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49 out of 51 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Excellent device with problems"
Pros: Very large screen, knock 'em dead graphics, sexy design
Cons: Tinny speakers, poor battery life, overly delicate, expensive
Summary: I hate Sony. I just want to say that out of the gate. I've had almost nothing but bad experiences with their products and company. When I saw the PSP for the first time, though, I absolutely had to have one. Overall, I am pleased and excited at the prospect of future games.
The PSP had the best launch I can think of. The only system that was even remotely comparable in quality and quantity of games available at launch was the Dreamcast. These high quality games are also the PSP's first stumbling point. They are all just PS2 games. If you've already played them and if you got a system at launch I assume you to be a relatively hardcore gamer, then the system is effectively worthless. Wipeout Pure is good, and the only other game that is truly ONLY for the PSP, Metal Gear AC!D is really strange and hard to get into. The games are all great, but we've already played them.
And played them for longer as well. The battery life is very, very poor. I played Tony Hawk via wireless and the battery pooped the bed in less than 3 hours. I immediately had flashbacks to the Game Gear where it gobbled up 6 AA batteries in 3 hours. Without any wireless play I was able to play for over 4 hours. I also bought a second battery (Which I recommend everyone do) effectively increasing on-the-road life to 6-8 hours. I pine for the days of 20 hours on my Game Boy Advance.
I also pine for the tank-like structure of my Game Boy Advance. If Nintendo has ever done one thing well it's make systems that take a licking and... well you know. I have an old NES that has been punished for the last 2 decades and continues chugging along. If you can find a single Sony product from 2 decades ago that still works at ALL, I would be impressed. The PSP is no different. I get the overall feeling that the device I hold could spontaneously disintegrate at any moment. The DS, on the other hand, feels indestructible (although I'm sure I could manage). The screen especially feels delicate. It can get scratched with immeasurable ease and sucks up finger oils like an Oxy pad. I found myself cleaning it multiple times per day.
The quality of the screen materials is somewhat lower than I expected. I have noticeable LCD shadow in many applications. This may seem like a small complaint, and to be true, I didn't notice it much playing games. But watching movies it was VERY noticeable. Spider-Man 2, which the unit came with, is a giant blur during the fast action scenes. This severely limits the devices ability as a true, pocket-sized, multimedia hub. This is especially disappointing since Sony has hyped the movie-playing aspect of the PSP to a great extent. Now I discover the screen isn't up to the task. LCD shadow aside, the screen is insanely crisp. Games all look bee-u-tiful.
The screen is also the largest source of complaint from everyone I know. I was lucky. I received a screen with some chips, and a couple scratches, and a little dust, but no dead pixels. I also made the point to buy the extra warranty, so when a fresh batch of fault-free PSP's come in, I can trade mine in for one. Even if you didn't buy the extended warranty, Sony should replace it. Do not take the excuse that "LCD screens are made with highly precise technology, but in some cases black spots may appear... this is not a malfunction." (PSP Manual, P. 118). That is, for lack of a better word, BS. For $250, the screen should work.
Just below the screen lies the other problem; the speakers. They, well, they suck. It's apparent that Sony intends for you to use the headphones, but if you're going to bother putting the speakers on there at all, you should put good ones on. In the end, if you're in a quiet environment, the speakers will get the job done. Anything more than a murmur, though, and you can't hear a thing.
Overall quality and design is good, and I feel I got a $500 toy for half the price. It's incredibly sexy, and sexy is the only word for it. Sony got the aesthetic design down wonderfully. The device feels good in my hand, looks even better, and just screams "I'm a kick ass toy!" with the brushed aluminum circle on the back.
