Reasons to own a PSP, and there's 60 of 'em

It really doesn't make a difference whether the PSP is as good as the DS. The DS is selling twice as much, and is selling almost 10 times the amount of games.

DS > PSP.

Nuff said.

The real number one reason: You can watch "Little Man" on it.

Dude, Shane, you didn't have to be too harsh, take in mind that he is new to handheld gaming, its acceptable since the DS is far more famous than the PSP, but yah, synce, please next time do a better research, you ll find it surprising, but the PSP has quite good games.

The PS2 does not rock. However, some of its games do.

Will there be a "speed chess" game for the PSP?

Cell phones have Oblivion.

Take that PSP, nyah!

The argument that a PSP is not comparable to the DS on price is losing traction, however. While it is true that the base unit price of the PSP is more expensive than the DS by about $50, the games are often cheaper.

Think about it. For $30-$35, you can own Tetris on the DS. For $20, you can own Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. And GTA isn't the only example. Both of those Mega Man games, every one of the Greatest Hits titles, and so on. Even at $40, you are getting what's essentially a portable PS2 game, as opposed to roughly a Nintendo 64 or PSX game. Even if you don't care for GTA, you have to admit that in terms of sheer content, it is a better value than a simple Tetris game.

Part of the issue is that the DS is selling so well, Nintendo has no incentive to lower their prices. Sony, being something of an underdog, has the incentive to, in essence, underbid Nintendo.

I personally find the DS excellent for some games. Elite Beat, Meteos, Puzzle League, New SMB - these are all great titles. Others, like Metroid Prime and Starfox, are miserable. The whole mechanic of driving with the stylus and firing with a shoulder button looks great on paper, but painful in practice.

But, while I was initially cold to the PSP, there are some increasingly compelling reasons to own one. I happen to like Sony's franchises, the idea of a portable GTA interests me, Lumines is awesome, and those Mega Man games look awfully fun. At the same time - there's one huge reason I've avoided the PSP - the LOAD TIMES. Skilled developers should be able to mitigate some aspects of that, but there's no doubt that having to wait 10-20 seconds on a portable game is unacceptable.

@Scumdog

Apparently you missed the whole part where I defended DS, right? Apparently so. Way to fucktard your entire stance up.

Here is your first problem. You claim DS was the first touch screen console and I told you it wasn't and provided an example. It's not all PDAs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Pico

Second problem is you state PDAs didn't have dual screen. Technically, you are correct. However, several games did feature a fragmenting of the screen to access menu items and other such information. Also, DS wasn't the first machine to go dual screen either. It does still belong to Nintendo though as the Game & Watch.

And how come, everytime you chime it, it's to call me a tool, slam out some fanboy comments, and never stick around? In case you missed it, I've been pretty nuetral on this whole thing. It's just slack-jawed, knuckle draggers like yourself that keep me leaning more towards one side of the arguement.

@Noshino

Ouendon will never come stateside. Not only does it have to deal with the licensing rights to the songs, but there are a ton of japanese cultural aspects keeping Nintendo from bringing it stateside. US did get their own version though, it's called Elite Beat Agents... you own it.

Also, Jump Superstars will never come stateside. First off, it's created by Nintendo and they denied the Naruto games from coming stateside for the longest just because of an "unknown property" clause. And they didn't even develop that one. Jump Superstars features characters coming out currently in Japan. So obviously with US many years behind on that regard, Nintendo isn't going to bring the game stateside no matter how good it is.

I can't believe you used 'chums' in the article...
@Do you guys know what it means?
I mean... i'm curious, 'cause here in Quebec people use it a lot...(...)

about the psp... damn, mine got fuck'd up because I was playing with flash0.. Still, I had fun with it.
Can i still send it to sony to get it repaired?

Of all the 60 reasons that this page http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=65671&page=2 showed I don't give a shit about numbers 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 ,12, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59 and 60

geez some much hate for Metroid Prime Hunters. I guess the skilled players must have missed this thread.

I've never taken part in DS bashing before, so this will be fun...

can your DS be turned into a UMPC?
I type all of my notes at college on my psp with simple homebrew txt editor (that syncs with outlook btw) and a homebrew app that recognizes my IR keyboard.

for me, it's just the sheer "hey, this is nifty!" factor. it can play ps2 games one minute, browse the internet without piss-poor opera the next, type up any notes i need, and then top it all off my being a wireless emulator controller for my pc or turn my dvd player on and off. word.
-Bach

Ok, I felt the need to add more fuel to the fire.

