PSP or DS?

[everdred12a]

I'm just not sure which one I want because each has their own perks. The DS has some games I really want, but the PSP is like a freakin' swiss army knife. I know the DS will be cheaper, but the PSP has enought stuff to justify the price tag, not to mention all of the hacks and such. Any opinions?

[Myoti]

The question is: what do you want out of it? Do you want an actual game system or a jumble of odd features stuck into something that you'll undoubtebly have to buy more for it just to work?

[Nate]

If you're more interested in a portable media center, PSP is the way to go. DS doesn't have any features like that.

However, if you're more interested in the games, I'd say DS.

[Kuro-Mizu]

Psp's are awesome if you have about 1000 dollars or so to spend (system, memory cards, games etc..) but most people don't.. thats why I got a DS!

[TrigunX89]

I'm holding out for a PSP personally. But like others have said before me, it depends on what you want out of it.

[indyrocker]

I personaly have a DS and i love it but at teh moment the best game that is out for it is mario cart DS because of its wifi capability but if you want to use a gba game and do a multiplayer mode on it your SOL because ya just can't do that with the DS. If you want to use the WiFi conectivity on the DS the company that set up the WiFi acsess for McDonalds has a deal with Nintendo that you can use those hotspots for free to conect other wise it might be hard to find a hotspot that your DS will see but not to worrie if you have a wireless roughter at home it can be configured to conect to that and nintendo sells on its website a usb adapter so that you can use any computer with XP and high speed internet acsess.

[TurkishMonky]

both have different strenghts. PSP is more media based, bt the DS has (in my opinion) better games and backwards compatabllity with GBA. I got my DS for $35 from a friend so it was a no-brainer for me lol.

[Fireproof]

DS. The PSP is a Jack of All Trades, but it doesn't do any of its jobs particularly well. Yes, the games look nice for portables, but there haven't been many "must-have" titles. Video is only accessibly via UMD movies, and the battery can only stomach two hours' worth. From what I've heard, music and photos are really just sort of tacked on, and don't work particularly well. Also, get ready to pay up if you want to take much music, as the memory sticks it uses are pretty spendy. Go for DS if you want fun multiplayer and innovative games.

[Rogie]

I recommend the DS for the gaming experience alone. I've never seen so many innovative games come out in one year for one system, but the DS has seen that this year.

For something that can do a little of everything, then go for a PSP. But be unique: go for the DS, I say.

[everdred12a]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I think I'll probably be getting a DS because, as Fireproof said, there aren't any great games on PSP, plus the battery life is supposed to be total crap.

[Yojimbo]

Depends obviously people who own DS's are going to tell you to buy that and people with PSP's to buy that. People on either side will obviously twist a few things, as I can already see here, about the other system to throw some dirt on it and not mention the flaws of "their" system.

Gamewise the DS probably wins this one. You got a really good selection here with stuff like Mario Cart, Nintendogs, Metroid Pinball, Castlevania, Phoenix Wright, Advance Wars, so on. Cratridges of course which is kind of limiting in a way but that doesn't stop Nintendo and the dedicated influx of the good third party stuff. The touchpad is fun of course and a great feature and of course you have WiFi in there as well for some multiplayer or playing hangman with Pictochat.

The PSP if you had asked this a couple months back game list wouldn't of been that impressive but it has gotten a good number of high quality games lately. And of course more are to come with Metal Gear Acid 2, My Katamari, Tokobot, Armored Core: Formula Front. So the PSP is having it's share of unique and quirky games as well. But the best so far are pretty much Lumines, Wipeout Pure, Metal Gear Acid, Burnout Legends, Twisted Metal: Head On, GTA: Liberty City Stories, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo, SSX On Tour, FIFA 06, etc.

Graphicswise the PSP obviously wins. Near PS2 quality graphics nuff said there.

The PSP has of course the ability to play movies on a very attractive LCD widescreen. You can play movies off of UMD, put your own on a memory stick, or listen to MP3's. The memory sticks are pretty expensive. You can find a SanDisk 1 Gb card for around $75 if you look online. The new Giga pack coming out will have a 1 gb card and a USB cord for $50 more than the Value Pack out now.

The battery life is not three hours...like some DS fanboy will tell you. That depends on what you're doing with it. Listening to music or just tooling around obviously will not drain too much. Playing GTA:Liberty City Stories, the most taxing game yet, straight won't give you as much time before needing a charge. Would you really play a game for six straight hours anyway on a handheld? No one should be doing anything for six straight hours other than working and sleeping. And of course the PSP has WiFi for multiplayer gaming as well as the DS and an internet browser.