You're going to pay for the "kick ass" factor, I'm afraid. And this is the one reason the PSP's usefulness as a combo device is severely limited. $250 will net you the system. But you NEED the warranty, so that's another $25, and you likewise need game cases, another carrying case, second battery, screen protectors, and better ear-buds. That's $50 right there. If you want to do anything besides play games, you'll need a memory stick. The 32MB stick included sure as hell won't cut the mustard. Music will require 256MB or more, and for video you really need a 1GB stick. The 1GB stick will set you back $150-175. Combined with a high game price of $50, you'll want like 2-3 games to start with, let's say you're broke (From buying everything else) and you only get 1. That's another fifty bucks. 250 + 25 + 50 + 150 + 50 = $525 + 36.75 (at 7% sales tax) = 561.75. That absolute steal at $250 just got a whole lot more expensive. Don't even get me started on buying movies, which range from $20-30 each.
If I had expected more from the movie angle, I might have given this a lower grade. But I went in expecting a game machine, and I'm rating it as a game machine. And as a game machine it's very good. The quality control issues will soon be forgotten, but the poor battery life and high price will not, I feel. Those matters aside, I have had a great time with mine, and expect to continue having a great time. That is why I give it an 8. A wonderful game system, if that's all you expect.
- 11 replies to this review
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Ds graphics suck compared to PSP. But if you even touch the psp screen with your finger nail its gonna leave a smudge and then you'll take the softest cloth in the house and gently go over it and when your done you see a couple of scratches and after a week billions of scratches. Anyone else experience this? If you use the psp on a road trip when the sun reaches the screen the scratches do show and the only time you can play it without noticing the scratches are in pitch black
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You got it down! I have tiny hands and I still feel like I'm going to break it everytime I pick it up and I am forever wiping off the screen.
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I'm on the proses of buing my own and I tell you with this review you make me think twise before buing it! I just hope that sony releases a better version soon...
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One word "Walmart." Yes walmart isn't the best place for gamer gear, but I go in and see umd movies for 12 to $20 at the most. One thing i like about walmart is their prices on movies and games is at a base for new releases. Also for psp games less than half of the releases are $50, most are 40 and some are 30. I got my psp on release but unfortunatly had to sell it, god i love ebay. The battery life isn't anything spectactular, but think about it a bit, whats the average battery life for a good cd player with good antiskip protection, depending on the volume its at, about 8-15 hours, at most. The psp prettymuch has a small dvd drive, and a good size back lit lcd, and you expect 15-20 hours of battery life out of that with a 1800mh battery. Not likely. Yes low battery life can suck but most of the time you would use it i'm sure you could find a ac outlet. Besides, look at notebook computers. I think the highest battery life i've seen from one with a stock battery is up to 6 hours, not 6 hours indefinitly, thats with the cd drive off very low brightness and no wifi. And the battery in that is much more powerful than the one in the psp. As for the "lcd shadow" its called ghosting effect its a problem in just about all LCD's its mainly in dvd/movie playback and is seen less in games unless theres a very fast sequence. What dictates that is the responce time of the lcd which on the average lcd is 12-15ms which you can see ghosting more than in say 3-8ms. And I believe that that the lcd on the psp is at 15ms or 12ms which is why that its no surprize that there i ghosting effect in movie playback. But i'm sure that sony will improve on this later and hopefully get the gig pack that i've heard about. Even if its 50 more for it. On that note i'm not chastizing the poorly educated. I'm just saying do you're homework before you complain about getting bad grades er well you know what I mean. With whats being powered and the newness of the lcd tech, its completely resonable to see the low battery life and etc.
