Ben-DutkaAs we welcome a new era in portable gaming, we can reflect on the current or as of now, previous, generation.
As is the case with most new pieces of PlayStation hardware, the "old" unit will likely continue to sell for quite some time, and more games will continue to arrive for it. So it's not like the PSP is dead just because the PlayStation Vita is here.
That being said, now is an appropriate time to ask the question: how will Sony's first portable device be remembered? What will its legacy be as time marches on? How will gamers view it ten, twenty years from now? It's a big mistake to call it a failure, as the numbers prove. While it was certainly overshadowed for a fair portion of its lifespan by the Nintendo DS, the PSP still did quite well and has recently enjoyed an upswing in popularity. The library size is significant and there have been memorable titles, including a few amazing God of War and Metal Gear entries and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII , just to name a few.
It was also great for JRPG fans, as they were forced to watch the rapid decline of their favorite sub-genre on consoles of this generation. So when they couldn't find what they wanted, they rightfully turned to the PSP. I haven't been partial to handheld gaming since the days of the original Gameboy, but I certainly had fun playing games like Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection on my PSP. Couldn't get such experiences on the PS3, after all. But I may not be the best person to pass final judgment on the PSP.
So what do the portable fans say? How will you guys remember Sony's first handheld? Positive or negative?
positive. i've had many great gaming experiences with my psp
favorite would have to be crisis core 😉
It's an incredible machine for old-school gamers. Great JRPGs in spades but also lots of shmups, racers, puzzle games, and retro compilations make it a real delight. I think it will have a very Dreamcast-like following.
My experience with the PSP is why I'm getting the Vita. It was my first portable, though I did borrow a Sega Nomad for travel a long, long time ago (remember that thing, it was literally a hand held genesis). Really, I was never much into portables, because they felt like half-A'd versions of cosoles that felt like watered down counterparts of arcades. The PSP changed all that for me. And even though, I'm a grown ass man now, and I can't picture myself playing around on that thing in public, I don't care. I'm getting it, even if I only use it while reclining on a sofa in my home.
The psp will be remembered as the 2nd best handheld console. The Vita is going to be 1st.
Last edited by Cpt_Geez on 2/13/2012 10:20:20 PM
PSP is a great little unit with lots of features. I was a very late adopter but it's been cool to play JRPGs again. We still need Final Fantasy Type-0 before we put this thing to bed.
I play nothing but jrpgs on my psp. Hopefully the Vita will have plenty jrpgs like psp in the future.
The fact that I bought a PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSPgo, and logged over 1000 hours on "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite" alone qualifies it as a positive experience for me.
It will be remembered as a success,
I have 128 UMDs(99 are games, the rest are movies, TV shows, & music videos ), along with 10 PSP's of 1000, 2000, & 3000's in different colors(although during the last FW update on my Madden metallic blue PSP totally bricked it so now I have to find a replacement).
Plus I also have both PSP Go's(a white & a black).
So yeah, I consider the PSP a success…..at least in my house, LOL.
(BTW, I just paid off my G3 Vita/8GB memory card bundle this morning, now just got to get a few more bucks together for the games).
Last edited by BikerSaint on 2/13/2012 11:48:21 PM
I see the psp as being the first video game handheld that could produce relatively par to sub-par offerings of the then-current gen console games. I also see it as a statement about mobile gamer interests. While the PSP looks to have been a success, handhelds still look to live in the shadow of their home console siblings. For as cool as the PSp was, it really never measured up to the ps2. Maybe close in graphics but games often didn't have the same production values that were befitting of a more massive user base. I still see this as a challenge for Vita, or any hand held. With future iphones and vita supposidly eclipsing the ps3 in power, I think until these handhelds drive the forward momentum of the games industry its pretty safe to assume the home console experience as a whole will continue to be the better place to be for quality games, with handhelds serving as an appendage.
It is so true that handhelds live in the shadows of the consoles for the most part. A lot of bias out there against the handhelds among hardcore console gamers. That much I am certain of.
positive: monster hunter freedom 2, patapon, metal gear acid 2 (with 3D), metal gear solid peace walker, warhammer 40k squad command, socom tactical strike, legends of war, final fantasy tactics
Loved my PSP slim.
Had it for 5 years. Use it to listen to music and watch game reviews downloaded from the net.
Don't play as many games on it as I used to.
Favourite games are Hot Shots Golf and Jeanne D'Arc. Probably put 100 hours into each.
Biggest disappointments. Shooters were pretty lame. Games were pretty expensive (at least I could buy used!). Video formats are limited. My 4gb card fills up quickly. I never took to playing PS1 games on my PSP (too much water under the bridge). Stopped buying PSP games as soon as I got a PS3.
Definately going to get a VITA. Look forward to passing on my PSP to my 6 year old son. He's a dab hand on Tekken Dark Resurrection already!
