So who's getting a PSP this month?

[OB1]

I'm guessing the answer to that is "nobody here", but it never hurts to check.

I dunno, I might. I'd want to get some sort of warantee for the system (since, you know, Sony hardware is usually about as durable as fine china) and at least one game (probably Lumines... or MG Acid... or Wipeout... dammit, too many to choose from!), so I'd probably end up paying a total of around $325 after tax... I don't think I'll be afford that this month. Maybe I'll wait to hear if the square button thing has been fixed yet. I can probably hold off for a few months. It'll be tough, though...

[Sacred Jellybean]

I ain't getting it. If I were to spend that kind of money on a handheld, I'd either buy a DS or a whole bunch of GBA games.

I admit, though, the hardware IS impressive. If I had an infinite supply of cash (without worrying about inflation and stuff... and... well, shut up!), I'd buy one within a few months of its release. I haven't been keeping up on the little handheld, though, so I can't even think of any games that I need like my left testicle. That MGS: Acid game looks graphically impressive, but the gameplay is based around cards, isn't it? Sounds like it wouldn't hold my attention for very long.

[OB1]

It's a tactical card-based RPG/strategy game. With a crazy story. So I'm getting it, definitely. And Lumines looks to be the best puzzle game since Tetris. Can't wait to get that. Then of course there's the amazing-looking Wipeout Pure, Ridge Racers, and a bunch of others. Already a better lineup than the DS.

[Sacred Jellybean]

That Wipeout Pure game looks pretty sexy, but I'd take Mario 64 DS over any of those games you listed.

[OB1]

Even with kinda crappy controls? I dunno, if I want to play Mario 64 I'd rather do it on the N64. If I want to play any of those PSP games I'll need a PSP.

But yeah, of course, Mario 64 is better then all of those games. Maybe not the DS version, but you know...

[Sacred Jellybean]

But can you play the Mario 64 version ANYWHERE?! HUH??

Also, Mario 64x4 features new levels, plus new characters, each with special abilities, doesn't it? That sounds like a lovely extension of Mario 64, even if the controls aren't as great.

[OB1]

Yeah, it is really awesome. But I miss those controls...

[Dark Jaguar]

Actually M64 has a few new levels, but they are more like the Bowser battle levels. I mean, that's not a bad thing, those were fun levels, but they aren't massive levels or anything. They also added an extra star to every level. Also, they actually removed a few stars and replaced them with different stars. Most of the game is the same, but they added enough extra content to make it fun enough.

Oh and, lazy I suppose I might get used to it. I know they were going for the analog stick angle there, but it just didn't work for me. With the real thing, I can actually feel where I'm holding the stick. Otherwise, I'm all "okay I need to move back... nuts I accidently moved too far forward on the screen now okay, no, no, no, AAAARGG! that's it's cross pad time...". Cross pad wasn't exactly awesome or anything, but it was better than the touch screen could ever be... They really should have made the 4 cross pad buttons pressure sensitive.

[OB1]

Yeah, then they could have created some sort of little joystick attachment for it.

I was reading the ign mailbag the other day, and one reader offered an interesting solution to this problem. He suggested something like a little suction-cupped analog stick that could be attached to the touch screen and have it so that it basically works like a regular analog stick. Would probably be tough to make, but it's an interesting idea.

[Sacred Jellybean]

Actually M64 has a few new levels, but they are more like the Bowser battle levels. I mean, that's not a bad thing, those were fun levels, but they aren't massive levels or anything. They also added an extra star to every level. Also, they actually removed a few stars and replaced them with different stars. Most of the game is the same, but they added enough extra content to make it fun enough.

Crap, really? I thought they were whole new massive levels. :( At least they added a new star to each level, though.

They really should have made the 4 cross pad buttons pressure sensitive.

Yeah, they would have been a smart thing to do. I'm thinking a circular d-pad, pressure sensitive enough so it can adequately simulate an analog stick. Nintendo is such a tease.

[Great Rumbler]

I won't be getting a PSP this month, although I'm sure I'll get one evetually. Maybe for Christmas.

[Dark Jaguar]

...what happened to all that cool debate stuff with lazy and such?

Stupid glitches...

Wait a sec, my later post is there! What the... did someone move all lazy's posts or something? I was trying to have a discussion there. And um, where's ABF's stuff? I didn't see anything worth moving...

