A stupid question... But.... I'd like to hear your opinions.

[SilverxBlue]

Hello guys!
Sorry for wasting your time but i'd like to ask which would be a better game console the new PSP 3000 or the Nintendo DS XL...
Graduation is coming and my mother asks me to choose but I can't, so may I please have your opinions or thoughts about the matter.
If you could tell me which is better may I also know why...

And (Sorry for asking so much) if you chose a console may I also have a list of good games? Preferably Visual novels and RPGs.

[mugenjohncel]

Drop the console and ask for cash... then use that cash to upgrade your PC... or even better, get a new one. A nice PC today will serve you a long long time. You can both work and play with a PC but not with a console... though this is just me... I'm sure your mother will understand once you explained it to her.

Trust me... Mas mapapakinabangan mo to kesa Console...

"POOF" (Disappears)

Edit: For your own good... make sure you stay away from macs...

[Aleema]

If you want serious games, PSP is the way to go. There are some serious good RPGs for Sony, whereas Nintendo is for the lighthearted fluffy interactive stuff (VNs). Ask yourself: Wii or Playstation? Something that is a more of a gimmick, or something that focuses on gameplay? That said, you have to personally look up PSP vs DS game lists to see which has what you want.

[DaFool]

Neither. Just wait for the Sony New Generation Portable or the Nintendo 3DS. Est. $249-299 so expect them to be PHP 15,000 minimum when they do arrive.

At the very least get current gen hardware. I have a PS3 and I love it.

Oh, but you want cheap games?

Like mugenjohncel said, just get a Quad-core PC. Then download emulators. Buy a gamepad and you have a virtual PS1/PS2/Dreamcast/N64/SNES/PSP/DS/whatever the hell system you want. Just don't ever give money to people who charge for custom firmware which they didn't even hack themselves. The game industry is collapsing, it's the developers who need money.

[LVUER]

Grrrr... which one are you, Nintendo fanboy or Sony fanboy? Admit! jk ^0^ I really love games and I play games a lot, so I can give you good advice on this, hehehe...

The answer is a surprising, NOT BOTH. Don't buy anything yet, since the launch of Nintendo new 3DS and Sony NGP (or PSP2 if you want to call it that) is just around the corner. The most probable thing is that, after the release of both handheld console, respective older handheld console will get a massive price drop. Just like GBA case when NDS was released.

Though after the release of both console, you probably want to beg your mother for either handheld console instead ^_^

Which one you choose have a big impact on what kind of game do you want to have. PSP have far more traditional console based games while NDS have some unconventional games (due to its touch-screen) though most of them are "kiddie" all age/casual games.

PSP games are more expensive (understandable considering better graphics and bigger in size). NDs, though cheaper, you will have difficult finding serious/heavy/deep games due to its "family" nature policy of Nintendo. It boast gameplay first, graphics later... but in reality, It's not graphics or gameplay either... (there's not much game that offer that said superior gameplay game that utilize it's touch screen/mic). BUT if you like casual game, all age game, or get-and-then go game (that doesn't need any walkthrough), then NDS is the one for you. Oh, and don't get wrong, NDS DO have some excellent games (which I'll list later).

About game library, you will find some difficulty finding great games for PSP, and there's not that much games in the first place (but still plenty and enough to keep you occupied for several years, depending on how much hours you squeeze into playing it). While for Nintendo, there are so many games for it, you'll be overwhelmed when choosing games to play... but you'll find even more difficult to find great games (especially if you're looking for heavy, deep, serious, with console based/traditional game play) compared to PSP. But there are still lots of good games anyway, considering NDS have been around longer.

Right now, I've already exhausted of good games for NDS and confused to pick what to play (and my NDS is practically left to gather dust). I've owned my NDS for about 3 years by now.

