We pit the two handhelds against each other in a fight to the death. Or expired battery, whichever comes first.
March 28, 2005 - Now that both the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP are on store shelves in North America, it's finally time to pit them head-to-head. We've had some time to play with the American version of the PSP for a few weeks now, and we've of course had a DS around these parts for some time. Join us as we break down the systems part-by-part, feature-by-feature and determine which has the better screen(s), controls, battery life and more.
One thing to note is that this feature is meant to be as much of a timeless head-to-head as possible, and because of that the current library of games for each system wasn't really considered. Part of the reason is that both systems are relatively new (especially the PSP), and saying that one trumps the other in terms of software at this point would be foolish, especially with E3 coming up in less than two months.
With that said, on with the show...
Processing PowerThis one is obviously in the PSP's favor. While the Nintendo DS has a very capable 3D chip, able to render the likes of Super Mario 64, it's no contest that the PSP has more raw power than the DS. Even the launch games (which didn't exactly have a ton of time to be developed) approach the graphical abilities of the PlayStation 2. Comparing a PS2 to the N64 is like night and day, and that's pretty much the same comparison that can be made here. Really, this one is no contest.
Winner:PSP
(Screens)
With the pure processing power being the first, the screens of the two systems are really the second major battlefield that the two systems are waging battle on. The PSP's screen is no-doubt a beautiful thing, though the Nintendo DS has two of them, one of them being a touch screen. So which setup is better?
It's hard to say. Each display type has its pros and cons. The PSP's screen is bright, vibrant and exceptionally clear. The viewing angle is magnificent; you can view the on-screen action from most any angle and still see a very good image. It also touts a widescreen aspect ratio and a relatively large size.
The PSP's screen isn't perfect, however. Its refresh rate isn't the greatest thing ever, rather it's far from it. While a screen full of motion can fool the eye plenty well enough, objects that move quickly against a slower or still background can bring the refresh rate problems to the forefront. Reds are especially susceptible to this. It's also a pain to keep clean, as is the system as a whole.
The Nintendo DS' strengths are in its dual-screen setup and its bottom touch screen. The ability to control on-screen actions with the touch of a stylus makes it possible for developers to create entirely different games than what's possible on other systems with conventional control systems. As well, having two separate view areas means that some of the action, information or what have you can be pushed off to the second view, making for a potentially cleaner interactive view.
When compared to the PSP, however, the Nintendo DS' screen quality falls short. The viewing angles aren't nearly as nice, and the colors and overall clarity just don't compare. It does sport a better refresh rate though, saving it from some of the blurring problems that the PSP suffers from.
So again, which setup is better? Really, this one is too close to call for either side. The PSP really wins out in quality, but the DS wins in screen interactivity and the potential for unique designs.
Winner: Tie
(Battery Life)
When it comes down to battery life, the Nintendo DS is the clear winner here. The PSP needs plenty of juice to feed all that power and it drinks it a-plenty. The interesting part is that it's almost entirely variable; a game that pushes the system to its max and uses the UMD drive plenty will kill the battery faster than you can charge it. On the other hand, a simple puzzle game that rarely needs to access the drive would likely let the system run about as long as the same game on the Nintendo DS. But since most the games on the system will skew more towards the graphically-intensive variety, this one goes to the Nintendo DS.
Winner: Nintendo DS
(Controls)
Both systems feature the same main controller layout with a D-Pad, four main action buttons on the face of the unit and two triggers. The main differential is the PSP's analog stick vs. the DS' touch screen.
This is another hard one to call as this one obviously comes down to titles on an individual basis. If we were talking about cross-platform type games, like sports games or the like, then the PSP's analog stick is the clear winner; it just works much better as a generalized analog input device. But the DS' strength is in its ability to allow for unique input schemes, like in such games as Wario Ware Touched!
Concerning the other controls, each system has its strengths. The DS has the better set of triggers. The PSP's triggers are sort of clunky and not all that comfortable, while the DS' triggers are springier and generally more comfortable to use. The PSP features the better face buttons as they're bigger and feel more like a regular controller. The DS' face buttons are rather small. Deciding the better D-Pad is sort of a toss-up as it probably comes down to a matter of taste. Both are good, however.
