# I chose... poorly: PSP vs DS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474 "2005-11-04T14:15:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/1 "2005-11-04T14:15:18Z")
Back when the PSP first came out, I thought, “Sweet.” This thing is going to kick all kinds of ass. I can watch movies, play awesome games, surf the net… when they hack it I can do anything with it! Holy crap was I wrong. The best game on it so far has been old school Nintendo titles. It has some good racers, sure, but where are the fun platformers? It has a puzzle game, but where are the FPS we were told would be t3h awesome? Meanwhile I’m looking at the DS and I see all sorts of goodies (Mario Kart… must have Mario Kart), and I think to myself, self, you did bad. Anybody else in the same situation as me? I think I might sell my PSP and pick up a DS. It’s cheaper, it has Mario Kart!, and it has other cool games, like Mario Kart. Except… the PSP does look pretty sweet, while the DS looks pretty… un-sweet. ---
**Author:** ![eyoung123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@eyoung123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eyoung123)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/2 "2005-11-04T14:39:44Z")
I too was reduced to buying a PSP soon after its release… So far it’s been a great big **Meh** … I hope as the platform matures some better games will come to light. I am definitely getting plenty of use out of my GameFly account. Unfortunately, so far, its been mostly returning crappy games as fast I can in hopes of getting a better one next time. I was pleasantly surpassed by the DS… My wife wanted one to play Nintendogs… why I am not sure but there ya’ go… and I picked up Advance wars for it, figuring I’d want to try the thing out too… that system rocks! It is definitely the ugly cousin to the PSP but the usability and (so far) games far surpass the PSP offerings. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/3 "2005-11-04T15:52:43Z")
So… can you play movies on a DS? So… two very different machines then huh? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/4 "2005-11-04T15:58:53Z")
I recall the title is a pop-culture reference, but I cannot recall where it is from. A little help here? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/5 "2005-11-04T16:00:15Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > I recall the title is a pop-culture reference, but I cannot recall where it is from. A little help here? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/6 "2005-11-04T17:24:34Z")
I bought both. Had I been thinking clearly… I would now own a DS and an Ipod. But at the same time… I got the PSP with my tax refund… so… Seriously. Nintendogs appears to be what Tetris was for the Gameboy. I try to support all systems… but if I have to declare an Alliance… I would go with the big N. After all I still have my Virtual Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/7 "2005-11-04T17:28:03Z")
Gotcha’. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/8 "2005-11-04T17:49:21Z")
> [@Breakdancing Duck](#): > > But, but, you can watch porn on the PSP. 🆒 > > What? Feh, why have porn when you can have Miles Edgeworth? ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/9 "2005-11-04T17:58:47Z")
It’s a little ironic, because the problem with Nintendo for pretty much the last two full console generations has been lack of quality games when compared to the competitors… and now they have what is quite possibly the inferior system, technically, but are winning running away because of the very thing that has been killing them on the console. Nintendo left an opening in the portable market, and Sony fell flat on its face trying to head on through it, IMO. (though I’d still rather just have my GBA than either of the new portable systems 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/10 "2005-11-04T18:01:41Z")
Actually, I think you can watch movies on the DS now, albeit much worse quality. I’ve decided to make the sensible decision and keep the PSP as well as buy the DS when Mario Kart comes out. Okay, maybe not the most sensible, but I have faith in the PSP. A good game will come out! Oh, and **Kiros** , I think the DS plays all the old GBA games too. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/11 "2005-11-04T19:03:54Z")
A friend of mine has the DS and absolutely raves about it; he says it’s the best toy gadget he’s seen since the iPod. While I’m sure the PSP is selling well, it does seem as though it doesn’t quite live up to the hype. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/12 "2005-11-04T19:35:16Z")
Aye, **audiobottle** , it does, I more meant that I already have a GBA and none of the DS offerings appeal to me as much as the stuff I can already play does - mostly because the GBA is a perfect system for RPG and strategy type stuff. I can rough it and live without Nintendogs if it’ll let me save up for my PS3 😃 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/13 "2005-11-04T19:57:58Z")
Ahh… the sweet, sweet PS3 that we know so very little about. The last I heard about it, they were claiming it could do _120_ frames per second. No TV that I know of can even refresh that fast, but hey, why not? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/14 "2005-11-04T20:38:36Z")
What about the GTA Liberty City Stories game? That looks great. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/15 "2005-11-04T23:32:10Z")
Yeah, I’ve thought about GTA. But I’ve played the PS2 ones, and I want something _new_. So far everything seems to be a remake, a continuation of an old series, or a new idea that seems promising right up until the day it’s released, and then it flops. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/16 "2005-11-05T00:48:51Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Feh, why have porn when you can have Miles Edgeworth? This question is all sorts of wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/17 "2005-11-05T03:29:46Z")
I just got a PSP a few weeks ago, but it is making me very happy. Playing games on it is kind of a bonus – the cool thing for me was being able to throw six episodes of Venture Brothers on it and watch them on the plane on the way to Disney World. PSPVideo9 interfaces quite seamlessly with TivoToGo, so I can record on the Tivo, download to my PC and then convert to MP4. Sure, it takes a little time, but that’s the sort of thing that goes well in the background of a surfing session. The game selection kind of sucks, though. If I’m going to choose a gaming machine, I’d go with the DS. That’s not what my PSP is for me, though, so I’m happy with my choice. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/18 "2005-11-05T14:53:28Z")
I keep meaning to get a bigger memory card. What are 1 gig sticks going for these days? have the dropped the price down at all? ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-chose-poorly-psp-vs-ds/329474/19 "2005-11-05T17:23:53Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > I keep meaning to get a bigger memory card. What are 1 gig sticks going for these days? have the dropped the price down at all? Looks like [$99 at Best Buy](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7065258&type=product&id=1108125653511), on sale from a $125 regular price. That’s for SanDisk, which is usually cheaper than the Sony-branded one. 1 GB is a lot of storage. I have 6 episodes of Venture Brothers on one, along with a few savegames, and still have ~300 MB free.