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Monday February 7, 2005 5:58 pm
Why Sony’s PSP Will Suck
We’ve had a tremendous response to our last article on the PSP…so much so that we had to write about Sony’s upcoming handeld again. But in the spirit of objectivity, we’re obligated to show you the other side of the coin…the side Sony doesn’t want you to see. As much as the PSP has been praised, we’re not blind to its faults. In fact, people may have more reasons to hate it than to love it come March 24th.
By the way, do you have thoughts on whether the DS or PSP is the better platform? If so, chime in on the forums.
Let’s talk first about the recently announced price. $250 is a big slap to all of our faces. Not because the PSP isn’t worth the cash, but because of all the useless accessories Sony decided to bundle with the system. Apparently Americans are too stupid to purchase better alternatives for themselves. They need to be spoon-fed everything. News Flash Sony: When I bought my Playstation2 it didn’t come bundled with a memory card. I had to buy that on my own. It also didn’t come with a bundled movie to show off the DVD capability. Because of all the accessories, Sony had to raise the price to $250.
1 GB Cards are so expensive. Sandisk offers the cheaper variety, but even those will run you close to $150. And you’ll need a 1 GB if you plan on enjoying a decent amount of MP3’s on your handheld, or if you plan on watching movies with it. Some of the movies I have encoded to MP4 are larger than 650 MB, so a 512 MB card isn’t an option. SD cards are half the price, and even cheaper after rebates. But no, Sony wants to shaft the public with their proprietary standards once again. In fact, if you decide to purchase a 1 GB Sony Pro Duo card, you’ll be paying more than $300. Go you!
The games are going to range from $40 to $50. Awesome, so after they gouge us with the system price, they gouge us again with the software. And this is UMD we’re talking here folks. It doesn’t cost Sony much to put out these diskettes, as compared to physical cartridges on other systems.
There’s no killer app. How many times have we already played Ridge Racer on our home systems? Same for every other game being released near the launch window: they’re all ports (with some fancy mini games to avoid Sony’s no-ports rule). Even the game I want the most: WipeOut Pure rehashes four levels from previous installments. Where is the SSX of the bunch? Where’s the Halo, the WaveRace64, the Soul Calibur, the Resident Evil 4? I don’t mean these franchises, but I mean a title that says: “You want me now, and you will spend $300 of your hard-earned cash on me.” The closest thing we’re getting to something unique is Mercury, and that doesn’t even have randomly generated puzzles, so replayability is questionable.
Movie conversion to MP4 is a royal pain. It takes three pieces of software: one to rip a film , one to convert it to AVI, and yet another to convert the AVI to an MP4. Here’s the best part. No one has figured out how to get movies to the native resolution of the PSP wide-screen. So when you’re playing your MP4, you’ll need to stretch the video to get the ratio right. It still looks decent, but it’s not native and therefore not as good as it could have been. Rumor has it that Sony sloppily borrowed the MP4 utility from its Clie PDA software suite. Thanks.
The headphone and remote cord is a travesty. Okay, let me see if I can find the logic here. The color for both these items is white. Sony figured that you needed to be down with the iPod crowd, so they chose a similar color, which will make you look as cool as those Apple commercials will lead you to believe. Except if you look at the color of the PSP itself, it’s….well…it’s black. The cord colors don’t even match with the system! You won’t get the best sound out of the included earbuds either. Yeah, I know I was shocked too.
Music organization doesn’t exist. The PSP does not let you sort your music by artist, genre, date uploaded, or other ID3 tags. You place them all in the same directory, and will basically need to scroll and select each song you want to hear. Either that or be subject to a “shuffle” option that will juxtapose your gospel tracks with your gangster hip-hop. Sweet Lord, please let there be a firmware update soon.
We’ll need to wait for a better battery. If you forget to charge your PSP at night, you’re basically up the creek until you find a wall outlet the next day, especially if you’re using it for all the functionality it’s supposed to have. That bright screen comes at a steep price. You’re getting only about 10 hours of music playback, and maybe 5 hours max of game playing time per charge. Well, you can always purchase a second AC adaptor to leave at your job just in case.
The system will not boot up straight to the XMB interface if you have a game installed. In other words, say you don’t want to play the game loaded on your system and want to play a song or a movie instead. Well, you’ll need to either boot up the game first and then exit, or the more popular approach, pop the eject button, turn on the system, and then close the game lid once you enter the XMB. This is laughable at best. Sony should have included an option to jump straight to the XMB if you hold one of its buttons.
The PSP will suck every drop of oil in your fingers and apply them directly to the screen. When a system comes with a wipe-down rag to erase the smudges you’ll get, you know something is wrong. Where are you supposed to keep the rag when you’re not using it, anyway? I know some of you PSP fanboys already have a personal answer for this one for me.
No second analogue stick. Just when EA begins the love-fest with the second stick on the standard PS2 Dual Shock pad, Sony rips the option away, completely changing the control dynamic for some of our favorite games. What would it have hurt to make the PSP just a little bit wider to accommodate this glaring omission? Oh, and in case you haven’t heard Sony’s Ken Kutaragi defending the PSP design yet, many people are experiencing problems with the system’s square button, which has been a little unresponsive due to it being so close to the LCD screen.
The pouch that comes with the system is a joke. Not only is it too thin to offer any significant protection against bumps and bruises, it’s also too small to fit any other accessories in it, like any extra UMD games you’re going to want to carry around. To add further insult, the pouch doesn’t zipper up, so if you tilt it in any significant way, your PSP will succumb to the mysterious force of gravity and die a quick painful death on the hardwood. It’s another reason the accessories, and the price that comes because of them is an issue.
Downloading firmware: an unnecessary hassle. A lot of these issues can be fixed with some updated firmware. We’re wondering why they weren’t with the system to begin with? How long does it take for a company this big to develop a web-browser and an email client and have them at launch? Something smacks of a lack organization on Sony’s part. Yes, these things are eventually coming, but we don’t have a solid time-frame for them. Besides that, the average person may not feel comfortable having to completely overhaul the interface via a USB or WiFi connection for these killer features to be added.