I own both the DS and the PSP. I have no problem with either console, as each fills a niche as far as gaming needs go (for me).

What I like about the DS is that it has an interesting mix of games, both pick-up-and-play and serious long ones. Also, the DS with the M3 Movie Player, a Passcard, a 2GB MiniSD card and some creative searching and downloading from the net allows me to get all the games available for it (and even international games) for free.

THe PSP, on the other hand is a homebrew king. I have Dark Alex's infamous 3.02 Firmware and use my PSP primarily to Play SNES games that I did not have the chance to play the first time around, and now with Popstation, I can Play Parasite Eve, Breath of Fire III and other games that I could not enjoy or finish on the original Playstation. And, as a bonus, there are some (not a lot mind you) PSP games that are worth it.

So, to conclude,

DS: Commercial Games
PSP: Homebrew, and some Commercial Games.

Come on people, let's be a little bit videogame agnostic here, after all if you miss a great game because it is not in "your console" the one that loses out in fun is you.

My mom asked me two days ago if I wanted a PSP. Her reason was that she knew where to find one for cheap ($75).

I said no. My reason? I would never end up using it.

The very fact that PSP users have to play Nintendo games using homebrew instead of commercial games says alot.

Regardless of most fanboys say around here, the PSP may have good games, however, no one buys them. The PSP's attachrate is horrid. Barely anyone buys PSP games..

Why do you think that BRAND NEW Psp games end up getting price cuts the week after they launched?

@ldd

can you still acess the recovery screen?

Back before PSP and DS came out Sony had me wrapped around their finger. PSP seemed to me what handheld gaming had always aspired to be, finally a full gaming experience you could carry in your pocket. And the DS was a gimmicky toy with nothing better to offer than crap like Nintendogs.

But after hearing and reading other people's experiences I ended up buying a DS, specificially for Nintendogs (whoda thunk it?)! Which is not to say I didn't also want a PSP, it just hadn't grabbed me as hard and at the time it was a lot more expensive.

These days, DS continues to impress me. With Nintendo mainstays like Pokemon, games that can only happen on DS like Trauma Center, and games that show DS can handle action like Metroid Prime and Ninja Gaiden. PSP on the other hand, still a great system and the price is about even with DS now, but whenever I make a list of games I want on it they're all sequels or ports of games on PS2. It's not offering me anything I wouldn't rather be playing at home. PSP is NOT a failure but it's just a pocket sized copy of what 99% of us have already have in our house.

to those sying ds can only do crap 3d graphics i suggest you do a youtube search for brothers in arm for the ds you will say wow

It's interesting that this topic should be created today, because I've only recently got homebrew working on my PSP. Now I'm feeling this might actually get some play time.

... Because now I can play NES games on it. >_>;

>> Kritz

The PSP has always been a goodd game system,maybe not as good as the ds but alot of good games are for the PSP like God of War:Chain of Olympus.

Hey, where's Required at? He's, like, the ultimate PSP fanboy. I figured this would be akin to a giant Batsignal in the sky for him.

Anyway, I consider the PSP a failure in the same regard that the Gamecube was a failure. It has some great games, but mostly they're few and far between and it's been utterly crushed by the competition.
Especially given the expectations Sony set for it and the hype it had when it was released. They had probably the best shot anyone is going to get for years at taking down Nintendo and they completely blew it.

That all said, I don't own either and I don't intend to ever own either. I don't like portable systems. I mostly just don't like the small screens, but the fact that I'd have to dedicate myself to carrying it with me everywhere on the offshot that I'll want to play it is some weak sauce, too.
For that, I have Tetris, Luminies and Sonic Jump (which is actually enjoyable, for what it is) on my cell phone.

As far the the DS goes, though, I've always wondered...is it possible to use the touch screen as an analog stick? I know it isn't dual touch, ala iPhone, but I know you can use your fingers. I don't see why you couldn't...

28.
"" "Im 100% sure that the next PSP will have touch screen. Period. Alywas doing what Nintendo does."

And this is why I love you. Because the Game.com and PDA games never existed before Nintendo DS. ""

This has nothing to do with who used dual screens and touch screens for gaming first. It's just a matter of Sony seemingly copying whatever Nin does, no matter where Nin got the ideas from. Even though Nin didn't come up with it originally, Nin is credited with being the first to do dual screen and touch screen gaming very successfully on a mass market. Even at its height, PDA gaming was still a glimmer in the world market.

