DS vs PSP: Which System?

There is always an ongoing debate of which is better, the DS or the PSP? Out of all of my friends, we all own both handheld gaming systems, and both are great depending on what you want out of them. Is there a clear winner? No, there really isn't to be quite honest. It just depends on what your needs are, and which would suit your needs the best.

The Playstation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP) is a handheld console manufactured and marketed by Sony, and was first unveiled on May 11, 2004.

The PSP is the first handheld video game system to use an optical disc format, otherwise known as the UMD (Universal Media Disc) as it's primary storage medium. The batteries take about one to two hours to charge and last roughly four to seven hours depending on factors, such as volume levels, brightness, etc.

• UMD's are capable of holding a lot of information.
• The viewing screen is both large and wide.
  
• It features built in wireless for internet, multiplayer, and data transfer.
  
• Built-in screensaver.
• TV output, which can output conventional aspect ratio of (4:3) or widescreen (16:9).
• The setup is great for watching widescreen movies.
  

The Nintendo DS (usually just known as the DS) is a handheld game system developed and manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in 2004. Depending on the version you get, the battery life can last anywhere between 10 hours to 17 hours.

• Dual screen, with the bottom one being a touchscreen.
• Built-in microphone.
• PictoChat allows users to communicate with other Nintendo DS users within local wireless range.
• supports wireless (Wi-Fi) standards (short range multiplayer, or online).
• Download Play, which makes it possible for users to play multiplayer games with other Nintendo DS systems using only one game card.
• It's backwards compatible with Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges.

As I stated earlier, my friends and I all have both the PSP and the DS. It's been agreed that if your looking for roleplaying games (RPGs) that you should get the DS, it has a better selection of superb and high quality roleplaying games for the system. The PSP has the better selection for quality first person shooters and racing games, although the racing games subject has been debated heavily among my friends.

It's hard to recommend over the other, since they both are great for what you get out of them. A vote among my friends turned out that the PSP is the winner, but not by much. They pretty much all came to the same conclusion, which was "it depends on what you want it for" that would make it the winner for you. I could say that the PSP is better one day, and then flip to the DS the next, and vice versa. I do like watching widescreen movies on my PSP if I'm ever on a road trip, that's always a substantial bonus. If you have the money, get both. Or if RPG's are your thing, get the DS. If first person shooters and watching movies on your system is your thing, get the PSP. They are both roughly around the same price range, which is about $150-$170 depending on where you buy it.