Someone tell me, why am I getting this thing again?
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Comments:
matt
2/8/05 1:22 am
most i’ve ever read. I HAVE A PSP. I feel that it is better than my ps2, ridge races sucks ass and there are no good games out right now but for any new product that comes out… not alot of apps will support it at first. take for example the athelon64. windows xp didn’t support it for a while let alone any other application on the market.
Touch a screen any screen and you will see fingerprints.
the pouch will hold the psp in the case. Gravity will not cause the PSP to fall out on its own. Shake it up and down pritty hard and it will slide out, thats before u notice it thou.
the headphones yeah suck. But then don’t tell me that the ipods headphones don’t or any other cd player that comes with headphones.
wifi is everywhere. I can’t imagine it to not be in a city unless your a hillbilly, but then you would never have one. usb is practically on every computer. the cord u can go buy for less than 5 bucks but then i already have like 4 from other products that came with it.
Brand new games for the ps2 cost 40-50. And guess what the psp has the same graphics as the ps2 so i don’t see a problem there.
The psp is to SOLID to twist with any normal use. The only way i’d think that you’d be able to twist it yet alone get the cartrige to pop open is if u abuse it.
You shoudn’t of written this review. You obviously don’t have one and it seems that you won’t get one. Not that big of a loss from sony. This thing is made to compete with the Ipod not be apart of its croud and the nitendo ds.
ramza34
2/8/05 2:21 am
he’s the same guy that basically wrote the top 10 reasons WHY we should get a PSP as well, you dumb ####. And N64 Cartridges cost $60, yet the improved SM64DS retails for half that. PSP games are OVERPRICED considering we are talking about a HANDHELD. You have no argument, even the pouch, what if you drop it accidentally? Oops, there goes that scratch free screen fucked up by the rubble. The only ######## is comin outta your mouth.
Jason
2/8/05 6:44 am
Only reason so many people think that handheld games can’t cost $40 is because they are used to systems like the GBA. For years Nitnendo was shoving what amounted to a SNes in our hands. I wouldn’t want to pay over $40 for a SNes game either. The PSP is something new. Sony managed to skip several generations from what the GBA was doing and has created a handheld with near console like quality. So why shouldn’t we expect near console like prices for games? Remember the DS is more expensive on average then GBA games too. They range from $30 to $40. If you ask me the extra $10 is well worth what gamers are getting.
Evan
2/8/05 8:10 am
Sony Fanboys, shut up. Nintendo has BEEN the handheld market for the last 15 years. The origianl Nintendo brand, Game and Watch Gallery, was handheld. Sony has tried to go toe to toe with Nintendo, on Nintendo’s home turf, and Sony pretty much defeated themselves. Inferior product for close to double the price for the Nintendo DS, no incentive to purchase game-wise… All these issues with the PSP are facts! You can’t dispute them. The problem is Sony couldn’t decide if the PSP should be a game system with Nintendo, or be a competitor to the iPod. So they tried to do both, and failed.
And if you actually think the PSP is better than your PS2 then either A.) You’re a dumbass, or B.) The PS2 must blow. Seriously? How could you compare a handheld to a console?
Jason
2/8/05 8:19 am
Nintendo Fanboys, shut up. 
Nintendo WAS the console market for a long time. The original Nintendo brand, Nes, SNes, and N64. Sony went toe to toe with Nintendo, on Nintendo’s home turf and Sony defeated Nintendo. Two fantastic products and tons of incentives to purchase game-wise. You getting the point here?
If anyone had put Nintendo is its place in the handheld market it is Sony. They have proven they know how to steal major market share away from the Big N. Remember there was a time when Nintendo was called the video game industry’s 800-poun gorilla.
Man, you Americans are a bunch of Whining Women!
The systems kick ass!
You’re goner buy it!
Stop complaining, it’s not going to change anything!
Here in the UK it’s going to be sold for £180 = $335
Games are: £25/30 = $46/55
1 Gb Memory Stick is : £95 = $176
Do you here people in the UK/Europe moaning?
Also it gets released in June over here.
So shut up, buy it (because you’re going to anyway!) and enjoy!
Carl
2/8/05 8:41 am
Where is the killer app? Obviously you forgot about Grand Theft Auto. Love it or hate it, it is one of the Playstation’s killer apps. A game people have been known to purchase a console just so they can play it. Rockstar is coming out with GTA for the PSP… there is your killer app.
Barrett
2/8/05 8:42 am
Just to clear some things up…
Sony has stated that they are not positioning the PSP to compete with the NDS, check the price for proof and the bundled movie, not game…
The NDS is NOT the next GameBoy system, that will be the GameBoy Evolution.
PSP’s games are ports, and currently over priced for a handheld system, but once again they stated they are not competing directly with Nintendo for the handheld market.
PSP biggest drawback would IMHO be the lack of on board memory or larger cheaper Duo cards to actually be a competitor of PVP and MP3 players on the market now.
So it seems Sony has put itself to be between several markets, it is a convergance device, I know I will never buy a UMD movie (well mabye that Final Fantasy one) or music.
Oh yeah, sucks they are giving US the shaft by chargeing us $50 more per PSP than Japan…
DoShizzle
2/8/05 8:48 am
I got my PS2 the day it came out and I remember similar arguments then. It brought back the memories.
Anyway, I appreciated the article for levying some of the other side of this two-sided coin. A week ago, I would have already had my pre-order in, but now I don’t know. I assume that no one knows if Sony is going to open up the ability for consumers to write to their UMD’s. Kind of like the miniDisc (I still have mine and I absolutely hate it). I wish there was a way to adapt an SD card to a Memory Stick so I could use my existing stuff.
Barrett
2/8/05 8:52 am
DoShizzle -
Sony is NOT going to open UMD for personal use, they have stated previously that this device is almost to just test the waters of piracy (hence the propietary media) on top of that the burner and media would probably cost quite a bit, not because they are costly to manufacture, but due to the fact they CAN.
