Five Things I Love About My PSP

Source: Gameinfowire

Game Info Wire author Mark Diller has posted his top 5 favorite aspects of the PSP.  Here is what he had to say:

ItÂ’s been a couple months now since I got my shiny little toy, and it seemed like a good time to take stock of whatÂ’s good and not-so-good about the PSP. In a few weeks IÂ’ll rag on SonyÂ’s handheld unit and its shortcomings, but for now letÂ’s accentuate the positive in this, my list of the top five things I really, really like.

The screen. Sony hasnÂ’t done everything right with the PSP, but as far as the screen is concerned, they hit a home run. IÂ’m sure it cost them a lot of money to put such a large, lush screen on their handheld, but it was money well spent. When IÂ’m showing my PSP off to my friends, itÂ’s not the quality of the games that make them want to own one, itÂ’s the screen and all the pretty things the PSP can do because of it. I have no idea how much money Sony is making or losing on their little handheld, but I am certain that theyÂ’d be doing a whole lot worse if they had decided to go with a cheaper, less capable screen.

The versatility. LetÂ’s be honest here — the quality and breadth of games released for the PSP so far has been less than mind-blowing. Oh sure, there are some good, fun titles out there, but nothing has achieved the “must own” status that drives unit sales the way “Nintendogs” has done for the DS. So what do we do while we sit around, waiting for the next big waves of PSP games to hit? WeÂ’re surfing the Web, downloading demos, and encoding videos to play back on a unit that does a whole lot more than just play games. ItÂ’s doubtful that many people have bought the PSP in order to use it as a portable media player, but once you have it, itÂ’s very cool that you keep discovering new ways you can use it.

The battery. This one is still a bit of a puzzle. When the PSP first came out, I heard a lot of complaining about the poor battery life, but that sure hasnÂ’t been my experience. Maybe I just got lucky with a random Super Battery that happened to come installed in my PSP, but in the course of two months of regular use, my battery has run out on me exactly once, and that was because it had been a couple days since I last recharged it. I could see running out of power if youÂ’re on a long plane flight, or if youÂ’re the sort of power gamer who dedicates hours at a time to PSP gaming (and who, for some reason, has no access to an electrical outlet in the meantime). If, however, you use your PSP here and there, in scattered moments as they come available, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much juice youÂ’re getting.

The company. Sony has been getting a lot of bad press lately, and pretty much all of it is deserved. But as certain as I am that IÂ’ll never willingly buy another CD from SonyÂ’s music unit, IÂ’m also sure that all the corporate muscle that Sony can bring to bear will be behind the PSP, ensuring that itÂ’s a success. Game designers who turn up their nose at something like the Gizmondo will eagerly design for the PSP, simply because a lot of their money depends on maintaining a good relationship with Sony. Design houses that have been designing for the PS2 for years already have a library of titles and franchise properties that theyÂ’d love to see succeed on a new platform. In short, thereÂ’s every reason to feel confident that your PSP will be going strong for years to come (or until the PSP2 hits store shelves, whichever comes first).

Industry trends. Nintendo has been saying out loud what I think a lot of design houses are thinking: if gaming is to mature, it has to move beyond the hard-core gamers to embrace a more casual audience. And whatÂ’s more casual than a handheld unit that makes it possible–even enjoyable–for you to play for short periods of time? For example, my sister enjoys a game every now and then, but thereÂ’s no way sheÂ’s going to sit down and play for hours at a time. That sort of thing simply does not fit into the sort of life she wants to lead. So, while she would be the last person to buy an Xbox 360, with the right game, marketed in the right way, she might just decide that a PSP looks like a lot of fun. ThatÂ’s where the future lies for the game industry, and those of us who embrace portable gaming today will be in a good position to reap the benefits.

Source: Gameinfowire

Game Info Wire author Mark Diller has posted his top 5 favorite aspects of the PSP.  Here is what he had to say:

ItÂ’s been a couple months now since I got my shiny little toy, and it seemed like a good time to take stock of whatÂ’s good and not-so-good about the PSP. In a few weeks IÂ’ll rag on SonyÂ’s handheld unit and its shortcomings, but for now letÂ’s accentuate the positive in this, my list of the top five things I really, really like.

The screen. Sony hasnÂ’t done everything right with the PSP, but as far as the screen is concerned, they hit a home run. IÂ’m sure it cost them a lot of money to put such a large, lush screen on their handheld, but it was money well spent. When IÂ’m showing my PSP off to my friends, itÂ’s not the quality of the games that make them want to own one, itÂ’s the screen and all the pretty things the PSP can do because of it. I have no idea how much money Sony is making or losing on their little handheld, but I am certain that theyÂ’d be doing a whole lot worse if they had decided to go with a cheaper, less capable screen.

The versatility. LetÂ’s be honest here — the quality and breadth of games released for the PSP so far has been less than mind-blowing. Oh sure, there are some good, fun titles out there, but nothing has achieved the “must own” status that drives unit sales the way “Nintendogs” has done for the DS. So what do we do while we sit around, waiting for the next big waves of PSP games to hit? WeÂ’re surfing the Web, downloading demos, and encoding videos to play back on a unit that does a whole lot more than just play games. ItÂ’s doubtful that many people have bought the PSP in order to use it as a portable media player, but once you have it, itÂ’s very cool that you keep discovering new ways you can use it.

The battery. This one is still a bit of a puzzle. When the PSP first came out, I heard a lot of complaining about the poor battery life, but that sure hasnÂ’t been my experience. Maybe I just got lucky with a random Super Battery that happened to come installed in my PSP, but in the course of two months of regular use, my battery has run out on me exactly once, and that was because it had been a couple days since I last recharged it. I could see running out of power if youÂ’re on a long plane flight, or if youÂ’re the sort of power gamer who dedicates hours at a time to PSP gaming (and who, for some reason, has no access to an electrical outlet in the meantime). If, however, you use your PSP here and there, in scattered moments as they come available, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much juice youÂ’re getting.

The company. Sony has been getting a lot of bad press lately, and pretty much all of it is deserved. But as certain as I am that IÂ’ll never willingly buy another CD from SonyÂ’s music unit, IÂ’m also sure that all the corporate muscle that Sony can bring to bear will be behind the PSP, ensuring that itÂ’s a success. Game designers who turn up their nose at something like the Gizmondo will eagerly design for the PSP, simply because a lot of their money depends on maintaining a good relationship with Sony. Design houses that have been designing for the PS2 for years already have a library of titles and franchise properties that theyÂ’d love to see succeed on a new platform. In short, thereÂ’s every reason to feel confident that your PSP will be going strong for years to come (or until the PSP2 hits store shelves, whichever comes first).

Industry trends. Nintendo has been saying out loud what I think a lot of design houses are thinking: if gaming is to mature, it has to move beyond the hard-core gamers to embrace a more casual audience. And whatÂ’s more casual than a handheld unit that makes it possible–even enjoyable–for you to play for short periods of time? For example, my sister enjoys a game every now and then, but thereÂ’s no way sheÂ’s going to sit down and play for hours at a time. That sort of thing simply does not fit into the sort of life she wants to lead. So, while she would be the last person to buy an Xbox 360, with the right game, marketed in the right way, she might just decide that a PSP looks like a lot of fun. ThatÂ’s where the future lies for the game industry, and those of us who embrace portable gaming today will be in a good position to reap the benefits.