Having covered popular games consoles such as the Xbox and PS3 in the past, I thought it time to have a look at some of the mobile gaming devices that are currently on offer, in particular, and the focus of this post, the PSP.
I have never really been too wrapped up in mobile gaming technologies, and even as a child didn’t find myself lusting after the first Game Boy when it was launched in the early 1990’s. Even now with a daily commute, I find that the time can be put to use in more preferable ways.
That said, portable gaming devices have come a long way since the Game Boy, and this weekend I had my first go on the new Sony PSP. I was impressed with the gaming, but in all honesty I expected it to be impressive after all the pre-launch hype about the PSP taking mobile gaming to the next level.
What impressed me even more than the game play were the additional multimedia features that the PSP provides. It comes with built in Wi-Fi, a web browser and the facility to play music and videos as well as to store images, all on an extremely smart compact device. It seems that the does of multimedia functionality along with the sophisticated graphics were enough for me.
Beginning to buzz off the PSP I then looked around for additional news on the technology. I found that as well as the aforementioned functionally, the PSP will also be able to transfer TV programme data through the PS3 and its PlayTV twin TV tuner, (due out in 2008) so that users can watch recorded television on there PSP as well.
There are also developments being made in a Go!Messenger system for the PSP, a video chat and instant messaging system that is being developed in conjunction with BT in the UK. In January when the software is released, PSP users in Europe will be able to send messages, and video chat with each other whilst gaming. Go!Explore is yet another GPS add-on soon to be released.
I started drawing comparisons with other multimedia devices I have previously written about. As you can now buy a PSP for around £120, with music, video and Wi-Fi all provided in addition to state of the art mobile game play technology, is it not worth considering the Sony PSP as a substitute for devices like the new IPod Nano? One thing is for sure, with this increased functionality the PSP is defiantly becoming more attractive to both gamers and non-gamers.
Clearly the PSP and the new IPod Nano are intended for two very different user profiles, however as technologies like these become integrated with more multimedia facilities, it won’t be long before one portable device will manage all our individual requirements equally.
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