Why I'll wait for the PSP...

[pumbaa]

To be completely honest, the PSP looks amazing. It has an amazing amount of features for the price, and it does truly seem like a gadget worth lusting over. Reviews are all (mostly) positive from the mainstream media... although thats to be expected. I think its going to make a FANTASTIC portable movie player (although hopefully the price is right...).

This being said... here's why I'm NOT getting one until a revision of the hardware/price drop.

First and formost... I've got a DS. I don't need two handheld gaming systems at the moment, and I'm quite happy with my DS.

Battery life reports aren't good enough for me. The battery is said to last around 2 to 5 hours, depending on the usage... and thats not good enough for me. Battery life is one of the most important considerations of a handheld gaming unit, and its simply not good enough at this point.

Loading times. I've never had to wait for a game to load. EVER. I never owned a PS1, and most PS2, Xbox, and GCN games don't have long loading times. I'm used to a very limited loading experience. I bought Fable and hated it because of the loading times. When I'm gaming on the go... I don't want to wait for a game to load... at ALL. I'm not sure portable gaming technology is quite ready for optical media... we shall see.

My assumption is that all these qualms will be fixed in a few revisions. A bigger better battery as that technology expands and lower loading times as developers come to grips with the limitations of a handheld system.

[Michaellvortega]

Do you remember SF:2Alpha for SNES that had loading times, weird huh? Opened a PSP at work today and I fell in love right away. The replacement plan at work is only like $10 at cost so I plan to buy that and upgrade when the new revision comes out if it's better.

[Scorch]

I've never had to wait for a game to load. EVER. I never owned a PS1, and most PS2, Xbox, and GCN games don't have long loading times

..so, you've never had to wait for a game to load, then talk about loading times on current gen consoles. Which means you have waited.

I'm still bitter about Season 3.

[twanky]

Do you remember SF:2Alpha for SNES that had loading times, weird huh? Opened a PSP at work today and I fell in love right away. The replacement plan at work is only like $10 at cost so I plan to buy that and upgrade when the new revision comes out if it's better.

Me too, i opened them up and fell in love with it despite all the poor quality talk, it's just so sleek and sexy looking.

[Michaellvortega]

I could care less how sleek it was. Spideman 2 looked great! The controls felt nice and sturdy and it came with a wrist strap when I thought they decided not to for the US. I didn't want to open any games yet as we only had maybe 12 games total but I'll put up a PSP and need for speed rivals for demo Wed.

[twanky]

how'd the analog stick feel?

[Jrunt20x]

how'd the analog stick feel?

That's the one thing I don't like about the psp. It's not a true stick, it's a "nub". Since is the case, it doesn't move like and actual stick. It "slides" and doesn't bend like a normal stick. It's hard to describe, you'll see what I mean.

[clockworkvictim]

Reasons I can wait:
I too have a DS which will keep me busy for a while especially since I can play through the 3-4 long RPGs I have for GBA.

The price, while reasonable considering the system, is too much for me. I can't afford that much on a portable gaming system. (I got my DS for 100 and free after selling my GBA SP.) But its not just the system. The games are also too expensive to buy.

Finally, I don't see any games I "must have" yet for the PSP. While Lumines looks awesome, its the only game that interests me and Meteos is coming to the DS soon anyway.

All this being said, Im extremely jealous of people that got in the TRU EB deal and are getting this system for a small amount of money. There would be no second thoughts if I had that credit on what to spend it on....

[AngellicLulu]

Reason why I can wait: I have no money.
:sniff:
:cry:

[rodeojones903]

Reason why I cant wait:

It has more games I want to play than on my DS.

[Grave_Addiction]

Battery life reports aren't good enough for me. The battery is said to last around 2 to 5 hours, depending on the usage... and thats not good enough for me. Battery life is one of the most important considerations of a handheld gaming unit, and its simply not good enough at this point.

That was one of my original gripes about the PSP. But when I thought about it awhile, I found how silly I was being.