On another note, the GBA and DS can have the 10-20 hr battery life with the type of screen and media they use. with the lcd on them you'll never get the beautiful picture you get with psp. But I am growing more fond of the flash based media since its been pushed to 6 megs now (in the 6gig zen micro i think it is). The posibility for great looking games for a portable has been givin a big boost but the cost for that size of flash is quite high which i'm sure is the only reason its not being utilized now. And if nintendo really wants to stay in the market for handhelds they better get a good lcd at the least. -
One word "Walmart." Yes walmart isn't the best place for gamer gear, but I go in and see umd movies for 12 to $20 at the most. One thing i like about walmart is their prices on movies and games is at a base for new releases. Also for psp games less than half of the releases are $50, most are 40 and some are 30. I got my psp on release but unfortunatly had to sell it, god i love ebay. The battery life isn't anything spectactular, but think about it a bit, whats the average battery life for a good cd player with good antiskip protection, depending on the volume its at, about 8-15 hours, at most. The psp prettymuch has a small dvd drive, and a good size back lit lcd, and you expect 15-20 hours of battery life out of that with a 1800mh battery. Not likely. Yes low battery life can suck but most of the time you would use it i'm sure you could find a ac outlet. Besides, look at notebook computers. I think the highest battery life i've seen from one with a stock battery is up to 6 hours, not 6 hours indefinitly, thats with the cd drive off very low brightness and no wifi. And the battery in that is much more powerful than the one in the psp. As for the "lcd shadow" its called ghosting effect its a problem in just about all LCD's its mainly in dvd/movie playback and is seen less in games unless theres a very fast sequence. What dictates that is the responce time of the lcd which on the average lcd is 12-15ms which you can see ghosting more than in say 3-8ms. And I believe that that the lcd on the psp is at 15ms or 12ms which is why that its no surprize that there i ghosting effect in movie playback. But i'm sure that sony will improve on this later and hopefully get the gig pack that i've heard about. Even if its 50 more for it. On that note i'm not chastizing the poorly educated. I'm just saying do you're homework before you complain about getting bad grades er well you know what I mean. With whats being powered and the newness of the lcd tech, its completely resonable to see the low battery life and etc.
On another note, the GBA and DS can have the 10-20 hr battery life with the type of screen and media they use. with the lcd on them you'll never get the beautiful picture you get with psp. But I am growing more fond of the flash based media since its been pushed to 6 megs now (in the 6gig zen micro i think it is). The posibility for great looking games for a portable has been givin a big boost but the cost for that size of flash is quite high which i'm sure is the only reason its not being utilized now. And if nintendo really wants to stay in the market for handhelds they better get a good lcd at the least. -
pretty good review, i would totally agree with u. but it is still pretty impressive, having music and video and gaming in one. i would also agree with the battery life issue; it is not enough for us to enjoy the full potential of the PSP.
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i was working at futureshop distribution and the guy said they get 400 a day in to be repaired
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I recently purchased a psp and was happy with its performance untill it fell off the coffee table. The resulting drop was only about 40-50cm but still managed to break the screen. This was not covered by warranty and to get it fixed was another $200. I was surprised that something that was supposed to be "portable" isnt more durable and should be able to take bumbs and knocks that are its bounde to receive on long trips and travelling.
It is an exeptional little machine though but if u do get 1 I reccomend being extremely carefull with it. -
for taking the time to write a review
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The PSP is awesome anyway you look at it. 3 or 4 hours is pretty amazing considering you were playing online. Of course any device will have it's drawbacks, and yes if you want a good time with the PSP you have to pay more than the $250 sales price. It's called marketing. If the PSP were $500, hardly anyone would have one even if they priced the games at $25 each and the memory sticks at $50 for 1GB. Think about it. It's a gaming console, you have to pay for games and accessories. I'm sick of people complaining about the battery life, it's the ONLY possible consideration in ones decision to buy a PSP, but seriously how long are you REALLY going to be away from an AC outlet? If it's more than 3 hours you may want to consider a car charger, oh but wait that's another $24.99.
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You did a great review, hehe, well done. It couldn't have been said out better imo.
Do you think that the PSP will be able to improve it's battery life via future software updates? I'm sure many other things could be updated besides rumours of internet browser updates etc.
I also remember the days of the Game Gear, ack. That thing just emptied out your pockets for battery packs! lol.
As for PS2 ports, yeah I'm sure Sony will churn out fresh new releases. Now that there's an almost PS2 equiv system, when you think about it, they got an even tougher job of putting out quality games; like instead of one PS2, there's two PS2s that need releases.
