who actually own one.

I'm a few clicks away from ordering a PSP + WipeOut Pure + Lumines (I'm a Mizughchi-otaku here).

Hey I don't own one, so my apologies for replying, but if you really want a portable console, that has some great graphics and will without a doubt have tons of amazing third party titles...and you just can't wait to get one (instead of waiting for a price drop), then get it now. WipeOut Pure from what I've seen looks amazing and they say its one of the, if not the best of the series.

 

[jvd]

I don't think its worth it , at least not yet . Most of the games are just eh and the battery life is just horrible. I would wait for hte price drop

 

[Astroshock]

Coming from someone that does have a psp, I would say go for it. Mad Catz is coming out with a battery that has twice the life of the current one. I ran 5 hours straight on Ridge Racer then check the battery and had about 20 minutes left. So you will have 10 hours when it comes out in May for $30. Games like wipeout and ridge racer are a lot of fun, plus sony is coming out with a firmware update that will bring a web browser, so you can go online at any hotspot, and the analog stick will work as the mouse. The psp is something you have to see and experience to like.

 

[BigGamer X]

You can buy an external battery pack for about $15-20 USD. This pack gives you twice the life of the PSP battery pack. Just charge it up, then you have plenty of reserve left incase the battery runs out. (basically charge up the PSP and the external bat. and you have 3X the battery life before having to plug either into the elec. socket. ) I just got home from Best Buy and haven't taken it out of the pack yet.

I played Tiger Woods and DarkStalkers last night. It is like playing a PS2 basically. The movies look unbelievably clear! It's nice, but more of a novelty than a necessity unless you travel alot. Tiger Woods is a great way for me to pass time waiting to get into online games, and I never had an MP3 player before so I went for it.....(not to mention my elec. goes out a few times a year. )

Seeing the post above stirred my emotional reasoning for getting it. No it's not giving you anything you've never seen before, but it's just so NEAT! I guess I am getting at if you love technology, and have the money, get it. It is amazing what it does in such a small package.

 

[darkblu]

unless you have any special plans for it (e.g. "close" acquaintance with the device, or plain tinkering with it) i'd advice you to wait a bit for the later production rehashes when some of the issues will be hopefully ironed, and better titles will be available. altherwise the psp undeniably has tons of appeal. i presonally got it in a heartbeat

 

[blakjedi]

I dont want to be misleading with my title but honestly... now I understand why Sony is the powerhouse it is and why its future looks virtually unassailable - the PSP. I picked one up yesterday on a whim and found a copy of ridge racer at a nearby gamestop... (funny story how I got that copy btw)
anyway... PSP represents all that can be right with adult videogaming.

First its a slick piece of kit- so you dont look like you playing with a toy. Its more advanced internally and externally than most PDAs... (if sony would have made the screen a touchscreen... it would be the convergence device of this generation)

Second - You can do virtually anything with it (movies, music, games, internet). The sound on this device is incredible btw.

Third the games. My biggest problem this generation is lack of desire to sit down in front of a console and play games...

I spend too much time in traffic, or on the train, or in front of the computer at work to want to sit and interact with a full blown console for hours. Plus console gaming forces me to be home to play and most of my day I'm not home.

If I am at home, I am resting or doing the multitude other things I'd rather be doing than stuck inside in front of my tv. Maybe thats why only windwaker, splinter cell1, RE4 and GoW have gotten any play time from me in the last five years...

Now I can play all the games I want to play, the way I want play them (whenever I'm free) I'm hoping that everything I missed on PS2 this generation will eventually translate over to PSP. (Rygar, Ico, Sly cooper) I am not only impressed, I am pleased that finally someone gave me a system where I have videogaming on my terms: whenever I want them, whereever I want them, in an adult-oriented, high powered package with multiple uses. I may have gotten my videogaming mojo back because of this little black device.

Sorry for the rant but I was considering quitting videogaming after the xenon generation because I have lacked the time/interest to play games on my tv... now PSP has me excited for videogaming again.

RidgeRacer (second only to Daytona) is awesome on PSP btw.

 

[gurgi]

For somebody that wasn't even planning on a PSP purchase at launch, I have been extremely impressed with not only the unit itself, but the launch lineup. I'd be happy with my PSP if this was it.

If you end up purchasing a unit, make sure you get Lumines and Ridge Racer.

 

[Blade]

In a word, the only thing holding the PSP back is the $250 price tag.

Otherwise.. Jesus did they do so much right with this thing. Not to bash the DS.. a solid handheld on its own.. but the PSP is a much more versatile machine with far superior graphical capabilities. Only one screen, but the resolution blows away the DS.

Nevermind the size.

