Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS
One man's take on the two new handheld systems just unveiled...
This year's E3 has so far been dominated by the unveiling of the next generation of handheld consoles. Sony's PSP is wowing the crowds with its refined sexiness and impressive performance while Nintendo has been sowing intrigue and a little bewilderment with its pioneering DS. Over the next few hundred words I am going to try to cut through the PR guff and spell out some personal thoughts on what gamers can expect and look forward to from these little beauties.
The PSP initially seems to be more of a convergence device than a pure handheld gaming device. The reliance on both Sony's Memory Stick and computer staples such as USB 2.0 should help to integrate the device with the other gadgetry customers may own, but the lack of storage and the reliance on expensive Memory Sticks could wind up diminishing the PSP's prospects of becoming an ubiquitous portable entertainment device, (unless cheap UMD burners and media quickly appear, a move which would undermine anti-piracy measures while at the same time increasing the number of people willing to invest in a PSP). The 16:9 aspect ratio of the lovely looking display will no doubt be used to great effect in driving and RPG games, but most punters will see it as perfect for watching movies on. But if there is no way of doing this unless you shell out for UMD versions of movies then the chances of this aspect of the PSP's potential generating a respectable amount of interest and corresponding business looks rather slim.
Sony has taken notes from Apple by offering a choice of colours for the PSP. The PSP weighs about the same as a ninebar with similar proportions, which from my experience means it will be weighty but should slip into most jacket pockets. It may become tiring holding it up for a long time, and the weight balancing will need to be carefully thought out, as you don't want the device oscillating in your hands as you mash all the buttons to make a successful kill or corner.
As far as the games are concerned there are enough developers, both big and small, already attached to the PSP so that Sony appear to have one of the top requirements of any successful console - games - met and catered for. As the split between east and west across the 99 announced companies is fairly even, we must hope that Sony bypasses any region encoding. If an enforced separation between the world's two gaming hemispheres continues with the PSP all parties will once again lose out. The number of ports that will come straight from the PS2 is also of concern. If most of the titles that launch the PSP- later on this year in Japan and in the Spring elsewhere are rehashes of tired old franchises or ports of mediocre PS2 titles then the PSP will squander some of its high levels of consumer interest. It's unlikely Sony will allow the PSP to debut without some killer titles that are exclusive to the new platform. Yet the direction that the numerous companies involved in PSP development will decide is the best and most profitable course of action for their own businesses could leave the PSP swamped in titles whose only appeal is their new found portability. For example, the four games that EA has announced will accompany the PSP into the world on its birthday are all titles you already can walk into the shop and buy for a multitude of current gaming platforms, although the addition of wireless multiplayer with these titles will no doubt make them worth a second look.
The wireless multiplayer aspect is one of the most exciting areas of the PSP. Combined with its frankly amazing processing powers the PSP certainly takes the lead as far as delivering visually arresting, high-tech games is concerned. If the right kind of titles are developed and Sony sells the kind of quantities that they must be hoping for, the prospect of PSP cafes opening up where gamers can meet and consume both entertainment and sustenance in the company of other gamers is something I expect to see become a reality, at least in the East.
At the moment the innovative features of the DS scream out little more than 'gimmick' to this perturbed gamer. For example, Sega plan to rely on the novel control methods the touch screen will allow to drive forward the gameplay in the two titles they have announced for the device. The DS reminds me of the split-screen Game & Watch's from the 80s, (Lifeboat being a particular favourite). With dual screens, voice activation and touch screen technology, the additional wireless networking is the most apparently sensible ability the DS will have.
Comments
PSP win, only say this. (Sorry by my english).
The DS is going to win. It is going to be tough with the better specs of the PSP and the loyalty of the millions of PS2 players, but the ability to use all the older GB/GBC/GBA games in addition to the newer ones, the dual screen and touchscreen, the loyal trust of nintendo/gameboy fans and the original ideas of nintendo will take the DS to the upper rank. I'm a loyal nintendo fan and will go for the DS, no matter what happens with the PSP.
The DS might not be faster or as good looking as the PSP, but I, as a Nintendo fan, will definately buy the DS!
Why is everybody making such a big deal of backward-compatibility? Did you ever play ps1 games on your ps2? no! I did once, wondered why I did, then returned all my ps1 games. I'm not saying the DS sucks, not at all. It's just that I don't think being able to play old gameboy games is an issue here.
