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Verdict: Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS
So, you've read our in-depth look at the Sony PSP and perused our comprehensive Nintendo DS dossier. You know all the facts, but now it's decision time. Shall you spend $250 on the PSP or save $100 and buy a Nintendo DS? Are two screens better than one? Are graphics all that matter? In this third and final edition of my Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS editorial, I'll compare each handheld bit-by-bit and determine which of the two is worth your hard-earned cash.
Graphics
sony pspThis one is easy. The PSP is quite obviously leaps and bounds more powerful than the Nintendo DS as far as displaying 3D graphics is concerned. To sort of counter-balance things a bit, the Nintendo DS has two screens. But in this case, it becomes obvious that one, larger screen with amazing graphics is better than two small screens filled with a pixilated mess. Honestly, the Nintendo DS is barely capable of displaying serviceable 3D visuals.
Winner: Sony PSP
Gameplay
nintendo dsSo the PSP's software library doesn't have a single unique gameplay experience among it so far. Well, unless you count the musical puzzler Lumines, anyway. The Nintendo DS, by its nature, should be supplying a unique gameplay experience every time. However, as we've seen so far, few Nintendo DS games actually make use of all the system's abilities. Even so, no matter what, the PSP will never be able to deliver the gameplay experience the Nintendo DS does. Then again, I'm not so sure the old Nintendo DS gameplay well hasn't run dry already. How many more ways are there to use a stylus and a microphone? That said, subtract the superior graphics, and the Nintendo DS is capable of pulling off any PSP game, and more.
Winner: Nintendo DS
Controls
PSP vs DSI have to admit it. When I first heard about the Nintendo DS my mind was in a whir contemplating the possibilities. But what I've found out is that controlling ordinary games with a stylus sucks. Controlling 3D games with a directional pad also sucks. In other words, the controls on the Nintendo DS basically suck. The PSP gives you a pseudo analog stick that works quite well and a directional pad. To me, it seems like Nintendo went out of its way for basically nothing. If I had to choose, I'd honestly trade in the touch screen for an analog stick.
Winner: Sony PSP
Functionality
Sony PSPLet's see, you can play games on the Nintendo DS, and…well, that's about it. It's nice that Nintendo has finally decided to take one of its platforms online in the US, but it's only after it was basically left with no choice. And it's almost a year after the platform's launch. The voice recognition and touch screen abilities are really Nintendo's trump card here, and while built-in mic is a cool addition, I'd trade all of them in for a more powerful processor. The PSP is online out of the box (the Nintendo DS won't be online until the Fall), it can play UMD movies (however pointless it may be), display digital photos, play uploaded videos, play MP3s, and much more. Again, there's really no comparison.
Winner: Sony PSP
Value
PSP vs DSLooking at things in the long term, the PSP is, again, the obvious choice. While its software library is weak so far, it's only a matter of time until all the third-party exclusives like Grand Theft Auto start rolling in. Couple that with a likely price drop around the holidays, and the PSP will go from must-have status symbol to mass market smash. The Nintendo DS has a weak library now, and it really doesn't look to be getting any better anytime soon. Sure, there's Castlevania and Mario Kart, but those games look to use the touch screen abilities in the same way they've been used already. If I dare say it, the Nintendo DS is already looking played-out, and I wouldn't be surprised if this thing is beginning its death march by this time next year.
Winner: Sony PSP
Final Verdict
PSP vs DSSo maybe you're not so good at math. Or maybe you're just in denial. But I'm recommending the Sony PSP over the Nintendo DS. So the PSP is so much better than the Nintendo DS that it's worth spending over $100 extra on? Even with insane loading times? Yes, it is. But in all honesty, this comparison is pretty unfair. At least outwardly, Nintendo never intended for the Nintendo DS to compete with the PSP, but it's inevitable that people (like you and I) would compare the two anyway.
The PSP's real competition will be the next iteration of the Game Boy, which is currently in the concept stages.
And if rumors swirling around the industry are true, the PSP will have a tough fight on its hands when that day comes.
But until then, the Nintendo DS is nothing more than a decent idea being used as a stop-gap to limit the sales of the
Sony PSP until the next Game Boy is ready. But after people get Sony's slick machine in their hands, I question
just how well the tactic will work.
Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS
Greetings, fence-sitters. Yes, I’m talking about those of you who can’t decide whether to take the $250
plunge with Sony’s PSP, save a few bucks for a unique experience on Nintendo’s DS, or just say screw it
altogether. I’ve had the privilege of playing more games for both systems than I care to admit, so I figured
I’d drop the skinny in this column to help you make an informed purchase. Part I of this three-part series will
cover Sony’s brash new entry, the PSP. Let’s get to it.
