To PSP or not to PSP...Ah, why not?

I had been pondering lately about getting a PSP. Not that I adore
Sony products - I actually don't like their 'elitist' marketing and
product placements - though I do admit their ideas and technology are top notch.

The main reason for my looking into the PSP is because of the upcoming games being ported into it, and a majority of those games I like.

So one sunny day while hanging out with a friend and his family, I pulled the trigger on a limited edition MGS Peacewalker PSP bundle.

It's nice...and green :-D

Yes literally green, take a look:


Metal Gear Solid 4: Peacewalker bundle version. The emerald green color makes it quite unique.
Immediately I noticed how fragile the system feels. It is something that I would really need a robust play-in case for. And that I did, first getting a PSP travel case (awesome deal at $6.97), while I waited for my online order of the Logitech PSP hardcase.

The screen is very nice and sharp. The controls are placed nicely, however the casing is a bit slippery, so another good accessory to have is a lanyard.

The unit also features a neat 'remote play' feature for those with PS3s. The PSP can actually remote to the PS3 and it displays the actual PS3 screen on it. You can play games (not all though), listen to music, and watch videos stored on the PS3. There are still restrictions on the video and audio streaming, for example you can't stream Blu-ray or DVD movies.

Now about the battery life. It is dismal.

In fairness, the unit does have a larger screen and the drive it uses to run it's media (UMD) is bigger and uses more power. Good thing there are extended batteries available and I pounced on this one too. The extended battery significantly lengthen play time indeed.

And the wifi connection uses the Wireless B protocol. Yes...Wireless B only...

With all the funding and tech Sony has, they managed to only squeeze in a Wireless B unit in the PSP On all three iterations of the PSP at that. Maybe there's something special about sticking with B at a 'blazing' 11 mbps versus going with either G with 54mbps or N with 108mbps...


The PSP wins the 'pretty screen' contest. However, the Nintendo DSi still holds the game library and overall playability trump cards.
In summary, I still say Nintendo's got the portable console gaming in the bag (adding to the fact Nintendo realized that 54 > 11, good job!). The PSP is more of a 'mature' platform, with it's enhanced display and strong multi-media capabilities. The PSP's game library is small, but growing, but will still need a lot of ground to cover to be on par with Nintendo's handhelds.

The PSP is an excellent portable RPG console though, and that's what this unit is going to be for me. Lucky for RPG gamers that a lot of games coming are also ports from the larger consoles.

The ability to interact with the PS3 is a big plus for PS3 users,

I've been asked if I'll go and 'hack' my PSP. I guess we'll see in a few months ;-)

PS: And I did choose the classic PSP, and not the PSP Go. Never liked the idea of the PSP Go and the download-only gaming capability. I think the 'Go' in PSP Go means 'Gone Overboard'...

Mata ne!