PSP: rated M for Mature

[wraggster]

via pspfanboy (http://www.pspfanboy.com/2007/01/23/psp-rated-m-for-mature/)

This should come as no surprise to PSP owners, but it's interesting to see the numbers nonetheless. When looking through the ESRB database, one sees that the PSP offers a greater variety of games than Nintendo's handheld. The PSP features 30 titles with an M rating. The DS, on the other hand, only has 2.

Teen-rated games also find their home on the PSP. The DS only has 31 Teen-rated games, while the PSP has three times the number of titles, with 96 T-rated games.

While it's undeniable that the DS is selling better than the PSP, one has to wonder how many of those consoles are for adults. I'd assume not too many. Grand Theft Auto sold over a million copies on Sony's handheld, while LocoRoco went by mostly unnoticed. I think it should be pretty clear that the two portables are targeting two very different markets: and older gamers, like myself, enjoy the slightly more adult-themed games of the PSP.

[Broadus]

Well, I personally love action games, which all tend to be T or M. The Nintendo DS doesn't carry many action games, and it can't really handle the kind of action games I enjoy. Even if it could, the controls wouldn't be very suitable. I like playing Grand Theft Auto and any number of first-person-shooters on the PSP, but the games I play on the PSP would NEVER work on the DS. Can you imagine playing 3D Grand Theft Auto on the DS? It'd look horrible, and wouldn't have much of any audio beyond simple sound effects.
Still, there are some awesome Nintendo DS games that AREN'T full of action and violence, like Mario Kart DS, the best Mario Kart ever.

[kiariki]

I'm sorry, but I'm an adult and I enjoy not-so-adult games as much as I do adult ones, sometimes even more.

Why? The so-called adult games (mainly falls under FPS's and other action games) are either made with showing a whole lot of blood and gore or showcasing some sort of turnoff event (turnoff in the sense that it looks good until... nothing happens...)

I am not saying, however, that all FPS's and action games (adult-oriented or otherwise) are like this... Just the majority of the ones I've managed to play... (I enjoy Halo, for example. Not too good at it, can't hope to beat the game beyond Easy or perhaps Normal.)

I do enjoy the E-rated games and depending, T. These, in general, feature more fantasy and are focused, sometimes, more on humor.

And by E, I'm excluding cheesy cartoon show/ movie games... (Except Shrek 2... :P Fun.)

[Cap'n 1time]

I prefer the DS library. I dont usually even read the esrb rating.

[Deathnix]

It doesn't mater how many games you throw at a PSP, DS is better.
It is quality, not quantity that counts at the end of the day.
People like to have fun, that is what games are all about, and DS is a lot more fun to use.

[Tetris999]

to tell you the truth i dont seem to use my ds lately

i love the play station................on the psp

[Ramza042]

I play my DS for about 15-20 minutes a day, usually long enough to play Brain Age, sitting on the toilet. (Like you guys have never done it :P ) My wife plays it more than I do.

I usually play my PSP for about 1.5 - 2 hours a day, 30 minutes while I'm sitting in the car waiting for the wife to do her workout, and usually about an hour in the evening after dinner. My psp goes with me everywhere, especially when the misses goes to the grocery store. :)

I like both systems a lot, but honestly, I don't remember the last time I actually had a UMD in my psp, it's usually gpSP or a PSX game. After all, it IS a playstation portable, right?

[Veskgar]

Well regarding the variety of "M" rated games, SONY from the start was marketing the PSP to a more mature demographic. It just so happens, and only naturally that as the PSP gets older, the consumers getting a PSP are younger and younger.

About DS games vs. PSP games, thats a tough call. A real tough call. Because the two machines vary drastically, its not really fair to compare the systems game to game. The DS has a LOT of games that are only mediocre and quite a few poor games. However, the games that are good for the DS are REALLY good and could only work on the DS (Lite).

I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of say.... the Mega Man remakes (Powered Up and Maverick Hunter) on the DS. And alternatively, you could not play a lot of DS games on the PSP with much enjoyment. Obviously due in large part to the dual screen, touch screen, mic, etc.

SO they are both great Portable devices, each with Good, Bad, and just plain Ugly games. Its just that the DS Lite appeals to a wider audience due to its simplicity and ease of use. In Japan, even the elderly are getting their game on with the DS Lite. That can't be said for the PSP.

On a final note I must again say that developers are not focusing enough on making unique games for the PSP that distinguish themselves from the majority of what is already available on say a PS2, GameCube or XBOX. I can't really get into games like Tomb Raider, or FPS games.

The PSP is best suited for RPG's if you ask me. RPG's don't have to be the best looking games to be enjoyable and can be designed with simple controls. The PSP offers so many ways to deliver an epic cinematic RPG experience on the go that I am constantly scratching my head at why there are not more RPG's. And with a save anywhere option and the sleep mode ability of the PSP, getting stuck in an engrossing game with no way to quickly end it and then pick up and play again is not an issue.

It looks like soon my wish will come true with some cool RPG's in the PSP's lineup.

[calagan]

I think teens are more likely to play GTA than adults, just because adults usually don't enough have time to allocate to such long lasting games. Moreover, I don't believe that gore or sexy games necessarily appeal to adults more than kids.

Personally (I'm 36) , I play a lot of Lumines II, Go Sudoku, Bust-a-Move and Ultimate Block Party on my PSP. The latter two look childish, but they are surely more brain-stimulating than some of the M-rated games.

