I think that sums up the problem pretty well, that and this too : Don't see the problem ? That's because you and most if not all "hardcore" gamers, have a mind locked in a bubble, thinking you know more and better than anybody else, and don't understand why people don't flock to what you see as being better. So I must be "'hardcore" by your second definition. I know pretty well what technology I buy, I know of most of HDTV and how it works. Same for computers. Heck, I made all my PC from components myself, I have my own Linux OS entirely made and compiled by myself from scratch, on every one of these PC, even my media center with MythTV. And yet, I don't own a HDTV yet. And I don't own one precisely because I'm "hardcore" and know pretty well that would be a waste of money. I'm actually hardcore to the point that I don't understand people saying a console is good because it has power. I can't understand that, that makes no sense, as a console in itself is nothing interesting. Actually, I think like japanese designers, that westerners (which I am) just lack "picture culture". Japanese people, by way of their written "letters" (kanji), have a very impressive "picture culture". Fortunately for me, I always understood that "picture culture" too. But most westerners can't. For example, if you say to a westerner that "live" animation (movies as you know them) are a subset of animation and the poorer one at that, they will look at you with a bland stare (it's less visible nowadays, as it's mixed more and more with computer generated animations, which allow much much more creative things). Graphics whore are a manifestation of this fact. And all this talk of horsepower is the same too. Basically, and that must be a pretty american thing, power means it should be better to them. As such, I knew perfectly well why lots and lots of people said the PSP would crush the DS. This stupid trend of power (and everything 3D) started with the PS1. They think 1080p itself should make better games than 480p. They just forgot that games are not the same as pictures. What is true about a photograph is not true for a game. I always used 1600x1200 resolution with a 21" monitor on my main PC, and yet, I could at the same time go play Ogre Battle on the SNES without even thinking about the image quality, thanks to this image/picture culture. The specs of the SNES weren't even remotely on my mind when playing it. But when I hear some people talk, it seems like they could never do that without having a fit. First time I heard that kind of thinking, was at the time of 3DFX, with Tomb Raider. Someone told me that Tomb Raider was FAR better on the PC than on the PS1. It was my turn to look at him with a bland stare, especially when he showed to me what was better (textures, AA, ...) while he was playing it with his keyboard. I just couldn't understand this nonsense, and if you don't see what's wrong in what I just described, you're pretty burned too. BTW, that's the same reason DS is outselling the PSP 2 to 1. Because when your wife or your less tech savvy friends see you playing the DS games, they're not scared away, they're attracted. And then you see people that were scared by consoles (especially after their scary experience with Windows), that go buy one. These people never heard of "PSP = PS2". They don't even know what PS2 is precisely. You'd better tell them it's a console. Anyway, these kind of talks (PSP = PS2) don't reach their ears. I'm 30+ and I don't own a PSP, but already have one DS and one DSL in the house, and I'm not the one playing them the most. And that's the case, not because I don't know the PSP is more powerful. But actually because I don't care AT ALL if the PSP is more powerful and has a bigger screen. What I want is the games. Several things must be understood to get out of the bubble : More power is always better when everything else is equal only. Consoles are nothing, the games are what counts. Value is not directly related to the power or price put on something.

EBA is awesome! haha :) always thought of buying psp ever since it came out but many years later, i own the famicom edition GBA and the DS Lite but still no PSP cuz there's nothing to motivate me to buy. not games, not graphics.

I have a psp and a DS and I can tell you why people opt for the DS, it's simple, it's offering you an experience you can get only on the DS, the psp is offering you an experience that you can get, and better at that on the ps2, ps3, Gamecube, xbox....., my point being is the psp only has watered down console games, with an annoying little analog nub to play them with. DS has Nintendogs, Brain Age Pokemon RPG, Ace Wright, Elite Beat Agents, New super Marios Bros. , I can go on and on forever the point being these games don't have console equivelents and there for offer an experience entirely unique to handhelds. Now with that said there is some sweet games on the psp namely Tekken Dark Resurrection in my opinon it's the best game on the system. The GTA's are good. Tales of Eternia is really good(only out in japan and europe though). Ridge Racer and Burnout and Virtua Tennis are also sweet. And for me that's about it. Alot of games look good, play well but I just can't get into these kind of games on a portable. For the most part I like quick loading cheesy 2d games on a portable.

