Massive PSP battery life breakdown at IGN
- Thread starter ManaByte
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M3wThr33 said:
Option one: Play it for five hours on average and recharge it.
Option two: Buy another battery and never have to worry about it again.
Nope, still nothing at all like Game Gear.
M3wThr33 said:
This "saying" has absolutely nothing to do with this scenario at all and I suspect you don't know what it means.
Mashing said:
That was 3 hours 45 minutes with max everything except wifi. That's almost four hours. Max brightness is very, very bright. As was said many times you can easily see everything with great clarity even on minimum brightness. So if you go to the middle ground you can expect that to go to four hours 30 minutes which still isn't very good anyway.
But it's not a 3 hour average, it's a 3 hour average on maximum settings. I don't see this as much of an issue at all, who is going to regularly play it for more than 5 hours at a time away from a place they can charge it (assuming you can play it without draining the battery when it's plugged into the wall)? Do you people go out of the house for the sole purpose of playing your handhelds away from home?Mashing said:
I'm going to annoy Amirox now.
I think that although you might get used to minimum brightness, and it might be acceptable, its not as gorgeous as max battery brightness. I can't bring myself to use anything other than max brightness.
Its shit, but I'm willing to compromise on that aspect to get the rest of the system as it is. I'd like a 12 hour battery, but thats just not practical right now. The simple addition of a couple of batteries will see you through the longest gaming sessions, and even that is optional.
Or just do what DCharlie did - go on a long haul flight that doesn't let you use the PSP at all!
I think that although you might get used to minimum brightness, and it might be acceptable, its not as gorgeous as max battery brightness. I can't bring myself to use anything other than max brightness.
Its shit, but I'm willing to compromise on that aspect to get the rest of the system as it is. I'd like a 12 hour battery, but thats just not practical right now. The simple addition of a couple of batteries will see you through the longest gaming sessions, and even that is optional.
Or just do what DCharlie did - go on a long haul flight that doesn't let you use the PSP at all!
nubbe said:
Why? I play my PSP and DS mostly in the house. My consoles take a couple of minutes to set up, I only have an hour free in the evenings after the kids are in bed, and the missus is often using the TV.
something that is instantly on is very handy in those situations.
mrklaw said:
Man, you do a poor job of annoying me! That was almost nice in its execution!
Anyway, I'm aware that it's "not as gorgeous." I guess I'll know where my mileage lies when I pick up the system. But yeah, I've heard other people say "The problem is once you use max brightness you won't want to use minimum." I guess it all depends on my mood! If I'm playing in a super dark room maybe I'd notch it up. I will probably go for medium brightness most of the time, though.
But at least the option is there. That's what counts. If I know I'm going on a super long flight and I don't have a back-up battery I might just use min brightness.
Hadn't it been pointed out in the launch thread that max brightness isn't even necessary to play the PSP? I thought someone mentioned they hadn't even realized there WAS a brighter setting.
I really don't get the bitching about those IGN figures(great article BTW), but then again I don't need an excuse to find a magazine rack to push over....
I really don't get the bitching about those IGN figures(great article BTW), but then again I don't need an excuse to find a magazine rack to push over....
Kseutron said:
Bad. Very Bad battery life. The bright side: Sony will upgrade the thing 2 years dwon the road. I'll sell my preordered one to some sap that HAS to have one and make a profit. I'll buy a PSP down the road when the battery issue is resolved.
This highlights two maxims of gaming:
Never buy a Sony product at launch
Sony knows consoles, while Nintendo knows handhelds.
DarienA said:
Yeah, someone (I think JackFrost?) said they played for a few hours before they even knew the thing had a brighter setting. They said at that point it went from "Oh my God this screen is beautiful and super clear" to "HOLY SHIT THIS IS LIKE THE HAND OF GOD"
That's an almost exact quote, btw.
DarienA said:I tell ya... the Nintendo folk are out in full force in this thread...
"We need more....
