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Thinking of getting a PSP.

RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
edited August 2009 in Games and Technology
So I was one of the people that got a PSP when it first launched and it was pretty good I guess.
But the major ghosting that it had caused me to sell it a while back, because it was giving me some major headaches to look at.
I know since I bought the first model they've released a billion different makes, and I was thinking of getting one since I've got a hankerin' to play some of the games on the system.
What sort should I get? Have they fixed the ghosting? Or the load times?

Rizzi on
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Posts

  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    headaches while looking at it? long-sighted perhaps?
    my main problem is hands aching like hell after 20 minutes (20 minutes of mhf :P).
    I've never once had a headache from using it though. Even after 8 hour straight sessions.
    Too bad the nerves in my arm are now ruined from using the psp.. dangerous toy!

    I don't think that much has changed between revisions, I recall they stuffed a microphone on the slim(2000) and another 32mb of ram(for a total of 64), and a different type of screen on the 3000 (not sure if it eliminates ghosting due to crappy lcd latency, I heard it rather introduced interlacing or something though)
    PSP Go might be worth looking at if you have money to blow, as it doesn't have a UMD drive, so I imagine load-times are zero. However there's strictly limited titles for it.

    I use CFW to negate loadtimes personally. Still using my PSP-1000 through all of this though.
    Guess I could use a newer one now though.. it's got a dead pixel, right speaker dead, battery falling apart. Dropped it a dozen times :D

    Magitek on
  • greeblegreeble Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    psp-3000 and psp-go have a much more responsive lcd, eliminates ghosting. It does however have interlacing. (also the 3000 has the microphone, 2000 does not)

    greeble on
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  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    WTF I never noticed any ghosting on the 2000

    Stormwatcher on
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  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Does anyone know the actual latency on the lcd screens? The psp-1000 feels like.. 32ms-64ms.

    Magitek on
  • AnalrapistAnalrapist Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    The PSP makes my fingers go numb. After 20 minutes I cant feel my pinkies at all.
    It made playing Socom really intense.

    Analrapist on
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  • DyvionDyvion Back in Sunny Florida!!Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I put hours and hours and hours and hours into my PSP... It's got to be well over 1000 hours now. Almost 900 of which are from Monster Hunter (Freedom, Freedom 2 and Unite). My wife went on vacation with the kids and I went on a PSP bender and after 3 days of about 10 hours each day my right hand was cramping severely. I gave it a rest for a couple of days and it's been fine since.

    Dyvion on
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  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Grr I wish I could say the same, the nerves in my arm got chewed.

    Was using the psp for roughly an hour or two lying on my side. Didn't hurt any more than usual but I decided to give it a break anyway. An hour later my arm was burning furiously and then went numb :(
    Been 6 months now, I guess it's not coming back.
    Doesn't stop me from playing the PSP more though.. hahah.

    Magitek on
  • mojojoeomojojoeo A block off the park, living the dream.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I just got a 3000 and am loving the be-jesus out of it. Hotshots on the go, ff7, and disgaea all great

    mojojoeo on
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  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I have the PSP-2000 series.

    I bought the 1000 series in late 2006 and upgraded to the 2000 via a product replacement plan when it dropped.

    I love the PSP. It's got a great library of games and the hardware is nice.

    I wish it were smaller. It's a bit difficult for it to be truly portable when it's as big as it is, but I guess I don't have much choice on that.

    Like all small electronics it scratches extremely easily, especially the screen. Get a screen protector. Just try not to apply it as shoddily as I have mine.

    Finally don't expect it to be a competent video or music player. The hoops you have to jump through to get video properly playing on the thing just isn't worth it. You'll spend an hour ripping a video for it only to find out it has some random error playing on the PSP. Music works okay but you're limited to the size of your memory stick of course and the player is kinda clunky.

    Otherwise grab one. I don't play mine as much as I should, but that's because I've got three other consoles and one other handheld vying for my attention.

    maximumzero on
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  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Rizzi wrote: »
    So I was one of the people that got a PSP when it first launched and it was pretty good I guess.
    But the major ghosting that it had caused me to sell it a while back, because it was giving me some major headaches to look at.
    I know since I bought the first model they've released a billion different makes, and I was thinking of getting one since I've got a hankerin' to play some of the games on the system.
    What sort should I get? Have they fixed the ghosting? Or the load times?

    Basically, you have 3 options right now:

    1 - Try to get an older PSP model and put custom firmware on it. This obviously takes the most work and you're stuck with older hardware, but many people feel the custom firmware is worth it (among other things, it lets you rip your games to a memory stick for improved performance & increased battery times)

    2 - Buy a PSP 3000. The ghosting is gone and the load times are better than the original due to caching, however some people are bothered by the scanlines.