The PSP kicks ass ....Syphon Filter Dark Mirror ,Ratchet and Clank Size Matters ,Daxter ,Lemmings ,Burnout ,Wipeout Pure ,Tekken Dark Ressurrection ,Ace Combat X ,Out Run 2006 ,Loco Roco ,Me and my Katamary ,Lumines ,Every Extend Extra ,Metal Gear Portable Ops ,Valyrie Profile Lenneth ,The Warriors ,ISS 7 ,Gitaroo Man ,Madden 07 ,Marvel Ultimate Alliance ,Lego Star Wars II ,Field Commander ,Socom Fireteam bravo ,Killzone Liberation,Capcom Classic Collection Remixed ,Sega Genesis Collection ,Metal Slug Anthology ,Pro Race Driver ....and the upcoming games as Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core ,Final Fantasy Tactics ,Dungeons & Dragons Tactics ,Castlevania:Dracula X Collection ,God of War ,Devil May Cry ,Gran Turismo Portable ,Silent Hill Origins ,Final Fantasy I and II remakes ,Valhalla Knights ,Test Drive Unlimited ,Craxy Taxy ,Afterburner ,Virtua Tennis 3 .......yeah the DS has Nintendogs ,and Mario and Brain Training and sells a lot because casuals but in the sheer quantity and quality of software the PSP gives it a good beating .

First off you mentioned alot of games that aren't out and many that aren't even coming to the psp God of War? And Devil may cry and GT Portable seem to be on indefinite hold. Second you mentioned some pretty average games in the there Out Run, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, even Fild Commander is good, but I'd take Advance Wars over it any day of the week. Have you played most of these games? I've played just about all of them, and Loco Roco is the only one you mentioned that is really good and doesn't actually have a console equivelent that's better. (Even this title as brilliant as it is, I just get bored with it after two hours) lets not forget your shelling out 40 bucks for games and way more for the system also. This is my big problem with the psp. later this year i'm going to buy Burnout 5 for my x360, and Burnout Dominator is coming for my psp, I'm sure it's going to be great, but Burnout 5 great? No. Again it'll be a crappy version of a console game. After spending 60 bucks on a great console title should I pay another 40 to get the watered down version on my psp? no. And I'm sure Dominator will be highly rated and used as an argument to give the psp a chance, but you can't forget the bottom line, if I want Burnout, I'm getting 5 for the 360 or the ps3, and not wasting my time with the psp version, same with GTA, Metal Gear, Tekken Syphon Filter, heck even Monster Hunter is now going to move to the ps3, eleminating another reason to waste time with the handheld. The DS treats the handheld market like a unique market with a unique gameplay experience with plenty of strong titles for casual or hardcore players that you simply won't find on your home console at all. So you can tell me how great every psp game is until your blue in the face but until they start making something other then crapy versions of console games or start selling eveything for 20 bucks it's just not worth it.

