Looking For A Gaming Console

[Chero]

Hi,

I'm not much of a gamer and thus I lnow nothing about it.
Now my kids want a gaming console and are asking me for advice cause "I work with computers" (doesn't everybody nowadays ?) and because I have a Zaurus (OK, not everybody has one).

Now, from what I found on the www, I could go for (ps1), ps2, xbox, wii, ... but then they are tied to the tele.
I more like Nintendo DS, PSP, (any other choices ?) cause that way they can also use it in the car or while someone else is watching tele.

I keep on asking google some questions and it gives me loads and loads of pages, but what are the pros and cons of these consoles ?
I already found that Nintendo DS plays GBA-roms. Does PSP do this as well ?
PSP's screen has a higher res, Nintendo's screen seems to be better protected (clamshell).

How about the games and their prices ? From what I see the same games seem to be cheaper for Nintendo DS. Why's that ?

Can a PSP play PS1, PS2, PS3 games ? My three brothers own PS1, PS2 and PS3 so it would be nice to play their games ...

From what I know now, balance is going towards Nintendo DS.
Please comment or answer my questions,

From a complete gaming-noob in search for a gaming device,
Chero.

[harvell]

I sort of inherited a psp from my sister.  I found that the games can be really cheap if you get them used and also renting them isnt bad.  PSP's are also good for music and pictures if you load them on the magic gate stick.  As a side note power supplies and some radio transmitters will also work on your Z  .  

If you have more than one kid it might be tough to share one psp between the two.  If that is the case a wii might be better.  I've been talking to families where the parents get really invloved with the games because of simple games and wireless controller play.  

Hope that helps a bit

[Capn_Fish]

My impression is that the DS is much more popular, even for older kids. I've heard complaints of PSPs being easy to break & such, plus their battery life isn't great. The screen protection issue is also big.

One more thing in the DS's favor is that it comes in multiple colors (the kids I know don't want the same color as their brothers, even if the hardware is EXACTLY the same).

The PSP does not play GBA games, as the GBA was a Nintendo product, as is the DS.

The only reason you would want to go with a PSP is if your kids are older-ish and like hacking at stuff (homebrew, mostly), but a GP2X would be better then anyway

EDIT: No, the PSP will not play PS1, PS2, or PS3 games. Games are cheaper for the DS because Nintendo cares about making products affordable, and, if you haven't noticed, all of Sony's formats are more expensive than the competition.

EDIT2: If you want to go for a non-hand-held, I'd say Wii FTW. There's a reason it's sales are way ahead of the other consoles'. It's also cheap, and not prone to breaking (Xbox 360's have a tendency to do that, as do most Sony consoles in my experience).

[jpmatrix]

well, i own a psp, so let's try to answer :

PSP or DS, the choice basically depends of what kind of games you're looking for (or your children!)
PSP has much car games (that's the reason i bought it!), and games which are playable with the joystick (fight games, fps games, etc...)
DS has much reflexion & stylus-oriented games, and some says that DS games are much fun to play than PSP games...

people here doesn't seem to know that : since latest firmwares, PSP CAN play some PS1 games ! these games are made available via Sony's web site.

PSP can be used as a movie player (tested in my car with my children!) and as an quick&dirty mp3 player (i used it like that all days in transports!). sound quality is great, although max volume is limited by sony (ear protection they says!)

about battery consumption, i find it correct. and you can use psp charger to charge your zaurus ! you can also charge it via usb cable (but not within usb connector...)

PSP can also serve as a web browser. builtin browser is just correct although some heavy pages cannot be seen because of limited memory device...

about GB emulation, there is not... BUT .... it you .... well ... hack your PSP .... well ... you have then access to so called "homebrew" softwares and then you have GB, GBA, GBC, NES, SNES, and even N64 emulator ! you have also some c64 ou amstrad cpc or zx81 emulators

about screen, the first thing to buy is a protection ! and psp is sold with a pouch which i find good to protect it. and if you want you'll find lots of pouches and cases to customize your device

about price of games, just buy used games. they are usually out quickly after a game is sold.

voila !
but as i said, choice mainly depends of kind of games you're looking for.

[Chero]

Thanks for the comments so far !
Keep them comming.

BTW : my kids are 8 and 10 years old. The 8-year-old one is the gamer of the family. He likes Shrek, Mario Bross, Cars, Sonic, Crazy Frog, Spider Man, Jack Sparrow, Pokemon, ... .

Chero.

[Chero]

well, i own a psp, so let's try to answer :

PSP or DS, the choice basically depends of what kind of games you're looking for (or your children!)
PSP has much car games (that's the reason i bought it!), and games which are playable with the joystick (fight games, fps games, etc...)
DS has much reflexion & stylus-oriented games, and some says that DS games are much fun to play than PSP games...

people here doesn't seem to know that : since latest firmwares, PSP CAN play some PS1 games ! these games are made available via Sony's web site.

PSP can be used as a movie player (tested in my car with my children!) and as an quick&dirty mp3 player (i used it like that all days in transports!). sound quality is great, although max volume is limited by sony (ear protection they says!)

about battery consumption, i find it correct. and you can use psp charger to charge your zaurus ! you can also charge it via usb cable (but not within usb connector...)

