Sony PSP to hit Europe in september

I have played Ridge Racer on both handhelds, and at this point am more impressed with the DS version. The PSP version has video, which is lacking on the DS, but the game itself does not look appreciably different and the load times are horrible on PSP! It took me two minutes to even start playing the game from when I turned it on!

From what I hear, new tools are available to developers to give the DS the same video advantage, so if they do a Ridge Racer 2, I do not expect much difference, really. I'm just not that patient a person.

Yea I saw both versions of ridge racer and the DS version does look to be alot more fun. Seeing as how you steer by turning the wheel with the touch-screen.

Heh, well said "fryhole", especially considering the comments from utalkshit or what ever that numpty was called.

Anyways, I've got a point here regarding the fact it's a watered down PS2, and something for us DS orientated commenters:

Nintendo announced the GameCube Mini at E3 and not the Game Boy Micro. This new GCMini was basically a handheld Cube, it had an emulated (poorly) analogue stick, could run for half a dozen hours and could play GC discs but with fairly reduced quality. It would cost three times the Cube.

I honestly don't think I'd get the thing, sure it would be cool and I'd maybe wait years for the next system and pick it up cheap for my collection.

Now consider this, you had to re-buy the games - would I get it, not in a month of Sundays.

That's basically how I stand on this situation, I'm seeing nothing much beyond that above situation here with the PSP. Again I've got a PS2 so what need do I have for paying so much money for the PSP?

I admit I swing much closer to the Nintendo camp than Sony, not exactly a big fan of Sony - but heck they still get good games which is what this is all about. I just don't see the point in laying down £220 (around $400) for a PSP and Lumines, what's next? Where's the next big game?

I see a very tasty release list and very soon for the DS but despite looking I see very little on PSP, GT and GTA - why bother when I've bought the PS2 versions?

I have both DS and PSP. Each have its strength and weakness.

So far I find DS has better games than PSP, the games are more innovative (Eg: such as Wario Ware). Super Mario 64 are not bad. I also just ordered SD Gundam G Generation DS. I am also looking forward to Nintendog (I pre-ordered it), Metros Prime, Mario Kart and Electroplankton. This kind of make sense since DS was launched last November. It took Nintendo a while to get some good games out in my opinion. I bought Super Mario and Ridge Racer at launch and haven't bought any new games for DS until last month. The touch screen thing is cool for some games, but it also doesn't work out that nice for some games.

PSP is great if you don't have a mp3 player(one of the reason why I got it). The movie feature is a nice addition, but I rather watch movie/anime on my laptop. It's graphic is better than DS in my opinion. There's a very large difference between the Ridge racer for PSP and DS in terms of graphics. I believe PSP is not at its full potential yet. Sony capped it at 222MHz at the current firmware. They will probably unlock the cap to PS2's speed (around 300MHz) later. The biggest problem of PSP right now is that it lacks good titles. Maybe it's because it was just launch at March. I am really sick of only seeing all these sports/racing games from EA. I hope they will have some good RPG and action games soon! (like Tales of Eternia, or Tenchu!) I would wait for PSP to get better games then get it. It's a good system, but it just lacks the games. Hopefully Sony will realize this just like Nintendo. In my opinion, Nintendo suffered the same problem with games during the DS launch just like the PSP does right now.

You gotta be joking. Ridge racer DS has no gameplay difference to ridge racer PSP.

"Yea I saw both versions of ridge racer and the DS version does look to be alot more fun. Seeing as how you steer by turning the wheel with the touch-screen."

How can something look more fun anyway? Ridge racer is exactly the same game, just with worse graphics. Also the stylus on ridge racer sucks! Its frustrating, after a few minutes trying to drive a car with a freakin pen, i just went back to the d-pad.

So if I had a choice between two games which play exactly the same, I would choose the one with higher quality sound and graphics.

I also have both the DS (euro) and the PSP (jap). I got the DS the first day it came out, back in March, and I got the PSP just 3 days ago.

A short description of the machines would be: the DS is a very interesting piece of hardware with a lot of potential for truly innovative games, whereas the PSP is the ultimate hackable machine.