    3 - Buy a PSP Go. This is the most expensive option ($250), but you get a smaller & lighter system with 16GBs built-in hard drive space, which from early reports has better controls and a better screen (albeit slightly smaller) than previous models. Since the system only supports digital downloads, load times shouldn't be a problem. On the negative side, it can't use UMDs.

    Personally, I'm going with the PSP Go when it comes out Oct 1st as my first PSP, but I'm a big fan of digital distribution. If you already have an existing UMD library or you want to pick up a bunch of older games for cheap used, you might want to go with one of the other options.

    RainbowDespair on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I'd avoid the Go like the plague. It's got a new form factor, but it has no UMD drive and it costs $80 more for some unfathomable reason. That'll pretty much eliminate hunting for used games.

    cloudeagle on
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  • Rex DartRex Dart Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Has the launch lineup been announced for the PSP Go? I saw that they revealed some MiniS (or something), but have they revealed what games will be available for download?

    Rex Dart on
  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Rex Dart wrote: »
    Has the launch lineup been announced for the PSP Go? I saw that they revealed some MiniS (or something), but have they revealed what games will be available for download?

    No Gitaroo Man Lives or Every Extend Extra, no dice.

    maximumzero on
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  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Rex Dart wrote: »
    Has the launch lineup been announced for the PSP Go? I saw that they revealed some MiniS (or something), but have they revealed what games will be available for download?

    Nope. Sony claims they'll have a majority of PSP games, but Sony has a lot of things.

    And Zero, as much as I dug those games I wouldn't get my hopes up for them. They're kinda niche and I'd assume low priority for getting up on the service.

    cloudeagle on
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  • LunkerLunker Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I'm still very, very curious as to what sort of "solution" (I'm using the Chris Farley giant "scare quotes" around that, in case you didn't notice) Sony is going to come up with for people who have UMD games and are interested in obtaining digital versions of said games. It's all been very vague, but honestly, the only reason I preach the gospel of custom firmware is because you can make your own digital versions of games you own and force the PSP processor to 333MHz, which improves performance a lot on certain games. If there were a legit, simple way to swap my UMDs for digital copies I could use on a PSP Go, I'd be very tempted to switch over at some point.

    Lunker on
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  • RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Interlacing? I'm not exactly sure what that means. :lol:

    Rizzi on
  • BartholamueBartholamue Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    WTF I never noticed any ghosting on the 2000
    Play Loco Roco, and you'll see what we mean.

    Bartholamue on
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  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    seriously, i just played Megaman X and saw NOTHING.

    Stormwatcher on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    seriously, i just played Megaman X and saw NOTHING.

    I see plenty of ghosting in Maverick Hunter X and also in Castlevania. on a psp2k.

    slash000 on
  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    If you can't see 'ghosting' on an LCD screen, I think you don't know what to look for. Hell I can still see it on my 2ms GTG/5ms BTW 22". Ofcourse.. it's nothing like the psp ones.

    anyone got a psp 1-2000 and a 3000 to compare with?
    I assume they introduced interlacing for a good reason rather than just to 'hide' the ghosting.

    Magitek on
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    There is no "interlacing" as the term is supposed to be used. Some folks claim to see "scan lines", but this is when you have a very bright light source shining on it when sitting in a dark room. It's no more better/worse than most other LCDs with a plastic cover protecting it.

    Both the 2000 and 3000 model have UMD caching, and the 2000 doesn't have a mic. The 3000 has the built-in mic.

    Hahnsoo1 on
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  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yeah someone already pointed out my mistake about the 2000 having a mic :P

    So the 3000 having some kind of interlacing is a load of horse?

    Magitek on
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Magitek wrote: »
    Yeah someone already pointed out my mistake about the 2000 having a mic :P

    So the 3000 having some kind of interlacing is a load of horse?
    It's not interlacing, like on old televisions and CRTs. Because the pixels are arranged horizontally and the blue pixels are darker than the other two colors (the source of the so-called "interlacing"), you may notice that the picture on a 3000 is a bit different than on a 2000. It is much more noticeable if you have your eyes close to the screen in a pitch black room. However, the colors on the 3000 are more vibrant, and the plastic is anti-glare, supposedly. In daytime and indoor play with lights, you can't see it (although you will notice less "ghosting").

    Real interlacing causes more visual issues, like "jumpy" images that seem to vibrate and problems displaying single-pixel lines.

    Hahnsoo1 on
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  • DracilDracil Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Ghosting's really noticeable with Patapon for me.

