Two years after their release - which is better overall PSP or Nintendo DS?

Better Overall

  • Total voters
    166
Archaea

Archaea

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
11,826
At this point in time, a couple years after their release which is better?

Nintendo DS
PSP
 
I own neither, but the PSP is starting to look somewhat tempting lately. Some good games coming out.

DS has too many kiddie, non-games.
 
IMO, the PSP would have a fate worse than the Atari Lynx if it wasn't for the mods/homebrew on it. By itself, it really isn't a good handheld system.
 
If you consider success purely as a gaming platform (not counting emulation/homebrew) I think the DS winning/won.

If you consider that a very large majority of PSPs are capable of homebrew, and have been modded by their owners to run emulation of nearly everything PS1 and older, and the fact that the PSP is more of a multimedia portable toy that can do tons of video, audio, gaming and utilities (portable SSH client ffs!), than the PSP is winning in that department.

*EDIT* And PSP "native" titles are getting stronger. The PSP is receiving/received a large amount of excellent PS1 remakes, especially in the RPG department. If you missed out on PS1 titles, don't want to have bars on the sides through emulation, chances are there is a PSP remake out or in the works. Cases in point:

FF1
Star Ocean 1 & 2
Gradius Collection
Tales of Eternia
Legend of Heroes (3 of 'em, the numbering scheme is whack)
many more I can't remember...

Good native titles are Ace Combat X, After Burner, Puzzle Quest (on the DS too, but I've heard that's kinda bleh) and a few others too that I don't remember. ;)
 
Sales wise we all know DS is beating down on the PSP (or any other system for that matter), but IMO its hard to compare DS and PSP. Both of them have great games, but their selections are very different. Personally, I prefer the PSP because it offers me the best games in the genres I like (platformer, action, racing, fighting, puzzle). Not to mention homebrew also puts it over the hump for me.
 
not comparable to me.
i own both and use them for different reasons.

my DS is for a quick round of gaming on the bus into town, and never leaves my backpack otherwise.

my PSP is a multimedia device that i can use anywhere, especially now that i can stream tunes/movies from my PS3 on any wireless connection.
 
I say DS takes it just because it offers things I cant really play anywhere else, while the PSP has a bunch of games that I can play bigger and better on the PS2.

I know the homebrew/ mods and media hacks for the PSP are nice, but I still focus on the core principle, which is the game lineup. Thankfully the PSP has been getting some good games, but DAMN it took forever.

I'll buy a PSP when it's closer to 100 bucks or a new model comes out ala slim PS2.
 
PSP

There still is not a single DS game that I care to play. Even my girlfriend who has one, hasn't played it in months because she is bored with the games, every time we go out she looks at whats out but doesn't like anything that is available.
 
I voted PSP because I use it a lot more then my DS. I have about 10 PSP games and about 3 DS games.

I did enjoy playing mario kart with my little cousin a few weeks ago and the game share worked well, but out side of that not many of the DS games appeal to me. I find that the DS is mostly mini games. Its really up to what you prefer though and the DS is more mobile, it is smaller, has longer battery life, and the screen is more visible in sunlight vs the PSP.
 
I haven't touched my DS in over a year. This was after I spent ~$140 for my M3 + Sandisk card. I play a lot of GBA on my PSP as it looks better than it does on the GBA itself (I can't stand having a black screen on the DS when playing GBA games). So I guess I would go with the PSP solely because of homebrew. In fact, I got it back in 2005 because of the homebrew scene.
 
I think most people will agree that the PSP is starting to make a comeback.
 
The variety of the games on the DS is what has me coming back for more. Most of the games on PSP I feel like I'd rather play as a full fledged PS2 title... doesn't really suit my handheld needs :I
 
MasterShredder said:
IMO, the PSP would have a fate worse than the Atari Lynx if it wasn't for the mods/homebrew on it. By itself, it really isn't a good handheld system.
Click to expand...

The Lynx rocked!!! Remember that one game with the airplane and you went around blowing up stuff and the graphics were all sweet?
Yeah me neither....
 
I have both and use the DS more. Though I have to admit that I haven't tried out the homebrew scene of the PSP which could be why. Maybe this summer i'll hit it up with a bunch of homebrew goodness :)
 
I used my PSP for a long time without homebrew and I still it was completely superior to the DS. I've only been running a homebrew firmware since February. I would love to get a PS3 so I can use my PSP with it but I don't have the money right now. IIRC the Wii cannot connect to a DS as of right now.
 
