PSP Help needed

[cad-properties]

We are considering buying our 7 year old Son a PSP for Christmas, but unfortunately, I find all the jargon a little bit confusing, I still look back fondly to my BBC Acorn Electron !!!

I know that the PSP plays games, music and films. What I do not understand is that the films are on UMD (Mini Disks??) only I have never seen these for sale....Is this correct and if so where do you buy Mini Disks from and are the latest films on UMD ???

Are these Mini Disks regional ? Just wondering as we are going over to the Villa in February and Arran could take any Christmas money he gets to buy Games/films.

If anyone can give me a simple run down on what a PSP can do and advantages over the Nintendo DS, that would be fantastic.

I also understand that for him to really get going, all he needs is the console, games and a memory stick, Is this right ? We won't need any extra cables or anything..... do not want a disappointed little boy on Christmas day because Santa has forgotten something essential [stupid2]

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Clair.
www.onlinefloridavillas/villas/495.aspx

[Kazzie]

Clair,

Has your son specifically asked for a PSP? I am pretty sure that you would be better off buying the DS for his age group. My 11 year old daughter and all of her friends have the DS and none of them have the PSP and dont seem remotely interested in it. My oldest son has the PSP and very rarely bothers with it any more and my youngest son has the PSP and has never really bothered with it from the word go. The films for PSP are region coded and not widely available for newish films. I am no expert though so you may be better waiting for somebody who knows a lot more than I do.

Karen

I have to agree with Kazzie, my 10 y/o got a PSP for his 10th birthday and although he liked it he much prefered his sisters DS so he gave Daddy the PSP and he now has a DS which he loves[msnsmile2] My 23 y/o also has the PSP and I agree its more or the older lads[msnsmile2]

[andy_d]

I think all the games and DVd's for the Psp are universal. I know its one of the few consoles where you can take advantage of the cheaper US games.

[mizzy]

you can buy ds games from america as the ds is region free

i would recommend you get a ds, my 11yr old got his earlier this year and he loves it

if you need info you can pop into any "Game" store and the guys behind the counter will give you a demo of both consoles

my two both love a game called animal crossing [msnsmile]

[Kazzie]

I was under the impression that the films are not region free so if you buy them in Florida they wont work here but may be wrong.

Karen

[cad-properties]

Thanks for all the advice. I was a little worried that the PSP may be aimed at older 'Children' just from looking at the games.

I think that we will have to go and have a look at both and have a go, I would take my Husband with me, but I think his opinion may be based on what he would like to play with !!!

Clair.

[Bex]

The games for both psp & the DS are region free, and can be brought from the USA, but the movies are regioned and movies from the USA will not play on a UK brought console. My son who is 10 years old as a psp from last Christmas, and my daughter is 6 years old and had a DS lite for her Birthday this year. My son prefers the PSP, i just asked him why & was told because it's what he's used to playing, he's had a PS2 for years, and he claims that the psp is just like a hand version on the PS2, he also says the game choice is better for his age. This is also why we brought my daughter the DS lite, after looking at the games we just felt there was a better range of games for her age group.

[pieman790]

Have to say from our experience that ours kids aged (8 and 5) much prefer the DS to the PSP. The graphics on the PSP are much better but the games on the DS appeal much towards my kids, especially when they link up via Wifi.

[cad-properties]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Hubby and myself are going to go and have a look at both at the weekend, have a go ourselves and have a look at the games available for both. We will then make a decision but I think I am leaning towards the DS at the moment.

Clair.
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/495.aspx

[Pegasus928]

and don't forget one of the other advantages of the DS

http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40953&whichpage=2

especially the 3rd post down on the 2nd page

Kenny

[Magical Dreams]

PSP's are aimed at older children.
The new version is much lighter than the old version too.

UMD's (Movies) are region coded so make sure you know where you are likely to buy your movies from.
Games work fine from both the USA and UK, and to be honest, unless they are on offer, the price is not that much different now although the odd bargain can still be had.

http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/Magical Dreams/2007111123133_umd1.jpg

http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/Magical Dreams/2007111123140_umd2.jpg

My eldest son and myself both have PSP's and DS's, but they are definitely not the most suitable for younger kids.
We are looking at buying the twins a DS for christmas this year (They are 5), as you can interact with the touch screen with most of the DS games. They are also backwards compatible with other Gameboy Games!

Both machines have advantages over each other so suitability rules in this case I think!

[bargainqueen]

In March I bought a couple of DsSLite for my sister and I, I had to buy a charger off of Ebay as the one supplied was for 110 volts only. It cost around £5 each so you would need to facter in this extra charge when calculating if they are cheaper in US. I did try to charge them up using the voltage converter I got from Walmart and it still didn't work. Also bought Brain Training games and found the ones with money calculations quite difficult to play.