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

When I was playing my SP, I would sit down to play it for awhile and put it down. But if I were going to go out anywhere, I would always charge it up and then go. On average, I would play it for maybe an hour or so, if I were lucky, while I was out.

Now some people will have different playing habits, but since I don't play that long while sitting under a shaded tree at the park, it's something I won't have to worry about.

I think getting 3.5 hours out of a such a graphically-powered beast like the PSP isn't that shabby, actually.

[evilmax17]

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

Plane trip. Camping. Power outage.

I'd get annoyed very quickly if I had to hook the PSP up to the charger ever 3.5 hours. I like leaving my DS and GBA wherever it may lay for a week, and then charging it on the weekend. I don't like babysitting handhelds...

But again, to each his own.

[gaelan]

i would imagine that watching movies would be the biggest battery drain on the thing.

[Grave_Addiction]

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

Plane trip. Camping. Power outage.

I'd get annoyed very quickly if I had to hook the PSP up to the charger ever 3.5 hours. I like leaving my DS and GBA wherever it may lay for a week, and then charging it on the weekend. I don't like babysitting handhelds...

But again, to each his own.

Okay, unless you're an Indian, a business man or someone who lives in Baghdad, how often do you think you will encounter these situations?

[gaelan]

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

Plane trip. Camping. Power outage.

I'd get annoyed very quickly if I had to hook the PSP up to the charger ever 3.5 hours. I like leaving my DS and GBA wherever it may lay for a week, and then charging it on the weekend. I don't like babysitting handhelds...

But again, to each his own.


Okay, unless you're an Indian, a business man or someone who lives in Baghdad, how often do you think you will encounter these situations?
i'm an indian business man that lives in baghdad...i guess i'll have to pass on the psp

[organicow]

I think that a lot of people are missing a small detail in their arguments against the PSP: not everyone who is getting a PSP is getting it just because its portable.

Me, for example: I have plenty of home consoles and games, but there are times when I want to game that I can't go into my game room. I know that a lot of younger gamers here still live with their folks and won't understand this, but I'm married and my wife doesn't want me having all my consoles in the living room or bedroom. So, all my systems are relegated to our spare room...which is fine, except that sometimes I want to play a game when I'm lying in the bed, sitting in the den, sitting on the porch, on the shitter, etc. In each of these situations, I will have access to a power outlet.

My point is this: battery life and game cost ARE issues for people who are thinking of the PSP as a traditional portable gaming device. However, there are others, like me, who are just viewing the PSP as a cool new gaming system (portable or not), and don't mind the limited battery life and steeper prices.

//my 2 cents

PS. That said, I WOULD welcome a longer battery life, if for no reason other than convenience.

PPS. And for those of you that aren't getting a PSP because of the steep hardware price - I totally understand! There is no way I could be getting one were it not for the TRU/EB trade-in scheme last month. Additionally, I would only have like 1 game for it were it not for the current EB trade-in promotion (used in conjunction with GameStop and GameRush's B2G1 sales)!!

[Grave_Addiction]

I think that a lot of people are missing a small detail in their arguments against the PSP: not everyone who is getting a PSP is getting it just because its portable.

Me, for example: I have plenty of home consoles and games, but there are times when I want to game that I can't go into my game room. I know that a lot of younger gamers here still live with their folks and won't understand this, but I'm married and my wife doesn't want me having all my consoles in the living room or bedroom. So, all my systems are relegated to our spare room...which is fine, except that sometimes I want to play a game when I'm lying in the bed, sitting in the den, sitting on the porch, on the shitter, etc. In each of these situations, I will have access to a power outlet.

My point is this: battery life and game cost ARE issues for people who are thinking of the PSP as a traditional portable gaming device. However, there are others, like me, who are just viewing the PSP as a cool new gaming system (portable or not), and don't mind the limited battery life and steeper prices.

//my 2 cents

Gaming while pooping is a thing of beauty. No longer do we have to read empty shampoo bottles or old books. Now we'll be able to play our favorite Playstation games while dropping the kids off at the lake.

