Portable Consoles (cheatmonster.com)

The race is on between the next generation portable consoles, Nintendo Vs. Sony. But who will win the battle or will the dominant nintendo walk away the clear winner. Reviews of these consoles are featured below with images and comparisons on which one is the best.

To avoid this section getting two big only portable consoles will be considered excluding mobiles and the N-Gage.

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Nintendo DS
PSP (Playstation Portable)
Gameboy Micro
Game comparison
Summary

Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS is the new generation portable games console from nintendo.

*Larger image available here**

The nintendo DS will be the first portable games console to use 3D graphics and will be capable of running games about the same quality and sometimes better than the nintendo 64. On the official release Mario 64 is being released for the DS. Some of the other features re described below:

The new nintendo DS contains dual screens and touch-screen technology that allow you to interact with games like never before. There is is a wireless connection that lets you connect to other users and play multi player battles wirelessly without using the old link cables. There is also some some ware called PictoChat that gives you the ability to draw, write and send messages wirelessly.

Dual Screens
Two LCD screens offer one of the most groundbreaking game play advances ever developed, in a racing game, you might see your own vehicle's perspective on one screen and an overall track view on the other. Soon, games could be created allowing you to play games on one screen while sending text messages on the other. Each 3-inch screen can reproduce a true 3D view, with impressive 3D renderings that can surpass images displayed on the Nintendo 64.
Touch Screen

The lower screen will offer something never before provided by any game device: PDA-like touch capabilities. Players no longer have to rely on just buttons to move characters or shift perspectives. They can navigate menus or access inventory items simply by touching the screen with stylus or fingertip. A software-based keyboard might even allow the screen to be used as an input centre for games and messaging. The possibilities are limited only by developers' imaginations. The screen will have a tougher film cover for durability, and will come with a stylus.
Microphone

With the addition of a microphone in the future, players might need only to tell their games what to do. DS software could identify everything from voice commands to hand-clapping. Players might be able to move their characters simply by telling them which way to go. The voice capabilities could also allow gamers to chat with one another over the Internet while playing.
Wireless network

 

The nintendo DS is able to connect to a wireless network consisting of 16 players. The range of this network will be 30-100 feet as data is transferred at 11mbps 802.11 wireless format allowing for fast wireless game play. In addition to this nintendo have introduced their proprietary communication protocol in an effort to save battery consumption. Players will be able to chat and play games without any connecting cords. The DS technology also provides for a wireless LAN connection, which could allow a theoretically infinite number of players to connect at a hot spot and compete at a central game hub on the Internet, even if they're thousands of miles apart.

Wireless Game Sharing: If software developers desire, multiple players can compete in wireless games, even if only one person has a game card inserted. Players could also test-play games for themselves as long as they stayed connected.
3D graphics

The Nintendo DS can reproduce impressive 3-D renderings that can surpass images displayed on the Nintendo 64. Games will run at 60 frames per second, and allow details like fog effects and cell shading.
Sound

With the 16 channel channel Stereo speakers game audio sounds crisper and clearer than ever before. This allow for virtual surround sound and a plug for headphones transmits stereo sound. Hear something in your left headphone? Audio clues can give you advance warning that an enemy is approaching or that a hidden secret is nearby.

Big sound in a small package.
Battery

The battery is rechargeable and the unit features a low-energy-consumption design. The DS also has Power Management functions of Sleep mode and Standby mode. In Sleep mode, players can stop and resume game play whenever they like. If the user receives a message from a friend or user nearby, DS activates itself from Standby mode.
New Cartridges

The new memory is smaller than the original GBA cartridges and uses, newly developed semiconductor memory, which allows for lower cost, shorter manufacturing time and memory capacity of more than one gigabit of information.
Backwards Compatible

As well as supporting the new media, there is also a slot to allow old Gameboy Advance games to be played. These can only be played in single player mode though. Unfortunately it does not support gameboy colour or original game packs.

Larger image

Click here for a larger image of the nintendo DS

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Technical specs

Games

Mario 64 left and Spider-Man 2 Right

What i think about it?

After playing ridge racers on the japanese Nintendo DS, i was impressed. Graphics wise, they are very good but they are a bit jagged and blocky in some places, so it is about on par with the nintendo 64. The additional screen is a useful addition as it enables extra views of the game to be show or stats to be displayed. The touch screen can be useful and on one game it can even be used as another control for shoot. It also has some good PDA functions and notes can be written with the stylus or via the on-screen keyboard. The integration of wireless enables advance multi playing and it could be connected to a router to allow even more connections. The UK version of the DS will come with email and web browser software, so it can be connected to the internet wirelessly. Style wise, i was not that impressed as i though the style was a little better on the gameboy advance. But after playing on it for about a hour, i found it easy to use and control. The sound is also decent and a lot better than that of the gameboy advance. There is also a great selection of games available including Mario 64, mario kart, tiger woods, Ridge racers to name a few. And like the GBA was backwards compatible, the same can be said for the DS as it is able to play all original GBA games.

