DS or PSP?

If you like games, buy the DS.

The amount of good to great games is just a lot deeper on the DS. The platforms unique features are rarely used to its full potential (see Legend of Zelda : the Phantom Hourglass for an example of the touchscreen used well). It's definitely not the system for miniature versions of what you can get on the PS3 or Xbox 360, but the types of games it excels at are the more pick up and play variety. Right now I'm losing many hours on Puzzle Quest: Galactrix.

The main problem with the PSP is decent games are few and far between.

I strongly recommend going with the DS, but if you decide on a PSP, you need to wait until the PSP Slim is released. Even if you don't like the Slim (smaller screen), you will be able to snag the current PSP for much cheaper.

The DS has some fantastic games with rich game play and great graphics for the system and some fun homebrew options. If you like the gamut of Nintendo games and SCUMMVM then DS is a great choice.

The PSP has fewer fantastic games, with better graphics and and the ability to be hacked and emulate everything from Pong to the PS1. If you like (or have) PS1 games and third person shooters (Syphon Filter is great) then go with the PSP.

Personally I find myself playing my PSP more often then my DS. But I like story rich games that don't require me to suddenly pause and scribble penises all over my screen.

But those are the BEST games!

I'd go with a DS, but I just got one myself and am horribly biased.

I have a DS and I love it to bits. The PSP is shiny and flashy, but game wise, it doesn't compare

I vote DS, but that's the only one I own, so I'm biased. Great system, though-- I've played mine more than any other system over the past few years, I'd say.

Note that you have an option of DSlite or DSi now. You'll probably want to go for the DSi if you have any interest in downloadable software (or uploading silly pictures of yourself directly to Facebook).

Do you mean the PSP GO? It should be noted that while the GO is smaller and has 16GB of built in memory, it also lacks a UMD drive so you have to snag all your games through online download (and can't really buy used).

A revision of the PSP hardware that was somewhat lighter was released as the PSP slim/lite about 2 years ago. It's essentially just the same as the old one.

I'd recommend a PSP over a DS any day of the week, but that's because I love my PSP. As mentioned above along with all the homebrew and emulator capabilities (megadrive, snes and Game boy advance emulators run games almost perfectly) the psp has some pretty good exclusives too. All that being that being said, as others have mentioned, the DS offers a different play style while psp is essentially a portable ps2. If your looking for something different and portable, then the DS is where you should be looking (is it just me or is the DS an ergonomic nightmare when it comes to extended playtime?). But if you looking for some that plays games in manner your used too with great multimedia capabilities, you can't go wrong with the psp.

I've been a DS man most of that console's lifecycle, but even I have to admit the PSP's starting to finally hit a stride of sorts.

That said, the most brilliant game on the PSP is still lagging behind the three most brilliant games on the DS. Still gotta go with Old Faithful, there.

if you like RPGs, the DS has more role playing games than any system EVER. and I don't think I'm exaggerating.

Actually unless you do a lot of travelling just buy more games for your 360.

I'm getting my son a DSi for his birthday in a few months. All his friends have DS's, plus he wants a couple of the Pokemon games (although he doesn't watch Pokemon on TV, or collect the cards).

Howevah...personally, I'd love to have a PSP, especially since I have a PS3.

Well I've been an owner of the DS for years and just currently got a PSP. Honestly I don't think I can tell you which is better.

Chinatown Wars was great, but also very frustrating. But now that's coming out on the PSP anyway. And 'Vice City Stories' is a lot of fun. I agree that the PSP is finally starting to get into a stride though, and the Assassins' Creed screenshots look amazing.

The DS tends to get a little more inventive with its games though, even though a lot of the time I feel like the touch screen serves as an afterthought and can often be frustrating ('Trauma Center' I'm looking at you).

Also, PSP has Rock Band, and it's amazing.

Also, the PSP GO will be $250 and probably will not affect the price of the PSP-3000 much.

Portable gaming done right is the DS. The PSP is just impressive technology. Dear god that thumb nub thing still gives me nightmares.

Whether or not you'll use any portable games console is probably a better question. I find my missus' DS gets very little use from either of us, despite loving it.

I'd keep hold of the money personally and buy something else. But that's not what you're asking!

As a PSP owner I'd recommend the DS if you're intent on getting one of the two. The PSP is basically a PS2 portable without the second analog stick, making it crappy for playing 3D games. At least the DS has a bunch of fairly unique games that take advantage of the unique form-factor.

I would say that it might be worth considering an iPod touch instead depending on what kind of games you're looking at playing. I play games on my iPod way more than I do on my PSP and with the superior wifi, browser, mapping and music player capabilities (as well as tiny size) of the iPod touch I'm a lot more likely to have it with me than the PSP.

