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[Malice215]

Buying a PSP is an option if money is an issue or to play a game that's not available digitally, but the Vita is such a better piece of hardware.

I wish Sony would release more PSP games digitally, but after using the Vita, I wouldn't want to go back to a single stick system. Dual sticks all the way.

 

[pixlexic]

A lot of psp games can be bought for vita. it's pretty much all I have on the hand held .

 

[DidntKnowJack]

The PSP is a great inexpensive system and there's certainly a lot of great games available, but you are limited to playing old games. I still have my PSP but I don't touch it anymore. And that analog nub is really really crappy.

This wouldn't be the worst move you could make, but I would never recommend it.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

A PSPGO with custom firmware on it so you can play ripped UMD games is also an extremely good way to go. The problem with that is you need a non-GO PSP with a UMD drive to get your games off the disks. Once you have everything loaded up though the GO is a beast of a portable.

Isn't the battery life shockingly bad considering it doesn't have a umd drive?
Vaguely remember a lot of people being disappointed in it when it launched.

 

[Famassu]

No one should buy a PS4, they should buy a PS1. I mean, there are a lot of PS1 games still not available digitally (especially in Europe).

 

[jack.]

Does it just upscale the games? Or do they increase the rendering resolution?

It upscales with optional bilinear filtering. I'm pretty sure the Vita is exactly 2x the resolution of the PSP though, so it looks really good.

 

[drkOne]

PSP Go with CFW would be my go to console if you want some quality/price portable gaming.
Over the GB Micro or NDS with flashcart.

Not because of piracy. I just got so used to bringing a ton of games with me all the time.

Vita is my favourite handheld right now. Much because of the PS1/PSP games I can play on it though.

 

[Shalashaska161]

Isn't the battery life shockingly bad considering it doesn't have a umd drive?
Vaguely remember a lot of people being disappointed in it when it launched.

It's not amazing, but it's decent. Probably comparable to the Vita and 3DS battery lives. The GO is not a very big device, so I imagine it also has a pretty small battery in there.

Another awesome feature of the GO is the save state function. It makes swapping between 2 games so easy and simple.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

PSP + UMDs is definitely cheaper but you get what you pay for. Vita has a bigger & higher quality screen, nicer controls with more options, and faster load times (UMD is slow, digital is much faster, digital on Vita is even faster). Plus with a PSP, you're stuck with the existing library but the Vita will continue to get new games for a while.

I think the only good reason to get a PSP these days is if you want to play PSP games that weren't released digitally. Not a lot of them these days - mostly just Square-Enix's older PSP games, Popolocrois, and Every Extend being some of the more notable ones. There's also Brave Story which was released digitally but later removed (and as far as I know, doesn't work on the Vita even if you own it).

 

[Dark_castle]

Please get Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

 

[Shai-Tan]

I like my psp but outside of srpg the games I did tend to enjoy are the same type of games that are getting new releases on the Vita. I'm not particularly enamored with big releases like Kingdom Hearts or Peace Walker. It's a cheap way to play psx games but that doesn't negate the games that are coming to the Vita.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

and faster load times (UMD is slow, digital is much faster, digital on Vita is even faster).

With CFW you can rip games to the memory card and get the dual benefit of owning your game and playing it speedily, and as far as I know, all umd psp's can install cfw(my e1000, which I think was the last model can at least).

 

[Drek]

On the fence about buying a Wii U? Just get a SNES.

On the fence about buying a 3DS? Just get a DS.

On the fence about buying a PS4? Just get a PS2.

Old used games get cheaper with time, what a revelation.

Meanwhile on the PSP you have...

1. Basically zero new titles being released (a handful of PSP/PSV cross title in Japan with zero chance of localization to any other region)

2. A shitty screen compared to the Vita.

3. Far worse controls compared to the Vita, including the lack of a second stick and touch interface.

4. A very poor implementation of online connectivity with effectively zero multitasking ability in comparison to the Vita, and almost zero online play options.

All to play a few middling SE games when their best PSP titles are all on PSN, having already had multiple significant sales.