Depends on what you want to do with it. The PSP's a lot more multi-purpose, but it's too bulky to actually carry around and until recently it was priced too high.
While this is opinionated, I can't think of any PSP games that can match games like Mario Kart or either of the two DS Castlevania games.
Homebrew's really where the PSP shines, but if you don't go that route, I'd say it's an inferior item (for gaming). If you do go that route...maybe a different story. It's still bulky, though.

I'll choose the DS, but the PSP has some merits. I still think it's gaming library isn't much, though.
 
Domingo said:
Depends on what you want to do with it. The PSP's a lot more multi-purpose, but it's too bulky to actually carry around and until recently it was priced too high.
While this is opinionated, I can't think of any PSP games that can match games like Mario Kart or either of the two DS Castlevania games.
Homebrew's really where the PSP shines, but if you don't go that route, I'd say it's an inferior item (for gaming). If you do go that route...maybe a different story. It's still bulky, though.

I'll choose the DS, but the PSP has some merits. I still think it's gaming library isn't much, though.
Click to expand...

The PSP is only slight bigger than the DSLite when its closed, and most of that size is filled with a screen. I'm not a big RPG fan so I can't think of one to compare to Castlevania, but racing games on the DS are a joke.
 
For me the DS library is more appealing. I have literally played Phoenix Wright games while driving because it was so entertaining. Add in multiple DS's for games like Mario Kart and it gets even better. PSP is tempting at the new price point, but it doesn't add anything new to the same games you would find on a console.
 
newster said:
it doesn't add anything new to the same games you would find on a console.
Click to expand...

What about the fact that you don't need to be sitting at home to play it...

I'm going to school tonight, and I have a few hours between classes. I'm probably going to play Race Driver 2006 which is almost identical to TOCA 2 on the PS2. Would I rather play it on my PS2, probably. But I'm not home much, and when I am I don't like to play video games. So when I can play a PSP game that is almost identical to the PS2 version I'm perfectly happy.
 
Domingo said:
While this is opinionated, I can't think of any PSP games that can match games like Mario Kart or either of the two DS Castlevania games.
Click to expand...

But you can play the SNES versions of Mario Kart & Castlevania (the PSX versions of Castlevania too!)! Haven't tried Mario Kart DS myself yet though.

I will say portable Chrono Trigger is extremely fun and passes the time by faaaaaaaaast.
 
I would say that DS wins with its games. Advance wars, Phoenix Wright, Mario Kart, etc is just plain fun and many games allow for multiplay including download play so only one person requires the game. There are a lot of more unique games on it as well.

PSP games... Metal Gear & FFTactics are the ones that interest me and MG would be better on a big screen. Racing I prefer on a large screen as well.
 
Meh, a good game is a good game. I don't get why everyone is saying PSP's games aren't good because they aren't meant to be played on a portable. By that logic, the Wii should be failing since most of its games are DS-esque mini games collections.
 
The PSP's homebrew is nice but out of the box I have to say I prefer the ds. PSP is starting to get some good stuff for it though. Really my big issue with the psp is that it should have had an extra control stick on the other side. Would have made ps1 and ps2 ports for some games a lot better. Right now I keep my DS in the car with a charger. Use it when I have downtime.
 
movax said:
But you can play the SNES versions of Mario Kart & Castlevania (the PSX versions of Castlevania too!)! Haven't tried Mario Kart DS myself yet though.

I will say portable Chrono Trigger is extremely fun and passes the time by faaaaaaaaast.
Click to expand...

That's homebrew, which I mentioned is a different category. Theoretically the PSP can play thousands of the best games of all time. The catch is you have to ummmm..."find" those games and go through the process of setting the machine up to play them.
I'm talking out of the box. If you start counting homebrew emulation - that's a different can of worms :)

Mario Kart DS is the best one of the bunch just for reference. Pretty much all (well, most...) fans will agree on that, too.
 
swatbat said:
The PSP's homebrew is nice but out of the box I have to say I prefer the ds. PSP is starting to get some good stuff for it though. Really my big issue with the psp is that it should have had an extra control stick on the other side. Would have made ps1 and ps2 ports for some games a lot better. Right now I keep my DS in the car with a charger. Use it when I have downtime.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was an stupid of Sony to not include two analog nubs. Every shooting game on the PSP suffers because of this.
 