Fade
2/8/05 9:36 am
Thats one stupid article. He is just complaining about a bunch of stupid little minor things. Oh the strap is white.. boo hoo. Oh! The case is too think… I wont buy it now. STUPID! Its gonna beat sales against the DS and everyone knows it. Just a bunch of xbox and nintendo fanboys complaining about nothing. I bet ifhe didnt mention any of these STUPID complaints… you all would be enjoying the PSP.
sniper
2/8/05 9:44 am
Seems here that the guy who wrote this article knows nothing. First off, the price itself - 250 US = 300 CAN. No supprise here, seeing as the thing comes bundled and analysts first thought it would cost over $600. Second, no killer ap...OK, what about GTA or MGS, not to mention a few other games like Need For Speed Rivals, or Tony Hawks Underground 2 remix. And what about the DS? Did it have a whole bunch of Killer aps at launch?...didnt think so. Memory Cards?..3rd parties will fix that, releasing cheaper cards or addons. Prices for games? - ‘So why shouldn’t we expect near console like prices for games?’ AS for the psp being black and headphones being white...the psp was originally white <a href="http://www.ps3portal.com/Pictures/psp1_large.jpg">Link</a> and it will come in many colours…
Rick
2/8/05 12:35 pm
“Man, you Americans are a bunch of Whining Women! “ british would be speaking german now if not for united states. learn english grammer, fool.
Xander
2/8/05 1:08 pm
how many nintendo gamers does it take to complain ? plenty (but noone cares)
how many tries does Sony have to give to dominate the handheld world ? only one
Jason
2/8/05 2:47 pm
“Sony has stated that they are not positioning the PSP to compete with the NDS, check the price for proof and the bundled movie, not game…
The NDS is NOT the next GameBoy system, that will be the GameBoy Evolution. “
Total BS. No matter what Nintendo says or Sony (I have to point out I have never heard a Sony rep claims this), the PSP is going to compete with the DS. They both are the newest handhelds on the market. People will compare them when buying. I also don’t buy this “thierd piller” crap Nintendo is shoving down everyone’s throats. The DS is the new GBA. When the next Gameboy shows up interest in the DS will fade away. If anything the DS is being used by Nintendo to stall gamers from buying the PSP untill they can create hardware that competes on a tech level with the PSP.
“I HAVE A PSP. I feel that it is better than my ps2, ridge races sucks ass and there are no good games out right now” -Posted by matt
You bought a handheld console product knowing that there are no good games out for it? LOL! Your parents must be proud that you can manage money so wisely. 
But enough with the flaming.
PSP should not have come out at this time. First and foremost, no cosole should never have to update its firmware. Why would this be? Is PSP not able to perform it duties?
The earphones are a joke. I know for a fact Sony makes lousy speakers, but their earbuds were pretty decent until they stopped at the e888’s quality.
And finally the conversions. A good reason why i dont buy their mp3 players/net MDs/PDAs/av jukeboxes.
iaceduagain
2/8/05 3:35 pm
First of all, i’m a huge fan of the sony and it’s game systems but all the points in this artical are valid. And to the dumbass saying that we americans are complaining about the price when you have to pay so much more, you retard, everything in europe cost more. Dvd’s there are like 15 to 20 pounds in england which is like 30 to 40 dollars. No American in their right mind would pay that much for a single dvd. You Europeans have been getting over by sony and all these other big named companies for years, so why should they stop now. Anyways, i think sony fucked up cause they tried to make this system into way more then what it should have been, which is a hand held. And the reason sony is saying it’s not trying to win the hand held market is cause, if they #### up in the hand held they can always say we were never were in it. It’s all about covering your bases. And no it’s not replacing any system, even the graphics on the psp aren’t that great, not even par with ps1. Only reason they look so good is cause it’s a small ass screen and you can’t tell that the graphics suck with your eyes. And if you think the games are going to be as good as the ps2 then your ####### crazy. And one last thing. All the extra you’re getting with the psp to make it cost 250, is like a $100s more, if you look around on the net you can get it easly for under $50. Sony is just trying to over it’s loyal games. And it’s a hand held, who would ####### pay 40 to 50 for a hand held, Sony know’s that the psp is doing to tank so their trying to as much money out of people as they can. And the dumb #### who said that people thought that the psp was orignally going be around $600, maybe your dumbass friends and you did but nobody i know is that stupid, no even sony is that stupid to charge that much for a hand held. P.S. the headphones on the ipod are some of the best ones you can get for your money, that’s why people use them, so no not all hand phones that come with a system suck ass.
Faizan
2/8/05 5:02 pm
Nintendo Fan Boys YOU SHUT Up cause you know why the ds came brfore the psp so it can sell a little wile the ds lasts. it wont after the psp comes out. cause nintendo SUCKD SOOOOOOOOO BAD. it shoulded be a company any more. i hate it. and Jason good commets tooo im with you. mail me at naveed4ever786@gmail.com
Joe
2/8/05 6:57 pm
Wow this is an extremely biased article that is stirring up some conflict with the fanboys. The reviewer must have had a very bad experience with the PSP, perhaps it was shoved up his ass?
stop complaning
2/8/05 7:39 pm
i came upon this page by accident and wow ur all a bunch of fuckin whiners blah blah blah psp rocks, blah blah blah psp sucks, just think what you are arguing over why dont you spend that money on weed that dosnt run out of batteries and for all the money you would end up spending on a psp that will last you a month or two before it gets old and gets misplaced with all of your other overpriced electronics you could just save the money or buy something useful not something that is just going to make you stupider, give you more acne then most of you probably already have, and waste your time and you shouldnt even be spending your money on that anyways because its all going to the evil sony company that really dosnt care about the consumers so before you spend 300 or 400 on a psp or ds or whatever the hell crap is out there, think where the money could go to
aziz johnson
2/8/05 8:40 pm
can this person get any dumber. all his arguements do not directly affect the PSP in any way. Hector quit your job your not good at it 
alex
2/8/05 8:41 pm
the UMD will be hacked just like any other system, wonder if you are gonna need a modchip or not, or mabey u could play games from a memo stik wit a emulator or somthing, PSP going down is abou 50/50 i want onefor my Bday but i might get a nokia 6600 insted, the psp will be expensive in CAN
wicked_cool_guy034
2/8/05 9:41 pm
u suk!!1! me fink da PSP is a good fun poduct, you are just a stoopid looser with no life. so go find 1 ore else!