Out of every single system available (game consoles and PC), the upcoming games for the DS are the ones I'm more interested with. They're different. I used to play a lot, but I'm not playing nearly as much as I used to do before (maybe because I'm busier, but also because the games kept repeating themselves). However, I'm really excited for games like Nintendogs, Electroplankton, Meteos, etc., because they bring a breath of fresh air to the gaming world. Current PSP games are fine (I've only tried WipeOut Pure and Puzzle Bobble, and I really want to get my hands on Lumines and Metal Gear Ac!d), but I can't think of a single game right now which I'm anxiously looking forward to, besides Burnout Legends. They all seem normal games gone portable, which is okay, but nowadays most games are crap IMHO.

The DS is a robust piece of hardware. I've played with it at the Metro/Subway/Tube/whatever you may call it, and I've never been afraid of breaking it. It's not pretty and sometimes playing with the stylus while standing up inside a moving train may feel awkward, but overall it's OK to carry around. Besides, battery life is a killer: I can use it for a long time while commuting and in between class periods, and I only have to recharge it once every 2 or 3 days.

I haven't been able to test field the PSP yet, but before doing so I'd like to buy a case. I'm pretty sure that the screen and the UMD mechanics aren't as solid as the DS. Until I test it on my normal day basis I can't comment on on-the-go usability. I'm afraid of battery life too: I wouldn't like to run out of battery in a long commute. However, since most of the time I carry a bag around, I wouldn't have trouble to bring the charger with me, and at the university I wouldn't have trouble either finding a plug. But I wouldn't bring it with me on a camping trip, unless I had a set of already charged batteries. Well, when I go camping the only gadget I carry is my cell phone, but some people might want to consider this point.

As for non-gaming issues: PSP is the way to go. I haven't tried the Play Yan (I'd like to), but you can't compare the DS screen with the beauty of the PSP. And the sound (with ear plugs) is amazing. The only problem is that Memory Sticks are ultra expensive (Sony is a frustrating company), but if you can afford a big one, then go for it. Video is the selling point of the system: I don't have any UMD movies, but combine PSP 9 Video + Videora and you can have as many shows as you want (which is my main source of entertainment, since I don't watch TV; I mostly see anime fansubs). And you can rip your own movies and put them in the PSP. Photos are a plus, and music playback is OK but very limited because of storage and battery life, as well as supported codecs.

Finally, homebrew: I must say that I don't have a flash cart for the DS, so I can't run any homebrew software, but I'm planning to get one once I get enough money (and buy the many things I wanna but before :P). My PSP has the 1.50 firmware, and I couldn't be happier: enhanced music playback, enhanced photo viewer which lets me play music at the same time (combine it with software like Paperless Printer and voil?eBooks on your PSP!), homebrew games including a Doom port (I've heard you can run Quake and Quake 2 too! I haven't investigated yet) and, of course, emulators, with ScummVM on the top, which works surprisingly well given it's early development state (it won't let you save the game yet though). If someone releases a stand alone web browser combined with a wifi hotspot locator, I wouldn't even need to get a laptop! (I don't have one, but I'd like to get a TabletPC sometime later this year or next year).

As for price: In order to fully enjoy the PSP you need to get both the console and a big MS, which is a lot of money compared to the DS.

Conclusion: I want to play with the DS, and I want to screw around and do random things with my PSP, with some occasional gaming. I don't regret buying any of them, but I wish the PSP were more affordable.

Now a few questions: in order to run homebrew on the DS, do I need a GBA flash cartridge or is it possible to run code from the Play Yan? Does anyone know which games will upgrade the PSP firmware and wether there's any software which avoids the patching?

If you have a PSP dont even bother running homebrew on your DS, theres no point.
Its funny how people bash the mp3 and movie playback capabilities on the PSP, can the DS do any of them? I dont think so.
And Devil May Cry has been announced for PSP at E3. God of War is just my speculating, and good speculating at that.
And really, dont ever say Ridge Racer for the DS looks just as good as the PSP or more fun then the PSP because you can control a freakin steering wheel with a stylus. It only makes you sound stupid. Good read a few reviews. Here i'll help you out.