Don't forget that you could hack both those handheld consoles (though NDS only need a flash card while PSP need a real firmware hack), download games for both... or buy them at store (both for the real UMD/cartridge, or just the ROM). But remember, I'm never suggesting a piracy (to avoid angry protester from this forum ^_^ )

The game list will wait for later, ok? I need to do some chores first for my brother (in progress of writing it when he ask me for something)...

[LVUER]

Sorry for double posting. Here's the game list I promised. This is the great game (or at least I think is great, so subjectivity is unavoidable). The list is not in particular order since I just write what I still remember...
PSP:
- Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 (the sole reason why I bought PSP)
- Kingdom Hearts for PSP
- God of War for PSP
- The new Final Fantasy for PSP (still not released)
- Parasite Eve 3 Birth By Sleep (still not released)
- Macross Ace Frontier
- Valkyrie Profile and BOF3 Remakes for PSP
- Persona 3P (P3P)
- Project Diva 1 and 2 (it's Hatsune Miku and the rest of Vocaloids >_< )
- FF7 Crisis Core
- Dissidia Final Fantasy
- Ace Combat for PSP (if you like Ace Combat series)
- Super Robot Taisen series for PSP (if you like SRT series)

NDS:
- Phoenix Wright series (actually a GBA remake), Appollo Justice
- Milles Edgeworth Investigation 1 (and 2, still not released)
- Love Plus
- Tokimeki Memorial for NDS
- Avalon Codes
- Kingdom Hearts for NDS
- Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier 1 (and 2, but still in Japanese, still have to wait for Atlus to localize it)
- Super Robot Taisen series for NDS (if you like SRT series)
- Zelda series (who doesn't like Zelda, really?)
- Mario series (there's a lot of this games, and most of them are good, and don't forget the Mario RPG series too, they are great games too)
- Final Fantasy for NDS (there's a lot of them, but they're just remakes)
- Suikoden for NDS
- Pokemon Emerald (and several other series)
- Cooking Mama series (the greatest casual low-budget games for NDS ^_^)
- Harvest Moon series (there are plenty of Harvest Moon game in NDS, the latest addition is RPG based Harvest Moon, Rune Frontier 3)
- Megami Tensei for DS (there are 2 of them, and both of them are great games)
- Golden Sun for DS (a great game, especially if you already play its two previous prequels in GBA)
- Sands of Destruction
- Trace Memories, Hotel Room 513, and Again (3 great mystery games from Cing, the one that makes Little King Story for Wii)
- Infinite Space (a great game from Platinum Game, the same company that released Bayonetta for PS3 and XBOX360)
- Dragon Quest Monster and Dragon Quest for DS
- Lost in Blue series (sequel of Survivor Kid from GBA)
- Metroid Prime Hunter
- Resident Evil 1 remakes for NDS (a great 3D game for surprisingly "low"-spec NDS)
- There are Sonic games for NDS, but Sonic games after Adventure are just so-so (or even bad), so I don't really recommend it, unless you are a hard-core fans of Sonic (just like I).

There are more list to come (there are some old games that I really forgot at the moment), if you want them...

But one thing that you absolutely must remember. Both of these handheld consoles (PSP and NDS) is already nearing the end of their lifespan. It's normal if we're stick to the product development life cycle theory. Especially after Nintendo and Sony announced the successor of both handheld consoles.

Perhaps there will be no more good games (or even none will be launched at all) after one year of 3DS and NGP was launched. So considering that, you must be satisfied with what either handheld consoles' game library offers since you can't count on new game to be released anymore.

So my advice is that you really should wait a little bit more and wait for a price drop when 3DS and NGP launched... , OR buy real console altogether (PS3 perhaps? XBOX360 is not recommended), OR buy a PC just like Mugenjohncel recommends.

But if you choose the PC path, just don't forget this. You will have to squeeze more money (though you could use PC for works and study too, not to mention play PC games) both to play, and perhaps later maintain your PC if you decided to play PC games. Though there are many emulators, remember that emulator isn't perfect. But to play older games, it's a heaven for a gamer ^_^ I also play all N64, GBA, SNES, NES, Retro, and Genesis games on emulator (though I have the real NES, GBA, and Genesis). And PC games are PC games. If you prefer console games (like Tales or FF series), you will suffer with what PC games library offers.