Aaa.
2/9/05 2:54 am
This article has Nintendo fanboy written all over it.
$250 for a value pack is steeper than we first anticipated but it’s still worth it. That 1 million PSP’s that get shipped with Spiderman 2 UMD will sell out within a week.
UMD doesn’t eject itself while playing games. If you place the PSP upside down and then twist the PSP with allot of force then it is possible. If you tried twisting your DS like this the machine would simply snap in the middle.
I’ve seen 1gb Sandisk pro duo cards for less than $130 and a 1024mb for £100, which is a really good price here in the UK; the price will eventually go down. I spoke to a lot of people in the US through the forums who have managed to get hold of an import PSP. Many have managed to get a film on a 512mb memory stick and it stick looks quality on the screen.
The price of games is only speculative.
“There’s no killer app”
Are you on drugs? Ridge racers is awesome, Wipeout looks brilliant, MGA, Luminies, Mercury, Need 4 Speed rivals, that’s just a few I remember off the top of my head that’s available for launch. 5 launch games will have on-line play.
The 3 pieces of software used to convert movies to MP4 is rather easy to do, also Sony are going to provide us with Image converter 2 (about $10) it’ll be a drag and drop affair. Anyway isn’t ripping DVD’s illegal?
Big deal about the headphones being white. I had white Sony earphone about 6 years ago, nothing new.
The battery life has come from Nintendo fanboys. Gamers have had more than 4 hrs playing Ridge Racer with brightness on medium (highest brightness is too bright) and up to 8 hrs on Lumines
Smudges are nothing, ever heard of a cloth?
Nothing wrong with the pouch
I can easily make a massive list and nit pick at all the faults of the DS. Touch screens usually don’t last that long, I know someone who broke the touch screen with the stylus on his PDA. These pocket PC’s have been known for the touch screen not responding after 6 months. Some people have experienced their touch screen not working when flying on a aeroplane, once they get on it fails to work but as soon as they get off it works again, something to do with the pressurization on the plane.
goku
2/9/05 9:35 am
people saying over and over again about ridge racer and wipeout and stuff SHUT UP..handheld games are not about graphics and big games and ps2 ####. these games are designed to be played on big screens sitting on a sofa and spending hours of continuous play on them. if you do manage to do this on a psp then you will end up with no battery at all and there goes your effort and start all over again. psp doesn’t define handheld gaming but rather console gaming on the move with limited playing time and extra stuff like movies(who the hell is going to spend $15-$20 buying movies for a handheld that you can’t watch on your pc or tv?) sony tried to give psp a cool look and features to drive everyone away from what they really need and spend $250 on a piece of #### that you will end up getting bored of if you haven’t already broken its sensitive screen sleeping off your sweaty hands. ds is a little lame as well but at least you get what you pay and nintendo is going to backup ds further with the announcement for their online plans and don’t forget that the ds even has ports for headset as xbox live which is sure going to be a big plus. and for all those praising the psp we will talk in a couple of months when problems with the umd drive will arise or when you find out that your over-protectiveness was not enough to prevent big scratches on the screen..
btw my brother has a psp and after playing for a while i have no intension of playing with it again as the only thing that the psp can deliver is graphics which i can get plenty from my gamecube and Resident Evil 4(btw buying a tv and gamecube is cheaper than buying a psp) which has by far the best graphics on any console (even capcom can’t get the ps2 to render 10000 polygons for the model of leon kennedy as in the gamecube and can only render 5000!!! http://cube.ign.com/articles/585/585974p1.html) i’m a nintendo fanboy and i’m not jealous of anything sony has to offer. and for those of you who started playing video games from the psx era and onwards read some history of sony’s entrance in the videogame industry and you will see what i mean..(psx was a joint project of nintendo and sony but nintendo found a leak in the contracts that sony’s lawyers presented them, that granded sony the greatest profits and nintendo decided to abandon the deal leaving sony behind with the psx!) SO SHUT UP
Puhleeeze
2/9/05 11:54 am
What is the point of this article?
You got called a sony fanboi and now you are trying to prove your critics wrong?
Now lets review your points and for the record, I actually have the items being reviewed (PSP, 1gig card, headphones, etc) unlike 95% of the other asshats posting here who are simply talking out of their rectums.
1. Price
$250 is a goddam bargain for a piece of gear like this. Any self respecting gadget junkie can recognize this regardless of whether or not they are in the N or S camp. This *IS* Gear Live right, not welfaregamers.com?
2. Memory card prices
Memory sticks certainly are expensive. Would have been nice if they used SD instead but anyone who expected sony to use a non-proprietary format needs a reality check. Thats the way sony works. Hell, that’s the way nintendo works too. It’s pretty common in this industry. The prices will come down considerably over time.
3. Game prices
Are the games too expensive or are our expectations of handheld games too low? When I buy a game I want the full goddam experience, not some castrated gimped down 1/4 size console port. I have no problem paying full console price for a game if it plays like a real console game. Time will tell if PSP developers can deliver but certainly UMD size will be the limiting factor (as it traditionally has been with nintendo handhelds) here nor will screensize as this screen is plenty big.
4. No Killer App
The system is going to hit the US with one of the best groups of launch titles for any console/handheld EVER. Nuff said.
5. Movie conversion is a pain
Agreed. It blows. Sony really dropped the ball here. To say the conversion process lacks polish is the understatement of the century. Get it together sony.
6. Headphone color
Who gives a rats ass what color the packaged headphones are? Packaged headphones always suck anyhow so if you are that anal retentive then go buy a decent pair with little kitties or flowers or whatever your fruity ass feels like. I didn’t even unpack my headphones, they are sitting there in the original baggie unopened.
7. Music organization doesn’t exist
You’re right. Actually let me take this one further. Memory stick organization sucks right across the board. It’s very unprofessional/unfinished/rushed looking. Fix it sony!