DS
http://ds.ign.com/articles/569/569969p1.html

PSP
http://psp.ign.com/articles/596/596781p1.html

benhc911, you have a PSP yet you hate everything about it. You must blindly buy products. The battery life, the games, the 32mb memorystick, the price, you could of found all this out before you made your purchase but I don' believe you have one anyway. And why do people compare the PSP to and MP3 player like the Ipod. There is a £179 PSP that’s a game machine that has near PS2 quality graphics and has the ability to play MP3's and Movies. And you have a 4th gen 20GB Ipod around £200 that can store 5000 songs but doesn't play games or movies. If I could only afford one of the two, I choose the PSP any day. If Apple announced a new Ipod that could play near PS2 quality games and has movie playback on its 20 GB HD (that'll be good) then what price do you think this new Ipod would cost? I bet it'll be more than £500.
Fortunately I can afford the Ipod as well, not sure if I'm going to get the Ipod weighing up other alternatives and reading reviews. I'm also gonna get a DS at the end of July so I can come in here and say that both handhelds are great and I get enjoyment out of both of them.
I will admit I learn a little towards Sony and I do want them to win but at the same time I want Nintendo to do well too, not Microsoft though, I'll never forgive them for designing windows to be crap. I won’t deny that the Xbox is good.

"I'm quite suprised at how many comments here are relitivaly open, not the generic "your system sucks!", and quite well thought out. Thank you for that (except for "ulotofchatshit", keep it too yourself dude)."

Hey asshole you only say this because you know I'm right and whatis written in my previous post describes you.

Hahaha. someone actually thinks that the DS version of Ridge Racer both looks and play aswell as the PSP version, it was a joke right? Ridge Racer DS was one of the first games I got for my DS and I have to say it is by far the worst so much so that it was the first game I evr Ebayed. The PSP version is superior in every way loads more and better tracks, way better handling, nitrous, more cars and wayy, way better sound and graphics. I mean, to me this is probably the second best racer I've ever played behind Burnout 3 (I don't like racing simulations).

The DS has quite a few good games and I do enjoy games like Pac Pix quite a lot but to say that a POS port of the worst evr Ridge Racer game created is one of them is stupid.

Seriously why are Australians & Europeans getting ripped off. 179£ which is equivalent to 310US. CAn someone tell me if this is for the complete pack or the basics. In Australia,its a 295US equivalent price, but every pre-order you get the special platinum PSP!

Sony says that they are making a 50US loss on all psp's sold in the Us and Japan, yet it makes that up in the rest of the world, i reckon.

But i can't wait. September is too far away.

"Only Those Who Have Been In Hell, Sees The Heaven"
Blizzard ? WTF? Comming to PSP!!!! DIABLO 2 AND STARCRAFT WILL REBORN IN HADHELDS !!!!!!!!!

From where I stand, the PSP is like somebody taking something that currently exists for stationary use only, spending a bunch of money to make it smaller, portable, and have a bunch of rubbish features, and then releasing it bound to get the same games you could get on the existing machine only for 100$+. Hey wait.....


But anyways, if you heard or saw any coverage of e3, you'd know the DS has the hottest line up of the year, meanwhile the PSP has about 3 or 4 noteworthy games coming out. Most people seem to think GTA will have the same affect on the PSP as it did the PS2, except of course, they forget GTA3 came out about 4 years ago. People bought a PS2 to play GTA3 because the gameplay and freedom offered in the game were new. So now the PS2 has a huge GTA fanbase built up, so any sequels that come out are going to sell like hotcakes on the PS2. Do you really think anybody is going to want to plunk down 100$+ on a portable version of the same game? They've already got it on PS2, I dont think that much money for the game on the go that you can only play in short bursts and with a lessened experience is very enticing. People who already own a PSP will most likely buy the game, but GTA:LCS will not be a system seller, I'm sorry to break it to you in such a logical and intelligent way.

ok so the psp and ds are both pretty pimp but i say if you can get both because it is like this i have a regular nintendo a supernintendo a snes n64 a playstaytion (dont mind the spelling) a ps2 an x box and a game cume and a game boy pocket gameboy colluer and a sp and a ds and a psp and eveutaly 360 ps3 and revlution because they all offer different games the psp has barley any games the same as playstaytion like gta liberty city stories and gta libertycity are diff so i also bought the game cube for mario besause those are fun and xbox for halo ps2 for gta all different games none of them can compare to eachother