[organicow]

Gaming while pooping is a thing of beauty. No longer do we have to read empty shampoo bottles or old books. Now we'll be able to play our favorite Playstation games while dropping the kids off at the lake.

Amen to that my friend. Just as a side note: I usually play my GBASP in there, but recently I brought my "America, the Book" by Jon Stewart in there. So, last week I randomly opened the book up to a page about halfway through it, just to get a quick little bit of reading in. Here's approximately what the page I opened to said:
"By this point in this textbook you've learned about the presidency, the judiciary, and the legislature, and are ready to move on to more complicated things. Either that, or you just randomly opened the book to this page while taking a dump."

Man, that freaked me out. How did they know I was taking a shit?!?! :shock:

[minos1067]

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

Plane trip. Camping. Power outage.

I'd get annoyed very quickly if I had to hook the PSP up to the charger ever 3.5 hours. I like leaving my DS and GBA wherever it may lay for a week, and then charging it on the weekend. I don't like babysitting handhelds...

But again, to each his own.


Okay, unless you're an Indian, a business man or someone who lives in Baghdad, how often do you think you will encounter these situations?
i'm an indian business man that lives in baghdad...i guess i'll have to pass on the psp

:rofl:

[Grave_Addiction]

Gaming while pooping is a thing of beauty. No longer do we have to read empty shampoo bottles or old books. Now we'll be able to play our favorite Playstation games while dropping the kids off at the lake.

Amen to that my friend. Just as a side note: I usually play my GBASP in there, but recently I brought my "America, the Book" by Jon Stewart in there. So, last week I randomly opened the book up to a page about halfway through it, just to get a quick little bit of reading in. Here's approximately what the page I opened to said:
"By this point in this textbook you've learned about the presidency, the judiciary, and the legislature, and are ready to move on to more complicated things. Either that, or you just randomly opened the book to this page while taking a dump."

Man, that freaked me out. How did they know I was taking a shit?!?! :shock:

:rofl:

[Duo_Maxwell]

Lets say the PSP will get roughly 3.5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Honestly, where the hell are you going to be where you have 3.5 hours to sit and play it when you won't have the chance to plug it in a wall jack?

Plane trip. Camping. Power outage.

I'd get annoyed very quickly if I had to hook the PSP up to the charger ever 3.5 hours. I like leaving my DS and GBA wherever it may lay for a week, and then charging it on the weekend. I don't like babysitting handhelds...

But again, to each his own.

Okay, unless you're an Indian, a business man or someone who lives in Baghdad, how often do you think you will encounter these situations?

This debate has occured a million times, but the point is it's designed to be gaming on the go. I'm often away from home for about 9-10 on campus three days out of the week. In those 10 hours or so I have about a total of 3-4 hours in breaks between classes and such which doesn't leave me enough time to go home. I'd hate to carry the added weight and space of a an ac adapter or whatever. In the morning I usually just pop a game in the SP that I want to play some that day, put the SP in it's airfoam case and go. I don't want to have to carry around added accesories with a PSP. In the end, I want "gaming on the go" not "gaming on the...oh wait I have to find an outlet to plug it into so I can play."

I'm not bad mouthing the PSP or anything (and once I get enough money I'll probably buy one), but like evilmax put it, nobody likes to babysit their portable systems which is what makes a long battery life so important to lots of people.

[Zoglog]

Whatever makes you happy man ;)

[Parathod]

The reason why i'll probably never get a PSP is because I own a DS. Please don't read into that and think i'm saying the DS is superior to the PSP, because i'm not saying that at all. The PSP looks tempting and even has a few games that I like, but I know when the new consoles come out, i'll only have time for one console and one portable. If I miss out on a few awesome games, it's not the end of the world to me and chances are this will wind up being in some clearance bin down the road (obviously not the near future, I mean years from now when a PSP2 or Gameboy Evolution comes out) with $5 games.