Sony PSP - a dying giant of potential

On the lead up to buying my PSP i had major reservations, not only did it seem like a floundering platform to me but i just couldn't see myself using one the same as i did my girlfriends DS for example. I would always worry when i walked into a game shop and looked for any PSP games of potential interest only to find them relegated to a dark and dingy corner - a sad chart composed of the last 6 months scant releases and nothing more. Eventually, however, i broke and i'm pleased to say that although Sony still annoy me immensely i haven't regretted it for a second.


The PSP3000, one of the many different versions that have been released and named in the style of Terminator.

I've counted 15 games to date that i'd love to play on the PSP and most of which i now own. That, for me, is enough to justify the purchase of a machine and then some. Yes there are still problems with the machine itself, many in fact, but these can be overlooked in light of the machines capabilities - no matter how neglected.
Granted the battery life is very low, especially for what is supposed to be a hand held machine but i think that for anyone considering buying one they should bare in mind that it isn't really a portable gaming platform. Yes it's handheld but it could be argued as to whether it's genuinely portable due to its feeble battery life and overly bulky size.

Also of major annoyance is the fact that Sony have now announced (or will at E3) that they're releasing another revamped PSP model. This one will be dubbed the PSP2, instead of a PSP 4000 which is taking it beyond the realm of ridiculousness. The PSP2 (catchy) is speculated to be doing away with the costly UMD drive which is a sound business move (as most companies have dropped it anyway) but something of a kick in the teeth for people like myself who have imported rare games from abroad. The press are hoping that Sony will try and stay on the fans good side by releasing a UMD to flash memory add on although Sony have never really worried before about annoying people so i wouldn't hold your breath. An excellent example of alienating your audience is when they removed the Emotion Engine from the PS3, removing the backward compatability function while still, geniusly, leaving all the functions on the dashboard of the PS3 batch that couldn't play PS2 and PS1 games. Bravo.

Anyway, like a mug i'll no doubt be purchasing the PSP2 especially considering the new functions that they've promised - despite the worrying fact that everything lately seems to be turning into an IPhone without even meaning to. For anyone as gullible as me who has yet to own a PSP these are the games, in no particular order, that you should buy with it - for the most part they blow anything on the DS out of the water, although i'm still a massive fan of the DS as a format for playing RPG's on.

1) Jeanne D'Arc

Amazing game. I was blown away by the anime intro, worth the purchase of the PSP alone.

2) Brave Story
3) Valkyrie Profile
4) FF:Crisis Core
5) Yggdra Union

Another quality title although you won't see it on these shores. No sir. Thanks again Sony.

6) Phantasy Star Portable
7) Wild Arms EX

There are many others but those will be enough to get you started. The biggest bone that i have to pick with Sony is their pathetic support for the European market. Yes the PSP is universal (thank god) but for the most past the US and Japan enjoy huge amounts of software over there that we will simply never see over here. This major annoyance started with the PS2 for me and has now grown increasingly worse with the lacklustre PSP software support in Europe.
The moral of this story is that if you want decent releases pay a little more and go and visit EBay, all of the above titles will be there and they're amazing examples of RPG's. While you're at it go to the link below to find out how to access the US PSN and download a wealth of decent games and films that we miss out on because we're geographically unfortunate:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33700

Why Sony, unlike Apple, can't embrace the fact that people want to use different apps and have access to content that is not usually available is beyond me.