[Mister Klownes]

I don't mean to offend any DS-loyals, but this is what I've been saying all along. DS sells better because Pokemon, or whatever the devil it is children play nowadays, Nintendogs, I guess, is a "omg mommy and daddy buy it for me or I'm gonna have an another outburst of ADD" kind of game.

[SpacemanSpiff]

And out of those 30+ M and 90+ T rated games, how many are actually good? Exactly.

[compoman386]

via pspfanboy (http://www.pspfanboy.com/2007/01/23/psp-rated-m-for-mature/)
one sees that the PSP offers a greater variety of games than Nintendo's handheld. The PSP features 30 titles with an M rating. The DS, on the other hand, only has 2.


A greater number of M rated titles does not mean "greater variety", it just means a more M rated titles. In fact I would argue that there is far less variety in PSP games than DS games, the very nature of the DS's unusual control system allows for a far greater variety of games and gameplay styles.

[briyan]

The PSP is suited for gamers of all ages. The DS is suited for kids or the very people who attempted to play with their palm pilots. honestly, this debate is just like how i'd answer if someone were to ask me if i'd pick the Wii as a next gen console or either of the 360 or PS3. I currently have the 360, i like it a lot. I would probably get a PS3 down the road (it's still very far..yes i know), but I'd NEVER pick up a Wii, because the motion control or the touch screen "move your guy with a toothpick" thing will wear out on me in a second. Nintendo is all about gimmicks, they're not about to move forward into the future but instead just innovate on controls which they are banking on 100%. they're cheap so they'll sell. but are they really moving gaming and technology forward? i don't think so.

[emuking]

ds sells better because it has much better games than the psp period, anyone with homebrew on their psp is not satisfied with what they bought so they resort to what other people make, this is the reason there is
not much homebrew for the ds since people enjoy playing them with what is currently available on the ds

[The Virus]

It doesn't mater how many games you throw at a PSP, DS is better.
It is quality, not quantity that counts at the end of the day.
People like to have fun, that is what games are all about, and DS is a lot more fun to use.

Funny, so as you're saying I don't have any fun with my PSP. Well what a waste of almost a year of playing games and hacking it!

Really, I haven't regretted buying it ever and it's the first console I found worth after buying since I was 7 and got my PS1

Concerning the topic, The age rating doesn't really matter because I play loads of games without even looking at the age rating.

[acn010]

i wonder why the psp has the M rated games than any other consules...
way before when it came out, the psp is suppose to be a system for adults, unlike nintendo that has a ds child friendly it is organized for people with music photos and videos (basically for me its like a blackberry)

[Hungry Horace]

i've been saying this for ages. i dont know a single person with a DS.

i know quite a number of PSP owners all in the 23-32 age group.

[Paradok]

i've been saying this for ages. i dont know a single person with a DS.

i know quite a number of PSP owners all in the 23-32 age group.

I, on the other hand, only know one person aside from myself with a PSP, but I know a ton of people who own DSs.

A mature rating doesn't necessarily mean a mature game. More than anything, it just means a game that kids and teens will want more because its forbidden to them. Game quality is entirely independent of its ESRB rating.

Personally, I love both my PSP and my DS, but I only love my PSP for its homebrew capabilities. There are almost no games on the PSP worth buying that I can't get a better copy of for a home console for a better price.

[Deathnix]

I don't mean to offend any DS-loyals, but this is what I've been saying all along. DS sells better because Pokemon, or whatever the devil it is children play nowadays, Nintendogs, I guess, is a "omg mommy and daddy buy it for me or I'm gonna have an another outburst of ADD" kind of game.

I don't like to say **** you, but.....


Any way, pokemon is not played by just kids, I think you will find, and there are more games then just Pokemon and Nintendogs on DS.

Also, you obviously know nothing of ADD, so dont make retarded comments.

[Hungry Horace]

I, on the other hand, only know one person aside from myself with a PSP, but I know a ton of people who own DSs.

might i ask what age bracket you and/or these others belong within?


More than anything, it just means a game that kids and teens will want more because its forbidden to them. Game quality is entirely independent of its ESRB rating.

the latter is true, although i disagree with the former. whilst it's true -some- kids will make an effort to obtain a game outside of their age-bracket, (i was the same with 18+ videos in the early 90s) they will still be of a -certain- age before the thought even occurs to them providing they simply do not have direct access to such games.


There are almost no games on the PSP worth buying that I can't get a better copy of for a home console for a better price.

you are missing out on quality games then, although i agree games are overpriced, but that goes for home-console games too.

i'd like to see you play your ps2 on the bus.


i still think DS games are aimed at kids, and it sells to them. As someone who is almost 26, the machine and its games have no appeal to me, or to anyone else i know.

[F9zDark]

And out of those 30+ M and 90+ T rated games, how many are actually good? Exactly.

Actually the PSP had many more higher rated games according the MetaCritic than did the DS. The news about it was on here a month or so ago, but as far as MetaCritic was concerned, the PSP had a better rated library of games.

Of course game ratings are highly subjective, but it is still a statistic nonetheless.

[Deathnix]

Actually the PSP had many more higher rated games according the MetaCritic than did the DS. The news about it was on here a month or so ago, but as far as MetaCritic was concerned, the PSP had a better rated library of games.

Of course game ratings are highly subjective, but it is still a statistic nonetheless.

the only realiable satisitc, is the sales, and, well, we all know which system wins hands down there.

[juggaleaux]

For what it's worth, I use my PSP to play E-rated SNES games. :P