Sony PSP vs Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP

Okay, being the videogame geek I am, I had to run out and get each of these as soon as they were available. Comparing them is a bit hard since they really have different applicaitons. Regardless of the bells and whistles touted, I imagine they will ultimately be used primarily for gaming. I'll be talking about the US Nintendo DS, the Japanese Sony PSP as well as the US Sony PSP. Are there any portable games really worth $30-$50? Not really - check eBay. Lots of slick advertsing and fanboy drool going around for both. But here's the lowdown411:

Nintendo DS ($150.00)
The first thing I said when I powered up this guy was, "This is way too nice to get for my 9 year old son, he's gonna break it." Compared to the toy-ish compact Gameboy SP, this thing is in another class. If you have kids you have undoubtly already experienced that clanging noise in your dryer that would be a loose, faded-label Nintendo GBA game cart. Those are small cartridges, but the DS cards are much smaller - like tiny SD memory chips. Expect to have your kids lose them. The Case is larger than a GBA and has very smooth rouded edges. This = slip out of your hands and bust open. So, as far as a kids toy goes - this is heartbreak waiting to happen. But let's assume from here on out that you are not some clumsy kid (you can be a clumbsy adult like me).

The unit is beautiful. You notice the high quality audio as soon as you power up. For having 2 little speakers it projects stereo effects nicely. The Nintendo DS PDA style launch pad is nice - although again I don't know that kids are into that. It is backwards compatible with all previous Gameboys via a seperate cart slot. The unit folds open vertically displaying 2 screens. The bottom one being touch sensitive - the wacky gimmick Nintendo came up with. Look, before I continue I need to state that I'm a big fan of wacky videogame gimmics. I love all those messed up Sega DC titles and accessories. Innovation is a good thing in an industry full of crappy clones. I really was looking forward to what the DS would offer. So here they have an enthusiastic owner looking to enjoy the hardware... but, what's missing? Some software titles of course!!! What is up with the trickle of titles? No killer Apps? Rehashed N64 titles? Oh man, this sucks! There is also built in wireless and the ability to draw crappy pictures. Wow.

I bought (and recommend) a neat little case that holds your Nintendo DS, power cord, manuals and 12 game carts. I have purchased a total of 9 so far. The only one I really play is "Zookeeper". It's Bejeweled for crying out loud! I just don't care about the other titles at all. Here's a quick lowdown411 on the carts I have:

Mario64 - Blew me away... for about 45 minutes. Then I realized that I was just replaying the N64 mario title. Sure they put Yoshi in the beginning to make you think that it was new, but you still end up morphing into Mario in order to get past areas. This is like a tech demo really. This should have been an onboard rom that shipped with the system.

Metroid DS Demo - Nice demo to get you used to the freaky thumb plastic nub controls. Yes you heard me right. Along with a plastic stylus, you can use your finger nail or a freaky thumb plastic nub on a strap. Think of looping a strap around your thumb and melting a drop of wax on the outside. Then you slide this on the bottom touch screen to emulate a right-side FPS view control. Ugh! You will finally get used to it - buy WHY? And the actual game isn't coming out until the end of 2005. Lame-o-rama. Nice looking though.

Feel the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - This Sega title has you joining a blue-man-group like performace troupe in order to impress some 2-toned babe. Seriously, I was on a business trip in Chicago when I picked this one up. I played it's ridiculous rubbing/blowing/scratching mini games for about 20 minutes before pulling out the Giddeons and promising not to abuse my hands like that ever again.

Ridge Racer - Seriously, didn't we already play this on the N64? Very few tracks/cars/music to pick from.

The Urbz - Look, I already have a freaking job. Getting loser video game characters from point A to B is not my idea of fun.

Mr Driller - I love Mister Driller. But you've played this before, no?

Yoshi Touch and Go - I played this for approximately 7 minutes. Another attempt to use the stylus and justify incorporating the touch screen. You draw clouds to steer a falling Yoshi. So lame. So boring. So disappointing.

Rayman - Deja Vu... This is the same game I played on the Dreamcast. It's kind of neat to play a portable version, but so what? Boring.

Zookeeper - What can I say? This is the cart that keeps me from packing the DS back into it's box and storing it in the archives next to my 3DO. Bejeweled rocks but why can't I retry tasks in the quest mode?

Games that I will probably buy for Nintendo DS when the actually come out: Metroid, Castlevania, New Mario, Nintendogs.

So there you have it - the lowdown411 on the Nintendo DS. A portable gaming device for non-clumbsy children or emotionally retarded adults.