8. Battery Life
Yeah would be nice to have longer battery life but it really has no impact on me. I never play long/frequently enough to need more than 3 hours (for the record I seem to get around 6 - 7 hours per charge playing games). If my play sessions were longer battery life would probably bother me more.
9. The system will not boot up straight to the XMB interface if you have a game installed
This is pretty much a non issue. I leave my PSP in standby mode pretty much all the time which has negligible impact on battery life. Press power, instant on, press home button. This “complex” 2 button procedure takes literally 2 seconds. Even if they did offer the option you are describing, I would never actually use it.
10. The PSP will suck every drop of oil in your fingers and apply them directly to the screen
Hey newsflash, don’t put your filthy hands on the screen and you won’t get fingerprints *duh*. I’ve never had to wipe my screen down because I don’t touch the bloody thing. Then again I don’t get fingerprints on my DVDs, CDs, mirrors, monitors, TVs, etc etc so maybe it just because I’m not a grabby little mongrel that feels the impulse to touch everything.
11. No second analogue stick
Agreed, would have been nice. I’m guessing they simply couldn’t fit it in there without increasing the overall size and subsequently decided to leave it out.
12. The pouch
I _like_ the pouch. And no, the PSP will not fall out of the pouch on its own without some serious coaxing. Actually it’s a real cram job getting it inside in the first place. If they shipped with some bigger/heavier case, I would throw it in the garbage and buy something like this pouch anyhow. I want extremely lightweight and non-intrusive not huge with lots of pockets/compartments.
13. Downloading firmware: an unnecessary hassle.
This is the dumbest comment out of the bunch. Would you prefer the PSP stays the way it is on launch day, with no improvements? Because that it the alternative to firmware updates. This is one of the _strongest_ features of the system. The PSP rom image we will be using in 12 months will be far superior to the one we are using today. You think that’s a _bad_ thing?
In my opinion, the PSP _does_ have a few pretty glaring faults. A lot of them can be fixed via firmware/software. Even _with_ these faults the PSP is the best thing to happen to console/handheld gaming since the original gameboy.
Ron
2/9/05 2:23 pm
Everyone has their own opinions about the psp, and everyone is entitled to change their mind about it. I like both platforms but i feel that the DS has a lot more potiential for a better gaming experience(which i feel that Nintendo is concentrating on in lieu of hardware performance) Yes the psp is a little on the pricey side but as a couple people have already stated it is a virtual bargain. Anyone who plays pc games and has to spend money upgrading their computer to be on par with todays games knows this. The games being 40- 50 is a ripoff in more ways than one. Someone stated that since it has the power of a console then the games should be around the same price. That is an ignorant statement. First of all for the past 10 years prices have remained somewhat constant. So the price increase is a slap in the face. Especially since now Sony will be compelled if not forced to raise the bar on its next gen console games.
I have a ds and have already preordered my psp. The psp as a whole is a waste of money to most gamers. I am not looking for a glorified movie or mp3 player just a handheld gamming system.
There is no killer app that entices people to buy the system just inovation on previously made titles. And by killer app i mean exclusive inovative and compelling titles. Halo, Gran Turismo, Mario, Sonic, Doom. But even without those it still has a great lineup nuff said.
Finally the memory cards are expensive but ONLY if you plan on doing dumb stuff like putting movies and mp3s on them. I am disapointed thtat sony wasnt nice enough to have onboard memory storage. The stick it uses is mostly plastic and they probably could have fit it into the machine without compromising size or functionality.
In the end the psp is a great system that should offer an awesome gameing expericence. It has its pros and cons just like the ds. I think the two are somewhat polar opposites becasue where one fails the other succeeds. The ds offers a UNIQUE gamming expericene as well as functionality. But the psp will offer an incredible MEDIA experience.
If you can afford to buy both(and the psp is much more costly than a simple game and system if you plan on using the mp3 and mp4 capablilities)if you just want to play games buy a ds and use it as a pumped up sp untill more games are availible.
DoShizzle
2/9/05 2:26 pm
I appreciate your comments Puhleeeze as you did clear up a few points for me. It really annoys me to no end to have to see others use profanity and nonsense to defend their point of view.
Barrett, thanks for clearing up the UMD issue.
Mookie
2/10/05 6:16 am
“Same for every other game being released near the launch window: they’re all ports”
Huh?
Games being released near the launch window that aren’t ports:
Rengoku
Lumines
Mercury
Death Jr.
Coded Arms <----looking forward to that one (if it’s good)
Untold Legends
Probably more, but i can’t think of em’
Any one of the above games could be a killer app. For most of them we have no idea if it’ll make everyone’s head blow up when they play it or not.
On an unrelated note, I have a PSP, i love it, but no it’s not perfect, and I don’t think it should be shoe-horned into portable media device. (although it kicks ass watching HD Alias season 4, Seinfeld, and Aeon Flux) It’s still the best portable gaming machine i’ve ever played. I rarely whipe my PSP screen, but it does gather grease. The thing is, once the thing is on, you don’t see any marks or fingerprints anyway…
Skacious
2/10/05 6:23 am
I hope your mothers punish you all!
I’ve never read such offending posts. The profanity being flung around here is unecessary. It’s just a machine, a little toy to keep you from crying at the simple fact that while your playing with your ‘little gadget’, I’ll be out bangin’ that girl you’ve been drooling over but too afraid to talk too...OH and your Mom too!
So while you and your Dad scramble to find dinner. I’ll be using your PSP in my left hand and my DS in my right to slap dat ass! Yeehaw...step-son!
Now that that’s out of my system.
It’s funny to read people defending Sony’s proprietary media format. The same model they’ve just conceded soured they’re market dominance in the portable music arena. *cough* ATRAC. *cough* protected cd technology that got pwnt by a simple black marker..
Big Black gadgets.. little white cords.. Some numb-quark above proudly posted that the PSP used to white… The keywoard in play here is “USED TO BE”.
Everyone knows and expects bundled headphones to be crap. Why not happily break the expectation!?
I own a pair of damn decent Sony buds [MDR EX71’s to be exact]. Cost me $35[US] retail. And they’re black and match my Neuros Audio Computer.
