Am I happy with my purchase? Am I! I always wanted a DS, and although the original was in silver, it was butt ugly. The Lite is smaller, sleeker and sexier. I had to get white – after buying my Creative ZEN Vision:M, never again will I purchase a handheld product in glossy black. It came with an instruction manual, but even though I read it I didn’t need to. Want something? Touch it. Want to leave a menu? Touch ‘Exit’. The device is very lightweight, the buttons feel okay (haven’t used them much though), the screen is very bright – the only problem is the quiet sound on some games. Compared to the Sony PSP I have definitely made the right choice for me. Everyone I’ve spoken to has said to get the PSP for the following reasons – I will give a counterpoint for each one:
- PSP has a widescreen display (DS has two displays, both much brighter and isn’t so bloody reflective)
- PSP has better graphics (graphics don’t make a game, they merely enhance it. I still find games like Pac-Man and Tetris fun – do they require 3D polygons?)
- PSP has console-equivalent games (they’re console games, not designed for a handheld. The analog stick is rubbish)
- PSP has well-established game franchises (I want to play some new games as well as old ones, not the same stuff I’ve been playing for years already)
- UMDs can hold more game data than cartridges (yes, and bring the marvellous world of loading to handhelds. It was a couple of minutes before I could play GTA on the PSP! Besides, they’re only going to fill it with FMV – so impressive)
- PSP has better sound quality (agreed it does – but the DS is no Atari 2600)
- PSP can play music (I have a ZEN for that – and a mobile phone)
- PSP can show photos (see above – and I hardly ever do this out and about)
- PSP can play movies (again, see above – again, hardly ever done. Plus it takes a lot of conversion – more waiting! And UMD movies? Don’t make me laugh! Also enjoy sucking your battery life with them)
- PSP can surf the internet (so can the DS with an add-on – and I have my phone for that. I’ve heard it’s not a great experience anyway)
- PSP can run homebrew software (as long as you’re not using the latest firmware version. And why bother – aren’t the built-in capabilities enough?)
- PSP is upgradeable (this is actually a good feature, although Sony use it largely as a way to disable running homebrew software)
- PSP looks better (have you seen the DS Lite? Smaller, sleeker, sexier? If you think fingerprints and seeing yourself and not the game looks better, then sure, PSP is the winner)
That’s all I can think of right now. I’m not a Nintendo fanboy – I despise some of their earlier consoles. And I’m not a Sony hater – I’ve been a fan of most of their products for years. It’s just that both handhelds offer completely different experiences, and both excel in their fields. What I don’t like is when people slate the handheld they don’t own, and mock people for their choices. If it suits them better, what’s wrong with that? Don’t just say ‘oh it’s crap because it has no graphics’ or ‘oh it’s crap because it’s just about graphics’ – the merit is the joy it brings to the owner. If people stopped bickering so much, they could instead share experiences and enjoy something they otherwise mightn’t have had the chance to. I for example am dying to play LocoRoco on the PSP, but it’s not reason enough for me to buy one. If I knew someone with the game though, then I could satisfy my interest whilst they could be enjoying something on my DS. Can’t we all just, get along? (
Enough about the console – what about the games? Well, I’m going to blog about each game individually – I feel they deserve it.
Until next time – Can you feel it?
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