PSP can also serve as a web browser. builtin browser is just correct although some heavy pages cannot be seen because of limited memory device...

about GB emulation, there is not... BUT .... it you .... well ... hack your PSP .... well ... you have then access to so called "homebrew" softwares and then you have GB, GBA, GBC, NES, SNES, and even N64 emulator ! you have also some c64 ou amstrad cpc or zx81 emulators

about screen, the first thing to buy is a protection ! and psp is sold with a pouch which i find good to protect it. and if you want you'll find lots of pouches and cases to customize your device

about price of games, just buy used games. they are usually out quickly after a game is sold.

voila !
but as i said, choice mainly depends of kind of games you're looking for.

Really usefull, thanks.
Great, good old c64 ...
I guess (hope    ) he won't go hacking during the first 5 or 6 years.
From the reviews I see on the web, and the videos I saw on youtube, I'd still go for the DS. Seems less agressive for an 8 year old ...

Anyone else ?
Chero.

[Capn_Fish]

If they like Mario and Pokemon, the DS is the way to go, especially given ther ages. The PSP doesn't have Mario or Pokemon, or anything remotely close that I'm aware of.

[ZDevil]

Personally I like the NDS better than PSP. There are some really nice and cute and more "educational" games (especially the "brain" games) for the kids.

To me the PSP has an edge over display and sound effects, but I am not of the "I see. I chop. I kill" type, and I guess your kids aren't either.

Off topic: I am a kinda old-fashioned gamer. On the Z I'm used to playing the roguelikes a lot and now Ur-Quan Masters. On desktops the Heroes of Might and Magic series is my all-time favorite.  

[speculatrix]

get them an old amiga. seriously. get hold of some programming tools - BASIC, C, Pascal or something, and get them to write some code. Try and ensure they learn as much about how computers work as playing with them.

[Capn_Fish]

Personally I like the NDS better than PSP. There are some really nice and cute and more "educational" games (especially the "brain" games) for the kids.

To me the PSP has an edge over display and sound effects, but I am not of the "I see. I chop. I kill" type, and I guess your kids aren't either.

Off topic: I am a kinda old-fashioned gamer. On the Z I'm used to playing the roguelikes a lot and now Ur-Quan Masters. On desktops the Heroes of Might and Magic series is my all-time favorite.  

I liked Heroes of Might and Magic III, but hated IV & V. They were too graphical, which I felt took a ton away from the game.

get them an old amiga. seriously. get hold of some programming tools - BASIC, C, Pascal or something, and get them to write some code. Try and ensure they learn as much about how computers work as playing with them.

That's a great idea! A GP2X covers that too, I think, with SDL programming (easy to learn, SDL is).

[koan]

I bought a PSP recently. I do not like supermario or cute games; I like shooting things, racing things and 3D graphics (GTA, SSX etc). I bought a 4 GB Memory Stick, 1seg digital TV tuner (Japan only) and a semi-hard case. I can use mencoder to transcode and resize DVDs to less than1 GB; I can put 3 movies on the stick and still have space for games data, photos, mp3s and other video shorts. At the moment I am downloading clips off YouTube: Monty Python, Mitchell and Webb, 80s music videos. Later I may start downloading Blake's 7 episodes.

I don't think I'm going to install hacked firmware; I'm not going to bother with homebrew, I have a Zaurus for hacking and programming. Using an appropriate USB cable I can access the memory stick from the Zaurus; so I can create, edit or store media on the Z microdrive and transfer it later.

I don't know so much about the DS but AFAIK it doesn't have the media capabilities I've mentioned above however, the (essential) memory stick is extra. Then again, I can use it in a camera or something else too. I'm very happy with my PSP.

I think the best advice is to go to a shop and try them out for yourself.

[desertrat]

I liked Heroes of Might and Magic III, but hated IV & V. They were too graphical, which I felt took a ton away from the game.

Have you guys tried WoG (Wake of Gods), it's an "add-on" for HoMM3 which greatly expands the number of creatures. items and abilities. Makes it seem like a whole new game.

Chero: it will probably not help you decide but, in my neck of the woods about 90% of the people I see playing the Nintendo are girls, and about 99% playing the PSP are boys.

[Chero]

Chero: it will probably not help you decide but, in my neck of the woods about 90% of the people I see playing the Nintendo are girls, and about 99% playing the PSP are boys.

This doesn't help indeed : I've got a daughter and a son ...  
I'd like them to choose the same device to avoid troubles later on ...  

[Chero]

get them an old amiga. seriously. get hold of some programming tools - BASIC, C, Pascal or something, and get them to write some code. Try and ensure they learn as much about how computers work as playing with them.

Sure, he's only 8 now and my wallpaper is changed everytime I start my computer, he adds sounds to his powerpoints but at school they only learned how to insert text, ...
I'd like to be able to use my home-box for a while without having to worry what's been changed every time I turn on power ...
I guess I'll wait with an amiga and BASIC, c or pascal for a few years ... .
Having access to an Amiga would definately make my own free time shrink ...    

Chero.

[Capn_Fish]

I liked Heroes of Might and Magic III, but hated IV & V. They were too graphical, which I felt took a ton away from the game.

Have you guys tried WoG (Wake of Gods), it's an "add-on" for HoMM3 which greatly expands the number of creatures. items and abilities. Makes it seem like a whole new game.

Nope. I played the complete edition (original, Armageddon's Blade, and one other one I can't remember the name of).

Hope we're not hijacking this thread too much.