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PlayStation Portable (PSP) Buying Guide

Sony has outsold the competition in the gaming market since the advent of the original PlayStation in 1995, and its venture into the Nintendo-dominated handheld territory is its most daring leap yet. A veritable portable version of the PlayStation 2,  the PSP, released in March 2005, also serves as a do-anything multimedia device. It'll store your pictures, surf the Internet and let you play music and video files, as well as use a host of other applications designed to use the PSP's processing power. Two redesigns, the PSP Slim and Lite in 2007 and the PSP-3000 in 2008, have made the device sleeker, brighter and more powerful, and a brand new device in the PSP family, the PSP go, will offer a different type of gaming experience starting at the end of 2009. For a comprehensive look at handheld systems, check out our Handheld Gaming Guide.

The Good

  • The most graphically advanced handheld system on the market. The PSP makes tech-heads drool, as it goes beyond powerful graphics and has enough processing power to be a multi-functional wonder.
  • System hardware can be upgraded online for free. Those wily Sony programmers are always coming up with cool new features to add on. Past improvements, which now come with new PSPs, include web browsers, multiple language support, RSS feeds, flash animation capability and TV viewing.
  • As a full-featured portable device, with movie viewing, music playing,and internet access, to name a few, it can be the ultimate traveling companion. And don't forget: it plays games, too!
  • Very sleek and sexy design makes it an attractive electronic device.
  • The shiny widescreen display doubles as a handy mirror when the system is turned off.

The Bad

  • Many games are simply downgraded copies of PS2 titles.
  • Still somewhat pricey, though several price drops have made the PSP less of a bank-breaker. Sony's Memory Stick Duo  cards, the only memory units that work on the device, can add on to the price as well.
  • Lack of dual analog sticks makes some games, like first-person shooters, a bit awkward to control.
  • Though the PSP-3000, the most recent version, has a memory upgrade to speed up load times, games can still take a long time to start up, and there will still be a lot of breaks in the action for loading.

The Ugly

  • Make sure you've got some cargo pants, because the device is pretty bulky and won't fit into standard jeans pockets.
  • Speaker sound is weak. That can be fixed with amps and headphones.

Specifications

  • Supports proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format for games and movies. Also can store MPEG4 video formats, MP3, MP4 and WAV files.
  • Connects to a PC or PlayStation 3 via a 2.0 mini-USB port. It can also connect wirelessly to a PS3 or to the internet through WiFi.
  • PlayStation 2-quality graphics on a 4.3" widescreen.

Popular Products

Be prepared to get your game on with a money-saving PSP value pack. 

Keep your PSP shiny and spotless with a transparent shield  or screen protector. 

A PSP Bundle  has  everything you need to start playing and keep going for hours.

The fun never needs to end when you give your PSP extra juice with an extended-life battery. 

To store files, play music, movies, and photos, and save your games, you'll need a Memory Stick. 

Related Guides

PSP Games

Nintendo DS Lite

Game Boy Micro

PlayStation 3

PSP Accessories

External Links