Tisk tisk, I often play PS1 games on my PS2... I know many others who do so as well. As as for everyones statements on which will win, it's early days. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
first, the DS shown at E3 is NOT the final version. it isn't "ugly"
secondly, i can't believe Nintendo bashing articles have already surfaced considering the DS has just been revealed.
thirdly, why would someone want to buy a PSP if the battery life is ONLY 2 HOURS
who made this article?? stupid Sony fanboy, i can belive this
Sam is many things - but fanboy? Be serious. He doesn't even own a PS2! I thought it was a very balanced appraisal of the situation as it currently stands...
I hope both the PSP and DS do well, but for me its teh DS if one because its different. It's not just a mini version of the PS2.
Firstly, the controls of the psp seem awkward. Some of the buttons are crammed all the way in the middle, and it seems hard to reach them. the ninteno ds is the opposite of this, and nintendo usually has the upper hand when it comes to comfort. With the dual screens, toch screen, and all its other factors, im gonna say that nintendoo is gonna win this one.
nintendo's looks like a old "game and watch" and i think its crap.
i think the playstation one looks alot better!! and im not a real fan of sony but nintendo comes out with some baby'ish games.
sony is gonna win.
this is one of the most fair comparisons of the two systems i have read so far.
Heres the deal, The PSP has greater power under its hood, however it does have several downfalls. The most important one here is the games. At the time of this article being written, the PSP screams to its developers rehash. Release all your old games for the PS2 on this thing and people will buy them just because its portable. This could alienate the hardcore fanbase that want origional titles that such a monstrosity of a system richly deserves. Second, is the reliance on Sony Proprietary hardware, memory stick and the new UMD. Now the UMD has great potential, with its small stature and large capacity, but the fact that Sony is the only ones producing these things could drive up prices in the same way that Nintendo 64 carts had. The memory stick is very nice with the same features as the UMD, small yet big storage, but once again, prices online for a sizable one of these gets in the 100 USD range. Although there is some light at the end of the tunnel when you look at the PS2. The memory card for that is only 8 Mb. Therefore consumers can buy the smallest one available and still store 30+ game saves.
Onto the DS. First things first .... that thing is just plain FUGLY. Especially when put side by side with the sleek and stylish PSP. That is on the TOP of the the todo list for Nintendo. It needs to be smaller and sleeker , I really dont want to carry around a huge handheld, it will weigh me down and its portability just isnt that good. Though the DS doesn't have nearly the same amount of power when compared to the PSP, it still has great potential, The graphics that are being produced by the little console are nice albiet rough around the edges. Also, where is the legendary Nintendo durability in this thing, if it's a touchpad, that is going to be beat UP. I used to read stories of how people flushed thier SP and it still worked. The indestructability modifications are going to have to be inplemented.
Needless to say, both have room for improvement and both have spectacular advantages. Lastly, the price comes to mind. If the PSP is 300+ USD its over. It will become a rich kids plaything instead of a large fanbase of millions of players that can connect though WiFi access that Sony envisioned. And lets not forget the track record the big N has. 9 portables (perhaps more) have fallen under the sheer fanbase of the Game Boy. The mountain is huge and becons Sony to conquer it. Only time will tell which system comes out on top.
"Nintendo's own storage media will be able to hold up to a gigabyte of data"
You guys might want to correct this, its 1 Gigabit(128MB) not byte.
Can't understand where on Earth this guy is coming from regarding looks, I think the PSP looks clunky, awkward, and unoriginal. A GBA with a screen that's too big. DS doesn't look much better but it's not so clumsy looking as the Sony's offering.
Aside from this, I think it's a fair handed and balanced article. We have to remember that it's all early days, folks.
lets all be real almost all of us will buy both systems
as long as the games keep getting better & better no
one will ever lose? I still prefer DS but will buy both.
I own both a Gamecube and a PS2, so don't call me a fangirl, but I'm sticking to Nintendo with this. I don't care if Nintendo is considered kiddish nowadays. I have a lot more fun playing Wario Ware than any of the Grand Theft Auto games, and I play it a lot longer too. How long can you go around town shooting random people without getting bored? Anyways, I think both of these handhelds look kinda clunky, but I don't think the DS looks 'ugly'. It just looks a little off. The PSP makes my hands cramp just by looking at it, but it does look prettier than the DS. As for who is going to win the console war, I can't say. It all depends on the types of games that come out for the systems. I think the DS has a better chance because of the two screens and the new possibilities, but it may take a while for consumers to get used to that idea. Meh. I'm just babbling now. I'll be quiet.
