PAX: Not A PSP To Be Found

via wired

When you're waiting for a panel to begin at PAX, or hanging around the beanbag chairs that litter the hallways, you notice something: practically everyone here has a handheld video game system. This is impressive enough, to turn on your DS and notice that every Pictochat room is full. But soon you notice something else: there's not a single PSP here. Eventually, after looking really really hard and finally asking somebody, I saw one solitary PSP at PAX.

What on earth happened? How did Sony manage to not even convert the hardest of the hardcore gamers? I imagine many of these people actually own a PSP. I just don't think they actually sit around and play it. It's really stunning to see.

Interesting indeed. Could it be something like, and obvisouly I'm guessing, many PSP games are more suited to long sit-down type of play, rather like full-sized console games? It's pure speculation! I find my sessions with the DS are usually very short. It is so easy to pick up and dip into something for a few minutes, especially much of the homebrew. Even at home I usually opt for a quick DS fix rather than investing the few hours needed for most of the console games I have. Each to their own, of course.

Could it be related to PSP boot times? I imagine if you're killing a few minutes, waiting for the thing to load would seem hardly worth it.

Or, shock horror, is it actually "cooler" to be seen playing a DS, even as an adult, than a PSP? I nthe UK at least, Nintendo have done a great job marketing the DS to adults, whereas I'm not sure I've even seen a PSP advert.

BTW in no way bashing the PSP. I'm sure one day I'll get one for a few of the killer titles.

Anyway, off to enjoy this rare sunny weather in the UK.