Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy a PSP

You like to play video games, huh? If only you could play them anywhere instead of being stuck at home. Well, with Sony’s PSP you can take it with you, but there’s a price – a BIG one. And frankly, for what Sony is charging for the privilege to play Gran Turismo and other games in the car, the back of a lecture hall or even the great outdoors, I think you’re better off without it.

I’m not comparing PSP strictly to other portable games and video players. I’m simply saying that you should wait for a company to come up with a handheld that won’t end up costing as much as a decent home entertainment system. (Buy an entertainment system instead and you’ll prefer staying home to play games).

Below are the top 10 reasons I think you’re better off saving your money or spending it elsewhere:

10.The screen is tiny relative to the detail of the games you’re playing, making it difficult to play the more visually complex games. It’s sometimes hard to follow the action, particularly in first-person games, because things are moving off your field of vision.

9.The contrast settings are too limited and you are often battling glare.

8.The screen gets marked up very easily and is prone to scratching. A scratched screen does not help when you are trying to get the bad guy.

7.The biggest gripe I have (that will carry into the next several reasons) is that Sony is ripping you off. You spend at least $199 on the PSP and then you have to immediately buy a memory stick to be able to even play a game.

6.Sony knows they’re ripping you off. For $250, they will gladly sell you a memory card (32 MB) and a lovely carrying case along with the PSP. But why would you spend the extra $50 to get a 32 MB card from the Sony “value pack,” when you can buy a 256 MB card separately for $40?

5.None of your current PlayStation games will work. You will need to buy all new games. With games retailing for about $40, you’d be spending $200 to buy just five – a meager collection.

4.If you want to play movies, you need to spend even MORE money. You could choose to spend all your spare time converting movies manually on a PC but then you would need to buy a program to convert your current DVDs into a format that the PSP can play.

3.You also need to buy memory cards to save those movies (in addition to the one you had to buy to be able to play a game).

2.The unit is too small and there are too many buttons spaced closely together for an adult to play without getting aggravated. Of course, you could spend more money to buy the grip extensions. If you haven’t been put off by anything I’ve said so far, then at least buy the PSP accessory kit that includes a magnifying glass (to enlarge that small screen), headphones, speakers, the grip extensions and more for $40.

1.Ok. So you wanted to be able to take the gaming with you, but how portable is it really? Think of all the stuff you have to lug around – the unit, games, etc.

Bottom line – For the money you’d spend on a PSP, conversion program, memory sticks, movies and games (nearly $500), you’d be able to buy a Dell laptop (base model going for $485) or you’d be more than halfway towards a decent laptop. And the laptop can be used for more than just games and movies.

Read another take on the topic –The Portable Gaming War.