Just like, there's no diff that there have already been many dozen systems bef the PS1. It's still a great console

How many times does Sheppy have to say Game.com before someone listens?

I like the fact that if Joystiq post ANYTHING positive about Sony, immediately 2398472398473298473298 people says Sony sucks. I don't get it, can't we all just like games and agree to say, "Hmm the PSP is finally getting some great games. That's win-win for everyone."

Unless you own stock in one of these companies or you're a business executive (which would be sad for you to flame up these blogs with your bias) then give it a rest.

I own both a PSP and a DS and while I use the PSP daily I don't even think my DS battery is charged. There simply aren't any games worth playing if you aren't a 10 year old girl.

My reasons to own a PSP:

1) Wipeout Pure - Not only a great game, but downloadable content doubles the size of the game, it was a launch title and the killer ap that made me jump for the PSP.

2) 2 GB Pro Duo memory sticks are cheap. Picked one up for $55, a standard DVD can be ripped and stored in a little over 800 MB. So you can carry two full length movies with you at all times or a ton of 1/2 hour television.

3) Better games:

If you check GameRankings you'll find that the PSP may have slightly fewer games than the DS (308 vs. 320), but it has more games that are worth owning (49 that score 80% or higher vs. 40 on the DS) and it has fewer crappy titles (171 scoring less than 70% vs. 213 on the DS.)

The fact of the matter is that, yes, the DS may have more games, but 2/3rds of them (213/320) are garbage (scoring less than 70%).

If you go even deeper and count just the games that score 70% or higher, the PSP has 135 titles vs. 107 on the DS.

4) There are no hand-held titles that can compare to Valhalla Knights, the first Untold Legends, Killzone Liberation, Siphon Filter, X-Men Legends II, Metal Slug Anthology, Lumines, Me and My Katamari, or Dungeon Seige: Throne of Agony.

5) More RPGs.
PSP RPGs I own:

Astonishia Story
Breath of Fire III (UK Import)
Dungeon Seige: Throne of Agony (action RPG)
Kingdom of Paradise
Legend of Heroes I, II and III
Monster Hunter Freedom (action RPG)
Tales of Eternia (UK Import)
Untold Legends (action RPG)
Untold Legends II (action RPG, sucks unfortunately)
Valhalla Knights (action RPG)
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth
X-Men Legends II (action RPG)
Y's Ark of the Napthathahtehsm (or whatever it is)

DS RPGs I own:

Final Fantasy III (the reason I bought a DS)
Lunar: Dragon Song (quite possibly the worst RPG I've ever played. Running will drain your HP for example.)

That's it. Sure, there are other RPGs on the DS, but the majority of them don't even look as good as GBA games. Golden Sun I and II were great on the GBA, there's nothing that looks that good on the DS.

Don't even get me started on the "well, you can play GBA games on the DS." The GBA is a dead platform, there hasn't been a worthwhile game out for it in years. Golden Sun was 2001 for crying out loud.

Untold Legends - Children of Mana
Killzone Liberation - Metroid Prime Hunters
Siphon Filter -
X-Men Legends II - FF3
Metal Slug Anthology - Castlevaina
Lumines - Metroid
Me and My Katamari
Dungeon Seige: Throne of Agony.

Other Games

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Drawn to Life
Elite Beat Agents
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Nintendogs
Pokemon
Trauma Center

I've been hearing it had great games, but the Wii is already my fix for a low-powered console. That's the reason why I don't care for the PSP, I don't want console gaming on the go, simple as that.

"How many times does Sheppy have to say Game.com before someone listens?"

The game.com apparently had a lot of good ideas, executed in the worst way possible. I was unaware it had a touch-screen at all, prior to this discussion. And judging from wikipedia's write-up, it may as well have not had one, since it worked so poorly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.com

The PSP is a decent system with a lot of shortfalls to it that are baffling, given Sony's pedigree. It has always been a 'potential' device and it remains so. When some of the best reasons to own it are "can be used in a way the manufacturer never intended", "you can import some terrific games from another region" and "will have great functionality and games in another 6 months"...something went wrong, somewhere.

