PSP or DS? (Buyer's standpoint)

Now this isn't really a thread about which one do you all think is better. I've recently come into some money (full time summer job) and I was thinking about investing in what the new handheld generation has to offer. While the DS stands more affordable and definitely has more titles out, there are a few games exclusive to the PSP (Crisis Core) I would love to get a hold. Also I know a little bit of the extent that you can pirate games onto a PSP but not a whole lot.

From a buyer's viewpoint and not a gamer's viewpoint, which do you recommend I get a hold of first? I fear this will turn into a debate into which one is better but of course that's purely preference.

Before Crisis is a cell phone game (that you can't play unless you live in Japan or have a Japanese cell phone). I say if you want to play Crisis Core, play Crisis Core. Get the PSP. Since it is more expensive, get that one out of the way first.

Then get the DS. You have a job (albeit a summer job), why only get one system? If you can spend $300 (for both systems, brand new) over the summer, I think you should get both.

You can do more things on a PSP

Yeah, if I knew how to pirate stuff then maybe I'd go for a PSP and get all sorts of old roms on it. and some music and some movies? yupyup. But I don't know how so I have a DS with overpriced games.

Well if your interested in doing some moody stuff with a PSP then I say get it because you'll get a lot of value for your money. But do try to buy games for it as that encourages developers to make more games for it, something the PSP definitely needs.

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Originally Posted by Levian

...I have a DS with overpriced games.

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Stop buying Square games :P

I should stop living in Norway rather, or start importing.

yeah the PSP has Crisis Core, but the DS has The World Ends With You, which in my opinion is one of the most awesome games out right now for it, and it also has the remake of FFIV which came out yesterday... i'd have to agree with JKTrix and say get the PSP first get Crisis Core enjoy it for a bit and in the next month after getting the PSP get the DS, also right now there are several game packs out for the PSP for around $200, comes with a limited edition PSP2k and a game/movie bundle, there's packs out right now for Daxter/Family Guy: Freakin Sweet Collection (Silver PSP), SW:Battlefront Renegade Squadron (White PSP), & God Of War: Chains of Olympus/Superbad (Red PSP)...

I'd say go for the DS. Sure, the PSP has better graphics and can do more, but with the DS you get games like Trauma Center, Final Fantasy IV, Pokémon series, the Ace Attorney series, and plenty of nifty import games. The PSP has Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea, but the DS has Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and will be getting Disgaea in a couple of months.

It's all a matter of preference.

The PSP had a really crappy start, and while now there are plenty of good games for it, that's something it can't escape in relation to the DS. The DS's weak start didn't last nearly as long. :P There are a lot more great games for DS than PSP. You can pirate stuff with it, too, if you get an R4. It can't pirate as much as the PSP, though.

Just FYI, about the emulation on PSP, if you want to go that route make sure you get a fat PSP. The slim version requires quite a bit of work to get to be emulation ready.

But, back on the main subject, if all depends on what type of games you want to play. I would say DS has more of a variety of games, though, given they are more "casual" games which are not as deep as some of the PSP titles.

On the other hand, PSP has one of my favorite games ever, which would be Crisis Core. This game was totally epic for me. Also, there are and will be plenty of remakes for older PSX games that will be coming or have come to PSP (Already out: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, coming soon: Both Star Oceans.) Plus, you can do a lot more with the PSP as far as media (movies, music, etc) goes.

Personally, I find more desirable titles to be exclusive to the DS. If I owned a PSP, I'd have maybe 4-5 games, but right now I have 25 or so titles for my DS. Not only that but it can play some of my favorite GBA games, so I can't go wrong. The additional features like movies don't interest me, cause you have to buy them special for the PSP, and it's a tiny screen, while I have a widescreen laptop I can use instead.

note: I do want a PSP for those 4-5 games... but I'm not willing to buy one right now. But, point is I find my previous purchase of a DS to be more worthwhile.

THE JACKAL

I think the key point here is that since he currently has a job, he has a fairly steady income for the next several weeks. Assuming he isn't supposed to be saving his money for something super important, I think he should get both systems.

Anyone who's seen me around long enough knows that the DS is my favourite overall system. If he could only get one system, I would vote for the DS.

Do you like piracy and modding? Get a PSP.

Do you like great games? Get a DS.

I love how this totally turned into a PSP vs DS thread when the topic creator asked it not to be. Also the naivety of some of the DS only owners is questionable but still funny.

It's kind of hard to recommend one over the other WITHOUT comparing them. I don't know what he was expecting.

It turned into PSP vs. DS because he asked which one he should buy. And if you were responding to my post, it's not that the PSP doesn't have good games. Its potential for modding just seems like a bigger selling point.

He asked which is more value for money in which the PSP is the obvious answer if your modding. I'm sure he didn't ask which has the better games, which comes down to personal preference anyway.

If which one you should get "first" is all you want to know, there's nothing really relevant anyone can tell you. Neither is going to be getting a price drop in the near future. Decide which games you want to play more.

