PSP load times analyzed

by Kyle Orland { Oct 19th 2006 at 2:50PM }

Long load times have been a concern for PSP owners ever since the system was released. But just how bad are those load times exactly? Gamespot decided to find out, measuring the time from system start-up to actual gameplay in more than 80 PSP games.

The results show the average PSP game clocking in at a whopping 103.4 seconds of load time, compared with sub-30-second load times for the average DS and Game Boy Advance game. Sports games were the worst offenders while puzzle games tended to be quicker on the draw. At just over four minutes, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 had the single worst load time in Gamespot's tests, a fact that should be unsurprising to anyone who's seen this video.

Interestingly, PSP games rated 9.0 and above by Gamespot had shorter load times than any other scoring range. Does this show that reviewers appreciate short load times, or just that better games tend to be designed to load faster?

While the tradeoff between loading times and storage space is always a tough one, we have to believe that a wait of close to two minutes is too long for a quick, portable game. What do you think? How long is too long to wait for a game to start?

(Thanks, HaloBreaker)

Tags: load, load times, loading, LoadTimes, portable, PSP

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Spilt_Milk @ Oct 19th 2006 2:55PM

Aren't they saying that the PLAYSTATION 2's load times are equal to the psp?

HAH!

crono141 @ Oct 19th 2006 2:57PM

2 minutes is definitely way to long.

Gamecube had almost non-existant load times for all its games, or the load times were cleverly hidden in transitions. The only game I can think of will decently long load times right off the bat are Fighting games (SC2, SSBM).

Same with savegames, BTW. Has anyone noticed that cube saves are almost instantaneous, VS PS2 saves?

Ozyman666 @ Oct 19th 2006 2:58PM

Speaking of load times, the load time for Splinter Cell Double Agent on 360 is considerable - nearly two and a half minutes from startup to playing.

fawazr @ Oct 19th 2006 2:58PM

But the PSP is a portable. Sometimees 30 seconds is too long a load time for a portable.

JodyAnthony @ Oct 19th 2006 2:59PM

console load times arent THAT much of a pain in the ass, but for a handheld, anything over 5 seconds is too much in my book.

i didnt read the actual article, but are they talking about title screens and all of that? because that throws their entire case off, if it is. It should be from 'press start!' to gameplay, not from system on to gameplay.

ProjectGSX @ Oct 19th 2006 3:01PM

Comparing PSP load times to DS load times is ridiculous. Its a optical disk based system vs. a cartridge system. OBviously the DS is going to load faster. Im surprised its ONLY twice as fast.

As a PSP owner, sleep mode is your friend. Its not a common occurance to actually load a game. You load the game and then play it for a few weeks or whatever without turning it off. Resuming from sleep mode takes seconds.

TwilightKnight @ Oct 19th 2006 3:01PM

In 30 seconds I could be playing Tetris DS, but that is off topic.

This is either a fault of the hardware or software. The developers can make the game load faster if they wanted to, but at the same time hardware limitations force longer load times regardless.

Pretty much just depends on how lazy the developer is and how shoddy the hardware is.

Tim @ Oct 19th 2006 3:01PM

All the PSP games I have load fast. Hell, Daxter only has to load when you first start the game.

LunarDuality @ Oct 19th 2006 3:03PM

Simply put: Load times are the deal breakers preventing me from being interested in a PSP.

I game in 30 second bursts at work walking from place to place and in the elevators and that is only possible with the sleep feature on my DS...instant on, instant off. My favorite feature on the DS.

joe smith @ Oct 19th 2006 3:10PM

I don't know exactly what is too long to wait, but 95% of my PSP games qualify. A handheld should be designed to grab and play. Not grab, wait, wait, wait, title screen, wait wait wait wait wait wait... play -- if the disc still loads after you have had it for a few weeks. Let's face it. UMD is a total pig. GIve me a PSP with WiFi ability to download games directly to flash and life will be good.

benjamin @ Oct 19th 2006 3:04PM

"Does this show that reviewers appreciate short load times, or just that better games tend to be designed to load faster?"

It shows that not being retarded can influence any number of aspects within a given game.

