Buying a Portable Video Game System

There are two major portable video game systems on the market today: the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The familiar Game Boy Advance is still around, but the Nintendo DS will play all Game Boy Advance games, which is why we've excluded it from our feature. Read on to find out the ups and downs of each system and find out which one is right for you!

Nintendo DS

Nintendo has long been the king of portable gaming with their popular Game Boy systems, and the Nintendo DS continues their tradition of quality gaming. Equipped with dual screens (DS), a built-in microphone, and a touch screen, the Nintendo DS exploded onto the US market in November 2004. In June 2006, Nintendo released the DS Lite, a redesign on the original model. The redesign featured a much brighter, crisper screen, bigger stylus, and repositioned buttons and microphone. Since the launch of the DS Lite, original DS units are slowly being phased out.

The DS features two screens, the lower of which is touch sensitive, just like a PDA. This opens the door for tons of easy to play games where all you have to do is touch and move on-screen objects. It's especially great for puzzle games like Magnetica (the inspiration for Zuma on PopCap games) and Tetris DS.

For more thorough information about the Nintendo DS and the great games available, check out LovetoKnow Video Games.

• About the Nintendo DS
• Nintendogs game review
• Nintendo's free online gaming service

Pros

• Innovative touch screen leads to new game play avenues
• Very compact
• Very durable
• Very affordable
• Backwards Compatible with GBA games
• Long battery life
• Easy to pick up and play, even for video game novices

Cons

• No first party support for playing music, movies
• Not as graphically powerful as the PSP

Sony PSP

The Sony PSP hit the US market in March of 2005 and was met with severe criticism. Even though the units flew off shelves, Sony received a barrage of complaints of units shipping with defects. The system can play music, movies, PSP games and a lot more. It has a very large screen and is an extremely powerful system capable of displaying wonderful graphics and sounds. Think of the PSP as an all-in-one media device with an emphasis on portable gaming.

Unfortunately the PSP suffers from a few great drawbacks, namely its slim library of fun games and large price tag -- around $200 for the bare-bones system. Retailers have announced they will stop selling UMD discs, the PSP system's format for movies, so expect the film front to dwindle in the months to come.

Get more info on the PSP and its games at LovetoKnow Video Games.

• Sony PSP

Pros

• Very powerful
• Beautiful widescreen
• First party support for playing music
• UMDs (movies)

Cons

• Weak battery lasts only a few hours
• Fragile
• Hefty price tag
• Constant updates required to play games
• Long load times

Conclusion

Although both companies have stated that they're targeting different demographs with their respective systems, if you're simply in the market for an enjoyable portable system, the Nintendo DS offers far more bang for your buck; mainly because it will cost you much less. The Nintendo DS Lite retails at $130 while the core PSP package will run you $200. If you want to take advantage of any of its multimedia offerings, you'll have to shell out even more dough for a PSP memory card. And if the ability to play UMDs is any incentive, remember that UMDs are usually only slightly cheaper than DVDs. The PSP does have its good points, but for most people, it's simply out of their price range. However, I urge you to head over to LoveToKnow Video Games and get a feel for the games each system has to offer. It all comes down to what you want to play, right?