I bought a PSP Go. How was I to know it would be discontinued so soon… I still bring it out now and again when I go to the laundromat, its neat I like it but I really should have stuck with my gut and bought the larger PSP.
So it goes.
as the bastard child!
first it released ridiculously overpriced and so few games on it.
then they finally reduced the price, and released some much needed additions in the 2000 and 3000 series.
then they FINALLY added some awesome well known playstation series like resistance and LBP, then when they were getting on a roll they just stopped.
yup, bastard child fits it quite perfectly!
what ive said a million times, i just hope the vita does not suffer the same fate!
already is though, look at the launch lineup almost every game is from a third party!
all of playstations most famous franchises, apart from uncharted, are not coming till later.
sound familiar?
"almost every game is from a third-party!"
Wipeout 2048 is a major first-party franchise and it's a launch title.
Resistance: Burning Skies is coming May 29.
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational is an entry in another long-running first-party franchise, and it's another launch title.
Unit 13 is from the Sony-exclusive SOCOM team and launches on March 6.
LittleBigPlanet for the Vita should be released this year.
ModNation Racers: Road Trip is a Vita launch title.
Yes, you mentioned Uncharted.
………..are you ever right about ANYTHING?
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 2/14/2012 9:43:34 AM
arent we talking about launch titles?
wipeout and uncharted are the only 2 launch titles $ony is providing that most people will want.
everything else, motorstorm, MNR, that golf game, allot of people are not into those types of games.
exactly my point third party publishers are offering their best well known franchises on launch, and $ony offers 2 for a device they made.
and one of them is a recent creation, you would think they would have some old school franchises backing the unit up but isent.
im really surprised GOW has not been announced yet, i mean if its not the most popular beloved franchise in the family then its pretty close!
GT too, every franchise you think of when you think of playstation is nowhere in sight.
thats what im worried about!
yes its the launch but thats when you need your strongest supporters, not when you bring out franchises that have only been out for 3 or 4 years.
its taken the ps3 so long to bring back some of the familys best known franchises, i just dont want this to suffer the same fate.
I'll remember it mainly as the device who introduced me to the concept of smartphones.
It was pretty smart for its time, and I were amazed that I could use that little bugger to surf the web, check my mail and play movies and audio in addition to gaming.
RIP PSP – you were a good companion.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/14/2012 2:21:50 AM
Wow. I never thought of it that way. It was more awesome than I realized.
Last edited by pillz81 on 2/17/2012 1:42:50 PM
For me it will be remembered as thefirst glimpse of a portable PS1. The joy of being able to play my favourite games on the go. As for its own titles…. Crisis Core…thats it…
I love my psp go and will still keep it till i find someone worthy to give it to when i pick up the vita. psp go has helped me through the times when im traveling cross country and other places.
I was introduced to the PsP later on in its life. I borrowed it from a friend who let me keep it for a long long time. Eventually I had to give it back. Nonetheless I managed to play through the GoW games and GT portable. It was a nice machine. Sadly the web browser was pretty poor though!
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
The PSP was kinda like a PS2 in your hand. The PS2 will be remembered, so why not the PSP. I'll also remember it for giving me Daxter. Back in the day, I wanted a Jak and Daxter sequel. Anything type of new addition to the series was perfect to me, even if I had to buy a new portable to play it.
I didn't get my PSP until Crisis Core came out. And I absolutely needed to have that game, so that's when I adopted it.
I'm sure as a whole in NA people will see it as a failure just because most NA's don't really know what it has on it. Some of my friends still don't know what it's all about!
As for me, I still have a backlog on it. I'm currently playing through Tactics Ogre, and it's awesome.
Definitely positive. I got my PSP as soon as the slim 2000 model was released. I've mostly used it as a portable PS1 (PS1 games look great on the small screen). And I've thoroughly enjoyed many of the bigger titles like the GOW's, Crisis Core, LBP, Valkyria Chronicles, and of course Hot Shots.
Nothing but fond memories from this guy 🙂
I will remember the PSP as the first handheld i had got and played alot of great games like Katamari, jak and daxter ext.. I still have the first launched PSP in my house works amazingly still play god of war on it 🙂
Katamari FTW! I forgot about that one. The PSP introduced me to the coolest ball-rolling game ever. 🙂
I love mine, and would not travel without it – well, at least until my Vita arrives in 10 days….
As far as the PSP's capabilities are concerned, there is nothing like it. The DS never even came close to what the PSP offered. It sold a pretty good number of units and lots of games. Other than the usual anti-Sony negativity, I can't see how it could be seen in anything but a positive light.
Sony went from nothing in the handheld space to a significant proportion of the handheld market – something like 40%, despite Nintendo having what seemed to be a total lock on the market. It put so much in your hand, games, music, video, internet and even (in japan at least) translation services, camera, video and GPS. Not bad for a game unit launched in 2004… People compare the PSP to current smart phones forgetting that the PSP is essentially an 8 year old device, and yet it still stands the comparison. Not bad, not bad at all.