James Spiers @ Oct 19th 2006 3:08PM

It isn't just the startup load that is annoying though - I mean, why does the PSP have to load between levels on Strider for example? The whole game must surely be able to fit in its 32MB memory (rom, emulator and all)...

Martin @ Oct 19th 2006 3:07PM

I had a PSP and couldn't stand the load times (or the selection of software) Hell I hate buying games with lots of load times or long ones. I want to play FFXII But I heard of the frequent loading. I bought Psychonauts (praised as an amazing and great game) but I cannot play it because of all the damn loading!!!

Lorben @ Oct 19th 2006 3:08PM

This isn't a measurement of load times, is a measurement of how long it takes to get from off to playing the game.

*It includes system bootup time and menu navigation, not just load screen time*

For example, Lumines only takes 10 seconds to load, but they have it clocked at 55 seconds, because that's how long it takes for the PSP to boot up, navigate to though the start menu, and the game to load.

cyberfrog @ Oct 19th 2006 3:10PM

Depends on the game in my opinion. Games where you might restart a board often (such as ssx or breakdon) the load times make you grind your teeth. Within a linear game, it's not always too bad as long as they aren't too frequent. That's when you take bathroom breaks :)

HaloBreaker @ Oct 19th 2006 3:13PM

You're welcome. =)

Matt @ Oct 19th 2006 4:24PM

My friend has a PSP and he was trying to show me that Def Jam fighting game. He booted up the system, had to wait through some screens and started the level.

As we were waiting for it to load I showed him a complete level of NSMB on my DS.

pandlcg @ Oct 19th 2006 3:14PM

ProjectGSX said...
"Its a optical disk based system vs. a cartridge system. OBviously the DS is going to load faster. Im surprised its ONLY twice as fast."

It's not ONLY twice as fast, the average load times are more than three times as fast. Found by multiplying 30 by three and still being less than 103.4.

Danny Lewis @ Oct 19th 2006 8:11PM

Well, I don't have to worry about that anymore, I ebayed my POS PSP. Good riddance.

Player1 @ Oct 19th 2006 3:22PM

This is completely stupid. These are not load times, these are times to get to gameplay after booting as some have already said.

Why don't I take an hour naming my puppy in Nintendogs, then post a story about how it takes an hour for it to load?

And they don't give sleep mode enough credit. You can sleep at any point in a game and go right back to where you left off instantly.

Hunt @ Oct 19th 2006 8:56PM

I agree with the point that the load times are skewed since they talk about basically a full reboot to start. My question for the developers is this though:
Why not do dynamic and or background loading while the game is playing? Incremental loading can easily shorten that time. Honestly, one big game I'd love to get is B-boy for the PSP, but after I saw the video showing the load time, I may not get it now.

The ZeroCorpse @ Oct 19th 2006 3:32PM

Let us not forget that this was going against DS games that were cold-booting from the "off" state. Most recent DS games support the system's sleep mode, and the DS can remain in sleep mode for about two weeks before running out of power. When a game is in sleep mode, you need only flip open the DS, and the game is RIGHT THERE, ready to go, at the last point you were at when you closed the DS and put it to sleep.

I hardly ever turn off my DS. It's in sleep mode all the time (unless I'm playing it, obviously). If I'm in line somewhere- flip!- and I'm instantly playing New Super Mario Bros. or Club House Games. When my time is up, I flip it closed and go on with my life with my DS in my pocket.

THIS is why the DS is better. Try that with a PSP, and you won't have nearly as easy a time in a true portable setting.

The PSP is not a truly portable system. It's a battery-powered console with a built-in screen. It's not optimized for quick play, or long-term play, or easy transporting, or simple storage of the game medium. I can stick a DS Lite and several game cards in my pockets, and still not be overloaded. Try sticking a PS with a protected screen in your pocket, along with just five game UMDs. Not very comfortable, is it? Good thing you have a backpack and can stick your "portable" in there, where you can fish it out, power it on, and enjoy a few seconds of gaming every once in a while.