I don't think it's too ridiculous because the battery life is definitely not yet 100% acceptable, but when people try to compare it to Game Gear and think it's "viable"... then yeah I'm inclined to agree with you.
evilromero
Member
So much for going on a road trip with this thing. Since most of the gametime on my DS has been spent in multiplayer this doesn't bode well for the PSP.
actually I would say IGN"s numbers are actually not too bad. They are setting the PSP for max brightness and from what I've read, you don't need it maxed out. Maybe they should also have a mid brightness test. I find the article to be fairly generally lousy. They didn't test more than 1 machine... screen brightness (I'd really like to see how this affects battery life).
that said... 2 hour+ for the last test is pretty bad. It is. However.. if you don't wifi game.. then the 3 hour mark is okay I guess. Acceptable but not great. Good thing then that unlike ipods, you can buy more than 1 battery for your PSP
NO one's mentioned the MP3 test
10 hours. That's better than IPOD (3rd Gen).
that said... 2 hour+ for the last test is pretty bad. It is. However.. if you don't wifi game.. then the 3 hour mark is okay I guess. Acceptable but not great. Good thing then that unlike ipods, you can buy more than 1 battery for your PSP
NO one's mentioned the MP3 test
10 hours. That's better than IPOD (3rd Gen).
-SRV- said:
I fail to see how almost 3 hours at max brightness, audio speakers blaring and constant UMD access is bad. Just in case it hasn't been mentioned often enough for you - this is absolutely worst case, played to death scenarios that IGN have demonstrated here.
I'd say its a goddamn miracle they've managed to be that judiciously efficient with power to get that much life out of it. There is no equivalent system in the world that can lay claim to so much power hungry tech in the palm of your hand and be as efficient.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Well, at least this puts 90min bullshit to rest. Now they should just do couple more tests with more real life scenarios, such as using headphones instead of speakers, or putting screen to medium setting.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
The haters are buggin me, but I am disappointed in the battery life. It was a major downer on the Lynx as well.
Why are people bitching about the fact that they used Max brightness, full volume, etc...it would seem far more useful to use these "worst-case" settings as a gauge for more real-world settings than to test medium or minimum settings and try to "scale up" from there.
.
The whole point of testing is to put it through the ringer...if it holds up under those conditions, then it'll hold up under "normal" conditions, but if you only test it under normal conditions, how are you supposed to know what its performance ceiling is?
At any rate, is it so hard to recharge regularly? It would seem the audience this device is targeted to is used to the habit of charging(cell phones, iPod, PDA, Laptop, etc)...is the situation so dire? Is your lifeforce connected to the PSP's power light indicator? Is there absolutely nothing else you can do while you charge your PSP? How often are you going to play multiplayer RR for more than 3hrs straight at a time?
(spoiler-ed cuz i don't want my point to be usurped by those looking for flame-fodder)...Similar to system specs, i'd rather Nintendo's "with features on" approach for their polygon estimates than Sony's "66 million flat shaded" estimate
The whole point of testing is to put it through the ringer...if it holds up under those conditions, then it'll hold up under "normal" conditions, but if you only test it under normal conditions, how are you supposed to know what its performance ceiling is?
At any rate, is it so hard to recharge regularly? It would seem the audience this device is targeted to is used to the habit of charging(cell phones, iPod, PDA, Laptop, etc)...is the situation so dire? Is your lifeforce connected to the PSP's power light indicator? Is there absolutely nothing else you can do while you charge your PSP? How often are you going to play multiplayer RR for more than 3hrs straight at a time?
Suikoguy
I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
3 Hours is where I personally draw the line for battery life. I use that as a guage beacuse typically i'm not on the road or somewhere more then 3 hours at a time before I can charge it. Additionally, my hands cramp up from 3 hours of use in a short period of time. As of now i'm happy, but the Ride Racer online test is a little discouraging 
Idiot Member
Banned
I can understand why Nintendo fanboys are so anxious about PSP, if the PSP were to be a success it would eat into the Gameboy's market share and Nintendo would probably end up like Sega.
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
Personally, I want the best gaming experience I can get, on the road or at home, and right now, that's the PSP. Yes, the battery life is short in comparison to the DS, but very manageable for day to day use. Now when I go on an International flight, I'd most likely pick up an extra battery to be on the safe side. Although, I feel that most people won't need an extra battery for general day to day use.
Some people are pointing out the fact that buying an extra battery is a hidden cost to buying the system, however, you do not need to buy one. Let's remember that the PSP can play mp3's and movies out of the box, with the addition of larger memory stick. The DS will have a $50 add on that allows it to do the same thing. That looks like a hidden cost to anyone who wants to add that functionality. Both systems have these "hidden costs". It's part of the way Sony and Nintendo recoup their losses on the systems. It's something we've been dealing with for a long time on all systems. (Memory cards, extra controllers, etc.)
Just some thoughts.