You spent an average of $12.72 per UMD game. I bought all of the PSP Persona games for $10 or less. Patapon 2 is a few bucks on PSN as well. UMDs for the better PSP games aren't a substantial cost savings compared to the DD versions if you simply hit up sales when they come. This applies for anyone with a PSP or PSV. UMD is worth it for the games you can't get on DD but that's about it. Otherwise it's an overly fragile medium for a handheld device that forces media swapping per title, i.e. handheld gaming like a cave person.

Also, anyone who has only "one or two titles" they'd buy on the Vita at this point has either incredibly narrow taste in games, or just outright shit taste in games. The Vita factually has as many quality titles released for it as the 3DS does.

 

[Grief.exe]

It upscales with optional bilinear filtering. I'm pretty sure the Vita is exactly 2x the resolution of the PSP though, so it looks really good.

They really thought about the Backwards compatibility then. Keeping the same aspect ratio will make for an easier upscale, bilinear filtering smooths out the image too.
Nice.

On the fence about buying a Wii U? Just get a SNES.

On the fence about buying a 3DS? Just get a DS.

On the fence about buying a PS4? Just get a PS2.

Old used games get cheaper with time, what a revelation.

Meanwhile on the PSP you have...

1. Basically zero new titles being released (a handful of PSP/PSV cross title in Japan with zero chance of localization to any other region)

2. A shitty screen compared to the Vita.

3. Far worse controls compared to the Vita, including the lack of a second stick and touch interface.

4. A very poor implementation of online connectivity with effectively zero multitasking ability in comparison to the Vita, and almost zero online play options.

All to play a few middling SE games when their best PSP titles are all on PSN, having already had multiple significant sales.

You spent an average of $12.72 per UMD game. I bought all of the PSP Persona games for $10 or less. Patapon 2 is a few bucks on PSN as well. UMDs for the better PSP games aren't a substantial cost savings compared to the DD versions if you simply hit up sales when they come. This applies for anyone with a PSP or PSV. UMD is worth it for the games you can't get on DD but that's about it. Otherwise it's an overly fragile medium for a handheld device that forces media swapping per title, i.e. handheld gaming like a cave person.

Also, anyone who has only "one or two titles" they'd buy on the Vita at this point has either incredibly narrow taste in games, or just outright shit taste in games. The Vita factually has as many quality titles released for it as the 3DS does.

Let's not devolve into fallacious arguments with Strawmen arguments. Guy spent what a Vita + Memory Card costs and got a great system with 11 great games.

Nothing to see here.

 

[chickdigger802]

am i the only one that likes the psp face buttons better than vita?

the size is just right.

 

[CorrisD]

Seeing as the topic mentions it, is there a reason FFVII: Crisis Core isn't up on PSN, I think I remember reading it has something to do with a song or something not being licensed?

 

[SpotAnime]

Dark_castle: LoH: Trails in the Sky is definitely on my list, been hearing great things about that game.

And the only real argument I've been hearing is that the Vita is the best for playing the same PSP and PSOne games, albeit at over 2x the price. That's the main reason I went with the PSP, because hardware aside, we're still talking about the same game library sans UMD-only titles.

 

[outunderthestars]

Please get Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

God I cannot disagree more with this recommendation. It is such a slow, ugly, clunky game with one of the worst battle UI's I have ever seen. I got maybe two hours into it before quitting out of sheer boredom.

 

[Grief.exe]

Seeing as the topic mentions it, is there a reason FFVII: Crisis Core isn't up on PSN, I think I remember reading it has something to do with a song or something not being licensed?

The Japanese arm of Square is one of the worst-run companies in the industry.

@OP if you enjoy tactical RPGs, check out Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics.

 

[sono]

I think this is poor advice given the reduced pricing of the Vita and most PSP games can be played on a better screen not to mention the great library the Vita now has.

So no.

 

[2+2=5]

Bad decision imo, on vita you can play almost all those games on vita with visual differences like these(you can find many examples)

And the support of the second analog stick + touchscreen that makes games like monster hunter or metal gear way more comfortable and natural to play.
I have both and i really think that playing psp games on vita it's thousands times better than playing them on the psp.
Add vita games and the ps+ and there's really no reason to buy a psp other than some of the few umd-only games.

 

[vladdamad]

Everyone with access to a PSP must play LocoRoco. What a fantastic series, really hope we get a sequel on Vita

 

[Mzo]

I can easily think of a ton of games I want for the Vita.