How much would it have really cost Sony, the damn manufactuer of these buds, to include them in what is supposed to be a groundbreaking video/audio player, being that they did raise the pricepoint, to include things that would show off your new purchase. But no.. Sorry. No killer app, but here’s a 3 year old movie for you that you probably already own in DVD format. And if you wanted to spend the time, would convert on your own. We’re being charged more for this, so where’s the selection that caters to my prefered taste!?
The case. Thin, thick.. My DS didn’t come with a case. And still doesn’t have one. That’s a plus, although a small one, for Sony. But then again, the DS doesn’t require Memory sticks and media discs to use it, the PSP does and it’s case should account for lugging said media around. I can drop 4-5 DS catridges in my front pocket and not care or notice really, they are catridges.
Some DS units purchased suffered from a few dead pixels. This is a standard and accepted fault in LCD tech. Nothing you can really do. But Nintendo, replaced these units at a break-neck pace. The fact that even some of the PSP units have been returned for a defect in the ‘square’ button is not good. And of course they’ll contest it’s a design point not a flaw. Personally, that translates to “We intentionally designed this potential defect!”, not ‘We’ve seen the fault and currently produced units have addressed this’. And they prez goes onto be quoted as saying that users and developers should adjust to this flaw/oversight. So because of this, you have to relearn to control a ported game you play one way your PS2 and another on your PSP as a user. As a developer, you have to design usability to hide this defect. Aces!
In the end, after a brief thought of trading in my DS for a PSP, I think I’ll wait. It seems the DS will be easier to hack down the line, and won’t require a backpack to lug around to play wirelessly.
I’ve grown bored retorting at the mental midgetry of the gadget world. Those that are still smiling as they read this, your welcome, I’ll be here all week!!
Puhleeeze
2/10/05 7:44 am
“Everyone knows and expects bundled headphones to be crap. Why not happily break the expectation!?
I own a pair of damn decent Sony buds [MDR EX71’s to be exact]. Cost me $35[US] retail. And they’re black and match my Neuros Audio Computer. “
Why doesn’t apple give you top end headphones with ipods? I paid more for my ipod than I did for my PSP. Why doesn’t nintendo give out free blowjobs with every DS? I think that would be nice too. Damn them for not breaking with tradition and giving free bjs.
“The case. Thin, thick.. My DS didn’t come with a case. And still doesn’t have one. That’s a plus, although a small one, for Sony. But then again, the DS doesn’t require Memory sticks and media discs to use it, the PSP does and it’s case should account for lugging said media around. I can drop 4-5 DS catridges in my front pocket and not care or notice really, they are catridges.”
Did you get dropped on your head? The memory stick is miniscule. You stick it in your PSP and you leave it there. The physical game size is not vastly different than what we have come to expect from handheld systems. The UMD capacity is phenomenal compared to other handhelds. We can finally expect to see decent FMVs and cutscenes which were never really possible before. As for cramming them in your pocket, the carts are certainly more “kid friendly” and I would definitely not buy a PSP for a child.
“Some DS units purchased suffered from a few dead pixels. This is a standard and accepted fault in LCD tech. Nothing you can really do. But Nintendo, replaced these units at a break-neck pace. The fact that even some of the PSP units have been returned for a defect in the ‘square’ button is not good. And of course they’ll contest it’s a design point not a flaw. Personally, that translates to “We intentionally designed this potential defect!”, not ‘We’ve seen the fault and currently produced units have addressed this’. And they prez goes onto be quoted as saying that users and developers should adjust to this flaw/oversight. So because of this, you have to relearn to control a ported game you play one way your PS2 and another on your PSP as a user. As a developer, you have to design usability to hide this defect. Aces!”
Now I know you got dropped on your head. The square button which by the way you have never actually touched is whats known as a “design consolation” or “design tradeoff”. They weighed the options of increasing overall PSP size to make room for the button vs having a perfectly functional (you wouldn’t know this never having held a PSP) square button with a slightly different “feel” to it that most people wouldn’t even notice unless you brought it to their attention. They chose smaller PSP. Let me give you another example of a design tradeoff that your partially functional paint sniffing mind can comprehend: your “damn decent” bud headphones have a terrible frequency response range when compared to a pair of “real” studio quality headphones. The thing is, they are much smaller and much more portable than “real” headphones. So we learn to accept the garbage response range which most ignorant consumers would call “damn decent” anyhow and in return we get this great compact package that is easy to carry around.
I look forward to handing you a weeks worth of beatdowns.
Skacious
2/10/05 11:34 am
:> Memory Stick size
How many people will have to 2-3 or more sticks with different media/music on it? And if some are paying $200-300 for 1gb duo’s, I don’t think they are just throwing those around. I’ve even seen people crack theirs, casually carrying them around in bags, wallets, etc.. While your at it stuff 3-4 UMDs in your pocket too. Let me know when your full or when one of those gets damaged.
:> your “damn decent” bud headphones have a terrible frequency response range when compared to a pair of “real” studio quality headphones.
Oh like, my Sennheiser HD600’s, which I’d be insane to walk around with daily?
Yah, I’d really expect Sony to bunde those $300-400 studio headphones.
“Damn decent” in respect to cost factor vs. what they are currently bundling..[$3 junk buds ] And puhleeeze[pun intended], your comment on Apple giving you top end headphones… well, lets just says Apples and Oranges pal. Apple makes computers, not headphones....like hmmm Sony. And no one ever said anything about top end, all I said was better than crap.
I’ll give you points for your delivery, but you still brought a knife to a battle of wits pal. So go beat yourself… you violent tendencied short bus rider!
Gooooshhhh....
faizan
2/10/05 1:07 pm
Skacious ur article sucks ass tooooooo much. how about taking english classes while im with ur BITCH. Got THAT.
Stigma
2/10/05 10:34 pm
I’ve had a ps2 even since ppl were having disc read errors and such. I have never ever encountered those problems ever. The only time I had a disk read error is when my dad left a big cheesey finger print on my SOCOM disk after he played it. Bastard was eating cheesies and playing video games. I even had to clean the controller. Anyway, the problems with the psp are probably from a bunch of idiots who don’t know how to take care of their systems.
