Recently, a friend linked me to an old handheld console wars thread where people were just flying off the handle at each other. There were misquotes and wrong specs and name-calling and just... general mayhem. And the systems had barely even been announced back then! But now, we're coming to the end of an era. The DS already has its successor on the market and the PS Vita was recently unveiled. That means the DS and the PSP are on the way out, and I think we might be ready to argue which of them won the battle. Did the PSP--with its more impressive specs and graphics--come out on top? Or was it the DS--gimmicky at first, but fun for the whole family? Or was it a tie? Let's discuss! Personally, I've definitely got to say the DS won. Don't get me wrong, I love my PSP and am almost considering getting a new one even before the Vita comes out, but I just don't think my time with the PSP weighs up to the DS. I mean, my all-time favourite game is a PSP game and I've spent a TON of time with it in the last year, but I still don't think it compares to how much time I've used the DS and the sheer volume of the DS library. When someone asks me to recommend PSP games, I rattle off the usual Square-Enix suspects and maybe a few other games here and there. When someone asks for a DS recommendation? I rarely even know where to start. So while I think they both served their demographic well and were excellent consoles (I've broken both my PSP and my DS Lite just from over use!!), the DS just seemed like the better choice to me, in the end, if I had to recommend just one to somebody. But there are others that would disagree with me, so I'd love to hear all sorts of opinions. ♥
Well, I guess this is bias considering I don't even have a PSP...but I have played one. We'll count that, mkay? But the DS is my baby. I love it. It goes everywhere with me. I have an original and a Lite. And just...ffff I love it so much. The PSP never appealed to me. The only thing I ever thought about getting a PSP for was for Birth By Sleep, but...one game...wasn't worth it, really. With the DS you have all of Pokemon's Gen IV and V on it (so far, in regards to gen V) and not only that, but other titles like Zelda and Mario. I guess I'm just a Nintendo fangirl. :[ But yeah, DS wins for me. I personally just don't think Nintendo can be beat when it comes to handheld systems, mainly because Pokemon has a big monopoly on it.
I have 10 PSP games and 35 DS games. Does that answer your question? Seriously, I don't dislike the PSP, but it doesn't have nearly the game library the DS does. The main PSP games I've enjoyed are the Square Enix games (Birth by Sleep, Crisis Core, etc.), and while there are some other good PSP games, it seems to be that the PSP tried too hard to be offer a portable console experience. What wound up happening was that you got games that imitated their console brethren but couldn't come close to them in graphics, control, scale, etc., so they wound up being pale imitations and watered-down experiences. Not only do you have a shitton of amazing first-party Nintendo titles on the DS, third-party support was better than probably any other Nintendo system. Sure, there was a lot of shovelware, but there were also countless truly great third-party games...Meteos, most Square games, the Ace Attorney series...just to name a few.
I like both. I'm obviously going to be bias towards the PSP because of Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker which was easily goty material. I've probably racked up more hours on my DS though thanks to various pokemon games and a few other gems. For me there isn't a clear winner, the DS has more good games, but I feel that the PSP provides a better overall experiance.
I'm going with the DS being the better system. It has games with better gameplay in my opinion. I can enjoy DS games more than a PSP and the handheld itself it much easier to hold.
This post makes me excited because if Canada Post didn't lose my package during the strike, Peace Walker should be in my mailbox soon. C: Not that I have any shortage of PSP games lately. I also pretty much agree with the rest of your post.
Peace Walker is a really exceptional game, I probably enjoyed it more than MGS4. The controls take some adjusting to though, thanks to Sony's great idea of excluding a second analogue stick from the psp :(
I prefer the PSP. I just think it fits easier in my hands and that the controls are easier to use than the DS. I also like the games for the PSP much better than the DS. However I do got to say that the DS has a better battery life.
I would say "DS by far", but to be honest, I like both of them equally. I once owned a PSP a long time ago. Now mind you, this was years ago, so of course PSP titles then were probably not as great as they are now, but I really did enjoy playing on the PSP and the DS, and I really couldn't choose even if I had a working PSP with me right now. Though because I still seem to be addicted to my DS even after years and years of having it, I guess that would make it the obvious choice.
Hmm well I've played quite a bit both on the PSP and DS. I'll have to say the DS is better because of the game selection. Love playing the Super Mario and Pokemon games on it, nothing available for the PSP really measures it.