KFJ
Some people are pointing out the fact that buying an extra battery is a hidden cost to buying the system, however, you do not need to buy one. Let's remember that the PSP can play mp3's and movies out of the box, with the addition of larger memory stick. The DS will have a $50 add on that allows it to do the same thing. That looks like a hidden cost to anyone who wants to add that functionality. Both systems have these "hidden costs". It's part of the way Sony and Nintendo recoup their losses on the systems. It's something we've been dealing with for a long time on all systems. (Memory cards, extra controllers, etc.)
Just some thoughts.
KFJ
Just to make a point.
I don't really care about power efficiency on the home console. I have basically a limitless supply of power. Obviously, it might be an issue if my game console acts as a heater for my room, but that's besides the point.
Portable marchines and battery life are a bit more important imho. I understand many people, especially the hardcore crowd, tend to play portables at home for the sake of playing it. That's fine. But portables are meant to be portable, and while I may spend part of my time playing it at home, I don't want to be tied to a power socket and I would like to do be as mobile as I am without the portable hindering my mobility.
The flight time of a trans pacific flight is about 13 hours. My PSP will be out of power even before my flight takes off. So yes that's a big issue for me. I'm sorry to say.
BTW, why do you call yourself the GAF idiot?
Well being that I carry tons of portable devices, a real concern is always not having a charger when I need it. I spend a lot of time in the office and if the charger is there and the PSP dies while i'm at home, i'm SOL. and Vice Versa. Happens all the time with my ipod, and unless I commit myself to carry around my charging cable, its a huge pain in the ass.
Also, ever been on an airplane? Between the getting there an hour or two early, the several hour flight, the landing, waiting for bagging, etc, etc. The PSP won't last though all of that.
The reason for having a device like this is its *convenient*. Carrying around a charging cable isn't convenient, searching out an outlet at an airport isn't convenient, having it die in the middle of a movie on a long flight isn't convenient. Waiting for it to charge for 2hrs, having to return it to a base station, all these things are totally contrary to the point of the device in the first place, which is gaming anywhere and everywhere and killing time.
I don't want a device that just looks cool and has purdy graphics. I want a device that looks cool, has purdy graphics, and is above all functional in the way I need it to be. If it means sacrificing a few features to have it be useful, then alright.
Sure, it'll function great 75% of the time in a normal schedule where i'm only away from home for a few hours a day... well that's great and all, but that's not what I buy a portable before. I have a PS2 if i'm gaming at home. I'll be shelling out the cash for when I *do* need it to function, and frankly in its current state it does not meet those needs. Buying addons and battery packs isn't an answer either, because anything that reduces the portability beyond the system and a pocketful of games is pure bullshit and betrays the point of the system in the first place.
Hell, a few weeks ago i was stuck at a hurricane torn airport in BFE Freeport Bahamas waiting on a plane to come pick me up. Things were delayed and I was stuck there for SIX hours. No phone, nothing in the area, couldn't leave, I had my GBA and that was about it.
OmniGamer said:
No, but there are reasonable expectations of "regularly." I don't need to worry about the batteries in my cell phone or iPod draining to nearly half after a few phone calls, or after a few hours of listening. (Assuming the average gaming session with a PSP would be about two hours, which I find perfectly reasonable.)
3-5 hours is pushing the bounds of acceptable battery life, and I think compared to what we've come to expect from handheld gaming thanks to Nintendo, the PSP's Achille's Heel will be it's arrested battery life. Remember, it's a game machine designed to be portable. You're going to want this on your cross-country flight; you're going to want to tuck this under your gown during an otherwise dull graduation ceremony; you're going to want this for a road trip. Is something that's going to need to be recharged after 3-5 hours (depending on what freakin' game you're playing) really going to cut the mustard?
Yeah, you could buy another battery, but the larger point is that you shouldn't have to.
sp0rsk said:
Why, in the other PSP you should buy, of course!
Call me whacky, but I still view my SP as the idea handheld system. The DS has left me remarkably unimpressed so far, plus it's bulky and kind of awkward to use while on the go. The PSP, while it's amazing from a technological perspective, and while I have no doubt in my techno-consumer whore mind that I'll buy it, is still fairly large, the battery life is 'meh' and (like most Sony products) I suspect it won't hold up to wear well. Meanwhile I get like 10 hours of battery life out of the SP, it's small, folds up to protect itself, takes a beating well, and has games that make sense for its market. Add two more action buttons to it, a higher-res LCD and maybe an SD slot and you've got yourself the perfect handheld.