Now before you all go shouting that I’m a disillusioned Sony fanboy, let’s me give you a bit of background information. About four or five months ago I decided to pick up a PSP slim, mainly because I tend to spend an awful lot of time commuting back and forth through the dusty pipes of London’s underground, and as anyone else who shares similar trips will know, these journeys tend to whip by a hell of a lot more quickly when you’ve got a great game or two to immerse yourself in. I’ve owned a DS for about 4 years now, and with all the shuttling about I’d managed to slowly but surely exhaust a large chunk of the DS’s fantastic roster of games. By now of course there were quite a selection of quality PSP titles on the market, and having found myself hitting a bit of a drought in terms of new DS games to play I decided to bite the bullet and grab a PSP just to tide me over for a little while.

What happened soon after however was quite a surprise: I fell in love. I’ve now got a whole bunch of DS games waiting to be dipped into at any point I feel like going back to it, but in terms of how well both the handhelds function as portable machines I’ve found the PSP to have unexpectedly pinch the crown of my trusty (and now slightly dusty) DS. The main reason I didn’t expect this to happen was because of the slightly less pick-up-and-play nature of many of the games available for the system, as aside from a few gems such as Disgaea the games tend to be the kind of experience you’d usually reserve for time spent at home with a more traditional console. The standby function of the PSP proved to be a wonderful surprise in this respect; even though the games are often not designed with bite-sized chunks in mind, being able to boot up the system straight back to the point you were at when you turned it off actually means there’s often a lot less faffing about than you’d ever expect, letting you jump straight into the action for just a couple of minutes at a time if it’s all you can spare.

But what it all really boils down to is the control system. Sure, the nubby little analogue stick is far from being perfect, but do you know what? It’s a damn site easier to use than a touch screen. Often some of the best games on the DS use the touch screen function in truly innovative ways, and if you’re sat at home with the stable comfort of a sofa then it’s amazing. If however you’re on a train/bus/underground system, it quickly becomes a nightmare. Trying to tap away at individual areas with speed or precision as you’re mercilessly rocked about by your public transport of choice makes the experience of playing many DS games range from irritating to downright impossible. For me handheld gaming has always been about having games to play for long journeys, or as a welcome distraction from the often disconcertingly strange individuals surrounding you when you’re on a bus. Because of this PSP games are always a safe bet; no amount of turbulence is going to make it more difficult to press a few buttons, and if you’re lucky your constantly tight grip on the system might even help curb the constantly paranoid musings that you’re about to get mugged.

I love the DS, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Overall, I’d have to say it’s without a doubt a better console than the PSP simply because of its excellent games catalogue and innovative charms. But the best portable console? That honour most certainly goes to the PSP.

Disagree with the verdict? Got your own? Feel free to have your say on our forums.