I voted for the PSP.... Homebrew and after seeing someone hook their PSP up to a TV and play TK5 DR.... PSP FTW.... I do like the DS.... bah I'll take them both ;)
 
aznpxdd said:
Meh, a good game is a good game. I don't get why everyone is saying PSP's games aren't good because they aren't meant to be played on a portable. By that logic, the Wii should be failing since most of its games are DS-esque mini games collections.
Click to expand...

They aren't bad games, I'm saying that I would highly prefer to play them on larger screens. In addition, there are very similar (& better looking) versions that I can play on televisions. Apparently, many others share my opinion.

Wii games are not like DS minigames because they utilize the motion sensors and thus, are not similar. It provides a unique experience.
 
I've had a PSP for about two years.. and a DS for about two as well (i got them at about the same time)

my PSP gets no love from me.. i tried to buy more games for it.. but i just cna't get into it. i'm selling my PSP at the end of the summer when i move back to my apt. i tried to use my PSP as an music player.. but the thing is just too big to carry around...

DS wins IMO
 
OP needed to set criteria.

"Overall" what? Overall gaming machine? Overall entertainment device? Overall price/entertainment value?
 
jester1176 said:
OP needed to set criteria.

"Overall" what? Overall gaming machine? Overall entertainment device? Overall price/entertainment value?
Click to expand...

for me.. it's overall everything ..

overall everything is a valid question..

for me.. DS is a clear winner..

I like my DS games.. i didn't enjoy my PSP games

PSP is too big for music player..
i use my laptop on airplanes for movies

I will add.. i have no interest in homebrew.. which i know is a big plus for some..
 
acascianelli said:
I think most people will agree that the PSP is starting to make a comeback.
Click to expand...

I don't know anyone who will agree to that. Especially if they read todays news.
Nintendo's handheld DS player outsold Sony's PlayStation Portable five to one in May, Enterbrain said. The company sold 620,670 of the touch-screen players, compared with 123,673 PSPs.
-Bloomberg
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like the PSP is getting it's butt kicked worse than ever.

Edit: Those are Japanese sales figures.
 
As these are two portables that are in head to head competition, I would say that they are not that comparable.

I own both, a white DS and a white PSP.

16 games for the DS.
4 for the PSP.

3 of those 4 are 2D games. (Gradius, both Mega man games.)
Ridge Racer is the last one.
Quite honestly, I LOVE that game, but absolutely HATE playing it on the PSP. These type of games just are not made to be portable. I would rather play RR5 on PS2 with 5.1 surround on a 32inch HD, instead of a 3.5 inch screen with tiny speakers that give no bass.

On the other hand, PSP makes an AWESOME music player/visual equalizer for my car. (Aux-in For The MoFo Win :D)

So gaming wise, DS wins.

PSP does other things, but isnt exactly very good at any of them.
As good as the screen looks, the refresh is absolutely horrible.

And I do not understand why people keep calling the SNES emulator a selling point. It sucks. Playing a game at a playable frame rate with sound on is next to impossible. I tried Castlevania 4 with sound on and the frame rate was 10-15. Never got it above 40 with sound off. Chrono Trigger does not run correctly at all.

CPS1, CPS2, KGEN, and PCE are the only emulators that are any good at the moment. (And the only ones on my PSP.)
 
LeviathanZERO said:
And I do not understand why people keep calling the SNES emulator a selling point. It sucks. Playing a game at a playable frame rate with sound on is next to impossible. I tried Castlevania 4 with sound on and the frame rate was 10-15. Never got it above 40 with sound off. Chrono Trigger does not run correctly at all.

CPS1, CPS2, KGEN, and PCE are the only emulators that are any good at the moment. (And the only ones on my PSP.)
Click to expand...

