After roughly a decade at the top of the home console industry, Sony decided to tackle the portable system market -- one heavily fortified by Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and DS. Sony sought to take down Nintendo by adopting the tactic that made the PlayStation 2 such a runaway success: by offering sophisticated, graphically intensive games and a heavy dose of multimedia functionality.
The device is called the PlayStation Portable (PSP), and in addition to playing games of PS2 graphical quality, it can play music and movies (downloaded or via disc), as well as surf the Web, with many new features on the horizon. It may not be the best handheld media product on the market, and the games lack the innovation of ones on Nintendo's portables, but as an all-in-one device, the Sony PSP is king of the hill.
The Sony PSP is available online in a number of bundles. Two of the most common are the base model pack, which is just the console, battery and the AC adaptor, for around £150, and the Giga pack, which usually has a carry case, a pair of headphones and a 1GB Memory Stick Duo, for around £200. Games are around £30 and UMD movies around £17 for the latest titles.
Design
From an aesthetic perspective, the Sony PSP is a gorgeous device. It's one of those gadgets you immediately want to get your hands on but vigilantly want to protect once you set it down; fortunately, a simple neoprene slipcover is included with the £180 Value Pack. Weighing essentially the same as the Nintendo DS (176g, including removable battery) and measuring 170 by 74 by 23 mm, the body feels well built and solid in your hand. Although not a lightweight, it's by no means a brick, nor, we suspect, would it be especially durable in a fall; you'll want to treat the PSP just as gingerly as an iPod or a Palm-style PDA.
The centrepiece of the handheld is its especially impressive 109mm (4.3-inch) wide-screen display (480x272 pixels, 16.7 million colours). The screen is flanked by controls that will be immediately recognisable to fans of past PlayStations: the directional keypad is to the left of the screen, and the familiar square, triangle, circle, and X buttons are to the right. We dug how Sony managed to include an analogue 'joystick' below the directional keypad. The stick isn't raised like the analogue controls on a PS2 or an Xbox, but it conveys that multidirectional element that gives it a joystick-like feel.
In lieu of the PS2 controller's four total shoulder buttons, the PSP has two: one per shoulder. Ergonomically, the device is okay but not great; as with most handheld gaming devices, you'll have to do a little finger stretching every 15 minutes or so to keep from cramping up.
The PSP uses Sony's recently created 'cross media bar' interface. You use the directional keypad to horizontally navigate through Settings, Photo, Music, Video, and Game icons, and each section has other icons attached to it on a vertical axis. All in all, it's a simple and elegant way to access the PSP's many features.
Games and officially licensed movies come on Sony's proprietary UMD (Universal Media Disc) media, which are housed in protective cartridges. The UMD drive is grafted to the back of the unit; you load it and snap it shut just as you would a camcorder. The top edge also sports infrared and a USB 2.0 port that you can use to link the device to your PC or Mac, though no USB connection cable is included. The USB port will also be the home base for any future accessories you might add, such as a keyboard or a camera attachment.
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User reviews23
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Kanacho 28 September 2011
Good: good if u hav it cracked, and quick internet usage, movies, radio.
Bad: its for kids age under 10... and so are the games
Comment: it was ok at first but then it became boring...
Adad 7 October 2007
Good: Plays Games and Movies for hours
Bad: The text fields are cimbersome
Comment: We bought a new PSP lite for our 8 year old for our regular flights to the US as it is more convenient to travel direct from our regional airport than pay extra to connect in London with BA / Virgin and pay so much more for their in seat entertainment. The choice was an Archos or the PSP and it came down to cost and functionality.
The PSP bought after trading in an old DS cost 80 pounds.
A game (too expensive in the UK) and several MP4 movies onto a 2gd card off we set. The test I had read in here was a flight to New York. Our new PSP lite lasted over 6 hours, not quite the full flight but enough that it done the job - gaming and movies - entertained 8 year old, no tantrums.
Graphics are excellent, much better than our DS Lite and easier to use. The screen size is adequate and better than any Ipod. Using in earphones the sound is first class.
The gaming is just like the big PS2 so easy for kids, loaded really quickly and no stutters during play.
Down side, none really other than we (and I include my text savvy 13 and 8 year old) find the text writing cumbersome. We have still to work out how to work the internet though we connected with our wireless once we worked out the text for the code.
USD movies are expensive and limited but MP4 are widely available and cheap. Games in the UK are a disgrace but we travel regularly to the US where they are half the price.
A $14 travel case from Wal Mart set it off perfectly.
Any parent considering buying a DVD player will also be forking out for a handheld games console, save yourself time and money - buy a PSP lite - the charger works world wide and if you are on a flight of more than 6 hours, carry a spare battery - the cost a few pounds are are worth it.
Elliott Jenkin 25 November 2006
Good: Great game titles and movies on the go
Bad: No conversion software for videos and lack of controls mean PS2 ports are difficult to handle
Comment: Great handheld console but has faults
See all 23 user reviews