The PSP is two different devices: a competitor to the DS and a competitor to the iPod and smart phones. It's very difficult to win a two-front war, especially when you're a jack of all trades and master of none. The PSP comes with a lot of extra baggage and when the DS's top four titles have sold more than the entirety of the PSP's catalog, developers will notice.

This is why so many games on the PSP haven't captured big sales numbers: they fail at their intended goal. Most DS games are designed to be played in short bursts with frequent saves or short levels; most PSP games are PS1/PS2 ports that were not re/designed with that goal in mind...more than one of my friends has stated their disappointment that they can't just sit and play a PSP game for 5-10 minutes, but have to set aside time to play a PSP game. This is an important difference between the consoles. (Never mind that many games, like Me & My Katamari, suffered from the PSP's poor controls and rehashing of content they'd played just a few months (or a year or two) before).

At two years out of the gate, Sony still hasn't sent a clear message of what it wants the PSP to be, and with all the emphasis on getting the PS3 out the door, the PSP wasted on the vine. All of my friends who have PSPs don't really use them any more, as the upcoming games still suffer the same issues as the old ones.

CAN the PSP come back from it's setbacks? Sure. WILL it? I doubt it. Once a developer like Square/Enix starts moving their most successful franchise to another device, the sea change has already happened. Monster Hunter is popular, but it's too little, too late. When the DS has games that have sold 13 million, 9 million and 5 million copies and the PSP has a couple of games that have broken a million....well, the numbers speak for themselves.

Games: "The library features some real gems, such as Lumines, Wipeout, Grand Theft Auto, and Tekken: Dark Resurrection ... a quick look down the horizon reveals a plethora of Final Fantasy titles, a new God of War, Syphon Filter, Castlevania, Silent Hill, and more."

Another system had Wipeout, Grand Theft Auto, Tekken, Final Fantasy, Syphon Filter, Castlevania and Silent Hill. TEN YEARS AGO. It was called the PlayStation.

@Jordan Lund: "4) There are no hand-held titles that can compare to Valhalla Knights, the first Untold Legends, Killzone Liberation, Siphon Filter, X-Men Legends II, Metal Slug Anthology, Lumines, Me and My Katamari, or Dungeon Seige: Throne of Agony."

Since you brought gamerankings up, let's use that a little...

Valhalla Knights: 58%
Untold Legends: 70.3%
Killzone: Liberation: 80%
Syphon Filter: 87.1%
XMen Legends: 83.0%
Metal Slug Anthology: 78.5%
Lumines: 90.2%
Katamari: 75.8%
Dungeon Siege: 74.6%

More than half under 80%. Not a very good "nothing can compare" list.

great three toed sloth of ice planet hoth, you people complain a lot.

get the psp and the ds, both are great, both have great games.

@Dale

"Another system had Wipeout, Grand Theft Auto, Tekken, Final Fantasy, Syphon Filter, Castlevania and Silent Hill. TEN YEARS AGO. It was called the PlayStation."

Please don't be that guy. This arguement torches the hell out of Nintendo libraries. Fine... we have to go there.

Grand Theft Auto- Yes, because a 2D, top down, completely unfocused game like the original GTA compares with an immersive 3D world.

Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection- Tekken 5 has about as much in common with the original trilogy as Super Mario Brothers 2 relates to Mario Bros. The series has seriously grown up, join it?

Wipeout- If you cannot tell the difference between Wipeout and Pure, I don't know why you bothered to upgrade from a 2600.

Final Fantasy- I'd give you this one if not for Crisis Core.

Siphon Filter- Incomparable with the originals, yet again.

Castlevania- Dude, it's the Rhondo of Blood! Dracula fucking X! The missing chapter that set the stage for Symphony of the Night. Available for the first time in the US AND in English. Your shitting on this game is like saying "and why the hell do we need games anyway?" This is the lost chapter, man. The holy grail to vania fans!

Silent Hill- I'll give you this one but just because it's a remake. I should point out that when remakes end up on a Nintendo platform (REmake, MGS:TS), the tardcore often claim it's totally different because it's remade. When a playstation console gets it (NGS, Silent Hill), it's "old'd?" Oh well.

Now if you'll forgive me, I'll get back to waiting impatiently for SMGs. I know it made it's first home console debut on Atari 2600 but I do so love a Mario game. I just wish they would totally rename it or something so that fanboys can't attack it as an established franchise. That would be so annoying. Maybe they should rename him Derek. Super Derek Galaxy.... that works.

