North America Welcomes the Sony PSP

[eminefes]

I also got similar battery life playing Wipeout for a couple hours today....and for most of the time I had the brightness at medium.

I must say, the game is addictive. I just finally got gold on the third Zone track. You have to get up to zone 30 to get gold, but I kept getting 29 and then blowing up....but I finally got there.

I'm still not sure how I like the analog nub. I can get around tracks much faster with it (much easier to keep the nose down, obviously), but I'm more prone to crashing since it's a bit difficult to keep steady. But you really can't get the same speed with the D-pad since it's hard to press UP on the D-pad (to keep the nose down) while also steering.....so I dunno.

[James S]

Are the games holding everyone's interest? I'm particularly interested in that Mercury game, and I heard an Ace Combat game was coming to the PSP. Ridge Racer looks fun, too.

So, are you guys still playing the games that you have?

I'm thinking about buying a PSP and a couple 1GB MS cards to use the system as an MP3 player and to have some games incase I get bored. I'm wondering if the games are worth it, though, when I could get a 40GB iPod for the same price as the PSP alone.

Thing is I won't have my computer this summer, so I'll probably just get an iPod to store all of my MP3s on and to listen to. But if the PSP has fun games ... I don't really want to waste my time playing games, but if they're pleasurable to play it would be a nice distraction.

[Mechcommander]

It's surprised me at how Wipeout Pure has held my interest. It combines a variety of play modes, tracks, and ships to keep you truely entertained for quite a long time. I'm having a challenging (but no less fun) time with just the secondary difficulty level on most of the tracks, and I still have three higher modes to go. Combine those difficulty settings with the various play modes (Zone gets the adrenaline pumping), this game will last you at least three weeks. I can't say much about the other games, however- I don't have the money to buy any new ones yet. But, just from what I've seen from Wipeout and the capabilities of the hardware, the games are going to be great.
I'm not sure how that stacks up to an iPod, though- The PSP can only have a few GB's of space for MP3's, while the iPod easily leads in that department. I got the PSP for all its' capabilities; playing movies, MP3's, looking at photos, and playing Dreamcast-quality games all intrigued me, so if you're just looking at one just for the MP3 capabilities.. I'd think this one through. The PSP isn't as 'rough-and'tumble' as the iPod, you'll need to buy a decent case (The Logitech one looks excellent) and make sure to keep it in a secure pocket. The iPod is nice since you can throw it in pretty much anything and go. The PSP requires, IMO, much more care and attention than an iPod would.

So, I guess I'm trying to say this:
If you're looking for a grab-it-and-go music player, get an iPod.
If you're looking for a handheld multimedia device that has numerous ways to keep you entertained, go for the PSP. Make sure to grab a good case, while you're at it.

Not sure if that helps or not, I kind of feel like I answered your question without really answering your question. =/

[James S]

have you transfered any movies to it to see quality?

[Mechcommander]

I have, but you can't do much with 32 MB's, unfortunately. I was able to put a 30-minute clip with the lowest quality profile PSP Video 9 was able to handle, and it was watchable.. I could try some video clips with varying quality settings, if you'd like me to, however.

[Miracle]

[James S]

It's just that games fascinate me. I haven't played any in 2 years, so I'm kind of curious what they're like nowadays. It seems like the PSP quality graphics are as good as what my computer did back then, so I figure I'd be pretty astonished.

Any good games for PocketPC out? They all seem to be pretty lousy or gimmicky productions. Most are just $15 shuffle the image games.

[David Horn]

Myst? Flux Challenge last year, and Arvale this year. You'd have to check the PocketGamer news archives - at some point I'll compile a list of games sorted by popularity.

[Maf54]

PocketGamer, whats that?

[James S]

[Bluetrane]

[James S]

Frameskip... okay, so it runs at below 1/3 of the normal speed. Gotcha. Thanks.

[Bluetrane]

[Miracle]

[Bluetrane]