 

[KalBalboa]

Sony should really get onto including some PSP titles for free each month in PS+. Not sure why they havent really since theyre damn good Vita library fillers.

They do exactly that.

 

[BigDug13]

Bad decision imo, on vita you can play almost all those games on vita with visual differences like these(you can find many examples)

And the support of the second analog stick + touchscreen.
I have both and i really think that playing psp games on vita it's thousands times better than playing them on the psp.
Add vita games and the ps+ and there's really no reason to buy a psp other than some of the few umd-only games.

Oh yeah, I forgot about how horrible the response time and ghosting was on the PSP screen. And the contrast ratio and black levels look better on Vita as well due to the OLED screen.

 

[BronsonLee]

OP way overpaid on his PSP, but beyond that everything else makes sense. I'd still recommend just getting a Vita though.

About Trails in the Sky:

God I cannot disagree more with this recommendation. It is such a slow, ugly, clunky game with one of the worst battle UI's I have ever seen. I got maybe two hours into it before quitting out of sheer boredom.

I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL

 

[Lan_97]

On Vita, directly related to PSP games
- better screen
- better suspend/resume
- better analog stick
- L/R mapped to right stick

Then you also get
- access to Vita games
- cross buy games
- more value from PS+

Unless you really need to save money, just want to play PSP games, want to play UMD games, and don't care about convenience or quality, this is bad advice.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

why no KH or CC on the PSN? It makes no freaking sense.

 

[Daigoro]

On the fence about buying a Wii U? Just get a SNES.

On the fence about buying a 3DS? Just get a DS.

On the fence about buying a PS4? Just get a PS2.

Old used games get cheaper with time, what a revelation.

Meanwhile on the PSP you have...

1. Basically zero new titles being released (a handful of PSP/PSV cross title in Japan with zero chance of localization to any other region)

2. A shitty screen compared to the Vita.

3. Far worse controls compared to the Vita, including the lack of a second stick and touch interface.

4. A very poor implementation of online connectivity with effectively zero multitasking ability in comparison to the Vita, and almost zero online play options.

All to play a few middling SE games when their best PSP titles are all on PSN, having already had multiple significant sales.

You spent an average of $12.72 per UMD game. I bought all of the PSP Persona games for $10 or less. Patapon 2 is a few bucks on PSN as well. UMDs for the better PSP games aren't a substantial cost savings compared to the DD versions if you simply hit up sales when they come. This applies for anyone with a PSP or PSV. UMD is worth it for the games you can't get on DD but that's about it. Otherwise it's an overly fragile medium for a handheld device that forces media swapping per title, i.e. handheld gaming like a cave person.

Also, anyone who has only "one or two titles" they'd buy on the Vita at this point has either incredibly narrow taste in games, or just outright shit taste in games. The Vita factually has as many qualifying titles released for it as the 3DS does.

please do pay attention or pipe down. this is utter nonsense. it like this post was thought up by a cave man.

 

[Drek]

Let's not devolve into fallacious arguments with Strawmen arguments. Guy spent what a Vita + Memory Card costs and got a great system with 11 great games.

Nothing to see here.

Where's the strawman? Why not actually argue your claim instead of throwing a half assed statement out there with no supporting points to back it up?

You could buy a Vita Walking Dead bundle, a 8GB memory card, and subscription to PS+ for basically the same amount, have 12 GB of storage (bundle comes with a 4GB card) and almost as many games with new PS+ titles arriving each month.

What I see is the same arguments that were made against the PSP's library being used with regards to the PSV's library, but now with the added hilarity of those doing so propping up the PSP's library as some sort of hidden treasure trove of great titles.

The PSP always had great games, they didn't suddenly materialize out of thin air. That is every bit as true for the Vita however.

I look forward to the thread in 5 years where people say "on the fence about X new handheld device? Buy a Vita" and then listing a bunch of Vita games as the reason it's such a great buy.

please do pay attention or pipe down. this is utter nonsense. it like this post was thought up by a cave man.

Again, back your shit up if you're going to talk shit. Engage in the debate instead of trotting out lazy one liners (or in this case three).

