Let the Games Begin

If you go to any gaming site, forums, or store and listen closely, chatter about the brand new portables will be rampant. In one corner, the Nintendo DS stands out for being innovative with the touch and dual screens. Then in the other corner the Sony PSP boasts awesome graphics, huge screen, and a great system design. From the looks of it you can’t loose with all this thought and care put into each respective handheld. Although, one look at the “big picture” you can see distinct and sharp contrasts.

Nintendo knows how to handheld game. Just ask the millions and millions of various Game Boy owners, they’ll say they are as happy as a clam with it. During Nintendo’s reign at the top of the “gaming-on-the-go” heap they have crushed all that oppose their market share of the portable gaming section. Game Gear, Wonder Swan, N-Gage, and various other systems have all fallen prey to the Game Boy dynasty and are but a distant memory to those who own the systems. With a few missteps here and there, like the e-Reader or Virtual Boy, Nintendo has this sort of untouchable bubble surrounding the Game Boy family of systems. Just looking at the history of Nintendo portables would put doubt in the mind of a company with the ambition to challenge the Mohammed Ali of portables, but the DS isn’t a Game Boy, it’s the “Third Pillar.” When the DS was announced, Nintendo wanted to make sure that people knew this wasn’t the GBA’s successor but it’s beefier brother with a touch screen. When more specs of the system were released, in true Nintendo form, it was designed to play games with future expansion if deemed necessary. This both delighted and disheartened different gaming theory fans (the purists vs the tech heads). Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? If the winning formula has worked since ’89 why would anything change? There is a wake up call, in the form of Nintendo’s worst nightmare/best competitor. A sleek, smooth handheld system that could potentially K.O. Nintendo in another round.

PlayStation Portable, or the PSP is in position to breath down Nintendo’s back and steal the rug away from yet another room in the house Nintendo built. Taking a look at what PSP has to offer is quite amazing compared to the DS. First off, there is the beautiful screen underneath the streamlined body style. Style wise, Sony hit a home run no doubt about that. To compliment the screen, the PSP boasts some amazing graphics. Early launch games look gorgeous and there is no sign of that slowing down. Compare it to the current launch DS games and the DS looks lack luster with sloppy textures and lower polygon models. Wi-Fi is another plus that the PSP has, while the DS has it as well, Sony, based on the PS2, is more aggressive in bringing games online. Expect to see PSP online a lot sooner then the DS. As for the games, third party support is a biggie. Sony is known for awesome third party support, if there is a game made it will most assuredly find its way to a Sony system, the PSP will be no different. With the backing of most of its console developers, there will be tons of killer apps down the line. As most people are aware now, Nintendo has been losing developer support due to the lack of the GameCube’s selling performance. Whether or not that will have make difference in the DS’s support is yet to be seen. On of the biggest reasons that PSP will do well is that all over the net there have been numerous reports done about other gaming site importing PSPs, there is an interesting recurring theme, instant love of the system. When it boils down, that is a main selling point and sharp contrast to the DS. There is a general love of the system, Sony is going to sell millions of systems because gamers won’t be able to get enough. It takes a while to get warmed up to the DS, with the new control scheme and all.

What does Sony know about portables? Why would anyone want a PS2 in handheld form, won’t it break like one? Sony has been churning out portables for longer then Nintendo. Walkmans are what you call portable music players, expect to hear children on the school yard saying they are playing Playstation rather then Game Boy in coming years. Sony isn’t a Nokia, who brazenly made an attempt to jump into the handheld market when they weren’t known for gaming, Sony has established itself as a reputable game maker. Regarding the PS2 comparison, while there have been reports of PSP units in Japan that “pop” discs out of the cartridge slot, you need to twist with force to do it, most gamers respect their hardware more then that. The batter life is another concern to critics of the system. While you won’t get extremely long battery life, you’ll be able to play your games on a plane ride or car trip before you need a recharge. There are numerous options to conserve battery as well, turning off Wi-Fi, lowering the brightness on screen. When is the last time you heard a gamer complain about battery life? Anyone? Maybe those on the other side are getting afraid of loosing another round.

Sony has it going on. They have taken what people want in a handheld device and made it a reality. While many gamers loyal to Nintendo dismiss the PSP as another prey to the Nintendo strangle hold of handhelds, they are going to be in for a shock when Sony starts chipping away at the old Game Boy base and starts adding gamers into the fold with their flashy, sleek, powerhouse of a system. I welcome the competition because it will drive both companies to strive for bigger and better things. This generation of portable gaming is sure to impress, with the PSP leading all the way.