Is it just me... [PSP]

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:16 pm

...or does it seem that, after a great initial launch, the PSP is faltering? That's how it looks to me, and that the DS, after a weak initial showing, is looking stronger daily.

Am I reading this wrong?

DiscoJason · Post by **DiscoJason** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:23 pm

In my opinion, DS > PSP. I own both and enjoy them both, but I play my DS way more. That might change now that I have X-Men II and GTA, though, but probably not since Mario Kart, Mario and Luigi, Animal Crossing, etc. will be out soon.

ohbalto · Post by **ohbalto** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:09 pm

I have been thinking about this a bunch lately.

I think Sony is insane, personally. I mean, the PSP is a thing of beauty (needs a second analog nub, though) and the screen is magnificent, but the games . . . $50 for a portable game?

Are you kidding me?

Sure, some are $40 and some are even (rarely) $30, but the "A" titles cost $50! I haven't bought a game for my PSP in quite some time. It's not that I can't afford it (I can), but I can't justify paying $50 for Burnout when I've got a perfectly good copy (Burnout III -- Revenge is crap) to play on my big-screen at home.

I can't help but think I'm not the only one who'd be buying these games up if they were cheaper?

Alternately, Castlevania for DS was $29.99 when I picked it up and that game pwns me. I hate the dual screen aspect of the game but the game itself is wonderful.

As has been said before, it's all about the games. DS has them and better pricing to boot.

Nintendo DS FTW!

Misguided · Post by **Misguided** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:27 pm

Eel Snave wrote:...or does it seem that, after a great initial launch, the PSP is faltering? That's how it looks to me, and that the DS, after a weak initial showing, is looking stronger daily.

Am I reading this wrong?

There has been a slew of new things coming out over the last 4-6 weeks, so I'm not sure where you are coming from. Burnout Legends, Virtua Tennis, Gripshift, GTA:LCS, 06 versions of FIFA, Tiger Woods, Gretzky, Madden, NBA; SSX, X-Men Legends 2.

On the Horizon there's Star Wars Battlefront II, LotR Tactics, Infected, PoPo Locrois, SOCOM, Tokobot, Crash Tag Team Racing, Kingdom of Paradise, Legend of Heroes, NFS Most Wanted, Sims 2, King Kong...

Further out you've got Loco Roco, katamari damacy, Gran Turismo 4 portable, Metal Gear Acid 2, Every Extend Extra...

I could go on...there's a slew of stuff, both new and upcoming, so if you can't find something in all that to be excited about in all that, maybe there's something else at work here.

JayG · Post by **JayG** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 3:09 pm

I'm the other way around. I love the PSP. Being able to play all the Lucasarts classics is worth the prize alone, but Burnout Legends and Xmen Legends 2 are both legendary. I got Castlevania for the DS a few days ago, but Xmen 2 is taking all my gaming time. Brilliant game, and I'm a little disappointed it's not getting the reviews it deserves. I'm giving GTA a miss for a while, as I don't fancy upgrading my firmware.

On the otherhand though I picked up Darkstalkers as well, and the D pad is awful for fighters. The wife is hooked on the DS though.

As for the price of the games, secondhand is your friend. I admit that new the games are very expensive, but over here so are the DS games. Kirby cost me more then any PC game I've brought in the last year.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:01 pm

LOVE my PSP. Sports, Burnout, XMen are all great. Use it almost every day.

I've hardly touched my DS. I got it on launch day and played it for probably a total of 5 hours. I've tried too, got a bunch of games for it but I just don't think the system is for me. I want to like it!

amallon · Post by **amallon** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:11 pm

Burnout Legends, Virtua Tennis, Gripshift, GTA:LCS, 06 versions of FIFA, Tiger Woods, Gretzky, Madden, NBA; SSX, X-Men Legends 2.

On the Horizon there's Star Wars Battlefront II, LotR Tactics, Infected, PoPo Locrois, SOCOM, Tokobot, Crash Tag Team Racing, Kingdom of Paradise, Legend of Heroes, NFS Most Wanted, Sims 2, King Kong...