 

[BigDug13]

Seems to me that the PSP with horrible screen still costing $100 makes the Vita MORE attractive at $200 with such incredible improvements and greater capability.

 

[Edvardelis]

On the PSP library:

Games are generally cheaper on UMDs than on the PSN.

It's exceptionally easy to load custom firmware onto a PSP and rip those UMDs to ISOs.

 

[entremet]

My Go and 2000 were stolen.

I'm bummed I can't play Mega Man Powered Up, KHBBS, and VP: Lenneth on the Vita.

 

[diffusionx]

Ugh, this is a terrible move. For $240 you could buy a PSV + PS+ subscription that would get you started on the system, or at least be close to it.

I owned every single PSP model and now have a Vita. Vita destroys it, it's not even close. It plays PSP games way better than any PSP could. UMDs are cheap but it's a terrible format, slow-loading and noisy and huge. Why carry them around when you don't have to?

Nobody should do this.

 

[Drek]

why no KH or CC on the PSN? It makes no freaking sense.

Because Square Enix hates money.

Why no text only translation for FF Type 0 with a DD only release? A bunch of smaller companies make a stable living localizing titles with a fraction of FF's name cache.

Why is even a DD localization of DQ7 3DS in doubt? I mean, they have a U.S. script translation and everything from the PS1 title. Maybe the U.S. doesn't get a nice redone script like FFT's PSP release and the other DQ remakes but we'd still get it.

Why does Nintendo have to publish Bravely Default outside of Japan? How does Nintendo see worth there when SE doesn't with their own product?

The presumption that SE is ran with even the slightest bit of common sense is the biggest collective mistake JRPG fans make. It's ran by halfwits who make decisions with a dart board and a blindfold. You would have far better luck letting a kindergarten class collectively run the company.

 

[TheSeks]

Sony should really get onto including some PSP titles for free each month in PS+. Not sure why they havent really since theyre damn good Vita library fillers.

They already do that:

Juggle 6
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny
Dark Stalkers
Metal Slug XX
God Eater: Burst

Were just these past 4-5 months titles thrown on there.

Ugh, this is a terrible move. For $240 you could buy a PSV + PS+ subscription that would get you started on the system, or at least be close to it.

I owned every single PSP model and now have a Vita. Vita destroys it, it's not even close. It plays PSP games way better than any PSP could. UMDs are cheap but it's a terrible format, slow-loading and noisy and huge. Why carry them around when you don't have to?

Nobody should do this.

:lol Someone never put custom firmware on their system.

CFW DESTROYS the PSP2. Easily. Rip your games and your load-time complaint is gone. The only complaint that's valid is the lack of a second stick and ergonomics. Something the successor to the PSP didn't fix (that fucking back-touch ruins any comfortable way to hold the system)

Plus the PSP has a huge backlog of titles to play. You can't say that for the successor.

 

[Maedhros]

Terrible idea OP.

CFW DESTROYS the PSP2. Easily. Rip your games and your load-time complaint is gone. The only complaint that's valid is the lack of a second stick and ergonomics. Something the successor to the PSP didn't fix (that fucking back-touch ruins any comfortable way to hold the system)

Plus the PSP has a huge backlog of titles to play. You can't say that for the successor.

lol. A system with less than 2 years on the market has a smaller backlog... WHO WOULD KNOW?

 

[diffusionx]

:lol Someone never put custom firmware on their system.

Yea I have.

CFW DESTROYS the PSP2.

What's a PSP2?

 

[Senor Kami]

I'm waiting for the vita to go $150 and either support Android or be cracked so that Genesis-N64 era emulation becomes possible.

 

[Shai-Tan]

I still play my psp even though I've got a Vita.

-can have a game on suspend separate from what I've got running on the Vita (i.e. instant access)
-cfw features like save states, cheat engine, etc
-despite what is said about the Vita screen colors and in motion I think blowing it up makes it look soft. I prefer to play psp games on the psp 3000 screen and think they look better
-space is harder to come by on the Vita. It would be annoying to waste space on psp games. On the psp 3000 I have a photofast adapter (cr-5400) with two mini sdhc cards that cost very little and hold loads of psp games (I have 32gb but it's apparently possible to have 64gb or 128gb)

I just think overall that the Vita has more good games to play unless you're interested in specific genres or games and only want to play those.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

no - just no, next you'll tell me to buy a ds instead of a 3ds.