    Dracil on
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  • RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    So ghosting. Is it as terrible as it was on the original? I people keep telling me different things. It's starting to get frustrating :P

    Rizzi on
  • AnarchyAnarchy Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I've just bought the PSP 3000 two weeks ago and haven't noticed any ghosting. The great thing about getting one at this stage was that game prices have just dropped to next to nothing. I'm the sort of person who tends not to care if a game is preowned as long as the disc isn't scratched so there are plenty of Preowned PSP Game bargins out there.

    Edit: I've noticed no ghosting on Patapon.

    Anarchy on
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  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Patapon is has a fucking insane difficulty curve. I did for the first five missions or so but as soon as you hit the second "Boss" character it's like running into a goddamn wall.

    maximumzero on
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  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Magitek wrote: »
    If you can't see 'ghosting' on an LCD screen, I think you don't know what to look for. Hell I can still see it on my 2ms GTG/5ms BTW 22". Ofcourse.. it's nothing like the psp ones.

    anyone got a psp 1-2000 and a 3000 to compare with?
    I assume they introduced interlacing for a good reason rather than just to 'hide' the ghosting.

    Erm, dude, fuck you. I know damn well what's ghosting. That's one of the reasons my first LCD monitor was bought in 2008 instead of earlier.
    Even if there is some ghosting in the PSP2K, it's so freaking weak that I really can't perceive it, and I have perfectly fine eyes. I wanna see a video that shows the supposed ghosting in the 2K.

    Anyway, I doubt that it's humanly possible to see ghosting on a 2ms screen. You see whatever the fuck you wanna see.

    Stormwatcher on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Switching between the PSP and the NDS regularly, it's quite easy to notice and see ghosting on some of the brighter, more line-defined games on the PSP. I'm guessing that if all you play is a PSP you might not really ever notice, but switching from the DSLite to the PSP, it stands out pretty quick IMO. I could see it pretty easily in MM Maverick Hunter X.

    It doesn't really bother me, but it's definitely noticeable on a PSP2k.

    slash000 on
  • GMaster7GMaster7 Goggles Paesano Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yeah, I've been thinking about a PSP too, and I too am a big fan of digital distribution, so the Go is somewhat appealing. I borrowed my gf's brother's PSP and gave some demos (and a Patapon rental) a spin, but I'm still undecided. Doesn't help that I'm a huge Nintendo fanboy... though I've also been trying to decide if I should grab a PS3 or 360 with this new price drop... AND I was pretty pissed (though this is a petty issue) that GMaster7 was unavailable as a username for PSN, but I mean, okay.

    GMaster7 on
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  • hygraedhygraed Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I sold my PSP a couple of months ago (what with my DS and iPod Touch, I barely ever touched it anymore), but if I was going to buy another one I would probably get the Go. My iPod has spoiled me as far as having a compact, pocket-sized system (well, the Go is more compact than the 3000 at least) loaded with a bunch of games that I can play at a moment's notice.

    hygraed on
  • RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I usually only play one game at a time.
    Plus I think the GO is going to something like $400 here?

    Rizzi on
  • -Loki--Loki- Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining. Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Rizzi wrote: »
    I usually only play one game at a time.
    Plus I think the GO is going to something like $400 here?

    Same here - but having some smaller games to add variety is good, like having SSHD or echochrome on there.Or some of those newfangled PSP minis. But hey, you can put them on a normal PSP too. So that advantage is lost.

    I was originally quite fond of the Go, but the more I thought about it, the more I just wanted to keep my 2000.

    -Loki- on
  • greeblegreeble Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I noticed the ghosting quite a bit on my psp when I first got it. (2000) But I honestly hardly notice it anymore, I guess I got used to it. I do kinda want a 3000 or Go, but only for the improved color because the ghosting isn't an issue for me.

    greeble on
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    Let me tell you about Demon's Souls....
    I’ll tell you what happens in Demon’s Souls when you die. You come back as a ghost with your health capped at half. And when you keep on dying, the alignment of the world turns black and the enemies get harder. That’s right, when you fail in this game, it gets harder. Why? Because fuck you is why.
  • MagitekMagitek Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Magitek wrote: »
    If you can't see 'ghosting' on an LCD screen, I think you don't know what to look for. Hell I can still see it on my 2ms GTG/5ms BTW 22". Ofcourse.. it's nothing like the psp ones.

    anyone got a psp 1-2000 and a 3000 to compare with?
    I assume they introduced interlacing for a good reason rather than just to 'hide' the ghosting.