There you go it depends on what you want now and later. As well as how much you want to spend. You're going to be spending $150 on a DS and at least $250 for the Value Pack PSP, or $300 for the new Giga Pack. Both have a good library of games now with more always coming out, but the DS still is the strongest there for now. As far as an all in one portable media system goes ya can't beat watching your movies on a nice big LCD screen and listening to music on a PSP. But you should do your own research as well to just get the entire picture.

[desperado]

Pretty much what yojimbo said but add in kingdom of heaven and legend of heroes.
Also the psp's battery life is not crap and the giga pack has EVERYTHING you will need including a better memory card for the original price (300)

Do not beleive some of the muck thrown at the psp by people on this board.

That being said the ds has a better battery life (albeit not much, when I had mine it wasnt much more then what my psp has now) and it does have phoneix right ace attorney, sonic rush, and mario, but it doesnt have the media capablity.

Personally I find both systems games to be equal, the psp has some really good games now but there is just as much crappy ones. The ds has some good games now but just as much ones that are glorified mini games (metroid pinball im talking to you)

edit

Fireproof what is the deal with you none of those statements are correct and I have refuted those claims time and time again. The images and such are perfect zoom in 200 percent make them backgrounds do what you want with them. And my battery has never lasted under 4 hours at max load...Music is clear and crisp and is easier to handle then my older mp3 player. And with the giga pack you get a 1gb memory card, and an example of what you can fit on it is i have 6 outlaw star episodes 15 songs and 6 photos so yeah it doesnt suck!

From now on acctually look at facts before posting propaganda as such, frankly I am rather tired of you posting this kind of junk every time the word psp is mentioned!

[Yojimbo]

Amen desperado. I was excited about Legend of Heroes but after reading reviews that have been in the 5-6 out of ten range I changed my mine.

I'm just sick and tired frankly of ALL this unsubstantiated bull honky mud slinging from fanboys on BOTH sides. Your console/handheld is a good chunk of money but it is not your great grandmother's china. Stop posting things that you either "heard from a second cousin's roomate's friends coworker," think you heard, aren't absolutely sure of(unless you post saying so), or just plain make up. It's getting old.

[desperado]

Agreed agreed and about legend of heroes only complaints I have heard is its "to old school" bah what do they know Ill rent it and try it for myself.

I will say this now if you couldn't guess I favor the psp, but I realize it has faults and Ill say them up front I will also compliment the ds on the things its got going for it NOW (at first it didn't have any games besides mario that appealed to me now it does). Though the ds does have ist fair share of pros and cons just as the psp has. The person who cant look beyond the pros of one thing and the cons of another is truly ignorant or a fool.

Acctually it is a sign of immaturity and foolishness to not look beyond the system you favors pros and see it has cons and the other systems have pros and cons to. Its a sign of maturity to acknowledge the fact it has good things and acknowledge your favorite has flaws.

[indyrocker]

O ya one thing I notised that dives me mad about the psp but it is trival mater the load times are kinda slow but as those have said if you was a portable entertainment system that can play movies, MP3 files, amazing video quality in a handheld unit and serf the web I'de go psp but on the other hand if you want gameplay, inovation, backwords compatability (altho limeted since they did not include teh voltage switch that alows it to play origanal game bow game as its predasesor did), built in message program to talk to other DS users I'de go DS. For me i chose the DS because it ws more econamic and I grew up with nintendo hec I remeber playing the origanal mario cart when you could rent games for the nes. O ya and for those who really want to play mp3s and have a DS there is a way but alas you must import it from japan there is an cartage for the gba slot that has a memory card reader and other thing but as far as I know it is only for audio not video.

[desperado]

The reason it has load times on par with the psx is that the disc cannot constantly spin like the ps2. This is a power saver feature, but most of the NEWER games have found ways to get around that. Not many of the launch got around that problem.

Secondly you mentioned ergonamics didnt you? The ds is the worst that way, i much prefer a original gba and a psp over the ds and sp, why? There box shaped and boxes never make good comfort with points.

[Myoti]

The ds is the worst that way, i much prefer a original gba and a psp over the ds and sp, why? There box shaped and boxes never make good comfort with points.

Eh? Well, to each his own, I suppose, but the DS has felt fine to me. It may be "boxy", but it's curved at the same time, giving any balance to it (which is imprtant in stylus-heavy games).

[everdred12a]

Well, all of this leads me to one more question - when will the PSP Giga pack be available? It seems like a really good buy in comparison to a friend of mine who got basically the same stuff, but bought it all separately for an appx. total of $500.

