This is now getting ridiculous. It was about a year and a half ago Sony released the PSP Slim (2000), and before that, the PSP. Now there is the PSP Slim (3000).

So what is going on? Is Sony telling us that they did not think about the console properly before it entered the market? Or is it that it wants to milk all of us for every dime we have? In this article we are going to analyse Sony's PlayStation portables to see what's the difference between each of them.

PSP Original (1000)

Released in North America on March 24, 2005 and in Europe on September 1, 2005, it measures approximately 17 x 7.3 x 2.2 cm (6.8 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches), and weighs 280 grams (9.88 ounces). The front of the console is dominated by the system's 11 cm (4.4 inches) LCD screen, which is capable of 480 x 272 pixel video playback. Also on the front are the four PlayStation face buttons, the directional pad, the analogue 'nub', and several other buttons. In addition, the system includes two shoulder buttons and a USB 2.0 mini-B port on the top of the console and a WLAN switch and power cable input on the bottom. The back of the PSP features a read-only UMD drive for movies and games, and a reader, that is compatible with Sony's Memory Stick Duo flash cards, located on the left of the system. Other features include an IrDA compatible infrared port, built-in stereo speakers and headphone port

The PSP includes an 1800 mAh battery that will provide about four-six hours of game play, four-five hours of video playback, or eight-11 hours of audio playback. Official accessories for the console include the AC adapter, car adapter, headset, headphones with remote control, carrying case, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, and system pouch and wrist strap. About 500,000 units were sold on the first two days of release, which was lower than its competitor the Nintendo DS.

PSP Slim (2000)

It has the same configuration as the PSP 1000 but in exchange for the infrared it was replaced with a 'TV out' port to display your games on the television. Another thing that was also changed was the battery and dimension on the console, making it thinner by about one third its size.

The 1.5 firmware was updated to 3.50 on May 31, 2007, which allowed new games to run at a full 333 MHz. But this firmware also worked on the PSP 1000 so why would I need a new PSP for free firmware?

PSP Slim (3000)

So what's new now? Not much. The screen has been improved and it features an anti-reflective coating, higher contrast and a wider colour gamut. This should translate into sharper, brighter and more colourful images. There is also a built-in microphone to make Skype calls easier, and a tweak to the video-out socket, "which will allow new PSP users to enjoy games on non-progressive TVs. Oh! And two new colours can be had in either 'pearl white' or 'mystic silver'.

My Opinion

Sony still has not learnt that games will always win over consoles. Microsoft knows that, Nintendo knows that. So Sony please give us some games and stop trying to sell us a console we already have. I am not going to buy it! Are you?

Did you know?

1. Monster Hunter Portable second G, sold 2.4 million copies for the PSP.

2. PSP has sold 37.93 million consoles worldwide.

3. Nintendo DS has sold more than 80.11 million consoles worldwide.

GameYaad.com

Shop #18 Hagley Park Plaza

Tel: (876) 754 6453. Email: info@gameyaad.com