I'm waiting for the vita to go $150 and either support Android or be cracked so that Genesis-N64 era emulation becomes possible.

you can crack the vita on a psp level and play emulators. - also you can find plenty of bundles or barely used systems on cowboom and craigslist where the vita is 150.

 

[Cha]

Hmmm... depends...

I agree with OP ONLY IF a person wants nothing else, but to play PSP games. A UMD PSP can be a good choice. You can score some great UMD deals, and like OP mentioned, some titles aren't available on the Vita store (differs by region because Patapon 2, Persona 2, Lunar and Riviera are in the EU store).

However PSP games on Vita do benefit from dat OLED, bi-linear filtering, and 2 analog sticks. And getting a Vita obviously allows you to play, you know... Vita games.

It's really quite easy. To me, a fence sitter doesn't really have much of a choice.
You wanna play PSP games - get a PSP.
You wanna play PSP & Vita games - get a Vita, enjoy future support.

 

[Mokubba]

Bad advice.

UMD is slowww.
Vita's OLED screen is much better than the PSP's so the games benefit from better response times and no ghosting.
PSP games benefit from the extra analog stick since you can map the D-Pad onto the extra stick. I put in around 700 hours on Dissidia(Which you should buy) and although not a game breaker is a really good feature to have.

The only good thing about OP getting a PSP is Crisis Core.

Once you have a Vita I'm sure it will be hard going back to the PSP.

Sony should really get onto including some PSP titles for free each month in PS+. Not sure why they havent really since theyre damn good Vita library fillers.

Gods Eater Burst was on EU PS+. Currently playing it now and it looks good.

 

[KLonso]

As an owner of both systems, this is terrible advice. Do not listen to this man.

 

[level44]

I'd still go with the Vita.
That with PS+ is a winning combination.

 

[outunderthestars]

:lol Someone never put custom firmware on their system.

CFW DESTROYS the PSP2. Easily. Rip your games and your load-time complaint is gone. The only complaint that's valid is the lack of a second stick and ergonomics. Something the successor to the PSP didn't fix (that fucking back-touch ruins any comfortable way to hold the system)

Plus the PSP has a huge backlog of titles to play. You can't say that for the successor.

Where is the custom firmware to make the PSP stop being terrible?

 

[Seraphis Cain]

By this logic any platform ever, in its first years, is a bad investment compared to its older sister you know...

This is basically true though.

 

[Daigoro]

agreed.

Where's the strawman? Why not actually argue your claim instead of throwing a half assed statement out there with no supporting points to back it up?

You could buy a Vita Walking Dead bundle, a 8GB memory card, and subscription to PS+ for basically the same amount, have 12 GB of storage (bundle comes with a 4GB card) and almost as many games with new PS+ titles arriving each month.

What I see is the same arguments that were made against the PSP's library being used with regards to the PSV's library, but now with the added hilarity of those doing so propping up the PSP's library as some sort of hidden treasure trove of great titles.

The PSP always had great games, they didn't suddenly materialize out of thin air. That is every bit as true for the Vita however.

I look forward to the thread in 5 years where people say "on the fence about X new handheld device? Buy a Vita" and then listing a bunch of Vita games as the reason it's such a great buy.



Again, back your shit up if you're going to talk shit. Engage in the debate instead of trotting out lazy one liners (or in this case three).

I would but apparently you don't know how to read, so it would be in vain.

using umds like a cave man hurrrrr zzzzzzz. good night.

 

[Drizzt519]

PSP is cool and cheap and you can pretty much do whatever on it. You can get'em loaded for like 80 or 90 bucks on craigs list. I would rather have a Vita...haven't used my PSP since I got Vita. Tried to but, no, I wasn't having it. Gave it to my son.

Anyhow, one day I was bored and made a video of my PSP. Its a hacked PSP-3000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MstEWhxf0qo

Edit - I used my Vita to take the video.

 

[rockmanjoe]

I was considering buying a Vita for a cheaper price on ebay, but fuck it, I'll get a PSP instead. Cheaper, much better library and I'm not limited to what's on PSN.