Kasavin Weighs In On PSP, DS Battle

Thanks to GameSpot for its Greg Kasavin-authored 'GameSpotting' editorial discussing comparisons between Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS handheld systems, in a piece subtitled: "Five Capital Letters, Two Little Systems, One Big Bloodbath". Kasavin points out: "It's very, very easy to jump on Sony's bandwagon... it's also very, very easy to root for the relative underdog that Nintendo's lately turned into. But... neither of these companies expects your loyalty or necessarily deserves it. They're both these big, huge Japanese firms designed to pull a serious profit year in and year out." The piece continues: "There's a lot of evidence to suggest that the Nintendo DS is a reactionary device that lacks focus", although concedes: "To be fair, Sony has also done its fair share of double-talking with respect to the PSP", before marginally favoring the PSP, "designed with an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' mind-set." Elsewhere, Game Informer also weighs in, with a two-part series "analyzing the upcoming handhelds".

Re:Missing One Important Point

[SkyWalk423]

Finally, there's the backlit screen. On first thought, the idea of laptop style screen technology in a handheld, but if you've ever tried to use your laptop outdoors on a sunny day, you'll know just how easily that backlight is drowned out. Chances are good that on any given car/train trip you're going to pass through a patch of sunlight, severely imparing how easily you can see the screen. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the color shift issues that occur when you view a laptop screen from any angle except straight on.

I swear there's no pleasing some people. Would you rather have a non-backlit screen like the original GBA? Back when it came out folks griped about needing a bright light to see the screen. Now we're getting a backlit LCD and folks are griping about possibly having too much light to see the screen?!? And tell me, when will you EVER watch your PSP at an angle?? Maybe your buddy watching LOTR over your shoulder in the car will have a bad angle. Is that a reason to not buy one?

I love complaining for complaining's sake. There's generally not enough complaining going on.