[Dark Jaguar]

Um, well ignoring that bait there :D, I still would like to know where all of lazy's posts went. Who knows what else was stripped here?

[OB1]

ABF is a idiot, lazy never posted in this thread.

You're thinking of this PSP thread, DJ. You're confusing this new PSP thread that I just created last yesterday and the other one that I created last week, which lazy posted in.

I only moved ABF's posts that distrupted this thread, as well as my replies to him. I've always done this, moved our arguments elsewhere. Heck you were one the biggest complainers about our arguments ruining threads. Why do you think that Ryan created that forum for us? So that I could move such posts over there. I did not delete any posts.

[A Black Falcon]

I didn't remember which thread Lazy had posted in.

[OB1]

Aaaand since you are a troll half of the time you're here, you of course tried to provoke me.

You're so transparent it's not even funny anymore.

[Dark Jaguar]

Whoops, got the wrong thread... I actually forgot there were two...

[OB1]

That's okay.

[Great Rumbler]

There should be three.

[OB1]

what

[A Black Falcon]

Oh, so you're allowed to be annoyed at me but I'm not allowed to be annoyed at you back?

[OB1]

I do it with class.

[A Black Falcon]

No, you definitely do not.

[OB1]

Only someone without class would say that.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, because screaming insults at people when you get annoyed at them is SO classy!

[OB1]

The way I do it is!

[A Black Falcon]

I know, you've said so before. Doesn't make it any closer to the truth, that's for sure.

[OB1]

You're the king of wit!

[Great Rumbler]

I'm the king of wit.

[Private Hudson]

Woah woah!.... what's a wit!?!?!

[lazyfatbum]

I thought he was the king of rumbling?

There's a wit!

*a small man picking nose* I love Boba Fett he's SO muscular and latino.

No wait.... that was a twit....

[Great Rumbler]

Wit: I'm a wit.

Me: Who the heck are you?!

Wit: I'm the janitor.

Me: Oh...I didn't know we had one of those.

Wit: Not many people do.

Me: So...like what do you even do?

Wit: Stuff.

Me: Like...stuff with cleaners and all that?

Wit: Yeah.

Me: Can I call you "Pedro"?

Wit: No.

[OB1]

Pedro, I am so torn.

I want to get a PSP, but I can't afford one with a warantee right now. And since Sony hardware is shit, I'm afraid that my $250 purchase will be wasted.

What to do!!

[lazyfatbum]

Wait until the PSP's are in the bargain bin and selling for 60 bucks each next to the Game.coms and N-Gages.

[Dark Jaguar]

I think I'm going to be using my DS warantee pretty soon. There's this dead pixel on the screen that is just TAUNTING me and I need to get a new one with a perfect display with no errors at all in the history of the universe.

[OB1]

Yeah good idea, lazy. When the PSP is dead by this fall I'll probably be able to get one for real cheap. It's a good thing that it's totally going to be crushed by the DS, just like it is in Japan.

You talking about the manufacturer's warantee, DJ?

[Great Rumbler]

If I get a 30 on the upcoming ACT test, the resulting cash flow resulting from the subesequent scholarships and such like, I'll have more than to get a PSP, which I will get. So...*crosses fingers*

[OB1]

Hey weren't you in the hater crowd just last year?

[Great Rumbler]

If by "hater" you mean I was a bit skeptical about it's ability to succeed in the market. Of course this has no bearings on my desire to have, or not have, this particular gaming machine. I will say this though, I still don't see the PSP as being anything more than maintenance the status quo, meaning that it's simply more processing power and better graphics. I'm getting it, but not because I think it's super-awesome. :)

[OB1]

I will say this though, I still don't see the PSP as being nothing more than maintaining the status quo, meaning that it's simply more processing power and better graphics.

Uh, that's what pretty much all non-Nintendo hardware has been since forever. That's what the PS3 will be, and what the XB2 will be. That's also what the Gamecube was, what the PS2 was, and what (to a lesser extent) the XBox was.

Not that I'm saying that's good, but that's how it's always been. Nintendo only recently decided that they want to do something drastically different with hardware.

[A Black Falcon]

Not that I'm saying that's good, but that's how it's always been. Nintendo only recently decided that they want to do something drastically different with hardware.

No, I'd say that Nintendo has always liked to do weird stuff and/or innovate... maybe more so in recent times, but it's only recently that Nintendo decided that gaming was declining and needed to do something different to fix it.

