PSP or Nintendo DS? Few Hours Left!

[FxMercenary]

Well, I am sure this has been posted before, but I only have a couple hours for a decent comparison, and all i could find online were from 2004-2006. In 2 or so hours, I will be going to Best Buy to purchase either a Sony PSP, or a Nintendo DS.

Thoughts?

[stargate]

It is completely subjective and pretty much based on the individual. But, here is why I love my DS and would highly recommend it over a PSP. I have played both extensively.

-More portable. Just close it and throw it in your pocket. No case needed. Pretty much forget it's there until you need it.
-Better games. A more extensive library of must have games.
-The dual screen and touch screen designs are actually quite cool and fun.
-Less expensive
-NO LOAD TIMES. You forget how amazing cartridge based games are because of this. Everything happens immediately with the push of each button.
-More durable. The clam shell design works wonders.
-Mario based games.

[norkusa]

Get a PSP if you plan to put custom firmware on it.

Get a DS if you just want to play games and don't want to mess with homebrew.


I think the DS has the PSP beat in overall quality of games but PS1 games and classic emulators are all I play on mine.

[retro junkie]

Your decision should be based entirely around what you want to do and play. It should be very simple. What kind of gaming do you want to do? Take a look at what is available for each system. What appeals to you? I'm not sure how much the PSP is as a multi media system at presently. There are no movies available for it locally anymore. I have the DS mainly because it still has that retro feel to a lot of the games. The touch screen, when used in some of the games, gives me that arcade feel, something that I love. And the thumbnail size carts are very portable. Love the fold up of the system, it gives great protection for the screens. But both systems have their own personality when it comes to gaming. And it is an individual choice what type of gamer you are and which system would fit your needs.

[swlovinist]

If you are asking for opinions, I will give you mine. Like others have said, it matters on what you like. I personally prefer the DS for portable gaming. It does all depend on what types of games that like. The DS has all the exclusive Nintendo titles, not to mention a very healthy third party support. The PSP right now is hanging on a lifeline, at least in retail stores. Several stores are only carrying a small selection of new games, as there were only a handful of new titles that came out this holiday. It does have its own exclusives, can be modded, and can play moves beautifully. It also can be hooked up to TV set and the games can be played on a TV.

[Pantechnicon]

I'd go with the DS. Aside from some great original games there is in fact a burgeoning homebrew/emulator scene for this device as well. Plus, once your warranty runs out, DS's are comparatively simple to repair by oneself and replacement parts are cheap.

[savageone]

I give a vote for the DS based solely on the fact that it has a way more games that you would probably interested in, since you're posting on DP and all.. :P Personally I've played roughly 3-4 times as many DS games as PSP games.

The PSP also has some good games of course though a bit too many of them are classic game collections. Lately though it's been really slow on the PSP front.. I think I bought maybe 1 new game on PSP in 2008? Don't let anyone give you that custom firmware mumbo jumbo unless you want to download TeH fReE PsP gAmeS or something. I had my original PSP that had never been updated off 1.5 and I used it for some 8-bit/16-bit emulation goodness. The emulators worked great. However, the PSP screen certainly did not. The screen ghosted so horribly bad it almost defeated the entire purpose. Needless to say I got rid of it in favor of the PSP 2000 and I really couldn't care less about custom firmware, because if it's not good for emulation then what the hell is it good for? Free games? Pssh, there are so few PSP games worth buying how could I _not_ afford them all? LOL

[kupomogli]

I enjoy both systems, but the PSP is my favorite. As a game system alone, both the PSP and DS are pretty much tied in my opinion, but altogether the PSP is better in my opinion.

For the DS, it's got games like Contra 4, Mega Man ZX/Advent, Advance Wars, Feel the Magic, Contact, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker, and Jump Ultimate Stars to name a few really good games.

For the PSP there are games like GTA Liberty City/Vice City Stories, God of War, Gundam Battle Universe, Syphon Filter, Brave Story, Jeanne D'Arc, Silent Hill Origins, Star Wars Battlefront Renegade Squadron, Dissidia Final Fantasy, and Wild ARMs XF to name a few really good ones.

The PSP is also a multimedia device as other people have noted. The DS isn't, but the DSi which will be released later is. Sony actually did alot of work on the PSP firmware, one of my favorite options is the ability to have a sortof mini DVD menu from a standard compatible movie file.

I did notice how someone mentioned the DS having no load times, something that one would think the PSP has long load times. While the PSP does have load times, alot of games don't have load times that are really that long. Playing a game of Syphon Filter has a load time only at the very beginning of a mission, and not even a long load time, even covered up by the fact that there is story text to read while the mission is loading. Throughout the rest of the mission there is pretty much no loading. Then there's GTA games which load at the beginning of starting up then only throughout missions have small load times(aside from that beginning load time which is fairly quick.) So the PSP load times are really dependent on how the game is developed.

Also. Just because the DS is cartridge, it doesn't mean it has no load times. It just has less load time as it doesn't need to read disc. If you end up playing Final Fantasy 3(PSP) and Brave Story(PSP,) you'll actually see that FF3 has just as long as load times when entering different areas as Brave Story does and then Brave Story actually has less load times when entering/going through the menu and when getting in a random battle.

Also, if you happen to get a homebrew compatible PSP or your PSP is able to acquire custom firmware, the system becomes better. The system can emulate quite a few systems at full speed(SNES is almost full speed 0 frameskip on all games, but there are a small list of games that aren't.) You can also rip your own PSX games to play on the PSP, adding your own pic and icon, manual, etc. Sony even added with a new firmware update, the ability to go to memory cards within specific games and then transfer data between memory cards, so if you happen not to put the same coding for each game.