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Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) (starting @ $250.00)
You'll quickly realize that this is another non-child friendly device. Beautiful design and materials but just begging to be broken. The Sony PSP screen is simply amazing. Far superior to the Nintendo DS in every way. However, many owners have experienced dead pixels. Sony is trying to do damage control - whatever. The thing reads games from yet another new Sony media (can you say mini disc?) the UMD which stands for Useless Method of trying to keep the PSP Disc from getting hacked. Sorry Sony - it's already been done. The Sony PSP games look very nice. Not quite on par with PS2 but somewhere between PS1 and PS2. Impressive looking. there are some problems though. Optical Disc = long loading times = massive use of battery to spin disc = out of batteries frequently. Very annoying. This device is however marketed as more than just a gaming device. It plays media files (that you have to re-encode as MPG4... pain in the ass) and mp3s. Also wireless is built in and is definitely superior to the DS wireless setup. Keeping with tradition, Sony has forced the user to spend ridiculous amounts of money on proprietary low capacity memory cards. Seriously, how hard would it have been to use MMC? I almost forgot to mention, Sony thinks that were going to re-purchase all of our DVD movies in UMD format so that we can watch them on a small portable screen with a battery lifespan of 1.5 hrs. - that's funny! Both the US and Japanese value packs included some decent extras - case, micro-memory card, strap, headphones and a remote but still costs more than it should. New consoles go for $250 - $300.

Moving on to the main use of this fancy thing - Gaming. I originally purchased a Japanese value pack because it came out much earlier than the US version. It can play all region games so it seemed like a good bet. Additionally, the JP firmware allows for the latest hacks. The US upgrade plugs some holes. The Japanes games I have are as follows:

Metal Gear Solid Acid - Seriously, I heard this was a good game. I simply cannot figure out what the Sam Hell is going on in this Japanese language game. I can't bring myself to buy the the English version yet. When it's $20.00 we'll talk.

Luminares - Music Tetris Puzzle Game. Most played game on this system. What strikes me about both the DS and the PSP is that my favorite games on both are puzzle games. This was the case when the original Gameboy came out in the late 80's. The Sega Game Gear was superior in graphics but Gameboy won the market because everyone got hooked on Tetris.

Armor Giant Mech Core Chaos - Honestly, I can't figure out what the hell is going on in this game. Giant Mechs and a mess of crazy action you cannot possibly follow. This reveals a real problem for me with the PSP gameplay. Everytime there is rapid movement of objects on the screen, the whole field of view begins to slightly tremor and blur. Have you ever been on a freeway and one of your tires is about to go and you feel that rumbling in your steering wheel just before... BAM! The visuals in this game are REALLY annoying and hard on your eyes. Unplayable.

Japanese Limited UMD Demo Disc - Weird J Pop songs and videos. No playable demos - unforgivable. Show off to your friends what a game might look like in a demo MOVIE??? Lame.

Okay so finally I purchased the US PSP when it came out. Value pack comes with a similar lame demo disc that has no playable content. Weak!

The lowdown411 on US Games I purchased:

Tony Hawk - Nice graphics and presentation. Controls are weird and take getting used to. Finally made me feel like the PSP was worthwhile.

Spiderman Game - Nintendo must be so embarassed. Comparing this version to the DS is such a joke. This is superior in every way.

Ridge Racer - My God Nintendo, what were you thinking??? The comparison is even more brutal than Spiderman. This really showcases the PSPs potential.

Ape Escape - So there aren't any little boys vacuuming the pants off monkey's this time round, but still just a boring PS1 port. What was the point?

Wipeout Pure - I only got this because you can hack the hidden web browser. Don't let all the Sony fanboys fool you, this is a mediocre title.


Conclusion:
Let me tell you that although these systems are an exciting progression in portable gaming, there is not a single Nintendo DS or Sony PSP game that is worth more than $20.00 of your hard earned dollars. Need for Speed Underground is $50.00 at Toys r Us - What a joke!!!! Many retailers are pushing/requiring that you buy a PSP bundle. Ouch! Very overpriced. Don't be a sucka like me. Check out eBay if you really want one of these systems.

***Sucka Alert***
A new Internet rumor suggests that Sony is going to redesign or repackage the PSP with a better screen and longer battery life for holiday release. Bastards. Will there be any compensation for loyal customers who already own a PSP.. we'll see. You can't trust this damn Internet thing anyway.
***Sucka Alert***