PSP is great for use in the home, when you don't have access to your TV, or need to play in a long stint in the bathroom. Otherwise, it's a worse portable than even the Nomad or Game Gear. Atari Lynx was a decade earlier, and still somewhat more portable! (cartridges FTW)

What should Sony have learned from the big N this time out?
* Disc media- especially proprietary disc media- is NOT appropriate for a portable game system.
* An unprotected screen is just a invitation to force the end user to make the system even more bulky and unwieldy after they put it in some sort of protective case.
* Battery life is the BE-ALL, END-ALL of portable device concerns. Short = Bad.
* If you can't put in a pants pocket safely, then it's not very portable.
* Games shouldn't cost the same as full-sized console versions.

Will they learn? Probably not.

SecondChance @ Oct 19th 2006 3:37PM

Yup, exactly as advertised. PSP is THE pick up and play portable console.

number40one @ Oct 19th 2006 4:47PM

hell, I get up and leave my PC if it takes more than 45 seconds to do ANYTHING!

Aex @ Oct 19th 2006 3:45PM

I don't think its the PSPs fault, I think its the developer's. The boot up into the XMB from a hard power off does take abou 20-30 seconds, but really you only have to do that once.

Sleep mode on the PSP saves battery much better than sleep mode on the DS. I can sleep my PSP for 2 days, pick it up and have the same charge I had when I slept it. The DS Lite is a different story, I sleep that for a day and my battery is out.

Lumines loads extremely fast and can pull away hours of time easy. Games like Madden tho, can take a good while inbetween loads, but you can definately see they improved load times from 2006 to 2007. Dead Head Fred is supposed to have very low to zero load times from what the developer has said.

Tho, Some load times make some games unplayable, and it is unfortunate that most of the developers don't find ways around this. UMDs make it harder than a Cartridge. But hey, 4gig Mem stick + v1.5, and you can CSO your games and reduce loads to about nil :)

Player1 @ Oct 19th 2006 3:40PM

Have problems with the PSP battery life? Easy solution:

1. Turn you wifi on power save mode
2. consider getting an extended life battery
3. use a charging cradle

Problems solved. I have a hard time believing the DS never needs to be charged.

Flit @ Oct 19th 2006 3:45PM

My ds lite hasn't been charged for 3 weeks, granted, i only play it about a half hour every other day, but it FEELs like forever. Even with the screen on the brightest settingMy PSP on the other hand, shouldn't have to:

3. use a charging cradle

It is a portable system after all.

Not to mention my PSP only has 4 games i want to play on it. WTS PSP with 4 games, PST.

randomshagz @ Oct 19th 2006 3:54PM

Just buy both systems. While you are waiting for your PSP to load you can play 30 sec of DS. Problem solved.

Seroth @ Oct 19th 2006 3:55PM

This is proof that the DS is a superior handheld. The PSP is not a "handheld", but a portable console...

Ryan LN @ Oct 19th 2006 3:58PM

Two minutes is infinitely too long to wait for a portable game, as portable games by their very nature are meant to be played NOW, usually in between doing tasks that you really should be doing instead of gaming (e.g. working, like I should be doing right now). I remember when I first got my PS2 and I played Grand Theft Auto III, and the load times seemed interminable- but I came to incorporate them into my routine: fire up the PS2, go to the kitchen, pop a bag of mircrowave popcorn, grab a diet dr. pepper, carefully arrange pillows for back support and I was on my way. With a handheld, typically all there is to do while I'm waiting for load times, is... wait. Still, when it comes to the PSP I don't think load times are the problem when it comes to consumer acceptance: the answer always begins and ends with games. If the games were all, mostly, or even 40% must-haves, no one would complain. I have been reasonably underwhelemed by PSP's lineup, and while I think it may just be one of the coolest-looking video game inventions in recent memory, its marginal utility and lack of compelling software make it a non-starter for me- load times be damned.

Player1 @ Oct 19th 2006 4:00PM

Flit,

You don't have to use a charging cradle. I'm saying if battery life is a problem, a charging cradle helps. Even if it isn't it helps. It's just easier to set it on a charger than to plug it in. The DS even has charging cradles. But if they thing's just sitting there and battery life is a problem, it might as well be sitting on a charging cradle.

As far as the games, there may be only 4 you want to play, but there's only about two DS games I'd want to play and I've already played them on every other Nintendo system ever.

