Sega gaming equipment? Say oh! It was as big a challenge for the reigning king of his day, the Nintendo Game Boy, as it would be for a beer league football team against the Steelers. The fact is that Nintendo has been pretty much unchallenged in the field of handheld gaming since the original Game Boy, continuing through to the DS.
Until now, that is.
With the latest generation of portable devices, Nintendo faces strong competition from the Sony PSP or PlayStation Portable. It’s not exactly a head-to-head race, but the PSP is winning in some parts of the world. This is something that Nintendo has never had to deal with with previous generations of handheld systems. Sony’s PSP isn’t going away like the Sega Game Gear and most of its other competitors in recent years.
The question that many people ask, especially people who are planning to buy a portable gaming system, is: Is the Sony PSP a better investment than the Nintendo DS?
Let’s break that question down into four sub-questions that will help us determine the answer.
1. Which console is more powerful? There really is no competition here. Sony’s PSP was designed to be a powerful unit, with two 333 MHz CPUs delivering stunning graphics and gameplay. The screen is designed for widescreen gaming and has a much better resolution than the DS. PSP games also take up more space, because there is so much more to them. Most Nintendo games are under 100 MB. PSP games range from 300 MB to 1.5 GB. WINNER: SonyPSP.
2. Which unit has more games available? Many people believe that software creates hardware, not the other way around. After all, what good is an extremely powerful handheld if there are no games available for it? When it comes to the size of the game library, the Nintendo DS is the obvious winner. Its game library is almost 4 times bigger than PSP’s. Many companies develop games strictly for the DS. WINNER: NintendoDS.
3. Which system has better multimedia capabilities? Many of today’s devices perform specialized functions. iPods play music.
PDAs allow you to browse the web and manage data. Digital cameras take photos and, in some cases, video. Cell phones can act as personal organizers and communication devices. However, many device manufacturers are trying to make their hardware multitask from a single unit.
Portable gaming systems are no different. The more they can do, the more attractive they are to potential buyers. The DS has limited audio and video playback capabilities. The Sony PSP can handle many audio formats and can also play MP4 videos. It can also surf the Internet, watch TV (with an additional TV tuner), store data, and even act as a remote for a PlayStation 3. WINNER: Sony PSP.
4. Which system has the most exclusive game titles? Once again, it’s pretty hard for anyone to compete with Nintendo. The DS has many original properties, such as Mario, Pokémon, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Animal Crossing, and many others. This is one of the biggest selling points of the DS. WINNER: Nintendo.
The bottom line? At 2-2 draws. The best system will really depend on what you expect from your portable gaming system. If you want the most features and raw power, the PSP is the way to go. But if you’re looking for a vast library of games with a varied gaming experience, go for the Nintendo DS.
