A Different Kind of Madness
With March Madness under way, now seems like a perfect time to talk about ... my new PSP.
I've never really been into portable gaming. My first experience wasn't a very rewarding one. I never owned a GameBoy. Somehow or other it just passed me by. I played my friend's and I loved playing Tetris but I never felt the need to own one. I think what really bothered me about it was that it wasn't in color.
Then in the early nineties the TurboExpress came out and the company that developed it proudly proclaimed that it was in color. In addition, there was an accessory that came with it that acted as a television antenna. I just had to have it even though it was probably 3 times more expensive than the GameBoy. Fortunately, my parents for some reason or other actually got it for me.
The system wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I played only one game on that little gadget, Splatterhouse, probably only a total of 10 hours. To make matters worse I don't think I advanced past the second level. Also, I was never able to track down the tv accessory so I wasn't even able to use the damn thing as a portable tv.
That experience stayed with me and even when I became addicted to gaming again, I had no interest in buying a handheld system. I've owned a PC, Nintendo 64, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and PS3, but the closest I got to a mobile gaming device was my laptop.
Then I started planning my trip to Hawaii when my friend El Jefe offered to let me borrow his Nintendo DS. At first my girlfriend T-Nap was less than enthused because she didn't want me to be playing it all the time. But then she realized it would be something to occupy me when she got tired of my company.
El Jefe provided me with a few games including Brain Age, Mario 64, Trauma Center, and Tetris. My favorite game turned out to be Brain Age. I briefly entertained getting my own DS at one point. I enjoyed playing with the DS and I'm glad i had it with me. But after I played Mario 64 I realized the DS wasn't for me. After playing with a joystick button since the Nintendo 64, I realized I couldn't go back to playing games with a directional pad. It just hurt my thumb too much.
Then I thought about getting a PSP which I knew had a joystick type button. But I also figured that since I didn't travel very much, there wouldn't be much of a point of buying a DS or Sony PSP. However when I got back to LA I couldn't stop thinking about getting one.
My birthday was coming up so I kept telling my girlfriend how cool it would be to get a PSP. But I thought it would be too much to spend and she had previously mentioned she didn't want to get me any more video games so I thought a PSP was out of the question. Fortunately for me, T-Nap couldn't come up with another idea for a present and she isn't as cheap as I am.
When I unwrapped my present I was completely blown away. I had no idea. But I was also a little disappointed. You see earlier in the day I had learned that there would be a new PSP bundle that would include the new God of War game and the movie Superbad. The bundle that T-Nap bought me included the game Daxter (which I probably would have purchased) and episodes of the Family Guy (which I hate). But after seeing a picture of the bright red God of War PSP, T-Nap decided I should stick with the Daxter bundle and I'm more than glad I did.
I love my PSP! It controls suprisingly well and the games I've played on it look great. I am able to connect it to my PS3 and upload photos and songs. After some homework I was also able to figure out how to connect the PSP to T-Nap's Mac and upload some video clips. If one were inclined to have adult film video clips, one would have "pocket porn", as T-Nap so eloquently put it. I take my PSP to work with me and I usually play it in my car during my lunch break. I can take it when I go to T-Nap's and play with it when she's busy doing other things.
Unfortunately I have to play inside my car because one of the only flaws with the PSP is that it's almost impossible to see the screen in the outdoors during the day, even if you're standing in the shade. The other drawback is that the battery doesn't seem to last very long.
That being said, I still love my PSP and I expect my love to grow as the PSP's capabilities are enhanced. By the end of the year, Sony is expected to allow PSP owners to tranfer copies of their blu-ray dvds from the PS3 to the PSP. In addition, a GPS add-on, already available in Japan, should be released in the United States soon. Finally, there appears to be plans in the works for a digital TV antenna add on. Finally I'm hopeful that eventually I may be able to play my PS3 via remote play using the PSP wi-fi capabilities.
Once all these capabilities are available I'll just need to figure out a way for my girlfriend not to be jealous of my PSP.
