Video Games Review – Sony PSP

Jun 3, 2009

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PlayStationYou see, back in the mid-90’s Nintendo contracted Sony to develop a CD-ROM drive for the Super Nintendo. Beginning with the original Game boy, the name Nintendo has been a veritable synonym for handheld gaming. Some have claimed Nintendo’s dual screen DS handheld system to be a revolutionary step forward in portable gaming. Whichever side you fall on, there’s no doubt Nintendo execs are fingering their collars as Sony prepares to rain on their parade with their new Playstation Portable – aka the PSP.

Okay, so enough Nintendo-bashing. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the PSP is one seriously sexy piece of cutting-edge tech. I’m happy to report that the PSP delivers very well in this regard. The PSP is fairly lightweight, especially considering all the hi-tech goodness crammed into it’s slim chassis. Sony smartly modeled the PSP’s controls on the PS2’s Dualshock controllers, minus two of the front triggers and the right control stick. As you’ve probably heard, the PSP’s main selling point is its’ 4.3-inch hi-def screen. While 4.3 inches doesn’t sound like much on paper, the PSP’s screen really must be seen to be appreciated. Of course, movies are one thing, but the PSP is primarily a game platform. You wouldn’t think so, but Video Games benefit from the PSP’s hi-def screen moreso than films. Without a doubt, the PSP’s screen is one of the greatest single innovations the handheld gaming world has ever seen.

Powering the PSP is a single 333mhz processor, which may not sound too impressive up front, but visually, the PSP stacks up favorably with it’s bigger sibling, the Playstation 2. It’s actually a better Video Games…if that doesn’t say anything to you about the power of the PSP, nothing will.

The PSP also lends itself to other applications, such as viewing photos, watching Video Games, and playing music. Though these are definitely secondary uses for the PSP, they are no less good selling points, as the PSP handles them well enough to be a serious consideration for anyone looking for a secondary media display device. In each instance, simply connecting the PSP to your PC with a 5-pin USB cord will let you drag files from your hard drive onto the PSP’s Memory Stick. Since the PSP uses standard Memory Stick Duo format chips, if you have a digital camera that uses MS Duo sticks, you can simply slap the stick from your digican into the PSP and browse to your heart’s content. That said, the PSP’s music playback functionality is great. The PSP comes with a decent set of earbuds and a remote extension allowing you to control the PSP’s music functions without having to dig the unit out of your pocket. Luckily, homebrew PSP programmers have already jumped to action, and there are already a number of freeware apps available online which will let you drag ‘n drop Video Games onto your PSP with little or no trouble.

The biggest drawback to all this media fun is the fact that the PSP ships with a measly 32mb Memory Stick. One of the bigger points of contention that’s hounded the PSP is the dreaded ‘dead pixels’ issue. Reports have circulated widely that a number of PSP units have been plagued by ‘dead pixels’, pixels which are either permanently light or dark, depending on how they’re stuck. I’m certain that a handful of PSP’s have some serious issues, and Sony has agreed to repair or replace these units at no cost. The other standout problem with the PSP’s screen is that it is a veritable magnet for smudges and fingerprints. The second biggest concern about the PSP has been the battery life. So far, in my experience, the power supply is adequate for what the PSP is…a portable gaming system. Film snobbery aside, the PSP is truly a remarkable piece of engineering.Video Games

Excecutive summary Alex Mayo

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