I think you downloaded the wrong emulators if you're having trouble with those games. Try snes9xTYL-0.4.2me, it runs 90% of SNES games at 100% speed with sound. The only games where it has framerate problems are the ones that use the super FX chip, but they are still playable at a solid 20-25 FPS. gpSP and RIN are very good emulators that you didn't list, they emulate their respective system (GBA and GB/GBC) at 100% speed. Although gpSP does have some compatibility issues.
 
acascianelli said:
PSP

There still is not a single DS game that I care to play. Even my girlfriend who has one, hasn't played it in months because she is bored with the games, every time we go out she looks at whats out but doesn't like anything that is available.
Click to expand...

Yeah I felt sort of the same way. I actually had 6 games and none could keep my interest longer than about a week. I gave it to a buddy. The games are just kind of lame. The New Super Mario Bro's was just painful to play after a while. It lacked something. Harvest Moon was okay, but not too interesting.

Animal Crossing and Mario Kart DS were only fun when people were over, but I felt crazy gaming all the time with my little nephews (i'm 24 and they are 11 and 12...) with that game. Plus it also wasn't very interesting either. I don't know, the games felt very dull not very exciting. I don't think it's a bad system but after trying it for a while I didn't think much of it.

I haven't really played on the PSP too much so I don't want to comment on that.
 
but you can do over all comparisons on a personal level, like i did.. i mean.

how hard is it.. to attach weight to each feature of the PSP.. and then collectively compare it to the DS.. say which you like better..

clearly i like the DS better.. by owning both i was somehow biased into a DS? no... turns out i liked the DS over all the PSP's features + it's games...

if it really isn't comparable.. then how did i come to the conclusion i like the DS better?
 
aznpxdd said:
I think you downloaded the wrong emulators if you're having trouble with those games. Try snes9xTYL-0.4.2me, it runs 90% of SNES games at 100% speed with sound. The only games where it has framerate problems are the ones that use the super FX chip, but they are still playable at a solid 20-25 FPS. gpSP and RIN are very good emulators that you didn't list, they emulate their respective system (GBA and GB/GBC) at 100% speed. Although gpSP does have some compatibility issues.
Click to expand...

snes9xTYL .4.2me, is the exact one I had tried. Not sure if the 'Kernal Mode' version made the difference, but I'm downloading the 'Stardard' version to see again.
Castlevania 4 will be the test game. Never cared about trying the other version, as that one sucked so damn bad.

UPDATE: Just tryed snes9xTYL Standard with Castlevania 4.
settings:

PSP accel. + approx. soft.
Zoom 4/3
Smoothing ON
Speed Limit YES
Speed Limit FPS AUTO
Frameskip AUTO (I rather drop frames than slow timing)
Vsync NO

Sound emulated, output
44100
100% APU cycle

Averaging about 45 FPS.

Huge improvement from Kernal version, but I wouldn't call it 100%, like the CPS emulators. (No dropped frames in 24:17 aspect)
This is more like it though, guess I should of tried this version first.
 
I had a DS regular and a few games. I sold it. Right now, I would say the PSP has a huge advantage over the DS for real gamers. For kiddies just looking for their Pokemon fix the DS is king, but PSP has Metal Gear, Daxter, Syphon Filter, Tekken, and the list goes on & on. Like I said, I sold my DS... but, I am thinking about getting a PSP.

Since the price drop, they are only $40 apart. To me, the PSP offers quite a bit more value for only $40 more.
 
speculative said:
I had a DS regular and a few games. I sold it. Right now, I would say the PSP has a huge advantage over the DS for real gamers. For kiddies just looking for their Pokemon fix the DS is king, but PSP has Metal Gear, Daxter, Syphon Filter, Tekken, and the list goes on & on. Like I said, I sold my DS... but, I am thinking about getting a PSP.

Since the price drop, they are only $40 apart. To me, the PSP offers quite a bit more value for only $40 more.
Click to expand...

did i mention i'm 23? :D :D

it's good to be a kid at heart though..
 
The DS all the way. The DS has much more varied games and they are geared much better for handhelds. For me there are a lot of situations that I will be playing 15 minutes max so I want a game a can jump in, play and then be able to stop. Many of the PSP games are ones that I would much rather play on my TV with a decent controller with dual analog sticks.

The only PSP game I want is Loco Roco, and I am not buying the system for one game. I am assuming that the PSP2 will be backwards compatible so I will probably never buy a PSP.
 
PSP for sure lately. It died off a bit after troubles but the incoming games and all the homebrew make it so much more than the DS can offer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top