The same arguments from the days of the ZX spectrum and the C64!
really just buy both, you know you will end up with them both after time!
Argument solved
Well Jock, gotta admit you make some sense there.
Fanbois, scourge of gamers with brains.
I believe that Nintendo DS will win this competition. It was already too late for the appearance of Sony's PSP and should have been in production by early 2004. This would have destroyed GBA SP's opportunity to steal the show. Why hasn't Sony thought of this along time ago. Who's next Microsoft's Z-Box?
Im sorry, but that is the most bias reveiw i have seen on the topic so far.
Gimmick my arse, revolution is the correct word.
the DS has reached the procesing power of the n 64 .
the PSP has NOT reached the power of the play station.
i would buy the psp if its between $150 or 200.
PSP will be the N-Gage of 2005
It may be a cool looking handheld with a lot of horsepower, but it will suck as a multi function device. Who wants to buy a movie on UDM? Will Hollywood ever support this format? Hell no. Why would I spend 300 + for a Movie watcher game unit when I can buy a DVD player with a bigger screen for less? Dedicated devices will win.
all that i know is i will most likely be buying both! the DS may not look as good as the psp but its better, i think the ds will win
Call me a fanboy, but I've yet to see a nintendo system stop working. i got my n64 the day it came out, and it still plays great. I had a ps2 for maybe two years before it stopped reading disks. i'm sticking with nintendo here. also, you gotta think of the game possibilites! You got your mario, you got your zelda, you got your f-zero, you got your metroid, and you get whatever brainchild miyamato may be thinking up!
If I was in a comer 4 the past 20 years and just woke up today, didn't know anything about playstation or nintendo but had the desire to play a handheld device 4 some unknown reason. I check out whats on offer, I go with whats natual 2 human nature, looks. and then compare the graphics and the games, the PSP would defiantly be the one.
the PSP looks slick anf modern like u expect a product 2 be. the DS looks like a workin mans toolbox.
my younger brother has a gameboy and it baffels me how anyone can play it
after christmas sales it was printed everywhere on the web about hardware and software sales. it showed that the gameboy had the second best sales after PS2 but in the Easter period software sales in the gameboy was last after all 3 consoles and PC. meaning that not many of the gameboy owners buy games 4 it.
ninteno fanboys are always saying that ps2 fans will buy the psp because on the playstaion name.
we buy all the nike sport gear because the nike name. we buy BMW cars because of the BMW name. we do this because we know we're getting good quality items. if nintendo is so great then we should be buy gamecubes because of the nintendo name like evryone use to ten years ago, why don't we know because nintendo never moved with the times their still stuck in the past with mario, and i expect 30+ mario game to come out in the DS's first year.
GOD placed a bet on PSP winning and so do I.
I personally like the PSP better but it is still early in the game. one thing on the games everyone talks about how bad it would be if the PSP just played portable PS2 games but says how big of an "OLD" library of gameboy games are out. Hey maybe both will flop. Nintendo with it's weird design and Sony with it's old games.
the new games that EA announced at E3 I hope will be different versions to the PS2, like Mumbling's comment (the one above mine) I also woulnt like to see PS2 ports, but there are many 3rd party publishers out there that bring out game just for Gameboy and even mobile phones.
Also PSP battery like is 2.5 hours if watching a movie and 10 hrs if playing games, 10hrs is good if U consider the power of this machine. stick the DS battery in the PSP and I bet it would only last 4 ten minutes.
one more thing, 71million PS2 owners so I guess about 71 million will be interested in owning a PSP. PSP is targeted at 18-35 year olds which is I think a better market to go for and younger teenagers will be a bonus as DS will sell only to young teenagers, if anyone older was to buy a DS or has a Gameboy probaly has a mental age of a young teenager like my mate who's 25 but has the mental age of a 14 year old and it shows, he also is nintendo's biggest fan, that says it all.
PSP looks a lot better anyway, I think it stands a good chance against the DS.