Oh facepalm, Sony. Facepalm. The PSP 3000 is looking really hot, with a built-in microphone and an improved screen, but there's a trade-off, and it's not a good one. Yes, for all the new PSP's sexy features, there is one thing that simply won't ever improve -- the crummy battery life, which will actually be reduced by up to thirty minutes.
I adore my PSP, but if I could have any improvement, if I could choose just one thing to fix, it would be the handheld's battery. My PSP can't last me an entire office shift, or even half a plane ride, while the Nintendo DS can chug along for hours and hours without breaking a sweat. The last thing I need to know is that the PSP 3000 will have even less life.
"Battery life will decrease by a small amount. It's about 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes, and that's because there's a larger power draw with the brighter screen," confessed SCEA's John Koller.
Half an hour may not be a big deal to some, but when we're talking about the PSP, half an hour's power can make a difference. I already push my old school PSP to the limit, so this news has hampered my interest in upgrading somewhat. Having a prettier screen is useless if I don't have the juice to handle it.
Contest:
10:58 AM on 08.29.2008
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alas that sucks.
@jim sterling
Maybe you should think about putting your games in your memory stick. By not using the UMD drive you basically double your battery life. If you're using the old phat psp, I can see why. Even though the psp will have 20 min reduction in batter life compared to the slim psp, it still better than the power draining psp phat.
Maybe homebrew and "pirating" games isn't such a bad idea...
Ahhhhh the PIRATE LIFE IS GOOD!
All you whiners need to suck up and get some custom firmware and save your games on the memstick. FUCK UMDs
i guess i'll be getting the God of War PSP this weekend
IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH BATTERY LIFE, SPEND 30 BUCKS ON A NYKO GRIP! IT WILL QUADRUPLE YOUR BATTERY LIFE!
I don't work for Nyko or anything, but, seriously, this thing is great. It feels a little cheaply made, but the grip isn't really the belle of the ball anyway. The external battery works perfectly, and almost acts like a portable ac adapter. Honestly, it is the best peripheral for the PSP I have seen by a fair margin. I've never seen my battery die when I have access to my grip.
Pip pip.
Some of us have reasons to leave the house, mate.