"Ouendon will never come stateside. Not only does it have to deal with the licensing rights to the songs, but there are a ton of japanese cultural aspects keeping Nintendo from bringing it stateside. US did get their own version though, it's called Elite Beat Agents... you own it."

heh, sheppy, I know that, it was from a japanese source that I first heard about the game, and well, if Nintendo REALLY wanted, they could go through all the steps need to get the game as it is, its just UP TO THEM.

"Also, Jump Superstars will never come stateside. First off, it's created by Nintendo and they denied the Naruto games from coming stateside for the longest just because of an "unknown property" clause. And they didn't even develop that one. Jump Superstars features characters coming out currently in Japan. So obviously with US many years behind on that regard, Nintendo isn't going to bring the game stateside no matter how good it is."

Like I said, it is really up to them to bring the game as it is to the US market, and if they don't, its because they are underestimating the market here, there are many (MANY) followers of games like Naruto or One Piece, and they should realize that bringing the game the game as it is to the US would be the best call, but I mean, its their choice to do so. Let me put you an example, Rogue Galaxy, it came in japan like a year before it did on the US, but guess what, the developer (Level 5) gave the US fans something for their wait, they added a whole freaking planet on the US version, now, I mean, I don't care if it takes them a while or not, I just want one of those great japanese games to come to the US, and all I would be doing if I import the game is keep feeding the need for them to keep such games in Japan.

"56. geez some much hate for Metroid Prime Hunters. I guess the skilled players must have missed this thread."

Oh, The skilled players went to some other game because they realized they were wasting their time and skills on MP:H :]

"62. The very fact that PSP users have to play Nintendo games using homebrew instead of commercial games says alot.

Regardless of most fanboys say around here, the PSP may have good games, however, no one buys them. The PSP's attachrate is horrid. Barely anyone buys PSP games..

Why do you think that BRAND NEW Psp games end up getting price cuts the week after they launched?

Posted at 11:23PM on Jun 10th 2007 by Beni"

Show me which games have gotten a pricecut A WEEK after they were launched? I don't know how barely anyone buys psp games, the psp displays are usually empty, it took me 2 weeks to be able to get Teken, the same happened with Megaman Powered Up and Siphon Filter.

"PS2. It's not offering me anything I wouldn't rather be playing at home. PSP is NOT a failure but it's just a pocket sized copy of what 99% of us have already have in our house."

err, I can play SOCOM, just a a few instant missions while Im on the way home, or DJ Max, the same with Killzone just a few pick and play missions, and if I have a bit more time just play campaings. There is always Metal Gear, Ratchet & Clank, SW, Ridge Racer, tekken, Medal of Honor, Megaman, Monster Hunter, Monster Kingdom, Lumines, LocoRoco, etc.

"Anyway, I consider the PSP a failure in the same regard that the Gamecube was a failure. It has some great games, but mostly they're few and far between and it's been utterly crushed by the competition.
Especially given the expectations Sony set for it and the hype it had when it was released. They had probably the best shot anyone is going to get for years at taking down Nintendo and they completely blew it."

sigh, I don't want to be rude, but you are a known xbox fanboy, so let see, if you consider the ngc a failure, then your xbox was the most awful console on Earth, PSP on its quite short life (2 years I think, correct me if wrong please) has sold over 20 million systems?

"Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Drawn to Life
Elite Beat Agents
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Nintendogs
Pokemon
Trauma Center"

Ok,

Oblivion
God of War
Disgaea
Silent Hill
Dungeon & Dragons
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core
Monster Hunter
The 2 Star Oceans for PSP
and last but not least the new Star Wars game that looks amazing, should I add other upcoming games? and take in mind that those are the high profile games right now, so we should see many more in the future.

personally, ive had alot more fun with my psp then my ds, the ds is good for a couple minutes of fun but if my gf wants to watch tv and i want to play some real games, ill pick up the psp , hate to bring it up again but the ds really is targeted more towards kids, hence why more kiddies have a ds then a psp

@WizarDru

Before I go into the Game.com touch screen versus Nintendo DS touchscreen, allow me to directly combat your million sellers for DS arguement. Keep in mind, wikipedia is slightly out of date (DS got two more million sellers since and PSP got five more million sellers).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best_selling_games#Nintendo_DS

The thing to notice... Final Fantasy III, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, and Tamagotchi Corner Shop are the ONLY third party games on that list. So you do have to wonder what kind of message that shows. You need to be long established franchises to even compare to Nintendo software? Now look at 360... how many are new franchises and not first party?