    Erm, dude, fuck you. I know damn well what's ghosting. That's one of the reasons my first LCD monitor was bought in 2008 instead of earlier.
    Even if there is some ghosting in the PSP2K, it's so freaking weak that I really can't perceive it, and I have perfectly fine eyes. I wanna see a video that shows the supposed ghosting in the 2K.

    Anyway, I doubt that it's humanly possible to see ghosting on a 2ms screen. You see whatever the fuck you wanna see.

    Okay rage aside, when you move the mouse on an lcd screen, you will see a 'dimmer' copy compared to when the mouse is still. Also, I can see a very dim trail(maybe less than 1/10th brightness). I don't know what to say if you can't see this. Maybe your 2008 LCD is just that superior to my mine. It's something I cannot see on a CRT.

    I also doubt that your eyes even have anything to do with the equation. Trying moving the mouse while follwing it with your head, rather than moving your eyes. If you can't recognise or see this sort of behaviour on any LCD I fucking commend you, because it always bothers me- much more so on the PSP screen. (I've never seen the 2000 or 3000 in action.)

    Magitek on
  • DehumanizedDehumanized Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Patapon is has a fucking insane difficulty curve. I did for the first five missions or so but as soon as you hit the second "Boss" character it's like running into a goddamn wall.

    I rented the first one and had a similar experience. Picked up Patapon 2 a couple weeks back on a discounted retail voucher, and find it to be a lot more gradual. Fever requires less of a chain to streak into, and I'm not really finding too much difficulty progressing through the story. There are definitely still challenges out there in the game (the hero/egg adventures get pretty hard pretty fast due to the time constraints, and I ran into an optional boss that one-shot my flag bearer), but it seems to be better tuned in general. Also, if I remember correctly, it has a difficulty selector (easy/medium/hard) while Patapon 1 did not.

    Dehumanized on
  • DusT_HounDDusT_HounD Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    @Magitek, Stormwatcher: Chill, guys, chill.

    Altho, if it's ghosting you want, how bout some MG: Portable ops? That one ghosts like a beatch on my 2K...

    Weirdly, though, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite doesn't really. Strange. Also, it seems to not be so pronounced on something like the Sega Genesis Collection, but i always assumed that was because the colours are generally quite bright, or something.

    Getting back to the Go, does anyone know if Sony are doing anything about letting people transfer their UMDs to it? Like having a separate UMD drive or whatever?

    DusT_HounD on
  • Venkman90Venkman90 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    So,

    I am getting a Go on launch, I used to have a PSP back in 2006 and I always liked a lot of the games, but I am now digital download only (Steam mostly) and the idea of not having to port media around appeals to me.

    What games should I be after, assuming almost all the PSP games are available day one. I liked:

    Disgaea
    Monster Hunter
    Dungeon Siege: TOA (it was a nice little loot crawl considering how earl it game out)
    D&D Tactics, flawed as it was
    Worms 2
    SOCOM: FTB
    Logans Shadow

    I have noticed LBP, is that getting the content editor? how will we dl new levels? the new MGS looks good...

    Any others I should grab? (I hope LOTS)

    Venkman90 on
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    -DJ MAX Fever($20 now, no excuse!)
    -Lumines 1 or 2, ideally 2(lots more content)
    -MGS Portable
    -Initial D Street Stage(dirt cheap import port of Initial D V3)
    -Wild Arms XF
    -Puzzle Quest(this version looks the sharpest)
    -Prinny (hardcore platformer, if you even remotely like Disgaea, this is very worth a play or six)
    -FF Dissidia
    -FF Crisis Core
    -FF Tactics

    Really, any of the FF PSP games, even the remakes of 1 & 2 are gorgeous.

    cj iwakura on
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  • MazzyxMazzyx Comedy Gold Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I've got a first generation psp that's been to Japan and back with me about 4 times now. This excludes ages of train rides. I really don't know what I would of done without it. In fact because of the psp I didn't get my ds till just last November and still think I play my psp more.

    Some games that I love on it:
    Marvel Ultimate Alliance- Just fun and entertaining
    Tokobot- It's cute and you can probably find it cheap
    Crisis Core-I need to finish this, if anything just so I don't forget my Japanese. But has been an awesome game.
    Me and my Katamari-This game is just entertaining for 30 minute train rides

    I used as my mp3 player for ages as well till I got my i-pod which has since died but the psp is still going strong.

    In general the psp has probably been my favorite of the portables. My ds gets play but I always go back to psp it seems. Also was nice for the internet when I worked in the mall and was leaching off the cell phone stores open wi-fi.

    I still want tactics and dissidia on my psp but I just ordered a ps3 slim so gotta save money for a bit.

    Mazzyx on
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