But you know, it's not like Revolution won't also be the next step up power-wise... Nintendo just wants other stuff as the focus.

[OB1]

You don't say. Thanks, Mr. Iwata. It's a good thing you mentioned that again, because hearing it ten hundred times over the past two years hasn't been enough.


Nintendo did something different with the NES, a bit with the SNES, a good amount with the N64, a lot with the Gameboy, a bit with the GBA, a lot with the DS, and very little with the Gamecube. What they're talking about with the Revolution, however, should be much bigger than any hardware innovation they've ever made. Supposedly.

[Great Rumbler]

Uh, that's what pretty much all non-Nintendo hardware has been since forever. That's what the PS3 will be, and what the XB2 will be. That's also what the Gamecube was, what the PS2 was, and what (to a lesser extent) the XBox was.

More specifically, I want something that's unique when I get a handheld. I don't want to be playing the same games on the PSP that I'm playing on my home consoles. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to have the PSP, but I like the DS a bit more because it offers a way of playing that can't be done the home consoles. Granted we haven't seen that to a large extent yet, but it's probably just a matter of time.

I have this view because I play handheld games a lot less than ones of the home consoles, so when I get a handheld I want something that's different. Get it?

One of the problems is that the PSP in too many ways resembles the PS2 that's setting in my room at this very moment. On the other hand the the DS and the GBA have almost nothing in common with the GC. That's what I'm talking about here. As I said, though, I'd still like to get the PSP since some of the titles at launch and shortly afterword look interesting. It's got some unique games so I'd like to get, but it's not AS unique as what the DS can [potentially] provide.

I hope that made you more confused.......less confused

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, you want something different in a handheld game... you want something probably simpler to pick up, something that is easily playable in small amounts of time (since you usually don't devote the same amounts of time in straight blocks to a handheld game that you would a major console game)... not just a port of a home title. Oh, some of those are okay, but mainly when they are changed... like save-at-most-recent-door in LttP. And even then... you don't want too many of them. It seems like after the initial period Sony will be very hard pressed to keep people from just tossing out reams of PS1 and PS2 ports on the thing, no matter how well they actually work on a handheld... and given Sony, I doubt if they'll bother to keep up that standard.

[OB1]

Funny how you people never complained about this with any of the Gameboys. The difference between them and the PSP is that the PSP is much closer to current console tech than any of the GBs were.

But yes, I agree that having a different experience on a handheld is a good thing. And luckily for us, we are getting that with the PSP. The best launch games are perfect for handhelds. Lumines is supposed to be one of the greatest puzzle titles ever, and Metal Gear is very different from its console brethren because the developers felt that they needed to make a more handheld-friendly MG game. What do we have for the DS? An enhanced port of an old N64 game, and just a couple of games that are unique.

Despite its potential the DS only has a couple of games worth buying. Compare that to the PSP which has games worth buying at launch. The DS came out in... October, was it? OCT/NOV, something. In about five months time there are two games worth getting, maybe three. In the first day of the PSPs launch there's MG Ac!d, Lumines, Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racers, and a few other games worth buying. I have a feeling that I'll have many more PSP games within the next few years than DS ones. I hope that Nintendo and other devs don't let that happen.

[A Black Falcon]

Funny how you people never complained about this with any of the Gameboys. The difference between them and the PSP is that the PSP is much closer to current console tech than any of the GBs were.

And that fact forces GB games to be noticably different from their major-console siblings. That should be pretty obvious.

But yes, I agree that having a different experience on a handheld is a good thing. It's just that despite with its potential the DS only has a couple of games worth buying. Compare that to the PSP which has games worth buying at launch. The DS came out in... October, was it? OCT/NOV, something. In about five months time there are two games worth getting, maybe three. In the first day of the PSPs launch there's MG Ac!d, Lumines, Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racers, and a few other games worth buying. I have a feeling that I'll have many more PSP games within the next few years than DS ones. I hope that Nintendo and other devs don't let that happen.

OB1, this is NINTENDO we're talking about. They don't release all that many games and, in recent years, they seem to want to make it hard for third parties to release a lot of stuff on their systems. So of course PSP will have more games than DS. The final proportion, though, will be based on the sales of both consoles... if DS keeps doing as well as it is, it should see a more reasonable comparison rate. But given the companies involved, and hardware platforms, of course PSP will have more games... though it might not have more games that are actually original. That could easily go either way... (yes, DS will have some N64 ports, but PSP will surely have far more PS1 and PS2 ports...)