UNCCShannon @ Oct 19th 2006 4:06PM

One thing I hope is that this is not a sign of things to come from Sony. Afterall they will be using a brand new disk drive and format. Lets hope all of that doesn't cause longer load times on the PS3.

R @ Oct 20th 2006 8:10AM

That's why I keep mine in sleep mode. Load times are not a problem.

Joe @ Oct 19th 2006 4:29PM

My friend has a DS and he was trying to show me that NSMB mario game. He booted up the system, had to wait through some screens and started the level.

As we were waiting for it to load I showed him a complete level of Donkey Kong on my Game & Watch.

muppy @ Oct 19th 2006 4:29PM

There are just as many mediocre games on the DS as there are the PSP..but it's bullshit like this that makes me appreciate my DS Lite all the more.

Oshi @ Oct 19th 2006 4:35PM

The only bad load times I can complain about with the DS...

Is download play in Bleach DS.
I think it took like 5 minutes to load up a four-player game.

James @ Oct 19th 2006 4:38PM

I'd love to see that same comparison with a third column: PSP games loaded from MSPD. I have Ys (the action RPG). From the UMD, the load time was basically so bad as to make the game unplayable. At several points in the (early) story, you have to backtrack across several (5-10) screens where you have already been. It might take 10-30 seconds to walk, then a minute to load the next zone! Times 10! Ick. So I ripped the game and played it through DevHook. BAM. Smooth as buttered silk, load times drop by an order of magnitude. It's really crazy. Now I spend most of the time playing instead of sitting around. Now, IANAL, so I can't advise you if it's legal per se to play your (purchased on UMD) games off the memory stick instead, but it's undoubtably moral, and that's good enough for me.

Also, I wasn't crazy about the methodology these guys used -- it would have been much more informative if they had, say, played a half hour or so of "average" gameplay, and clocked how much of that was spent staring at a "loading" screen. If I wanted to play, say, Loco Roco, looking at their number of 115 seconds sounds terrible, but if it never makes me wait for a load again and I can play for 2 straight hours, I would put up with that -- I have no idea if it *does* that, but I'd put up with it if it were the case. If, however, say Astonisha Story (51 seconds) took a minute every time I walked from one screen to the other (like Ys did), I would return it to the store the next day -- again, just a hypothetical, don't know if that's true. Anyway, I think "Average Load Time" is a very valuable metric to have for portable games, but I'm not sure I like the way they got their numbers.

Edgey @ Oct 19th 2006 4:46PM

Uh..DS loading times? I only remember waiting on Metroid Prime Hunters and Animal Crossing. I never played those games more than once, anyway. :)

Ian @ Oct 19th 2006 10:44PM

You have to remeber by "load times" they mean how long it takes from when you turn the PSP on with the game in till you play. So going through menus, the PSP's "main start up" with the white screen and all, and the publisher and developer logos, not to mention loading your previous game save, are all included in that as one big load time.

JetJaguar @ Oct 19th 2006 5:26PM

Once again Joystiq sends a chum-line down (spot the 'Jaws' lovin' 30-something) to ensure the trolls don't miss breakfast.

Yes, the PSP can sometimes be slow, but - as many contributors have noted also - there is always sleep mode (which I never use, btw). Like some of the other semi-regulars here I'm old enough to remember Ninty's 'Game & Watch', and the PSP has never pretended to be an a G&W 'instant-on-instant-play' games system. PSP has always been a portable entertainment d'vice, with the emphasis on entertainment (I think) generally. Video, music and photo light up like a Christmas tree as soon as you switch on.

That said, some of the load times for early games were ludicrous (NFL Street anyone?), but that's pretty much to be expected with early games on any disc-based system. The load times have been dropping with every new iteration since launch.

Mobat @ Oct 19th 2006 6:28PM

I’m really surprised at this commentary.

The PSP has sleep mode just like the DS. I load a game once and put it into sleep when I stop play. Two days later I can pick it up click it on and instantly the game is there and ready to go.

If you can’t handle one minute of loading then you have some attention issues. Life could be better but it isn’t, you can either deal or shut up.

I am an avid Nintendo fan boy, but seriously guys you don’t think everyone knows the DS loads faster? Get off your high horse put your pink ds away and try and contribute something in the comments that is constructive and meaningful.