Paying the Cost to be the Boss
Probably the first thing that should be mentioned is that Sony has upped the ante with the pricing of the PSP. At first glance you may think the device is spendy. Gazing into the all-telling mirror of history, you’d be right. At $250, it’s hard to imagine little Timmy saving up enough lawn-mowing cash to place one of these in his Trapper Keeper. Of course, that’s the idea. It’s not made for Timmy.
The sweet spot for launching a handheld is generally around $99, so Sony is taking a chance by assuming that the older player with gobs of expendable income will finally embrace their inner geekdom. With a device this slick, the suits at Sony could be right. Honestly, the first time you turn the thing on, you’re going to feel like you’re robbing Sony blind--even at $250.
sony pspThe PSP’s screen is simply amazing. It’s the first thing you’ll notice when you boot it up for the first time, and it’s the thing that will have absolute strangers eavesdropping over your shoulder while you’re playing (or watching) on the train. It’s bright and sharp, and minus what seems to be a somewhat isolated dead pixel problem, it’s practically flawless.
The Kitchen Sink
The PSP won’t be fetching sticks anytime soon, but it’s easy to see how this thing could replace dogs as man’s best friend. Imagine uploading your favorite team’s latest game or episodes of X-Play to the memory stick, and then watching at your leisure. The picture and video viewing really spark the ladies’ plugs, as well.
It’s hard to imagine anyone dumping the iPod in favor of the PSP’s MP3-playing abilities, though. With one-gig memory sticks still costing over 100 bones, it’s not exactly cost-efficient or practical. And how are you going to fit the latest episode of Deadwood on your memory stick if it’s being hogged up by The Arcade Fire album? Not to mention you’d have to have it surgically implanted to use it at the gym.
The rest of the hardware fares almost as well, but the assumption that it’s as powerful as the PlayStation 2 is simply not true. Instead, it’s somewhere in the league of the Dreamcast, making it easily the most powerful handheld ever. It takes a good five or six days just to get over the fact that you’re playing current-generation quality graphics on a portable. But as we learned by a lot of the Xbox launch games, drop-dead visuals don’t necessarily make a great game.
No Free Refills!
This is where I have my reserved qualms. In all honesty, I’ve yet to play a PSP game that:
A. I wouldn’t rather play on a console with a larger display, better graphics, and a couch.
B. I feel is worth $50.
To the first point, a lot of the PSP launch games are watered-down ports of games I’ve already played to death on the current consoles. You know Madden, ATV OffRoad Fury, and Curling Street (just kidding). Obviously, this is just a temporary situation, but after getting over the awe of the PSP’s tech I’ve found most of the launch software to be pretty uninspired. If it’s any indication, I found myself playing the derivative Minna No Golf and the ultra-cool musical puzzler Lumines more than anything else. Yet, I find it difficult to rationalize coughing up the cash for either.
Yes, PSP games cost $50. The good news is that most of them are a little meatier than the typical handheld game. Even so, Sony is again asking consumers to step up and pay more for something they’ve been buying at a lower price for over a decade. Time will tell if the iPod generation will get on board.
What a Load of…
The way I see it, the only big mistake with the PSP’s hardware is the use of the UMD (universal media disc) medium. The loading times on this thing are ridiculous in some games, and pretty bad in most of the others. The UMD simply can’t stream information to the hardware fast enough. This also carries over into the creation of games--developers are already complaining that it’s difficult to get all the performance out of the hardware because of it. The UMD also zaps the battery pretty quickly. Count on getting a little less than three hours of 3D game playtime from one charge.
Sony gets much respect for including a pseudo-analog stick for gameplay--and a directional pad. No half-stepping, there. God willing, the Nintendo DS will be the last handheld to launch without one. The little nub works quite well for 3D games, and the shoulder buttons are comfortable to use. The only control issue comes from the square button, which Sony has admitted has a design flaw. If you buy a launch unit, be sure to play a game that requires heavy square button abuse to see if it functions properly. If not, return that eating-Ramen-for-a-month kit of electronics for another.
In all honesty, who is going to spend $20 for a UMD movie that can be played only on the PSP? You can buy a DVD, which will play on any player, for much less than that. It’s a nice extra feature, but I’d be surprised if it ever takes off.
PSP for Me?
