Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable)

[foamboy1]

I'd like to thank everyone in advance for the help. The input is always meaningful.

Over Christmas break, we're traveling with our kids to Europe. They are 4 and 6 years old. They are experienced little travelers and have no problems on airplanes. I am concerned though about the length of the flight, and thought I should (or Santa Claus should) get them something new that keeps their attention for awhile. I was thinking about a Sony PSP, where they could play games, watch movies, etc.

I don't have one of these devices currently, so I'm wondering if anyone thinks this would be the right product, or if you would recommend anything else? Also, in terms of games for young kids, do you have any recommendations? Is the battery life good on these?

Anyway, any feedback would be helpful. Thanks for responding.

[nate82]

Nintendo's DS is probably a better hand held gaming system than the PSP for the younger kids in terms of games and I'm not sure they even make the movies for the PSP any more. If you want the movie thing I suggest getting one of those portable DVD players. But I would stay away from the PSP in terms of the games for the younger kids. Nintendo in general is geared towards the younger crowd of gamers than Sony is.

 

Nintendo DS web site. This site will show you the games that the DS has and you will see that they are geared more towards kids than the PSP is.

 

I would go with the DS.

[bjkrautk]

I don't have one of these devices currently, so I'm wondering if anyone thinks this would be the right product, or if you would recommend anything else? Also, in terms of games for young kids, do you have any recommendations? Is the battery life good on these?

 

Anyway, any feedback would be helpful. Thanks for responding.

Battery Life = 4-6 hours for gaming; 4-5 hours for movies. (The PSP 3000 is the upcoming model of the PSP; I don't know the release date off-hand.)

 

Beyond that, I have a hard time making recommendations for kids aged 4-6. My natural inclination would be to recommend the Nintendo DS, since I would expect it to have more 'age appropriate' games (ie., the kind of licensed stuff I wouldn't touch: Hannah Montana, Spongebob, etc.). I don't think battery life is as major a concern for the DS as it is the PSP. That said, the DS doesn't play movies, so there are some drawbacks as well.

 

I would take a serious look at what games / movies are out there that you would buy for your kids before deciding. What They Play would be a good starting point for you; the site's founder used to be an editor for Electronics Gaming Monthly.

 

(Note: Nintendo, in the past week, announced an updated revision to the DS: The DSi will have larger screens,two low-grade digital cameras, built-in web browsing, and is replacing the GBA cartridge slot with an SD card input. It's also not coming out in the U.S. until April 09 at the earliest, so feel free to ignore all the news stories you see about it.)

[foamboy1]

Thanks....the input is always helpful. Now that I look at the DS, it seems more kid-friendly. I should have known. Thanks.

[mothershipconnection]

DS is pretty awesome for a portable system. Were I to buy one of the two it'd definitely be the DS. There's a solid game library, screens and controls are done well, and the price is right.

[GB12]

I sold my PSP in May because I never used it. From first hand experience I can tell you that the games in general suck and definitely wouldn't be appealing to younger kids save one or two. DS would be the way to go for their ages. If you know what you're doing with computers you can actually do a lot of cool things with a PSP, but for what you're looking for the DS seems to fit your needs more.

[patrickgpe]

not to pile on, but i sold mine because the show sucked out loud. There are some puzzle games that were fun on the system, i never found the need to buy a movie to watch on a psp instead of just getting it on dvd, and action, adventure, racing games were very toned down from their ps3 competitors. I considered getting a ds but they really lack much of a sports game presence. I do agree its a better choice for a 4 and 6 year old though.