Further out you've got Loco Roco, katamari damacy, Gran Turismo 4 portable, Metal Gear Acid 2, Every Extend Extra...

Nearly all of these games are ports of console games and most of those games play better on consoles anyway. My beef with the PSP as a game system is two-fold: very few original titles and clunky controls. The DS has a ton of original titles that are designed around the DS itself. Too many PSP games are ports of games that were originally designed to use two analog sticks and four shoulder buttons.

Having said that, if I had to choose between my DS and PSP, I'd kick my DS to the curb in a heartbeat. The PSP's media options just can't be beat. I rip audiobooks and DVDs to the PSP all the time. I don't think anyone really owns a PSP unless they have at least a 1 GB memory stick to go with it.

JayG · Post by **JayG** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:20 pm

You could have a good point. The PC is my main gaming platform, and the only game I've played in the last year is EQ 2. I have a XBox but the only game I play is Burnout, so the PSP is really my main console. XMen legends 2 is my perfect PSP game, a Diablo clone with great graphics and a little bit of depth that can be played for short or long doses. But I haven't played the other versions. I have 7 PSP games, and the only game I don't consider top of the range is Untold Legends. But that could be because I'm a PC Gamer, and the PSP is now my main console. I'd imagine it would be different for console fans. I can't get into the DS, but that could change when the civ's, Heroes of Might and Magics and the various RPGs are released. Mario 64 bores me rigid, but I had to spend hours playing it to open the mini games for my wife and sister.

amallon · Post by **amallon** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:06 pm

Mario 64 bores me rigid, but I had to spend hours playing it to open the mini games for my wife and sister.

That's hilarious. I couldn't stand Mario 64, either, and I love platformers. It just doesn't have enough context for me. If I have to collect things I need a story to go with it, other than just "The Princess is kidnapped! Mario, collect stars to save her!"

Hornblower · Post by **Hornblower** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:34 pm

Devil and I argue about the PSP all the time, but I'm growing to like it more. I have a lot of the same issues as others, that the PSP is mostly PS2 ports, but with only half the game. Lately some good stuff is coming out for it though, like X-Men 2 and GTA.

For me though, the PSP is starting to shine though, as it so quick to let me play a game and sneak in a game. With kids, I can't fire up the console all the time and wait for it. I can quickly sit in the chair and play the PSP for five minutes, and put it down when the kids tire of legos or whatever. In that regard, the PSP lets me play stuff when otherwise I couldn't.

The PSP also is so much quicker to get into a game then the DS/GBA too. The sleep mode on the PSP is very underrated. I put a game in sleep, come back to the PSP later, and in 2 seconds I'm playing again. Much faster even then the cartridge based GBA/DS, which is great.

Plus, I can watch movies on the PSP as well, or the kids can. The other night, the kids watched Batman Beyond while my wife tried on dresses for me to see. It would have been chaos trying to keep them calm otherwise!

DiscoJason · Post by **DiscoJason** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:47 pm

Hornblower wrote: The PSP also is so much quicker to get into a game then the DS/GBA too. The sleep mode on the PSP is very underrated. I put a game in sleep, come back to the PSP later, and in 2 seconds I'm playing again. Much faster even then the cartridge based GBA/DS, which is great.

The DS has a sleep mode as well. You just close the lid. Also, I find my DS even quicker to play with because there are really no load times. There is also not the stutter you get when pulling a PSP game out of sleep mode.

Nth Power · Post by **Nth Power** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:18 pm

I'd say my DS gets about 90% of my handheld playing time while my PSP gets the remaining 10%. The PSP started out strong, but it hasn't been able to stand against the DS. Not only does it have great DS games, but the ability to play GBA games is a big plus for me. The PSP hasn't had a great (non-ported) game since launch, IMO. It seems when I do fire up the PSP, it's to watch a movie rather than play a game.

