The Premier Portable Gaming System

Author's Rating:

Pros: 
Large Library
PSOne and Minis are playable on PSP and PS3
Multimedia Options

Cons: 
Downloadable Comic Books
Need to buy an 8GB memory card 

The Bottom Line: 
The PSP is the definitive portable gaming experience. 

Author's Review
Just like the Playstation 3, the PSP (Playstation Portable) has seen its share of hardware upgrades. The PSP 3000 is the third in the line of PSPs. Before I go further, if you already own a PSP 2000 or the original model, you may as well stick with it. The PSP 3000 offers minor technical improvements, but nothing worth putting another $130 into a system you already own.

If you’re new to the PSP, the best way to describe it is as a portable Playstation 2 (PS2). Many titles on the PSP look and play comparable to the PS2. With a TV adaptor, the PSP becomes an easier way to carry last generation quality where ever you go.

So, why get a PSP?
The PSP is the complete portable multimedia device. It plays back MP3, WMA, WAV, and a few other audio codecs. Your PSP can double as a music player while you’re on the go. Just load it up and take it on the road. If you like movies, the PSP supports MPeg4 and AvC codecs. I will say that it is not easy converting your movies in to a PSP format; however, it is easy to find freeware that will do it for you. With the new camera peripheral, the PSP can also take pictures. I do not recommend using this in place of a digital camera because the quality turns out similar to most cell phones. Sony added a web browser to the PSP to allow users to surf the internet when near a Wi-Fi hotspot. I have used the web browser enough to say that I prefer surfing the web with a touch screen device over navigating with the PSP’s analog stick.

Besides the content you can load on your PSP, Sony phased our their UMD (Universal Media Disc) movies. The original PSP boasted the UMD movie format as a premier portable option for video. Due to low sales, the UMD videos were discontinued. Sony now offers video content through the PSN(Playstation Network). Full length movies go for $14.99 while episodes of a TV show run $1.99 to $3.99. Downloadable video content is rendered in 720x480. The PSP’s resolution of 480x272 displays video content rather well. The videos are playable both on your PS3 and PSP which is a plus, but at 1.5GB per movie, an 8GB memory card will fill up rather quick.

Comic book fans can download the latest issues of their favorites on the PSN for $1.99 each. This feature was wasted on me, as I found the interface to be clumsy. To view a comic, you use the analog stick to navigate around what seemed to be a PDF image. I have not purchased any comics from PSN, but a few free downloads are out there. If Sony had offered the comics in more of a slide show fashion, this feature would have been more useful.

I doubt most people will purchase a PSP for the media center or comic book features, but more for the games. The PSP’s library is steadily growing. There are three types of PSP titles: the PSP Games, Minis, and PSOne games. PSP games are designed specifically for the PSP. Some PSP exclusive titles include Final Fantasy Dissidia, Fate Unlimited Codes, and Invizimals. Most of the PSP titles are revised versions of existing franchises like Army of Two: 40th Day, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny.The benefit to PS3 owners is that most minis and all PSOne titles can be played on the PSP. This significantly increases the number of titles that can be played on a PSP. Classic PSOne titles available include the Resident Evil and Tekken series of games. My current favorite mini to play on my PSP is Angry Birds.

So, what makes the PSP 3000 different from its predecessors? The PSP 3000 is slimmer and more powerful than the PSP 1000. The 3000 features  64 MiB RAM while the original was only 32 MiB. The 3000 is missing the infrared sensor from the 1000. The battery on the 3000 is a bit smaller than the 1000 which leads to a slightly shorter life.

While I like the feeling of the PSP for most gaming styles, I find the control layout difficult for some games. The PSP features the classic Triangle, Square, Circle, and X buttons on the face that Sony has been known for. With games like Street Fighter (which require six buttons), the shoulder buttons fill in for the missing triggers. I find the non-portable PS systems (which use two sets of shoulder buttons) was much more comfortable. The analog stick also seems to be on the wrong side of the device. Most console FPS titles allow players to aim with their right thumb. Having the stick on the left side is an adjustment that you will just have to make when playing FPS titles on PSP. Puzzle games and other genres (especially minis) seem to work rather well with the analog stick and direction pad (D-Pad) on the left side.

Sony has done a bit to make the PSP the portable media center of choice. I would certainly choose this over an iPod Touch or DS for gaming. I do not recommend surfing the web on your PSP. The one downside I will mention is that most versions of the PSP include a 1GB memory stick. I find that the number of games I have downloaded requires that I have at least an 8GB memory stick. Because these are sold separately, your $130 PSP will run an extra $40 for the 8GB memory.

I rather enjoy my PSP 3000. I honestly would not have upgraded from my original PSP 1000, except that I sold it a long time ago. The PSP 3000 is my choice of portable gaming system. With one of the largest libraries in the history of portable gaming devices, the PSP gets my recommendation for the gamer on the go.