[desperado]

Around sometime in december. And yeah to each his own myoti I have big hands and after playing zelda for two hours I litterly had dents in my hands, hurt pretty bad but thats what I get for loving zelda so very much.

[Myoti]

Around sometime in december. And yeah to each his own myoti I have big hands and after playing zelda for two hours I litterly had dents in my hands, hurt pretty bad but thats what I get for loving zelda so very much.

I do to, and I'll admit a couple of fingers fell asleep/cramped the first time I started playing, but I'm use to it know.

[Yojimbo]

Actually it's out right now. I remember seeing on Amazon two weeks or so ago it wouldn't be out till the 29th but it's right there on the EB Games and Gamestop sites.

Also Datel just came out with a 4GB Harddrive/Battery pack combo for the PSP. It ain't cheap at $200 but it's cheaper than buying four 1GB sticks and bringing an extra battery with you. For me this looks great but I'm deffinetly holding out on it for awhile.

[Fireproof]

My apologies. I'm not basing this on pure mudslinging, but rather third-hand accounts, and I should be more careful in the future.
Edit: To conclude, I'm sorry, and there's a lot to like about both systems.

[blue elf]

I don't have any experience with the PSP, but I do have a DS and I really enjoy it.
Personally the DS had more games that interested me than the PSP had when I bought it, but that may change. I think the DS has lots of potential for games involving the stylus, and I think it has good battery life. I have one word of advice though for anyone thinking of getting a DS. If you use the stylus for long stretches at a time your hand may start to hurt(at least mine does when I play for a long time). This could probably be solved by getting a normal pen sized stylus or by just playing for shorter amounts of time(like I do).

I do want to play the Final Fantasy 7 side story game for the PSP, that comes out next year though.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Secondly you mentioned ergonamics didnt you? The ds is the worst that way, i much prefer a original gba and a psp over the ds and sp, why? There box shaped and boxes never make good comfort with points.

I think he meant economic

[Kuro-Mizu]

I will basically say what I said before... If you have the money TOTALLY GO WITH A PSP! They are really cool.... But to really get enough games and memory space for songs and videos and stuff your going to have to spend at least 500 bucks (no three hundred like a previous poster said(unless you only want one game and arent planning on doing songs and videos etc in which case it isnt worth it anyway)

DS is just all around a good system Good (not exceptional but good) graphics, Great gameplay.. Which is what Gaming is really bout right... so yah DS is almost as good anyway (for gaming that is)

So I think its really a money issue.. get what you can afford!

[Lightstream]

The PSP is certainly the cooler device. A tiny little gadget that can play movies, music and games? What's not to love? However, at the moment, the DS has the better games. I don't think anything on the PSP compares to Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Mario Kart DS, or Nintendogs.

[Yojimbo]

I will basically say what I said before... If you have the money TOTALLY GO WITH A PSP! They are really cool.... But to really get enough games and memory space for songs and videos and stuff your going to have to spend at least 500 bucks (no three hundred like a previous poster said(unless you only want one game and arent planning on doing songs and videos etc in which case it isnt worth it anyway)

DS is just all around a good system Good (not exceptional but good) graphics, Great gameplay.. Which is what Gaming is really bout right... so yah DS is almost as good anyway (for gaming that is)

So I think its really a money issue.. get what you can afford!

I said at least $250 for the system and $300 for the Giga Pack with the 1GB stick.

[everdred12a]

I checked out the Giga pack on ebgames.com, and it says that the PSP comes with it. The way you guys were talking about it, it sounds like it doesn't. Is this right?

[Yojimbo]

Yes like I said it is exactly the same thing as the Value Pack minus/plus a few things. It throws out the white carrying strap, it adds a stand, it adds a USB cable so you can transfer music/movies/photos from your PC, and the kicker is the 1GB card in there. That's what the extra $50 is for.

[Bobtheduck]

I wanna support the PSP... The UMD movies and the UMD games (I'll never go back to cartridge... Except, you know, when I play on my Nintendo or Super NES or something) the normal controller (the stylus isn't good for normal gaming... I'd much rather have an analog stick), and... Well, that covers it... I prefer the PSP, but they NEED SOME RPGs!!! Actually, none of the PSP's games look interesting... On the other hand, a number of DS games look interesting... Come on, Sony, you used to have the market in RPG's and such... We need a Final Fantasy on PSP... We need a normal Metal Gear game... *sigh*

EDIT: Oh, I guess I haven't been following the PSP very closely... There are a few RPG's for teh system... Any interactive movies (like MGS??)