When it comes down to it, the PSP features a much more standardized input system with its analog stick, though the DS allows for much greater creative design with its touch screen. Really, it's a matter of the select game at hand that decides which system has the better controls, and though the PSP will win for most mass-market games, the Nintendo DS has plenty of room for innovative control methods. But when it comes down to it, the PSP is much better suited for 99% of the games on the market.
Winner: PSP
(Load Times)
Like the battery life, the Nintendo DS has the huge advantage when it comes to load times. Being that the DS uses EEPROM cartridges, which are nearly identical to that of a memory card, it's able to load data much, much faster than the PSP's UMD drive. Gamers who are used to immediately jumping into a portable game may not feel at home with the PSP's load times, which like its hardware, very much mirror that of its PS2 counterpart.
Winner: Nintendo DS
(Portability)
By portability, we're referring to how easy it is to throw the system into your pocket or backpack and stroll off without worry of damage to the system. In this regard, the Nintendo DS' flip design takes the cake. When closed, all of the DS' important parts are enclosed and safe from bruises, bumps and scratches. The PSP, on the other hand, requires that you slip it into some sort of case in order to protect its screen. No matter how good the screen looks out of the box, it'll look like crap very quickly if you don't take care of it to protect it from scratches.
Size-wise, the difference between the two systems is rather negligible. When closed, the DS is a little taller and wider than the PSP, though the PSP is a little longer. In any direction the difference is no more than about an inch, which given the size of the systems isn't very much. Either system will fit in your pocket, though not very comfortably unless it's a very large pocket. Weight is also a non-issue with either system.
When it comes down to it, the DS is more portable in and of itself. The PSP requires some sort of casing, and even though the PSP Value Pack comes with a pretty nice slip cloth, it won't protect it a whole lot from things slamming up against it. The DS seems like it would naturally hold up better to bumps and bruises. Granted, you can outfit the PSP with a nice metal case that should protect it from anything, but the same could be said about practically any device.
Winner: Nintendo DS
(Media)
The Nintendo DS uses Game Cards, capable of storing up to 128MB of data as of now, though larger chips could theoretically be used to increase that size at some point in the future. Cost and whatnot obviously plays a factor there. The DS is also capable of playing Game Boy Advance games, so that's worth mentioning here.
The PSP uses UMD discs, capable of holding up to 1.8GB of data. While it can't write to those discs for saves, the PSP also makes use of Memory Stick Duos for saves and media. Memory Stick Duo media is currently available in 1GB versions with 2GB versions on the very near horizon.
Really, the only thing in the DS' favor when it comes to media is its faster read speeds, which as mentioned earlier is a pretty big difference. However, the PSP is capable of much more with its media ports. With its UMD discs, games can be exponentially larger than those on the DS. Large games with tons of art may be plentiful on the system, as could cutscenes. Using a Memory Stick Duo, gamers can easily trade save files either by swapping cards or copying their saves to their PCs via the PSP's USB port. Add in the ability to copy audio and movies to the system and you have a much more robust media setup.
Winner: PSP
Wireless
The fully-fleshed-out capabilities of both systems really have yet to be seen. It was recently announced at this year's Game Developer's Conference that the Nintendo DS will soon have full online support for multiplayer via its wireless connection, putting it on par with the PSP's wireless capabilities. The PSP has supported games on the shelf as of this writing, while the DS does not. Still, they're on the way and at this point it's hard to say which system will make better use of it. And actually, it'll almost certainly be up to the developer on that end, so this is really a tie.
Winner: Tie
Final Word
If you add up the tallies, it comes out to Nintendo DS: 3, PSP: 3, Tie: 2, or an overall tie. But that doesn't really tell the whole story. If you look at the category winners, the PSP takes the system power, control and media categories while the Nintendo DS takes battery life, portability and load times.
So in theory, the Nintendo DS is a better portable system but the PSP is the better all-around system. This seems like a fair enough assessment and the final word we'll stick with.
"I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life"
-Cory Aquino"