Impressive technology =/= good games. Unless you enjoy buying a portable to hack it to play games not for the portable (I thought that was what computers/laptops were for?)

DS all day

I'd buy a gameboy advance and more 360/PS3 games. I grew tired of the failings of the PSP control scheme (needs a second analog stick for the games on it I want to play), and quickly discovered that I had exhausted the DS's library of titles I wanted to play after about six months.

That being said: the PSP was almost worth the price of admission for Chains of Olympus, alone, and it doesn't look like that game is coming to the PS2.

My DS Lite is casual gaming supreme. It's always ready to go with a DS card and a GBA cart loaded. Browsing for games, however, is fucking embarrassing. If you don't know exactly what you want when you get to the store, expect to flip though more babysitting simulators and pony grooming games than you ever thought existed.

Honestly, while I have hacked versions of both platforms and I enjoy them both immensely, the PSP edges out the DS for me because of the sheer number of crazy things you can do with it. At various points in the lifetime of my PSP, I have:

- made it into a webserver with Apache and run webpages over it
- used it as a torrent repository for music (16GB memory cards FTW) - linux OS, Azareus torrent client (now Vuze)
- used it as a wireless repeater to boost the range of my wireless network so that I could use my laptop on the far edges of my property
- had windows XP installed on it so that I could work on a spreadsheet on a plane ride
- (currently) used it as a MAME emulator to play classic games

I am on battery pack #3 with this thing, but it's cool as f*ck.

The hacking for the DS is mostly to do with getting free games or stuff form Japan that won't normally run (i.e. the DS web browser, which I think the DSi just has by default but I haven't been paying much attention). And it requires specialized cartridges, where the PSP can be 100% software hacked. The only thing that I have at home that comes close to the hackability potential of the PSP is my Wii, as it too is fully software mod-able.

Yes I have a Wii, and no, I am not ashamed! Especially now that I can play this game.

I can't comment on the PSP, but I think the DS has been a great system. I'm a bit of a sucker for J-RPGs and this has a ton of them (The World Ends With You, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest V). Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is also one my favourite platform-adventure games.

Plus there's just a ton of weird stuff like Phoenix Wright and Elite Beat Agents.

Ultimately, I'd try to find 5 or so games for each platform, and pick based on the games.

PSP's best games aren't different enough from those I can already play on my PC, so I went with a DS personally. I think that when you buy a game system you should get the one that's most likely to give you a different experience than your primary one.

Ah yes, but if you are willing to tinker a bit, you can play any DS games you wish on your PSP. Ditto PS1 games, ditto arcade games, ditto Super Nintendo games. Just sayin'.

How exactly do you make your PSP a touch-screen?

The magic of Sony. Duh.

haha, sorry, I should have qualified that with "almost any". I haven't played very many games on my DS that require that you use the touchscreen to be fair. Many of the RPGs and games like Advance Wars work just fine without one. But I haven't played very many on my PSP just because I do actually own a DS. The only games I have played where it was actually fun to use the stylus were Trama Surgeon and Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I haven't played Zelda yet, but I read a lot of reviews saying it was tedious despite some of the cool things you could do with the stylus. Are there other games that are an absolute MUST HAVE for stylus play?

In the time I owned a DS, I didn't play a single game that didn't make use of a stylus. I doubt I'm the exception. Metroid Pinball, maybe?

That's not to say they don't exist.

I love my PSP but I mostly only got it to play The Show because I had a 360 and couldn't talk myself into buying a PS3 too. But I may have to get a DS when Scribblenauts comes out because that game looks so fucking cool.

You're not. I haven't come across a game yet that didn't require a stylus.

I have Geoemtry Wars Galaxies and Super Puzzle Fighter II jammed into my DS Lite. That pretty much handles all the gameplay I need when I'm bored and have finished whatever reading I have on hand. Sometimes I'll play Chinatown Wars or Etrian Odyssey, but I could survive in an underground vault with those two games. Unless you want to mess with the download service (nothing too great on it) get a DS Lite - most games look better on it's smaller screen, and the GBA port is nice.

No stylus needed for Galaxies either! Give your thumb a good, brutal old school workout. It's really the only way to do it properly.

New Super Mario Bros dosn't need a stylus, as far as I can remember. But that's one of the rare exceptions. Phoenix Wright can be played without a stylus even though it has stylus support, but its also a Game Boy Advance port.

Most games do require some use of the stylus, so I don't know what Ludwig is talking about.

You use the touch screen in the card game, don't you? Been a long time.

And all of the minigames use the stylus too.

heh, all of my favourite games on the DS don't require a stylus at all! Both Advance Wars, Warhammer 40k, the Castlevania games, Final Fantasy, etc. etc. Some of them do have stylus support built in, but you can play without.