I've never really been into portable gaming. My first experience wasn't a very rewarding one. I never owned a GameBoy. Somehow or other it just passed me by. I played my friend's and I loved playing Tetris but I never felt the need to own one. I think what really bothered me about it was that it wasn't in color.
Then in the early nineties the TurboExpress came out and the company that developed it proudly proclaimed that it was in color. In addition, there was an accessory that came with it that acted as a television antenna. I just had to have it even though it was probably 3 times more expensive than the GameBoy. Fortunately, my parents for some reason or other actually got it for me.
The system wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I played only one game on that little gadget, Splatterhouse, probably only a total of 10 hours. To make matters worse I don't think I advanced past the second level. Also, I was never able to track down the tv accessory so I wasn't even able to use the damn thing as a portable tv.
That experience stayed with me and even when I became addicted to gaming again, I had no interest in buying a handheld system. I've owned a PC, Nintendo 64, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and PS3, but the closest I got to a mobile gaming device was my laptop.
Then I started planning my trip to Hawaii when my friend El Jefe offered to let me borrow his Nintendo DS. At first my girlfriend T-Nap was less than enthused because she didn't want me to be playing it all the time. But then she realized it would be something to occupy me when she got tired of my company.
El Jefe provided me with a few games including Brain Age, Mario 64, Trauma Center, and Tetris. My favorite game turned out to be Brain Age. I briefly entertained getting my own DS at one point. I enjoyed playing with the DS and I'm glad i had it with me. But after I played Mario 64 I realized the DS wasn't for me. After playing with a joystick button since the Nintendo 64, I realized I couldn't go back to playing games with a directional pad. It just hurt my thumb too much.
Then I thought about getting a PSP which I knew had a joystick type button. But I also figured that since I didn't travel very much, there wouldn't be much of a point of buying a DS or Sony PSP. However when I got back to LA I couldn't stop thinking about getting one.
My birthday was coming up so I kept telling my girlfriend how cool it would be to get a PSP. But I thought it would be too much to spend and she had previously mentioned she didn't want to get me any more video games so I thought a PSP was out of the question. Fortunately for me, T-Nap couldn't come up with another idea for a present and she isn't as cheap as I am.
When I unwrapped my present I was completely blown away. I had no idea. But I was also a little disappointed. You see earlier in the day I had learned that there would be a new PSP bundle that would include the new God of War game and the movie Superbad. The bundle that T-Nap bought me included the game Daxter (which I probably would have purchased) and episodes of the Family Guy (which I hate). But after seeing a picture of the bright red God of War PSP, T-Nap decided I should stick with the Daxter bundle and I'm more than glad I did.
I love my PSP! It controls suprisingly well and the games I've played on it look great. I am able to connect it to my PS3 and upload photos and songs. After some homework I was also able to figure out how to connect the PSP to T-Nap's Mac and upload some video clips. If one were inclined to have adult film video clips, one would have "pocket porn", as T-Nap so eloquently put it. I take my PSP to work with me and I usually play it in my car during my lunch break. I can take it when I go to T-Nap's and play with it when she's busy doing other things.
Unfortunately I have to play inside my car because one of the only flaws with the PSP is that it's almost impossible to see the screen in the outdoors during the day, even if you're standing in the shade. The other drawback is that the battery doesn't seem to last very long.
That being said, I still love my PSP and I expect my love to grow as the PSP's capabilities are enhanced. By the end of the year, Sony is expected to allow PSP owners to tranfer copies of their blu-ray dvds from the PS3 to the PSP. In addition, a GPS add-on, already available in Japan, should be released in the United States soon. Finally, there appears to be plans in the works for a digital TV antenna add on. Finally I'm hopeful that eventually I may be able to play my PS3 via remote play using the PSP wi-fi capabilities.
Once all these capabilities are available I'll just need to figure out a way for my girlfriend not to be jealous of my PSP.
posted by The Pocho at 6:48 AM
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