The PSP

[erjin999]

Yay, lets all present opinions as facts ! Then this discussion can head downwards faster then...something.

[Spectral Paladin]

Well, in order to lose the stylus when you can so easily store it safely, you must be lacking something - that's a fact. Compared to the person who won't lose it you are somehow inferior. Intelligence is I think what you would lack. While comparing the PSP and DS is a matter of opinion - the one offers quality, the other innovative features, those two can't be compared.

If I lost my DS I would be an idiot, wouldn't I? (I 'm not talking about it being stolen.) Well losing the stylus is as easy as  losing the DS...

Anyway, I wouldn't want this to turn to a debate whether what I said was fact or no, regard it as a comment (which is true :P) if you so wish .

[erjin999]

Well, in order to lose the stylus when you can so easily store it safely, you must be lacking something - that's a fact.

Not a fact. But yeah, its your own comment. ok. Lets move on then.

[Umma Kynes]

I'm not even going to read the rest; I got about halfway.

Nintendo is better because they belive in this mantra:

Game systems should ONLY be used to play games.

If you want to watch DVD's, get a player.

If you want to listen to music, turn on the radio.

If you want a PSP, get a life.  ;D

[Dante]

I tend to agree with most of that sentiment. If I were to buy a new portable device thingy (and I'm not, because the GBA:SP is more than enough for me right now), then I don't think I'd care about watching movies or playing music. I've got a computer for that, and I don't like doing either of those things when I'm on the move anyway. When buying something for games, I'll use it for games. All other considerations are surplus to requirements.

As far as I gather then, the DS would be better for my kind of attitude. Sure, you have to get additions to do the stuff that the PSP can do, but if you don't want the additions then the cheaper price is all the more attractive. And the DS has a nicer weight balance and shape as well. Heh.

But really I should be staying out of this argument, since I doubt that I'll be buying either. Have fun guys.

[Dragoon Knight]

Umma, please only post if you're going to be constructive.  At least have an argument that stands up to debate, and hasn't already been discussed.  Read the other half of this thread.

Spectral Paladin; just because someone loses a small, grey bit of plastic, does not make them an idiot.  It does not make them prone to losing bigger things, either.  A simple yes or no answer to this question will suffice: is it true that it is easier to lose tools / peripherals that actually exist, as opposed to ones that don't?

I bought the PSP because I want more for my money, without the hassle of having to buy loads of extras or worrying about losing some fiddly little attachments.  Other than the touch screen, microphone and slightly larger battery life, I can't see any reason why I would want to buy a DS.  None of the features it has appeal to me, whereas I have always liked Sony; the hardware they produce and the games they license.

I do not appreciate being told that my friend is an idiot, nor do I feel being told to "get a life" is appropriate.  Either present new arguments for the DS being 'better' than the PSP, or concede that it is a better console overall, simply because of the better quality features that come as standard.  Or, you could just stop arguing about it, and use this thread to discuss the PSP, as it was originally intended.  Any more 'name calling', intelligence-questioning or anything else that counts as a flame, and I'll just lock the thread.  I really thought that FED2k posters would be more mature about this...

[Spectral Paladin]

Your question is too general. Since I know however that you are talking about the DS's accesories, the answer is no, because you can only lose them if you lose the console or are a idiot/lazy/forgetful/whateveryouthinkyouare person that doesn't put those in the proper place after play, in which case you probably don't put things in their proper place generally - so you are prone to losing other things too.

Why do you keep mentioning loads of fiddly attachments? I presented you with a movie player that does many things at the same time.

You want to talk about the PSP? Let's talk then. Latest I hear about it is that Sony is doing everything possible to prevent people from running homebrew applications on the psp. Why are they doing that? You say you like Sony, but I can't see why. Worse is that they use firmware upgrades to do that, and in order to force people to download them the newer games will require the latest version in order to play. For a person like you who doesn't like bothering a lot about the console it must be a real pain having to ensure you always have the latest firmware upgrade.

[Dragoon Knight]

Since you seem incapable of answering a simple question in the way I asked, I'll do it for you.  Yes, it is easier to lose attachments that actually exist, as opposed to those that don't.  Therefore, the DS has a disadvantage when compared to the PSP, as it has accessories that can be lost, thus hindering gameplay.  It doesn't matter if you think someone who does that is less intelligent than you; keep your derogatory comments to yourself and face facts.