Depward · Post by **Depward** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:03 pm

I liked my PSP when I owned one. I just thought the lack of original titles and the price of some games ($50?! Come on now!) hurt it and ultimately made me sell it. It's a great portable device . . . and I'm SURE there will be some great original titles released on there (the release date for the future seems promising). But I didn't justify owning one several months ago.

So I purchased a DS. And I play this puppy everyday. Quality titles, DIFFERENT titles (not just ports), and the price-point is why I <3 my DS.

Hornblower · Post by **Hornblower** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 8:21 am

I didn't know the DS had sleep, my GBA doesn't. I just can't see getting the DS. There aren't enough good titles for me there, I'd rather play all the GBA titles first, as the DS ones look like mostly minor updates. Even the DS version of Advance Wars is pretty similar. My GBA SP is much smaller and more comfortable I think then the DS systems I've toyed with.

PSP does have ports. But I guess its what you like to play. Want to play sports games, or racing games, the PSP destroys the GBA/DS. Other games like X-Men 2 are great on the PSP and don't have equivalents that are close on the Nintendos. GTA is a pretty amazing handheld game by all accounts.

The DS had a pretty big lull for a long time before people started seeing some good games for it, and people were annoyed at the DS for a while. The PSP looks to be coming out its lull now as well, and hitting its stride. And as others mentioned, it offers a bunch more such as playing movies, music, etc.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:00 pm

Hornblower wrote:I didn't know the DS had sleep, my GBA doesn't.

FYI, I'm pretty sure the sleep only works for DS games, not for GBA games you play on the DS.

Larraque · Post by **Larraque** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:05 pm

I still love my PSP. The post-launch game drought is finally over, and there are a number of good to great titles newly released.

I'm STILL playing and loving Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (much more than my initial reservations). Burnout: Legends is gorgeous and really fun! The only reason I haven't picked up any other new games for my PSP is because I'm unemployed right now. (which is fine, because I'm going back and playing a bunch of old PC games I haven't played in forever and never did finish) I do have my eye on that SSX game.

This is not to diminish the quality of the DS. My wife will probably be getting one for christmas / birthday (because of Nintendogs, primarily). And I'm definately thinking it looks to be a lot of fun now.

The only sucky part is that there aren't titles that have dropped in price. The cheapest I've ever found off e-bay was a copy of NBA 05 for $20. At target this morning, everything was $30 to $50.

blkdog7 · Post by **blkdog7** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:31 pm

JayG wrote:I'm the other way around. I love the PSP. Being able to play all the Lucasarts classics is worth the prize alone,

You can run all the emulators on the DS (and GBA)that the PSP can, and more. The emulation scene for the GBA (which the DS can run) is tons more mature than the PSP scene.

http://scummvm.drunkencoders.com/

blkdog7 · Post by **blkdog7** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:40 pm

Oh, and by the way, you use the touch screen to point and click with the SCUMM (DS) emulator. It's very slick.

vizionblind · Post by **vizionblind** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:10 am

imo all hand helds are a waste now.

JayG · Post by **JayG** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:57 am

I saw that about the DS version of Scumm, but can it run Broken Sword 1 and 2, and Curse of Monkey Island? How would you go about it?

blkdog7 · Post by **blkdog7** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:19 am

You would go about running emulators or other roms (.gba) with one of these:

http://www.gameboy-advance.net/flash_ca ... erstar.htm

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?catego ... ts_id=3983

And remember, the GBA and DS are not "emulating" .gba roms. It's running them natively, 100000% perfect.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 3:58 pm

ohbalto wrote:(Burnout III -- Revenge is crap)

Rincewind · Post by **Rincewind** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:29 pm

rrmorton wrote:
ohbalto wrote:(Burnout III -- Revenge is crap)

I love people that just throw controversial, I hate the new cool game you all like, statements into threads about other games for no apparent reason.

Nice pic Rob

Octopus Overlords

Is it just me... [PSP]

Is it just me... [PSP]

Re: Is it just me... [PSP]