I mean, hell, Battlefront 2 is still selling well on PSP (week after week, makes the systems top 5 in US and Europe) and then people wonder why Battlefront 2.5 is PSP exclusive. And third parties have every bit the chance to be successful on PSP as Sony does. So unlike Wii, DS, GBA, Gamecube, N64, and Gameboy... companies can get a fairly large slice of the pie. Capcom must be shitting themselves with glee on the Xbox 360 considering the success of Dead Rising and Lost Planet. To compare, Capcom recently announced the Phoenix Wright franchise shipped 500,000 copies total as a "hooray" moment. Think about that. That's the franchise as a whole. That's games 1-3 on GBA and games 1&2 for DS in US and Japan...

Not saying DS isn't lucrative for third parties but there does seem to be a reason why the DS releases are often the afterthoughts. I mean, why invest millions creating the most immersive and elaborate adventure yet when Common Sense Training will kick your ass? Makes much more sense to spend $10K on a Lizzy McQuire license and drop $50K in development, and laugh as it turns a profit.

@WizarDru

Sorry for the delay, had to MAKE the comparison image.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c237/sheppyboy2000/ContactCompare.jpg

This is the main difference between the two touchscreens. At the time Game.com was released, PDAs were running $500-$600 dollars. Obviously Game.com could not use a PDA contact style screen just because of costs alone. So they had to go with "larger" contact zones which were also broken up into quadrants. If someone was really good, they could hit the zones, no prob. Most knew of the zones and could do pretty good. The people who had trouble were the people who believed touching anywhere is just fine. This Nintendo DS and Game.com both use the same style of touchscreen (contact based rather than magnetic based like a Wacom) which is why Nintendo DS is limited to a single contact point. Game.com, however, was not. Because of "lines" which seperated the contant point quadrants, a user could touch multiple locations with no problem. This solution, however, doesn't work well with many Nintendo DS games since there would be a "dead zone" between quadrants.

Also, you'll notice that, while the technology remains largely the same, Nintendo DS features a hell of a lot more of them. So Nintendo DS's advantage in this regard is NOT concerning new technology or innovation but rather coming out much later when this technology was not only more refined, but significantly cheaper.

I can't be the only one who is sick and tired of people always listing out a string of games for their system of choice in an attempt to prove superiority over the competition. Listing out YOUR favorite current and upcoming games is hardly an objective argument. Instead, it dissolves the argument into a dick-measuring competition.

There is also this adherence to Metacritic numbers as the end-all, be-all to game quality. There are many factors involved in the figuring of these scores, only one of which is a title's lastability. A game with a 95 score could be fantastic on the first run-through, after which you will never return to the game again. A game with a 75 score could hold a draw that allows for untold customization and replay value. A game that ranks in the upper echelons may in fact be a niche title in which only a few dedicated fans would find enjoyment, and likewise a game scoring a little bit lower could make the entire industry turn its collective head.

Of course, the opposite can also be true. The point is, stop. Please. I don't care if you went to Wikipedia and copy-pasted the list of current or upcoming titles, regardless of intrinsic quality and personal taste, as your brick-wall testimony. It's dick-measuring.

I use my PSP just about every day. My DS? Not so much. I just don't feel like most DS games out there are worth the money. I'll ask for one or two at Christmas or something, but it's been a couple years since I've bought a DS game. They're short and unimpressive. PSP on the other hand has lots of good titles, and they're often cheaper. And if you've got custom firmware, the PSP is MORE than worth the price of admission. Good UMD games + video and music capability + homebrew and emulators = unlimited uses for your PSP. I even bought a second one to get the homebrew going (I had updated the firmware on my first one) and I don't regret spending the extra money. Plus my girlfriend uses my old PSP now, and she likes it too. :)

@Sheppy: "Not saying DS isn't lucrative for third parties but there does seem to be a reason why the DS releases are often the afterthoughts. I mean, why invest millions creating the most immersive and elaborate adventure yet when Common Sense Training will kick your ass?"