In the end, it's your choice. I hope this could help you.

[Greeny]

Personally I'd say you were better off staying away from portable gaming.

[IceD]

Buy/upgrade a PC, or get a PSP. I'd rather still stay away from PS3 or Nintendo whatever; they're just not worth their current prices, altogether with brand new games, which cost fortune. If you want a good console, get an Xbox360 - it's propably the best choice for a gaming platform now - tons of games including great indie titles, nice prices and many possibilities. I'd buy an Xbox360 (and I'm planning to do so this year), mostly because of japanese danmaku shmups and some cool indie games out there.

But seriously, If you want to have a handheld, buy PSP. If not, buy a decent PC. A new i7/i5 computer with a great graphic card will last you for years from now on (I have an E6750 c2d which is more than three years old now and it didn't aged even a little bit; I only bought a new geforce GT250 graphics card and I play all the newest titles on the highest quality details and HD definitions smoothly). Also, you get a great worktool with plenty of possibilities, and with dropping prices of hardware parts, you can get a good PC for a relatively small price.

The choice is yours

[DaFool]

IceD >> I'd buy an Xbox 360 if games like Idolmaster and Galgun were released outside of Japan. It's a region-locked console (unlike the PS3) so it's not as if we get those choices. There also hasn't been an Xbox360 exclusive (besides Halo) in ages. The NGP is also going to be backwards-compatible with PSP games from PSN.

I wouldn't get a PSP now since UMD is a dead format. So i'd say Xbox360/PSPs are good buys if your only purpose is to pirate lots of untranslated Japanese games.

[SilverxBlue]

Thank you very much for the responses and advice.
I already have my own PC which is always updated thanks to my brother.
My mom already bought an Xbox 360 and well it's not exactly mine but it is for everyone in the house. So, I think she won't see the point of buying another one just for me.

Grrrr... which one are you, Nintendo fanboy or Sony fanboy? Admit! jk ^0^ I really love games and I play games a lot, so I can give you good advice on this, hehehe...

I'm a girl... and I might have to say I'm actually a fan of both since my first ever consoles were the PS1 and The gameboy advanced SP followed by the nintendo gamecube. I wanted the NGP or the 3DS but my mom couldn't wait for the release and wants to buy me one already...Anyway, Thank you very much for the advice. I made sure to take a note of that. Thank you also for the lists of games...

[LVUER]

Aaaah!!! A mom that eager/can't wait to buy her children video games... I'm sooooo jealous >_< I wish my parents are like that too... My parents (though I buy it with my own money) against it whenever I buy video games, saying that I'm already an adult, so I don't need video games.

[SilverxBlue]

Oh... It's not really that she is eager to buy me one... She is just a bit impatient....
My grandmother is like that too and what's wrong is i'm only 16 and she thinks that I should not play video games anymore... I sometimes like to ask her: "What's wrong with being an adult and still play with video games?"

My elder brother is 30 has a wife and a kid but he has his own PS3 and he doesn't even let me nor his child play it. Hell even my aunt's husband, who is currently 57, plays with our Xbox.

[LVUER]

Your family sure is a gamers one ^_^ Mine, it's only me that is a gamer.

It's a pain to know your brother have PS3 but you couldn't play it (and perhaps you mom won't buy you another too, since your bro have one). Well, at least you have XBOX360 ^_^

[azureXtwilight]

PSP has... Persona 3 Portaaaableee!
*and thus I kicked myself out*

[SilverxBlue]

@ LVUER - Not really haha... Majority of them are non-players I guess... Yeah it is a real pain he even likes to rub it in -_-...
@ azureXtwilight - And that is one major reason why I wanted a new PSP