UMD Movies - in all honesty, it’s a cool idea if you’re gonna watch a movie on the go, but who REALLY wants to sit for an hour and so on to watch a movie a small (high quality) screen. It’ll give you a freakin’ neck cramp.
No good apps - The launch list for NA has a lot of good games, and who cares if they’re ports, they’re still kick ass games.
Headphones - don’t like ‘em, don’t ####### use ‘em. I pretty sure sony is gonna be anal and force you to use the headphones they give you in the bundle. I may be wrong, but I highly doubt that you have to use the ones they give you.
Jabb
2/10/05 10:53 pm
UMD movies is useless without a UMD burner. you’re only gonna be able to watch the movies sony gives you. the battery life is gonna kill the psp, even with a backup. who the hell wants to carry around an extra battery?
DUTCH
2/11/05 1:18 am
I PLAYED THE PSP...WHY HAS NO ONE CRIED ABOUT THE ###### LITTLE SLIDING PAD SONY DARES TO CALL A ANALOG STICK? I TRIED TO USE IT TO DRIVE ON RIDGE RACER BUT WAS FLYING ALL OVER..EVERYTHING ME OR MY FRIENDS HAVE HAD FROM SONY IN THE PAST TEN YEARS HAVE BROKEN DUE TO STUPID DESIGN FLAWS..THE WALKMANS.. DISKMANS AND PS1 LITTLE THING THAT HOLDS THE CDS ALWAYS BREAK OFF..FUNNY, THAT DOESNT HAPPEN WITH PANASONIC OR EVEN AWIA. I STILL HAVE A PANASONIC 3DO AND OLD DISKMAN.....WHO WANTS TO PAY ALMOST DOUBLE FOR A EASLIY BREAKABLE, NO BATTERY LIFE HAVING, ONE FLAWED JOYSTICK VERSION OF A PS2? HOW CAN YOU PLAY “KILLZONE PSP” WITH A SLIDE PAD ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CONTROLER? MY MOTTO SINCE 1995...."S O N Y S U C K S !!! “ ILL KEEP MY DS AND CONTINUE TO BUY PS2 GAMES FOR MY PS2....#### YOU KIDS SUCKING SONYS DICK!! WHEN U BUY YOUR SECOND PSP CAUSE THE FIRST ONE QUITS PLAYING GAMES( THAT TAKE 20 SOMTHING SECONDS TO LOAD.........) EVEN THOUGH YOU TOOK GREAT CARE OF IT, SONY WILL LAUGH AND SELL U IT...ITS NOT ABOUT NINTENDO AND SONY, BUT ABOUT COMMON SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote: “Man, you Americans are a bunch of Whining Women! “ british would be speaking german now if not for united states. learn english grammer, fool.
Posted by Rick on February 08, 2005 at 12:35 PM | #
OK, I’m sorry. You’re right.
Americans aren’t a bunch of whiners, there a bunch of losers
Where were you for the first four years of the Second World War? How dare you say you won it, it wasn’t just you who were there. You should remember the 49th Parallel in Burma where you couldn’t even hold a hill with a whole division, but the British did, with one platoon and after handing it over to the US, they lost it again in two hours! And Iwo Jima didn’t you loose over a million men?
You keep parading out the Second World War, what about Korea and the biggest failure of them all Vietnam?
You know that I’m only saying this to wind you up!
lol 
P.S. As for your post about English grammar, its Britain not British also country names should have a capital letter. Use the right words in the right context!
deiong
2/11/05 1:58 pm
In fact, if you decide to purchase a 1 GB Sony Pro Duo card, you’ll be paying more than $300. Go you!
well accordign to ebgames teh 1gb sandisk mem card is only 149. not sure why he decided to double the value of it
How many times have we already played Ridge Racer on our home systems? well how many times have we played mario on our home systems or all teh kids played the thousand and one different pokemon games ??
as for movies as soon as it hits the usa i know a bunch of develoeprs who will add teh psp proper settings so taht isnt raelly a big deal at all.
as for sound. well jst plug in your own. i mean those little ear plugs never ever got great sound to begin with anyways.
Music organization doesn’t exist. well thank godness for updates to firmware i can agree with this, but they say itll be tken care of. so eventualy it will besides this this is mostly ment for gaming. how many ipods does one person need anyways. specially with the ipod mini and teh fugly smaller ipod thing. its great they added it as a feature, but it wasnt built to replace teh ipod or zen or rio’s . it was built for gaming the media play was put in as an after thought. btu hey it does what it says so you cant bag extra fetures can you ??
We’ll need to wait for a better battery. agreed. but then this thing isnt playign those darn sprite games either. takes more juice to have these awsome graphics. i know i preordered the PSP Charger Case .
PSP Charger Case is an aluminum battery/charger case that extends the Sony PSP’s play time by three times and protects the device from water and shock.
http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/255789.asp
and i fully expect better batteries to pop up all over ebay within this year so you can buy five or ten and be happy
The system will not boot up straight to the XMB interface if you have a game installed.
again this was said to be fixed at a later date via firmware sure its got a little nicks here and there btu when they update teh firmware it’ll be kign of the hill no worries.
The PSP will suck every drop of oil in your fingers and apply them directly to the screen. so does everyother handheld if you touch them big deal. get teh screen protector’s off ebay for dirt cheap i know there goign to pop up as you can buy them already from ebgames in bundles such as http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/255786.asp.
sure this ones 19 bucks but i think wi thin a week theyll pop up all over ebay for a few bucks.
No second analogue stick. well ig uess if you enjoy it so much you will miss it. but youll learn to adapt. i mean teh games are so much better then anything else its worth a ltitle getting used to. i mean heck i still havent gotten used to the fugly nintendo ds. but im workign on it
The pouch that comes with the system is a joke. i do agree with this. but if you buy teh above PSP Pro-TecKIT for teh screen covers it coems with a sterdy one as well. and once again ebay will come to the rescue with bundles for a few bucks with covers and protective ouches and what not
Downloading firmware: an unnecessary hassle. A lot of these issues can be fixed with some updated firmware. We’re wondering why they weren’t with the system to begin with? well first run electronics on anything usually tend to suck anyways. and while it is a hastle to have to get and update teh firmware at least you feel better knowing that your psp will run better then when you first bought it. if its a real problem wait a year then buy the psp it should be well recieved around that time.
