The future of portable gaming!
Jan. 23rd, 2005 05:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slycatI've just got back from Bournemouth where I had the great pleasure in trying out the new Nintendo DS and Sony PSP systems at a retro & import gaming shop. Now as far as handhelds go, I really like Nintendo. I did think that the Neo Geo Pocket Colour was superior to the Gameboy Colour but thanks to Pokemon, the Gameboy won out. I've owned the original Gameboy, the Colour, the Advance and the Advance SP so it'd be pretty hard to persuade me to go for an alternative. I really wanted to like the Nintendo DS but after playing both, I have to say I am far more impressed by the PSP than the DS. The DS feels uncomfortable to hold and awkward when using the stylus. I had a go on the Mario 64 DS, the touch screen mini games are amusing but nothing groundbreaking. The main game I was never too bothered with the first time round personally. Yes, it's a very good platformer but the DS version just feels slower than it is on the Nintendo 64 (or PC emulator). Compared with the PSP, I was far less impressed and felt that the touchscreen and dual screens felt more like a gimmick than the new way of playing games which Nindendo had promised.
Now, I also had a go on Ridge Racer on the PSP and right from the start, it just felt right. The controls are very natural and they suit westerners hands better than the GBA SP did. The graphics are simply amazing and the screen they are displayed on is fantastic. The screen appears to be rather high definition for something so small while the screen itself is much larger than the screens on the DS. Overall I enjoyed playing on the PSP much more than the DS. The PSP feels so much better made rather the confused beast the DS is. Obviously I can't really vouch on the whole battery life issue which PSPs were suspected to have but from what I've read in Edge, the battery life is less than the DS but it is certainly "enough". On average, you can get a good 6 hours gameplay out of it allegedly which is certainly fine for train journeys and the like. Now all I've got to do is to start saving.
The bloke in the retro shop reckons the DS will come out here in March while the PSP will be out in June but I have read much contradicting information. The PSP could come out any time between March 18th and June as far as I know and the price has been speculated to be anything from £130 to £189. Either way, I've got to get one! I've been so against anything Sony produce games wise until now, mostly due to the fact that it is the console of choice for townies (or chavs if you like) and that the console is inferior to the competitors. However this time round, they have me convinced... as much as it hurts to admit it :P
Now, I also had a go on Ridge Racer on the PSP and right from the start, it just felt right. The controls are very natural and they suit westerners hands better than the GBA SP did. The graphics are simply amazing and the screen they are displayed on is fantastic. The screen appears to be rather high definition for something so small while the screen itself is much larger than the screens on the DS. Overall I enjoyed playing on the PSP much more than the DS. The PSP feels so much better made rather the confused beast the DS is. Obviously I can't really vouch on the whole battery life issue which PSPs were suspected to have but from what I've read in Edge, the battery life is less than the DS but it is certainly "enough". On average, you can get a good 6 hours gameplay out of it allegedly which is certainly fine for train journeys and the like. Now all I've got to do is to start saving.
The bloke in the retro shop reckons the DS will come out here in March while the PSP will be out in June but I have read much contradicting information. The PSP could come out any time between March 18th and June as far as I know and the price has been speculated to be anything from £130 to £189. Either way, I've got to get one! I've been so against anything Sony produce games wise until now, mostly due to the fact that it is the console of choice for townies (or chavs if you like) and that the console is inferior to the competitors. However this time round, they have me convinced... as much as it hurts to admit it :P
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Date: 2005-01-23 05:38 pm (UTC)Battery life seems pretty reasonable, all told. There haven't been any substantial advances in battery tech since lithium ion, and that was almost ten years ago - we're still all stuck with LiIon and NiMH, for now, so the available energy density's only increasing very modestly, whilst power requirements for the devices carry on rising. Someone's surely got to come out with a production fuel cell eventually.. or a pocket Mr Fusion. ^_^
On the Sony front, what's most compelling to me in their future is the Cell architecture. Thus far, there's been a paucity of actual specifics revealed, but the veil should be lifted somewhat at February's ISSCC conference.
As for the PS2 - I'll admit, aside from anything Wipeout-derived, one reason I'd love to give a home to one is simple: Katamari Damacy. ^_^ I'm not really interested in FPSs, for the most part (though XIII's visual style had some appeal), but KD looks like a title I could spend many an hour with..
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Date: 2005-01-23 07:12 pm (UTC)Grand Theft Auto :P
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Date: 2005-01-23 07:16 pm (UTC)