Aside from emulation, there are alot of good homebrews. Like e-book readers, different music programs to lower the speed of the PSP and play just the music, password protection programs for when you start the PSP, homebrew games, and CFW extender to allow pictures to be taken midgame/music to be played mid game. Then there is IRShell which is an alternative to the XMB and similar to CFW extender with more advanced options, such as muting certain parts of the game, allowing for you to change your background music during gameplay, but also allowing you to keep the sounds in the game as well, among other things.

[stargate]

So? Which one did you get?

[fpbrush]

I am also curious which one you decided on. Honestly I think either is a solid choice, just depends on your mood.

Personally, I've made up my mind to get a PSP over a DS for my next portable gaming system simply because I'm kind of burnt out on GB-esque games. I bought both the GBC and GBA back when they each came out, and played the hell out of them. But by the time the DS rolled around I was a little tired of GB/Nintendo style games, so I'm looking for something a bit different. Also, I'm less interested in the DS touch feature as I get enough casual, touchy gaming goodness on my iPod (yeah, thats right, I said it!), but I don't know actually how much of a factor that is because it seems less and less games really are utilizing that feature on the DS. The dual screen seems much more significant.

Anyways, I love portable gaming in most any form. So enjoy your purchase! Whatever it may be.

[stargate]

"I don't know actually how much of a factor that is because it seems less and less games really are utilizing that feature on the DS. The dual screen seems much more significant."

I have to agree with you to some degree. While the touch screen on the DS can be cool, I rarely use it and find that most games use it as a gimmick more than anything else. Like you can touch the screen OR use an actual button the the DS. It's kind of silly.

As for the dual screen set up, I love it, but wish that more games would use it to its full potential versus just using it as a map or guide or whatever. More games using it like Metroid Prime Pinball would be nice to see.

[dgdgagdae]

Reading this thread (and seeing the niece and nephew play theirs at Xmas) made me want to get a DS. So I did. I already have a PSP, which is a nice little system. The DS seems a bit more...fun. I'm really happy with it so far.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

They're both good systems with software libraries full of stuff that will entertain.

A few years ago there were more pursuasive arguments over one being "better" than the other, but honestly, I think regardless of which one you pick you'll have a good system with plenty of stuff worth buying and playing.

PSP for console-quality gaming on the go + lots of decent multimedia features. The software library is smaller than the DS, but it has less shovelware.

DS for Nintendo's 1st party titles, access to the GBA library of software, and innovative software that makes use of the dual screens/touch screen setup. The software library is larger than the PSP but has god awful amounts of shovelware.

[BHvrd]

PSDS, it's the way it has to be.

[mnbren05]

Both are fun and if you have the means pick up both someday. I love my psp for umd's, and all my apps/wares. I also love my DS for excellent games like Mario Kart, Chrono Trigger, Elite Beat Agents, and others. So anticipation is building which one did you buy?

[kupomogli]

Well. The DS really isn't so special for having Chrono Trigger. My SNES has Chrono Trigger, and even though it was never released, my PSP also has Chrono Trigger :P.

For a 13 year old port, I think 39.99 is a bit much. I might buy it just to say I have it for DS, but that's once it hits 19.99.

I also understand the PSP gets alot of ports/remakes, but alot of these are collections and some actual remakes. Some of them are ports, which most of them I would get once they turn 19.99 as well, atleast if they ever came to the US. Unfortunately, Tales of Eternia and BoF3 didn't come to the US, so I have to import them someday, even though I already own the PSX versions. I've heard ToE has a bug in it that freezes at a specific point in the game except on the rerelease, so I hope that's the version I get when I do purchase it.

Ports on the DS worth getting though. Front Mission. It's the PSX version over the SNES version, so it has more on it. Although it's another game I have on my PSP, I still picked it up. Resident Evil. Amazing game and Masters of Knifing makes it so much better, so sure it's a gimmick, but it's one gimmick that is done extremely well on the DS. Chrono Trigger is also worth getting, but only if you really want to own it, I'd suggest 19.99. Same with Kirby Super Star Ultra(which will never be 19.99 as it's a first party Nintendo product so you might as well find it on sale or buy it full price.)

[poloplayr]

I have both and I can safely say that I have spent at least 100x as much time with my DS than my PSP.

[FxMercenary]

I decided to go with the Nintendo DS, but they were sold out of it. Ill pick one up soon!

[poloplayr]

Good boy. Trust me, you will NOT regret going with the DS.

[stargate]

I decided to go with the Nintendo DS, but they were sold out of it. Ill pick one up soon!

Good choice. :)

[Poofta!]

you can do a lot more with a psp. i say hunt down a psp-2000. you will EASILY have every single cart based game ever work on the consoles (well, not ds/n64, but still).

teh snes/genesis along with ps1 gaming flawlessly on the psp is worth it to me.

not to say the ds is a bad console, no no, i just actually use my psp more.

[Damaramu]

I own both. I play the PSP more thanks to the oodles of classic console emulation it can do. I don't use the PSP's other media features (like watching movies or listening to music). An 8gb or higher pro duo card is a must if you want emulation on the PSP.

[FxMercenary]

how do you mod a psp to play old games tho?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

how do you mod a psp to play old games tho?

Modification on the PSP is completely software/firmware-based.

It can be done with a software/hardware modified battery (called a Tool or Pandora) and a memory card containing special software.

It's probably best to have it done by somebody experienced (and have them walk you through it step-by-step)

BUT, if you're feeling adventurous and aren't afraid of the potential damage (usually reversible) that you could do to the system visit the forums over at www.psp-hacks.com for instructions.

[Poofta!]

how do you mod a psp to play old games tho?

requires a prehacked battery and memory card w/ some files on it. the whole process take like 15 minutes.

[otoko]

I use my DS more for playing games... I use my PSP for everything else...