I will have to agree with you on this one. The PSP does have very good games, but I can play them on the PS2 as well. I've played all the Burnouts, MGSs, Syphon Filters, Ratchets, Tekkens, Ace Combats, Maddens, Socoms, GTAs blah blah blah. And it's just the same console stuff on a portable. I just purchased MGS: PO, I love MGS, but it's getting too familiar. I would not give PSP titles the upperhand on quality. Prince of Persia on the PSP was choppy ugliness with crappy sound. I have a Texas Hold'em game on the PSP with the worst loading times ever. One full minute or more to load a hold'em game....HOLD'EM. What I do like about the PSP is that I can read the walkthrough of a game on the internet while playing the game on my DS. I've installed homebrews and they're slow. Porn on the PSP is awesome. Music on the PSP is okay, but who is going to carry a huge PSP to play music. UMDs are useless, but movies on the Memory stick are sweet, saves battery life too. Even though some games don't really use the touch screen for much of the gameplay, the dual screens is pretty awesome. Take Castlevania: PoR for example. I am playing the game in one screen and have a map or my status on the other. Saves so much time from going back in forth between screens. I charge the DS once a week, with the PSP it has to be charged after 2.5 hours of gameplay. There are things on both systems that can't be done on the other, however I feel the DS focuses more on the games. I am really over the whole graphics thing, if I wanted good graphics I can pop in FF7: Advent Children. Doom 3 is really pretty on the PC, but it's boring as hell. How much is Final Fantasy I and II going to be on the PSP? $40? I already have it on the DS and bought it for $20. I just feel like Nintendo is looking out for their customer and trying to give them a new experience at a cheaper price. Sony is trying to please their customers, but with experiences I've already had with a higher cost.

Are you sure you bought a PSP? Or is just another way to continually thow around Sony product names in an amatuerish attempt at viral marketing? Seriously though, I was starting to miss your outrageous statements. It is what hooked me into reading this forum. However,-Nintendo-I-Nintendo-am-Nintendo-not-Nintendo-swayed-------------Nintendo.

I could play mario on a console. it's called the NES and SNES. and yet, I really want to play new super mario bros. I could play pokemon on any nintendo system, and yet the DS versions sell well. before I continue this...any game can be made into a console game. being able to play a game anywhere you go is the important part, not that it could have been made into a bigger game on a console.

It's funny because both fooflexible and mancandy elaborated on a point that I previously spoke about. MGS portable ops is completely unlike every other MGS I have played and so is acid. I do not expect MGS4 to incorperate any of the gameplay elements of these because MGS4 is most likely going to be in the vein as the numbered sequels. I listed games that are unlike thier PS2 conterparts and I highly doubt the PS3 are going to include the unique gameplay the PSP provides. The PSP is has games that are cleverly designed for short burst of gameplay and revolves around some pick up and go type games. Like I said before anyone who thinks that the PSP experience will be recreated on console need to spend a tad bit more time with the PSP.

I do play mine plenty, and the bottom line is the psp has no unique hardware features to technically bring something new to the table. The DS has 2 screens and a touch screen. And while I'm sure your thinking of little nifty elements in the software, my main point is most of the big franchises on the DS to date are exclusive, not just the games, but the entire franchises are exclusive. We're not talking the same characters and game content with a few twists to freshen up the portable, we're talking completely different concepts. And while titles like MGS4 might not incorperate PO's gameplay entirely, it will be charachters, plot and gameplay all in the same vein only much much better. So I'd rather wait for MGS4 and get Pokemon for my DS. Plus I'm really starting to find the analog nub on the psp annoying for 3d games, the controls are simply inferior to console controls, and that does have an impact because we're essentially playing console style games.(I've seen someone actually use an aftermarket analog stick version does anyone have a good recommendation for one?) I've played at length Virtua Tennis, Burnout, Lego Star Wars and I fail to see just how different these games are on the PSP. And even if they do have extra elements, boards, charachters, are they enough to buy for 40 bucks after shelling out 60 for the console version? I still say no. I'm not saying I hate the psp, I bought one and I don't regret it. In fact I've actually used the opposite of my logic on a few titles. I bought the Lego Star Wars title on the PSP instead of the console version. But I wish there was more fresh IPs that weren't so focused on a console like experience, I'd love some more adventure, rpg, and 2d fighters. I think my biggest beef with the psp is the selection of games is too action oriented. and I tend to not like playing 3d action on a portable. Actually now that I say that I find I just don't like 3d on a portable much at all, I don't like Star Fox, Sims 2, Metroid on the DS either. I prefer simplier styles, and this maybe the source of my bias, but it also exposes a market in need of attention on the PSP.