60 Reasons To Own A PSP: My Response To PSPFanboy
By William on Sunday, June 10th, 2007 at 10:52 PM PST In Sony, Sony
PSP Fanboy just posted a new article titled “60 reasons to own a PSP”. I agree with some, and disagree with others they listed. Honestly, the single thing holding back the success of the PSP is the Nintendo DS option. Personally, I prefer the PSP as a system, yet like the DS games more. So far, they have 5 reasons listed. I will keep an eye on the site as they add more.
You can check out the list here. I just plan to respond to some that really stuck out.
1. The Games
People used to say that the PSP had no good games. Obviously, that’s no longer the case. The library features some real gems, such as Lumines, Wipeout, Grand Theft Auto, and Tekken: Dark Resurrection. It also has some new favorites, such as Crush. Of course, if the library isn’t expansive enough, a quick look down the horizon reveals a plethora of Final Fantasy titles, a new God of War, Syphon Filter, Castlevania, Silent Hill, and more.
To be honest, I have to disagree with most of this. PSP games tend to simply be watered down versions of the console games. Of course the ones they listed are great, but it’s not enough to make the PSP the best. I do think the game lineup has drastically improved over the past 6 months and will continue to do so. I have my doubts as to whether the PSP can truly ever be the top pick over the DS.
4. Great homebrew games
Titles like Pollo Pollo and Hexaxis showcase some of the amazing talents of the PSP homebrew community. Upcoming titles like No Gravity show an unstoppable momentum for this underground movement
If homebrew is your thing, the PSP is definitely the top portable system. Underground gaming and the PSP really go well together.
All in all, I think the PSP is a great system, but I still have to personally go with the DS if I had to choose one. Maybe my opinion will change in the future. When it comes to gameing, I don’t like to have my opinions stuck in stone. As always, feel free to argue your opinions in the comments. I never mind sparking a good debate.
I think the the favorite games are going to be different for everyone. This is a personal preference for each individual gameer. I Own a PSP and my son has a DS. He is 11 now and is finding the DS more and more childlike as far as the games he has played for the DS. As far as the PSP outpacing the DS maby not this incarnation but the PSP is 25 million strong and those owners will be looking long and hard are the next PSP incarnation. They will most likely pick the system up as well as a new userbase. Marketing has been a big part of the DS’s success and the fact that it was the only portable system to be around since 1989. The PSP is here to stay and if the next one keeps it’s price down and adds a few features then it’s possible that month to month the PSP will see better than the DS. There are so many DS users blinded and really havent given the PSP a real chance. If they would honestly compare any game that has been made for both systems they would really see how much better the system is. Both sytems have a large library of games but the PSP’s can really give you the experience of a console int he palm of your hand.
Lumines isn’t watered down or a copy.
Wipeout also is not, you could even download quite a bit of additional content fo rit in the past.
Grand Theft Auto – both of them, may have the same cities as two earlier games, but they’re still full featured. Nothing’s really missing here, or watered down.
Tekken: Dark Resurrection is quite the beat’em up. The only downside to it is that, of course, you cannot play it against your buddy if you have just one PSP. Which sucks because that’s what these games are for. But then again, any handheld has that problem.
Crush is a totally new gaming experience and is quite a bit more original that say, Paper Mario is.
That’s not that I’m saying there AREN’t tons of watered down games available for the PSP. But for this article we’re talking about the good games, and how they relate to the PSP not sucking that badly anymore.
I said that the games mentioned were great.
I’m sorry, I’ve misread that part.
For the sake of the argument though – I’d be thinking that when we talk about reasons /to/ own a PSP, wouldn’t sense to concentrate on what kinds of good games there are? How you relate to them, their genres? There’s quite a bit more than those mentioned above. If you don’t feel that they can scratch your itch because of your personal tastes that’s just fine.
The fact that the vast majority of games for any given console is usually lacking in one way or another isn’t PSP specific, though. I’m trying to underscore that there’s often been that argument that there just aren’t that many good PSP games out there. Which simply isn’t true if you ask me.
The pile of so-so games for PSP isn’t that much bigger or smaller than that for other handhelds, like the DS; when sale proportions and amount of games in existance considered.
I’m more disappointed with the little NDS on the aspect that considered it’s a financial success on a much grander scale, there still aren’t that many (or even good) niche games available for it. Japan still has the lead there of course, and I can hardly guess what I’m missing out on. But when you walk the shelves in Europe and you keep in mind that virtually every family owns a DS by now, you wonder where the good 3rd party games are that support a sales flood of this magnitude. And really talking niche games here. Games that are a little bit harder to sell due to their content – may that be adult, experimental or otherwise very specific in their nature.
I’m sorry, I’ve misread that part.
For the sake of the argument though – I’d be thinking that when we talk about reasons /to/ own a PSP, wouldn’t sense to concentrate on what kinds of good games there are? How you relate to them, their genres? There’s quite a bit more than those mentioned above. If you don’t feel that they can scratch your itch because of your personal tastes that’s just fine.
The fact that the vast majority of games for any given console is usually lacking in one way or another isn’t PSP specific, though. I’m trying to underscore that there’s often been that argument that there just aren’t that many good PSP games out there. Which simply isn’t true if you ask me.
The pile of so-so games for PSP isn’t that much bigger or smaller than that for other handhelds, like the DS; when sale proportions and amount of games in existance considered.
I’m more disappointed with the little NDS on the aspect that considered it’s a financial success on a much grander scale, there still aren’t that many (or even good) niche games available for it. Japan still has the lead there of course, and I can hardly guess what I’m missing out on. But when you walk the shelves in Europe and you keep in mind that virtually every family owns a DS by now, you wonder where the good 3rd party games are that support a sales flood of this magnitude. And really talking niche games here. Games that are a little bit harder to sell due to their content – may that be adult, experimental or otherwise very specific in their nature.
(It’s quite complicated to post a follow-up here)
I agree that the lacking games are not PSP specific. I have felt like a majority of games put out this year for all systems are below my expectations.
The problem with most PSP games is that they are great home console games.. but why would you choose to play them on the PSP rather than the home console they were intended for?
I get the sense that a lot of “real” game developers have always looked down on the guys making little 2d sprites for the gameboy.. and when the PSP came out they leapt at the chance to show them REAL games.
But it turns out that making portable games is a lot more of an art than people expected, and simply porting a great home-console game across to a portable system doesn’t make a great portable game. (pacing, control, sound, load times, etc.. all come into play).
Lumines is sweet, but every other good PSP game is better on a home console.
that said, the non-gaming features of the PSP are becoming pretty tempting.. not the official sony ones of course, but the ones the homebrew guys keep thinking up..
Of course the games that you can play are home look better than on PSP. The point of the PSP is not that I can sit at home and lay great games on it. The point is for me to be able to break out some NFS Carbon on in the back of a taxi, or play some Madden during my lunch break at work, or to play some GTA on the plane.
I love my PSP for the simple fact that it is the only handheld that looks good enough for me to consider playing. The DS is a huge seller, but the PSP is the better handheld FOR ME.