As for the firmware upgrade issue... it isn't one.  All games that require a newer version of the software come with the upgrade packaged on the UMD, in the same way that new games for the PC come with the latest version of DirectX.  And stopping piracy is a good, thing, if you didn't notice.

[Spectral Paladin]

I already answered your question with a no. Since I put the damned stylus into the DS, losing it is as easy as losing the DS..!

Like I said before...mp3 players must suck badly...since you need earphones!!!

Don't even try to argue about the size of the stylus compared to the earphones; they are both small accessories that are kept with the device they are associated with. Therefore losing them is not an issue. Say no more please, this is a very stupid argument, to say the PSP is better because it displays far more colors is ok, to say it's better because it doesn't have a stylus shows you 're a sony fanboy who doesn't even know what the advantages of the console are supposed to be. Let's not continue this.

Stopping piracy? How misinformed you are. Sure, the ability to run applications on the PSP would allow you to emulate a wide range of games. Does it matter however? You can emulate those on your PC anyway - just as illegal and I don't see anyone bothering to stop it. But homebrew applications aren't limited to that, in fact there are much more interesting things to do like make your own games (which in case of the DS is more interesting because of the unique features :P :P, of course it isn't much less fun on the PSP) or run other people's applications (if you 're not interested in programming yourself).

[erjin999]

I have also read about this homebrew apps thing on the PSP, and heard how Sony were against it. I read this in the gaurdian a short while ago, and was suprised at their attitude. I got the impression from the article that the homebrew apps were not used to create/use illegal games, but improve the console, adding things that Sony did have.

Thinking back, it may have mentioned being able to play older games, emulated. Perhaps thats why Sony might not want to have homebrew apps, in case everyone plays all the old time classics, and dont buy their nice neww and considerably more expensive games.

Either way, I guess it is their right to put out upgrades to the firmware, as I would view it your right to not upgrade.

[Spectral Paladin]

Yes it is possible to emulate old games on the PSP (as well as the DS and the gba), but you can do so at your PC. While it is illegal, what actions do you see against PC emulators? Little to none.

I really don't think anyone would spend his money on a PSP just to emulate old games (while he can do the same at his PC or much cheaper but still very capable gba). And even if Sony fears that people will prefer old games over the new ones, the firmware upgrade won't do much since those people will simply not get it.

Still, in a way sony deprives the gamer of the choice whether to upgrade to not. If he doesn't, he won't be able to play new games.

[erjin999]

I agree with your last line. That is expected, and everyone knows it, but what can you do or say ? "I want to run my own apps on this so dont block me in your upgraded firmware" ? I bet they have something about not running unauthorised apps in some agreement you agree to by opening the PS or something. Ether way, even if they dont, they are not going to change their stance becuase you want them to...Opinions.

[Dragoon Knight]

I'll ask you once again to keep personal comments to yourself, Spectral Paladin.  If you want to stop arguing the accessories point, then fine.  But you haven't provided a decent argument, and that is both opinion and fact.

Moving on, though, I'm actually posting this using my PSP.  Can your DS do that?

[Spectral Paladin]

Obvious, since it took you more than 10 minutes to make this post :P

I don't know if the DS can or will do it, but it doesn't matter, my mobile can do it anyway.

There is no accessories point.

By the way just saw pop:warrior within will come out for the psp; have to admit that's nice, I 'd very much like it for the DS (but instead DS gets a lame pop card game).

[Dragoon Knight]

It took me 5 minutes to make that post; I was doing other things at the same time.  Among them were listening to music (on my PSP), looking at Webcomics (on my PC, because I can't browse 2 pages at once on my PSP) and drinking Irn-Bru.

I like that idea; a message that pops up if you try to access the internet with a DS... "Sorry, go buy a mobile that can do it instead." ::)

There is an accessories point; you just don't want to face certain facts.  And I don't like the Prince of Persia games all that much, so I'm not really able to comment. :)

[Spectral Paladin]

I am quite certain that the DS will eventually have the ability to surf the net as well but it doesn't matter. Because the PSP and the DS need to connect to a Wifi router in order to connect to the internet while a mobile can do it on its very own.

[erjin999]

Hey ! My Palm T3 does a lot of what you said, shall we start to consider that and its merits ? :P

Serious thought though, do you guys think they will make the GPS systems compatible with these new powerful devices (DS, PSP) ?

[Dragoon Knight]

Correct; they have to connect with a WiFi network.  However, your argument about phones being able to do this anyway is potentially invalid, Spectral Paladin.  I work for Vodafone, and they have a service called Mobile Connect.  It allows wireless internet access through a WiFi card that connects directly to the Vodafone network.  These cards are treated just like mobiles, except purely GPRS entities.