Let’s talk first about the recently announced price. Let’s talk lastely about the recently announced price. i agree its horrible that there isnt teh standard 189 version. why they must bundle everything and make you pay more . well for teh first 5 6 months anyways there will not be enough units for demand so im sure they want to capitalize off it. and i agree its wrong. but its business. any and every business if they had this chance would have taken it as well. i think that there will still be a standard cheap version but i dotn think itll be out til around christmas time or maybe even later. seems sense to grab teh poor folks later so they can increase there presence. i dont knwo that they will just seems like teh greedy thing to do that all businesses would do.
so teh argument isnt really all that bad. it wont s uck. and if you buy ealry a little temperary annoyances will soon be forgot with tehgreat ggraphics and games. no other handheld can provide anywhere close to.
Stigma
2/11/05 8:14 pm
>>THAT DOESNT HAPPEN WITH PANASONIC OR EVEN AWIA.
Awia is owned by Song you idiot. And maybe if you’d learn to take care of ur ####, it wouldn’t break.
Stigma
2/11/05 8:18 pm
Sorry typos,
Aiwa is owned by sony. And if sony sucks, why do you have ps2? you’re like a gender confused child. Get your story straight dude.
DUTCH
2/13/05 2:39 am
OPPS...... I DIDNT KNOW AWIA WAS OWNED BY SONY. OR THAT MY STORY WAS CROOKED. AWIA AND PANASONIC ARE STILL MUCH MORE SOLID PRODUCTS THAT THINGS WITH THE SONY BRAND...IM NOT ONE OF YOU LITTLE FAN BOYS...I STILL HAVE MY NON- PROPER LASER READING PS2 BECAUSE I HAVE SOME DOPE GAMES AND WILL CONTINUE TO BUY DOPE GAMES..IM NOT GONNA PAY DOUBLE FOR AN OVERPRICED, 2 HOUR BATTERY LASTING, ( EXAGGERATION ) 1 JOYSTICK ( ###### SLIDE PAD ) BROKEN SQUARE BUTTON RIGHT OUT THE BOX, VERSION OF THE PS2, THAT IS PORTABLE BUT FOR SOME REASON YOU HAVE TO BUY 150$ MEMORY CARDS.................I COULD BUY MORE PS2 GAMES, ANOTHER DS, A NEW PS2, A NEW T.V. ,A XBOX AND GAMECUBE, A NEW GRAPHICS CARD FOR MY COMPUTER, OR AN EXPENSIVE CALL GIRL ( DONT TAKE TAHT PART TOO SERIOSLY MR. STIGMA ) IS THAT A STRAIGHT ENOUGH STORY FOR YOU MR. STIGMA? I LEARNED TODAY THAT AWIA IS OWNED BY SONY.... SONY STILL SUCKS....I STILL LIKE MY PS2...I GUESS I AM A GENDER CONFUSED FAN BOY OF NO PARTICULAR SYSTEM SINCE IVE PLAYED ALMOST EVERYTHING SINCE THE N.E.S. ...I ALSO LIKE TO BREAK MY TOYS, BUT STILL HAVE MY WORKING N.E.S., GENESIS, S.N.E.S. ,TURBOGRAFIX 16 ( WITH DEVILS CRUSH ), PANASONIC 3DO, SATURN, N-64, HALF DEAD PS2, COMPUTER, AND DS....I LIKE TO BREAK MY GAME SYSTEMS AND CAR WINDOWS.... I HOPE MY SPEACH WAS SATISFACTORY ENOUGH FOR MR. STIGMA.....GOD KNOWS HE IS A GOD WHO KNOWS ALL, BUT FOR SOME REASON WILL LET ONE GAME COMPANY RULE HIS LIFE...........LITTLE FANBOY WHO DOESNT KNOW THAT MUCH......................THATS ALL FOLKS.........
blah
2/14/05 9:23 am
this thing sucks ass thats all there is to it, it’s just another useless piece of crap that one one will ever NEED
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psp is better than ds in just about every way.
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sales figures point to DS PSP is nice and pretty, but doesnt do anything special DS on the other hand is unique with lots of unique games (not mere ports) - not to mention a ton cheaper
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PSP is definitely more powerful, but it lacks games. Either way you are giving up something to gain something.
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Yes both of equal opportunity cost, but if you have the extra cash I'd shoot for the PSP being a long-time PlayStation fan. Also, you can mod the crap out of PSPs, you can even install Windows on them.
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Don't by any of 'em!!! If you already have ps1 or ps2, buy Crash Bandicoot 3:Warped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!11111111111!!!111!!!!!
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First of all, Crash Bandicoot sucks, and second of all, he wants something portable. I don't think he's going to spend (though you could) 90 bux for an LCD screen to glue to his ps2. Though I guess no suggestion is a bad one. LOL.
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[quote author="magicjj" date="1138513305"]First of all, Crash Bandicoot sucks, and second of all, he wants something portable. I don't think he's going to spend (though you could) 90 bux for an LCD screen to glue to his ps2. Though I guess no suggestion is a bad one. LOL.[/quote] Crash Bandicoot was one of the greatest games ever made. But he was off topic.
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LOL, I've played two Crash Bandicoot games and didn't care for either. I know a lot of people that do like it though, but it just isn't my type of game. Anyway, now we're really getting off-topic so enough of that lol.
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What do you guys think of the new DS redesign, the DS lite? Also, is it possible the PSP may go down in price soon, or do you think the PSP will have a redesign anytime soon?
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[quote author="magicjj" date="1138535563"]LOL, I've played two Crash Bandicoot games and didn't care for either. I know a lot of people that do like it though, but it just isn't my type of game. Anyway, now we're really getting off-topic so enough of that lol.[/quote] You gotta play the ones made by Naughty Dog. All the others suck.
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