[OB1]

And that fact forces GB games to be noticably different from their major-console siblings. That should be pretty obvious.

I see, so the fact that we had to pay $30 for ports of really old console games made everything so much better.

I love your logic, I really do.

OB1, this is NINTENDO we're talking about. They don't release all that many games and, in recent years, they seem to want to make it hard for third parties to release a lot of stuff on their systems. So of course PSP will have more games than DS. The final proportion, though, will be based on the sales of both consoles... if DS keeps doing as well as it is, it should see a more reasonable comparison rate. But given the companies involved, and hardware platforms, of course PSP will have more games... though it might not have more games that are actually original. That could easily go either way... (yes, DS will have some N64 ports, but PSP will surely have far more PS1 and PS2 ports...)

Ah yes, so it's okay that there are only two games worth buying on the DS since its launch five months ago... because it's Nintendo. Wow, what great logic again.

I'm sure consumers will totally agree with you there.

[A Black Falcon]

I see, so the fact that we had to pay $30 for ports of really old console games made everything so much better.

I love your logic, I really do.

There have always been plenty of exclusives. The ports just flesh it out. And there aren't many ports on the original GB... they're mostly on GBC and GBA.

Ah yes, so it's okay that there are only two games worth buying on the DS since its launch five months ago... because it's Nintendo. Wow, what great logic again.

I'm sure consumers will totally agree with you there.

I'm sure there are more than two games and no one expects lots of games at this time of year. November is the real test and everyone knows it. I'm sure the PSP won't be getting a huge flood of titles either before christmastime! Oh, more than DS probably, but it won't be ten-to-one or something like that.

[OB1]

There have always been plenty of exclusives. The ports just flesh it out. And there aren't many ports on the original GB... they're mostly on GBC and GBA.

And the GB had very few good games.

Your point is still that having really old tech makes for a better handheld, which is something so incredibly fanboy-retarded that I'm not going to further respond to it.

I'm sure there are more than two games and no one expects lots of games at this time of year. November is the real test and everyone knows it. I'm sure the PSP won't be getting a huge flood of titles either before christmastime! Oh, more than DS probably, but it won't be ten-to-one or something like that.

Wow, your fanboy idiocy is incredible!! Only two purchase-worthy games (yes only TWO) in five months is MORE than acceptable since it's Nintendo we're talking about, and it doesn't matter than Sony's LAUNCH lineup has at least three times the number of great games as the DS.

Oh but there's no way this can continue! Because we all know how crappy Sony system lineups are during the fall/winter! Yeah, that's some great thinking there, guy!

[A Black Falcon]

Wow, your fanboy idiocy is incredible!! Only two purchase-worthy games (yes only TWO) in five months is MORE than acceptable since it's Nintendo we're talking about, and it doesn't matter than Sony's LAUNCH lineup has at least three times the number of great games as the DS.

Oh but there's no way this can continue! Because we all know how crappy Sony system lineups are during the fall/winter! Yeah, that's some great thinking there, guy!

Sony relies on third parties for most of its PSP lineup. Are third parties fully there yet? Will the PSP be as strongly supported as past Sony consoles? The jury is not back in yet, you know. Don't pretend like it is.

And the DS just doesn't have quite as bad a released lineup as you say... I'm sure more than two games are worth buying. But as I said... it's spring! You shouldn't be expecting more than a few decent games per month for ANY platform. The PSP is just an exception because it's launching. After launch it should get a bit more normal.

And the GB had very few good games.

Your point is still that having really old tech makes for a better handheld, which is something so incredibly fanboy-retarded that I'm not going to further respond to it.

The GB had plenty of good games. Just ones that often weren't quite as great as their NES cousins. But still, that doesn't make them bad games! Definitely not! And anyway, it meant that instead of ports we got new games... always nice (nicer than ports), even if they are only 80 or 90% as good as the NES titles were.

At least older tech forces different games. Ones more designed for that platform. And in this current generation, I also like how the DS actually has some 2d games... as opposed to PSP which I'm sure will be 99% 3D. 2d works very well on handhelds. 3d has more problems, given the small images... and I like 2d gaming and don't want it to totally go away. It's been great to see Nintendo support the DS with a bunch of 2d titles.

As for DS games... Yoshi's Touch n Go looks cool, for another (new) title.