It also shipped with more than 1-2 quality launch games, unlike the DS. The PSP library is already bigger than DS'!

I'm not going to retread the ground ("it plays movies, music, pr0n") that others have already in this thread.. but I will close by saying that while I will ultimately enjoy both the DS and PSP (accumulating small libraries for both) the PSP is the more refined console and will win the handheld war almost hands down if Nintendo and the 3rd-parties don't start releasing AA/AAA titles on at least a monthly basis.

It will likely win this handheld war anyways, but it'll be hands down if Nintendo doesn't put up more of a fight.

 

[Jov]

I own one and the more I use it.. the more I go... Sony.. you beauty!!!

Watch some TV series (off the MS) on it when on the train and you think... why didn't anyone think of that??

I have a Sony MP3 player over a year ago, but have not set it up... now I'm using the PSP as one while travelling to and from work.

Wireless games rocks and the range is very good. I can't wait until we can have 8 or more players in a race or co-op games.

$250 might seems steep, but once you start using this baby... its painless!

 

[mckmas8808]

Hands down if you like playing games on the go there is no way that the PSP will dissappoint you. Like the other guys on here have said the battery life can easily be extended with things like the powerbrick and rechargable cases. And anyway you will probably want to get a case, so why not get one that can recharge your battery while you play.

You can't go wrong.
________
Toyota corona exiv

 

[Phil]

Since it's still a while since PSP will launch in Europe, perhaps a question I'd like to add to those that have a PSP:

how are the loading times in general (or if possible some concrete numbers for some of the games available)?

Also, since it uses UMD - how restistant is the machine to shocks while loading / streaming? Does it chock up quickly or does it use some buffer like most Discmans/MiniDisk and Harddrive Players use them?

thanks in advance

 

[Paul]

I only have Twisted Metal for my PSP but the loading times are fine... not an issue for TM at all.

 

[Ali-G]

It also shipped with more than 1-2 quality launch games, unlike the DS. The PSP library is already bigger than DS'!

No it isn't, DS has 18 games out now in the US and PSP has 16. Not to mention the 700 plus GBA games playable on the DS.

 

[Jov]

how are the loading times in general (or if possible some concrete numbers for some of the games available)?

Also, since it uses UMD - how restistant is the machine to shocks while loading / streaming? Does it chock up quickly or does it use some buffer like most Discmans/MiniDisk and Harddrive Players use them?

surprisingly the loading time doesn't bother me as its not too bad. I skipped the PS1 cause long load time so you know its a factor in my views.

In general the load time is decent to good, but theres the occasion that takes longer (RR & Metal Gear: Acid).

The only time it takes longer or skips a beat is when you shut it down during play and boot it up again, but thats not normal behavouir.

The stream seems decent as well as I've not yet been affected by it, so what more can one ask. Also its pretty shock resistant as the UMD is un a caddy like casing, thus not much movement to cause skipping like portable CD players.

Given RR is a 1st gen game, I can only imagine how good future games will be.

 

[jvd]

only title i had trouble with loading times is dynasty warriors . its also the game that drains my battery the quickest

 

[crystalcube]

Most of the games are just eh and the battery life is just horrible.

let me guess ...you dont have one

anyways I am sure price will drop its a gadget after all, the question is how long you are willing to wait.

I have rr , twisted metal and wipeout pure. The best thing about psp is if you have some friends who have one then its instant multiplayer

 

[Kill_Jade]

It also shipped with more than 1-2 quality launch games, unlike the DS. The PSP library is already bigger than DS'!

No it isn't, DS has 18 games out now in the US and PSP has 16. Not to mention the 700 plus GBA games playable on the DS.

so 18 in 4 months compared to 16 in roughly a week...great point

 

[zurich]

That's for all the input guys! I just ordered a Value Pack, Lumines, and WipeOut! The battery doesn't concern me at all. About the only time I would be away from a wallsocket is on my lunch hour, playing WLAN with a friend. I would say that 90% of my gaming installments will be 30 minutes in length or so (the "sleep" function also was a huge selling point!).

I'll let you know how it goes in a few days!

 

[Teasy]

so 18 in 4 months compared to 16 in roughly a week...great point

Do you think PSP developers made all these games in the week PSP has been out in the US or something? PSP has been out in Japan for the same amount of time as DS so its not suprising that its game development is at a similar stage. The only reason its released with 16 games in the US is because Sony held back the US launch to wait for sufficient stock. So they've built up those 16 games in the 3-4 months its been waiting to come out. Like DS has built up its 18 games in the 3-4 months its been released. Had they released PSP back in December with less games and then built there way up to the current crop of 16 while the PSP was out would that make its current library any worse?

Then again he was only correcting someone who said PSP had more games out anyway. So he was correct either way.