That's a reasonable point, as far as it goes. The thing is, I don't think Capcom is jumping for joy over the success of Dead Rising...quite the opposite, in fact. The development costs of Dead Rising or Lost Planet in comparison to Phoenix Wright are far vaster than their selling prices. Can we expect a new Dead Rising every year? I mean, the first DS Phoenix Wright game was just the GBA game with one extra DS-specific case. THAT is why it didn't sell more in Japan...people already had it. Also, AFAIK, Gyakuten Saiban 4, the most recent game, just sold 500,000 copies BY ITSELF. The whole franchise has sold considerably more.

Your point about Nintendo dominating their own software charts is a valid one, but I would point out that this has ALWAYS been true for Nintendo, including the NES and SNES. If you remove Street Fighter II and DragonQuest from the sales charts, nobody breaks the top 10 for either of those consoles. Does Sony, as a company, produce fewer titles, which might account for the difference of who dominates on their sales charts? I don't know....but I can't help but notice that the PS1/PS2 sales charts are exactly the opposite, where SCEA doesn't even crack the top 10, except for Grand Turismo....and most of the top-sellers are all established franchises on EVERY console.

I don't think anyone can say with a straight face that the PSP is a failure...without being intellectually dishonest, anyways. But my anecdotal evidence is that all the folks I know are disappointed in the unit and all of them are still waiting for the game that makes them pick it up again. As my one friend said to me: "I can't play Wipeout Pure forever." It's not that the PSP doesn't have decent games...it just doesn't have games that my friends want to play or haven't ALREADY played in their original form.

Jay, homebrew fw is up to 3.40 oe right now. I play PS1 games and all the emulators my DS can't handle. Got a genuine 2gb mem stick off ebay for $20. PSP getting lots of attention from me atm.

I'm mostly a PC gamer, but the PSP is steadily becoming more attractive. Here are the reasons:

1. Tekken: Dark Resurrection
2. FFVII: Crisis Core
3. Dungeons and Dragons Tactics
4. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War
5. Dracula X Chronicles
6. Puzzle Quest
7. Metal Gear Soild: Portable Ops

Most of these games haven't been released yet, but they are all very compelling reasons I am beginning to think I need a PSP...

@83

Yeah, but using that logic we may as well shut down the comments section on Joystiq and not discuss anything. Pretty much anything you can discuss about any form of entertainment is going to come down to personal opinion. And the reason why scores from Metacritic and Gamerankings are so popular is because they basically represent the consensus viewpoint. No, I don't put much stock into any single review, but I do pay attention to the average scores. Chances are, if a game has a an average review of 58% it probably sucks. That doesn't mean that aren't people out there that like the game, but most likely will not.

@Vidikron

Please don't take my comment to the extreme. "We may as well shut down the comments section on Joystiq and not discuss anything." I did not suggest that. You KNOW I did not suggest that. Don't put words in my mouth.

What I am arguing against is this business of people copying and pasting release schedule lists or lists of personal favorites as the basis for their argument of quality in games. That's a very subjective position to take.

I am also arguing against this insistence that since, for example, PSP has ten or so more games that score above 80% than on the DS that it is the king of the handhelds. If the answer was that simple, there wouldn't be an argument in the first place, now would there? Since it goes back to the issue of personal choice over what kind of gaming experience floats your boat, one cannot make that call. Many of the latest Madden titles have scored in the high 80s and low 90s, but I know a lot of people on here don't care because they hate football games. Plus, we love to get on EA's case about each title being a simple roster update and whatnot. A score of ninety-whatever means squat if the game doesn't interest you in the slightest.

Playing Final Fantasy 7-9 on THAT screen?

That's almost like a slap in the face!

Those games deserve to be played on a 25 inch or above tv, with a comfy seat, a bottle of mountain dew (no cup on the side), a hot pocket, and large bag of chips.

No exceptions!

Even if the DS is selling more than PSP, you must realise, who are the people buying the DS? Little kiddies and grannies for brain games and Petz or Nintendogs.

Gamers want God of War: Chains of Olympus, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. Little kiddies want Horsez, Catz and all those childish, mindless dumb games.

The PSP is the true portable console. And stop wowing about the dual screen. Look at the DS and it is no more than a rehash of Game Boy. And like the name entails, DS is for littly boys and girls.

http://realtechnews.blogspot.com/2007/05/nintendo-ds-for-females-only-girly.html

http://realtechnews.blogspot.com/2007/05/more-casual-games-for-wii-ds.html