When it is released in the UK the price of the console will range from £100-£150 making it a lot cheaper than its competitor the PSP. The games will also be cheaper at roughly the same price of current GBA games. Also nintendo currently have 90% of the portable console market, so the PSP may find it hard to compete.

My rating for the console 9/10

The graphics could do with being a bit better to compete with the PSP but that would bump up the price.

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PSP (Playstation Portable)

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The PSP is Sonys new attempt to make a portable console to rival the dominant gameboy. It currently available in black and also white although it has been suggested additional colours may be available in time. Also included is a 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD centred in a sleek ergonomic design with a high-quality finish that fits comfortably in the hands. The dimensions are 170mm x 74mm x 23mm with a weight of 260g. PSP features a high-quality TFT LCD that displays full colour (16.77 million colours) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. It also comes complete with the basic functions of a portable player such as built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector, brightness control and sound mode selection. Keys and controls inherit the same operability of PlayStation and PlayStation 2, familiar to fans all over the world.

The PSP also comes equipped with diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b
(Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, providing connectivity to various devices in the home and to the wireless network outside. The world of gaming is further enhanced by enabling users to enjoy online gaming, or by connecting multiple PSP's to each other, directly via the wireless network. In addition, software and data can be downloaded through a USB or wireless network onto Memory Stick PRO Duo. All of these features can be enjoyed on one single system.

PSP adopts a small but high-capacity optical medium UMD (Universal Media Disc), enabling game software, rich with full-motion video and other forms of digital entertainment content, to be stored. The newly developed UMD, the next-generation compact storage media, is only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data. A broad range of digital entertainment content such as music video clips, movies and sports programs can be provided on UMD. To protect this entertainment content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed which utilizes a combination of a unique disc ID, a 128 bit AES encryption keys for the media, and individual ID for each PSP hardware unit.

Due to the fact the PSP is unable to save on the disks, a memory card has been produced, this is shown below:

Technical specs

Games

Metal Gear Acid Above


Wipeout above

What i think about it?

Well what can i say, after playing the PSP i thought the graphics were superb for a portable console. On ridge racers the graphics are about on par with the PS2. But they are entering a market which is currently and always has been dominated by nintendo. We have seen better consoles like the Sega game gear, the have had better graphics but still failed to compete, so it will be good to see how well the PSP competes in the long run. The games being able to store 1.8GB is a good feature as this is more than the Nintendo DS cartridges are able to store. But one problem with the new media is unlike the gameboy has been able to do for years it is unable to save to the disks, but the built in memory can be used along with the additional memory card. The console is light and has a bright easy to see screen. The best thing is the controls are modeled on the PS2 so as to keep the usual playstation trend. There will also be a good choice of games available from launch including metal gear acid similar to metal gear solid, Gran Turismo 4, ridge racer and others. But how well this console compete will be found out in time, but judging from the amount sold in japan it is going to be a very popular console and a good competitor with the Nintendo DS.

My rating for the console 9.5/10

The graphics are fantastic but it is a bit on the pricey side at the moment although this may be lowered to compete with the Nintendo DS.

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Gameboy Micro

Nintendo's next generation Gameboy. The follow on to the Gameboy Advanced.

 

Features

Not much is known about the new gameboy as the official specification has not yet been released. It will however contain:

>>><<< More specification will be added when avalible. >>><<<

Game comparison

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For the purpose of this comparison Ridge Racers for the Nintendo DS and Ridge Racer for the PSP have been chosen. These offer an ideal comparison as they are virtually identical:

First one the PSP, second one the Nintendo DS.

As you can see from the above comparison you can see my point about the graphics being blocky on the DS (see the road). Compare them for yourself to get an idea.

 

Which one should i choose?

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It depends. If you are a nintendo mad fan who has loads of old GBA games and want a console to provide them with reasonable graphics and good PDA like functions then you should choose this console and with its current track record over the years, it will do very well in the market. The PSP is a good portable console with great graphics, better than the nintendo DS and a bigger 16:9 wide-screen. But having said that.. we had the Gameboy original competing with the Sega Game Gear. The Game Gear contained better graphics, a back lit screen and a good selection of games, but in the long run it failed to compete with the Gameboy. Due to this many company's have been scared into entering an area which is 90% dominated by Nintendo. But with the number of PSP's sold in japan so far, it can be fair to say that the PSP will compete well with the DS if the price is right and the games selection is good.

My choice: PSP due to graphics and games like metal gear acid, Gran Turismo 4 and Ridge racers

Final Note

Only time will tell to which portable console is the real winner. But there might be even more portable consoles to compete with the above, mainly mobile phones like the N-Gage and other JAVA like games. But Microsoft have already said "We have no plans on releasing a portable games console". But will they keep to their word?

All of my own reviews are copyright and the i do not want to see them appear on other websites.

 

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