DS has better games, especially RPGs.

PSP seems to be pretty much all action games.

I have my PSP because with homebrew, it becomes what its name implies, a portable Playstation.

I have my DS because the game are a LOT better (imho) and because it's a lot cheaper.

Its hard to give a valued answer without showing bias. I've spent substantial time with both systems and in my experience, I found the DS to be more to my liking. For value, PSP is the obvious choice if you want to turn it into a portable ROM. The DS has a larger library, and I'm surprised no one has mentioned the fact that its backwards compatible with GBA games, giving it an even larger library. It comes down to why you want both. Crisis Core or World Ends With You? FFT:War of the Lions or FFIII DS? Dracula X or Phoenix Wright...

For me, I don't care for ROMs cause they are counterproductive for the industry. If you live in a country that gets shafted alot (not US or Japan) then I can completely understand the allure of Homebrew. Beyond that, I wasn't too impressed with either Crisis Core (seems I'm one of the few on the forums who hates it) and Valkyrie Profile. I have issues with the PSP cause the vast majority of its games that are appealing to me are ports of already good games. It suffers from the same problem I had with the GBA. Lack of good original content.

Though I must say, tech-wise I'm far more impressed with the PSP. I really enjoyed the ability to shut off the system and it pauses exactly where I left off. Its definetly more user-friendly as a hand held.

You can just close the DS and put it in sleep mode. :P It can be in sleep mode for like a week and a half or something on a full charge. xP

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Originally Posted by Roto13

You can just close the DS and put it in sleep mode. :P It can be in sleep mode for like a week and a half or something on a full charge. xP

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True, but it still eats up battery power whereas the PSP doesn't seem to do it. Overall, I guess it was a moot point though :p

They are both great to have, imo. The DS has some awesome games, and I do mean awesome, especially the 3D remakes of FF3 and FF4 (and maybe FF5 and 6 in the future?), and Chrono Trigger. Can also play GBA games, and there are a lot of NES and SNES games that have been ported to GBA.

PSP has some great games too, not as many, but they are there. Like Crisis Core, Patapon, soon to be release Dissidia, Valkyrie Profile, etc. PSP can emulate PSX games as well as all the older systems like SNES, NES, Genesis, etc.

Also, it's quite easy to hack either system to download free games if that's your thing.

I dunno they both are great.

I bought the PSP and didn't like the controls for it. Especially since I originally thought that the analog stick was a speaker. PSP definitely has better graphics and probably more mature games than DS does. The plus, you can of course watch movies as well. But if you're looking for easy controls, decent graphics and some good games like Phoenix Wright and Mario Kart then I recommend the DS.

One of the big advantages of the PSP is that, if you mod it, you can emulate PS1 games. I played Chrono Cross, Breath of Fire IV and Resident Evil 2 on it, just to name a few.
Also you get the new FF Tactics, Crisis Core, Silent Hill Origins, and the Internet browser (if you plan on using it) is included in the operating system. I barely touched my DS since I have the PSP.

PSP is a better value by far, for $40 more you get tons of extra features, although the ones you will probably use most are: Photos, Videos, Music, and Internet.

But DS has better games. You'll have to decide, I recommend both but if only one it would be DS, better rpg's. :)

I don't get the hype about the 'great games' out for the DS. I have one and none of the games I have interested me for more than a week.

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Originally Posted by Hsu

Do you like piracy and modding? Get a PSP.

Do you like great games? Get a DS.

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I like both and that's the problem. Sorry if I caused some confusion. I guess it couldn't be helped but there was a specific reason I left this thread without a poll because I wanted more quality replies and not just quantities.

Everything said has been helpful. I'm good with the piracy aspect of things so the PSP seems very appealing yet people have made good points that it only takes away from the industry. The only thing I can say to that is with the US Economy in recession the one industry that continues to make nice profit margins is the video game industry.

Alas, the DS has some valuable ports and is backwards compatible. It has a wider variety to choose from but I've never been one to have a ton of different games to own.

And for the record, I'm not raking in the money. This summer job is to help me have an extra bit of cash before I go back to College where I'll also be working. It just turns out I'm going to have more saved than I thought and I need something to bide my time with besides smurfin partyin so I thought a DS or a PSP would be a good investment.

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Originally Posted by Old Manus

I don't get the hype about the 'great games' out for the DS. I have one and none of the games I have interested me for more than a week.

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That's because a lot of people have different tastes in games. :p

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Originally Posted by CloudDragon

Everything said has been helpful. I'm good with the piracy aspect of things so the PSP seems very appealing yet people have made good points that it only takes away from the industry. The only thing I can say to that is with the US Economy in recession the one industry that continues to make nice profit margins is the video game industry.

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You must realize that's not a very good argument.

Hahaha yes I know. I'm a pirate to the core so forgive me if I wanted to make my tendencies sound not as bad as they were.

I'm poor but I love video games just as much as the next guy.