DCD @ Oct 19th 2006 6:55PM

To Zero Corpse, what you say about the DS's sleep mode is EXACTLY the same as the PSP. All the fan boys and flamers just ingore what they don't want to read on this site.

I have been playing Metal Gear Acid 2 for the past month. I NEVER turn my PSP off, it's just striaght into sleep mode then I flick the power switch up and boom game time. It's the same as the sleep mode in my DS. It's great I'm playing MGA2 on my PSP and Phoenix Wright on my DS and either one can instantly load in under a second when I want to play.

I have never once had my PSP run out of battery in a day. I just chuck it on the charger at night and it's good to go the next day. Sure the DS can go a week without a charge, but as long as it's not crapping out while I'm trying to play it then theres no problem.

Lekko @ Oct 19th 2006 7:34PM

Personally, DS games are great because of zero load times, so it is far faster to jump into a game, which is great. On the other hand, PSP does have sleep mode, and if you actually OWN a PSP rather than just bash it, you'd know that turning off the system completely is a pretty dumb move.

That's like saying "load times on the 360 are horrid because I have to re-wire my 360 to the TV every time I want to play". You basically load up the game once, then suspend once you are playing. I have had star wars battlefront on on and off suspend for the last few weeks, just jumping in and out of games. Granted, it does take about 10 seconds to load a level (after beating one, not from suspend), but then I am playing for the next 10 minutes or longer depending on how I set it up.

I've never heard of someone turning on a game, then turning it off halfway through a load screen and not play the game because it was taking too long. Load screens happen, get some ritalin and cope.

The thing about the DS that I dislike though, is that the gameplay, while fun and quick, feels shallow. Starfox Command is a perfect example. Once you get into the game, you realize that every level is a square map with not much real variation. The strategy part is a good changeup, but not nearly enough. Same with many of the other games on it like Kirby's Canvas curse, Yoshi's touch and go, and all the other ones I have played. The games are great fun, they just have no depth in my opinion. I mean, past the initial gameplay mechanic and first quirk or two, the game is all the same. I'll be picking up Castlevania soon, and that game should be much better.

Neither system has really hit on my own portable gaming nirvana yet, but both have their own strengths that they play to. If I am going to be playing for a minute burst every few seconds getting constantly interruped, I pack in my DS. But if I am going to have a 30-minute break at work, I bring my PSP.

ttr @ Oct 19th 2006 8:42PM

This article isn't just about load times. It's about the total time it takes from turning on the system until you actually get to the gameplay. I think the company brand movies and copyright info screens are the worse contributor to this, rather than load times.

Take X-men Legends 2 for instance. When you start up the game, there's 4 company logo movies, each about 8-10 seconds long. There's a Marvel logo, Ravensoft logo, Activision logo, another with various copyright info. And then after all that, there's the skippable intro cinematic to the game.

So that's 4 unskippable logo movies, which don't even need to be movies taking up 30-40 seconds. I don't care that the marvel logo comes onto the screen in a neat animation with some sound. These movies should be skippable, or at least not so long. And this is the game developer's fault, not the hardware's fault.

JBGUY2K @ Oct 19th 2006 8:44PM

@18
"And they don't give sleep mode enough credit. You can sleep at any point in a game and go right back to where you left off instantly."

hahaha, are you serious, man? Sleep mode is a joke! With the DS all you have to do is close it and it does that for you. It's nothing more than standby and when you open it back up, you can just continue playing when you turn it back on. Technically, it's nothing new there.

FuzzyPickles @ Oct 20th 2006 3:40AM

Load times don't bug me too much. But every time I play someone else's PS2, it reminds me how much I love my GameCube. Half load times, and half the position of the left analog stick, I suppose.

NoHitHair @ Oct 20th 2006 3:59AM

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Unhappy_Achievers.html

Actual and unaltered loading time of PSP's Smackdown Vs. Raw. As a fair warning, it's quite painful to watch.

iocomposer @ Oct 20th 2006 7:31PM

Daxter has no load screens and looks better than almost everything out there, so it evidently has nothing to do with the hardware. It just seems that most PSP developers either don't know what they're doing or simply don't care. I sure hope Ready At Dawn makes another fantastic game like Daxter.