Sony PSPThe PSP is an expensive, yet enticing proposition. It will no doubt become somewhat of a status symbol its first year on the market. There’s so much potential with wireless multiplayer, multimedia capabilities, one hell of a graphics processor, and a screen to die for. Yet, it seems that at every turn, you’re going to be dumping a lot of cash into it. To really use the PSP the way it’s intended, you’re going to shell out $100 for a big memory stick. Add that to the hefty (though more than fair) $250 price tag and $50 games, and you can see how the cash will start rolling up. Yet, despite all this, I sit here with a preorder slip in hand ready to take the PSP plunge. But be warned. It’s highly likely that the PSP could drop in price around the holidays, so that gives savvy buyers something to think about
Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP
Greetings, fence-sitters. Yes, I’m talking about those of you who can’t decide whether to take the $250 plunge with Sony’s PSP, save a few bucks for a unique experience on Nintendo’s DS, or just say screw it altogether. I’ve had the privilege of playing more games for both systems than I care to admit, so I figured I’d drop the skinny in this column to help you make an informed purchase. This is Part II of a three-part series, where I'll go in-depth with the Nintendo DS. Part I put the PSP through its paces. Look for the final part of the article on Monday, complete with my recommendation.
Don't Hate, Innovate!
nintendo dsTalking about the Nintendo DS is a little different than giving you the low-down on the PSP because a lot of you have probably already had a chance to tinker around with one. By now, most of you know that it has two screens, with one of them being a touch screen. You may think that this guarantees excellent games. Attaching a broom stick to a toilet seat is innovative, but that doesn't mean it's smart.
First of all, let's talk about the system's biggest feature, the touch screen. Does it allow you to play games in new ways? Yes. Does it allow new genres to be created? Yes. Are either the new games or new genres compelling? For the most part, no. The system has only been out a few months, yet we're already starting to see the same scribbling, selecting, dragging, and poking repeated over and over.
If you look at things from an intellectual perspective, you could say that scribbling on a touch screen is the same thing as pressing the jump or fire button on a controller in any other video game. We're still not sick of that yet, right? The problem is that a stylus never seems to work quite as well as a standard controller for most games. Mario 64 DS, I'm looking at you. And the games that are designed from the beginning to play on the DS are already becoming repetitive. If you've played Feel the Magic or Wario Ware then you've basically played the entire DS software library that's currently available. It doesn't help that most of the games can be completed in a matter of hours. Where are the epic DS games?
Tech Yourself
nintendo dsSo the touch screen isn't exactly blowing people's minds yet, but with Nintendo's solid software cachet it shouldn't matter, right? Wrong. If the system were strong enough to support N64-quality graphics, there would be enough ports from the 64-bit system to keep the software channel flooded. But this is honestly Nintendo's biggest mistake with the DS. The hardware simply isn't powerful enough.
Yeah, I know graphics don't make a great game, but when people are shopping for a new video game system it's the first thing they look at. DS visuals may be a big bump up from the Game Boy Advance SP, but compared to the PSP, they look like (for lack of a better word) crap. We're talking graphics on the level of the original PlayStation here. Pixilated, jittery, and downright primitive are the words that come to mind. Another issue is the fact that there's a gap between the two screens. Why? I have no idea, but it makes playing some games more difficult than they should be.
Missing Stick
Nintendo DSDespite the problems with the system's graphics and the lackluster software, the lack of an analog stick is almost as big a sin. How can you play 3D games without an analog stick? The Nintendo DS proves that you can't. The build-in microphone has actually turned out to be one of the cooler aspects of the hardware--allowing for voice recognition and "blowing" games.
The DS' wireless capabilities are cool. It's easy to link up and play with anyone within 30 feet or so, and sometimes it's fun just to turn on the system in public places and see if there's anyone nearby who also has one. I've already played a complete stranger at Metroid Prime: Hunters at the airport, which is definitely a first. It's also encouraging to hear that you'll eventually be able to play against others online, though this should have been build into the system from the beginning.
Chick Magnet
One thing I will say is that the ladies love the DS. My girlfriend has problems putting it down, yet can't seem to understand why I'd want to spend so much for a PSP that plays the same kinds of games my consoles do. In this sense, Nintendo is right when it says that the DS will bring new people into gaming. And believe me, I'm all for it. The lack of loading times on the system is also a nice bonus--especially after suffering through the PSP's awful waits.
Potential…What is it Good For?
One can only hope that the best days of the DS are still ahead. When the most addictive and fun game is a port of the cell phone game Bejeweled (Zoo Keeper), you've got problems. It's become fairly obvious that Nintendo rushed this system out to get a head start on the PSP. And it's also obvious that most of the games for the system are glorified tech demos. When the real software starts rolling in, things will likely change, but even at $100 less than the PSP, it's difficult to see how the DS currently stacks up