Like you said, Erjin, it won't be long before Sony (and indeed, Nintendo) start to offer WiFi Access in a similar manner, possibly using the services of a company such as Vodafone.  Don't bother talking about cost, as it's expensive enough on mobiles as it is.  And GPRS is capable of supporting 768Kbps connections, it's just never been used to that extent.

In this case, too, the PSP will win.  While the DS will have the advantage of a touchpad as a mouse, the small screen will be comparitively useless when faced with the PSP's widescreen, hi-res display.  I've already used the PSP for browsing several sites, and it just seems to come naturally.  The display is magnificent; pictures crystal clear and everything working as it normally does.  With several sites out there spawning PSP specialised web-content, there's no real question about which console is favoured in this area.

[Spectral Paladin]

One thing to point out: though the psp has a bigger screen, with higher resolution and more colors, that doesn't mean that the DS one is useless. It's magnificent as well, even though psp's is more magnificent. I doubt the difference will be noticeable when surfing the web. If both are able to display the same content, why does the psp win?

It's like comparing a 2D game on them... it's the same.

My mobile can surf from anywhere (and I am not talking about wap). There is of course wap, and some other newer online services designed for mobiles (I guess Mobile Connect is something like that), but most modern are capable of surfing the net like a pc. The biggest problem is navigation (pages are broken in many little pieces) and non-text stuff (depends on your mobiles' software but generally it cannot display flash or java thingies, nor display large pictures (large in file size)). I think it connects sorta like a pc with modem (by dialing a number).

[EWS]

This argument should be focusing on the games of the consoles.  I bought my DS because I wanted to play games on it, not because I wanted to do all these other things.

When it comes down to gameing, I firmly believe that the DS has the better games.  The scope of the DS seems to allow for better, more imaginative games (much like the Revolution) and I think that is where the DS will win.

The PSP has more features, true it does.  The DS has more innovation, true.  But why do they have to compete against each other, both should be able to co-exist as they both offer different things - PSP offering a multimedia approach (at a higher cost, but a justified higher cost) and the DS offering a gaming approach (at a justified lower approach).  Time will only tell to see which one (if any) comes out as the market leader.  The only thing I am worried about is whether something I called the Sony Syndrome will happen - ie. lots of poor quality, ultimatly crap games will appear for the PSP against the small amount of games, but on average of a higher quality, coming out for the DS.  It happened on the PS vs N64 and again with the PS2 vs GC.  Taking a look at the games that are out at the moment, it seems that the trend is following.

[Spectral Paladin]

You 're right EWS except for the PSP's price, which in my opinion is not justified.

[EWS]

No, for coming with an in built Movie player, mp3 player, web browser and all that other gumph I think the price is sort of justifiable.  Basically it is a multimedia device (much like a palmtop) and for something that would come with all that would cost somewhere near that price region.

[Spectral Paladin]

Web browser - costs virtually nothing

mp3 player - a significant part of an mp3 player's price represents the memory storage. If I 'm not wrong to play mp3's on psp you put them in memory stick - paid for separately.

movie player - same with mp3 one; psp already has a good screen and movies come in umd - paid for separately.

So what is worth that much money?

[EWS]

A standalone MP3 player would set you back a bit.  A standalone movie player would set you back a wee bit as well.  I wasn't meaning in the terms of the PSP, I was meaning if you had to pay for them seperatly.  And you get a memory stick with the PSP anyway.  Plus they are releasing a PSP with a HDD next year.

[Spectral Paladin]

The standalone mp3 player and the rest are going to cost more but offer better quality as well.

Remember, mobile phones now have digitals cameras, can play mp3s, can display pictures, text, video, play games, connect wirelessly with each other, connect to the internet on their own + all their unique features as mobiles: sms, mms, phoning (duh) etc. So if you 're satisfied with these, you don't need anything else. But most people are not satisfied with their mobile alone. It's a safe bet that most psp owners have an mp3 player anyway. So they 've payed the price twice.

As for the psp's graphical power, that is paramount. The DS's graphics are on par with the N64. Back in those days that was the best you could have for your tv, now it's in your pocket and you need more? Peh, you 're a sony victim. I saw many people buy a psp just because it was sony's. They were not in need of a portable console. The same people that thought ps2 had better graphics than gamecube (roflmao). The well-known idiotic victims of everything that is popular.

And yes, the last paragraph was heavily commented.