I don't travel as big, so I don't know cause I don't have one for myself, my relatives have one, I guess that counts that I'm not a true hardcore gamer.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 2/14/2012 11:50:33 AM
I reckon the PSP will be remembered very well – I rarely leave home without mine, and like Highlander this'll only change after Vita pops up ;). I almost feel like I'm cheating on the thing with a younger model…..
Lots of great games – I actually never really got into the JRPGs on it (although I recently got FFT:War of the Lions – I know, SRPG, but JRSPG :)), and got plenty of value from it for its other games (R&C:Size Matters, Daxter, GoW:CoO, Resistance: Retribution, GT:PSP, to name a few), and as a platform for the better PSN Minis (Monsters (probably) stole my princess FTW!), as well as for music and listening to some audio magazines.
I'm rolling with the PSP-1000 as well, five years and numerous trips (and bumps) after purchase, and it's still going strong – a very well put together piece of kit, although you need to keep the screen safe :).
Really, as my old internet broswer (really bad one) and a great gaming device.
I have enjoyed many uses of it. It just sits in its case with its battery all drained now.
I'll remember it as a good system that could have been great if Sony hadn't waited five years to build a version with two thumbsticks.
I hope it isn't too late now that smartphones have inexplicably gained the upper hand.
It will definitely be remembered as a success, and a damn good handheld.
I remember when I got my first PSP. I was in the hospital in Dallas on launch day, but my oh so gracious mother went to circuit city and got it for me with the games I wanted. It really helped to have it with me in the hospital while I fought my illness.
My favorite games were the God of Wars, GTA:LC, Crisis Core, Burnouts, and Untold Legends. Great system.
PSP = PS Vita Version 0 (and 0.5)
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, Burnout Legends, Daxter, Twisted Metal: Head-On, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Ridge Racer, very representative versions of Virtua Tennis and MLB The Show, both Syphon Filter games…
I can't speak for others but I will always have nothing but fond memories of PSP, the most underrated and underappreciated gaming system of all time. I still play several of these games from time to time and use the machine daily as my main MP3 player and to listen to game related podcasts through the RSS channel. I'm definitely looking forward to getting the PSVita and I expect it to be a great system but its kind of sad to see the PSP's time coming near the end.
Last edited by Gamer46 on 2/15/2012 6:47:17 PM
I cant figure out how how Im going to find the time to play through my UMD library. I have that bad habit of buying new releases. I bet I have at least 30 games to play through,at least 12 of them RPG's and JRPG.Whats worse is that I own every current. platform with a backlog on them all. I would love to buy this thing just to watch netflix on in bed. Ill have to use restraint and wait to figure out how many games for VITA are "must haves". I havent seen anything that beats my current library or rather "appeals"to me.
I have an interesting experience with the PSP. I don't like it at because I think it dwarfs games down from what they could be. The reason I got the PSP was for Peace Walker, and while it was a great game, it could have been so much more on the PS3.
Still, it was a hell of an achievement and was an incredibly well done game that pushed the PSP to its limits and showcased that it is indeed a powerful system. But its constraints of the system limited Peace Walker from becoming a true MGS masterpiece.
At the same time, it's really cool to have Snake or Kratos in my pocket. Speaking of Kratos, he shined the brightest on PSP with Ghost of Sparta.
That's the only game I've played on there that didn't feel limited by the PSP. It fully embraced it and made the BEST God of War game next to David Jaffe's original classic.
It was A TRUE console game on a handheld, the first and only one that I've played where it didn't feel like it had been dwarfed down.
Still I wonder why not just put it on PS3? That's what I always thought about and don't like what Sony does to its franchises on here. All of these games could have been better had they been on PS3 (the core franchises from the consoles that made their way to the hand held).
Other games like Loco Roco were really fun portable experiences, but I don't want some small device when I can sit down after a hard day's work with my massive HD TV and my PS3 and have a full experience. not a dwarfed down one.
I wished the entire time I was playing Ghost of Sparta it was on PS3 because even though it felt like a GOW game, playing this beautiful bastard on a tiny screen still just wasn't the same despite the game itself being a masterpiece.
So while I like the PSP and it has some great titles, I am pissed off because the game I got it for came to PS3 a year later, and the only other two games that I really loved on it (Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta) also came to PS3. TM Head On is on PS2, and while I dig Resistance Retribution, there goes that dwarfing down again.
So yeah, my memories of the PSP are fond, but I just wish I would have had them on PS3 because games like Peace Walker and Ghost of Sparta should have been built for consoles because they DESPERATELY want to be console games in terms of their presentation. The fact that we can play a console esque game on the go is incredible, but why do it when I can just play it on my console?
I dunno, I have mixed feelings.