PSP is here: So what?

The media has been awash with stories regarding Sony's latest wonder, the PSP, which it touts as a source of "Entertainment Without Boundaries." And since this is Sony were talking about here, they were using every ounce of their marketing skill and media influence to tout this little jewel to the heavens. I have to be honest, I saw so many articles and stories about the PSP being akin to the Second Coming that I could have screamed! Even Penny Arcade jumped on the bandwagon of hype. Now, I didn't have a problem with the DS being touted like this back at Christmas time because A) It's Nintendo, and B) I feel the coverage the DS received was created by a genuine buzz and public interest in the system, which was corroborated by strong sales. However, after the dust has stared to settle on the PSP's inaugural weekend, reports are coming in from all over of lackluster sails for the device in many areas. Hee hee! Sorry, I just had to laugh. Unfortunately, despites the Sony marketing juggernaut's best efforts to generate hype it would seem that it has not managed to convince the average parent pr teenager to plunk down $250 for the PSP.

I think that the price of the PSP is one of its biggest drawbacks in terms of mass-market support. That is the price for a brand-new console, and when you combine it with games that go for $40-50, it is just too much for many consumers to stomach. The PSP does have some good capabilities for that price, such as what is acclaimed to be a very pretty screen, multimedia capabilities, and wireless communication. The PSP is sort of a Swiss army handheld, able to play games, movies, music, surf the net, and display digital photos. The only problem is, I already have devices that can do most of those things better than the PSP can. In terms of multimedia, I would argue the PSP is hampered by a short battery life and expensive proprietary media formats. If I want to watch movies on the go, a portable DVD player would seem to be a much more economical choice; cheaper, bigger screen, and, oh yeah, I can watch DVDs I already own.

So, how does the PSP stack up to the DS? Quite frankly, I think that the DS is the stronger handheld system based on the fact that it has a more flexible input system in the touch screen, is backward compatible with GBA games, and has a far superior battery life. Sony's machine will have prettier games sure, but what good is that if you can only play them for a couple of hours and a good chunk of that time is given up even to long loading times? Sure, the PSP has all kinds of handy-dandy multimedia capabilities the DS doesn't have, but what good does that do you if you have to buy a movie in a proprietary format and can't even get through it on one battery charge? "Entertainment Without Boundaries," my ass.

I do not see myself getting a PSP. A combination of the cost, design flaws, and game library are the primary motivators for that view. Quite frankly, I have not seen any PSP games that are interesting to me, nor have I heard any announced. The DS is currently in a similar boat, mind you. Other than Mario 64 DS, the current DS library is equally uninteresting to me. However a number of games have been announced for the DS to release later this year that I am greatly anticipating, and in the mean time there is the GBA compatibility to hold me over. Despite the opinions of many "experts," I am as confident as ever in having purchased my DS last November.

By: Andy Rucker