Yet despite all this I have not mentioned the one issue that has hounded the since the preview models were first paraded - the battery life. In truth however it's not really something I have personally found to be a problem. Reading gossip in both print and on the internet it's still not exactly clear what the batteries are capable of. Reports vary from the shockingly short to the unbelievably generous but much really depends on what you are using the unit for. Just listen to MP3 playback for instance and battery life can maybe hit double figures. Games however will drain much more. Use some headphones, set the screen to minimum brightness and play a less graphically demanding game (such as Lumines) and you'll probably get six hours. Play Ridge Racer on full volume with the brightness up full however and you might struggle to get much past four. Chuck in wireless and many people claim they get less than three hours out of the unit. The fact is though that unless you are partial to frequent lengthy train journeys or are a frequent flyer with a posse of ever-present PSP-owning mates then battery life shouldn't be a huge problem, even if it could unquestionably be better.

As for the wireless multiplayer I mentioned, that too works brilliantly much like with the DS. One player must host whilst any others simply join the game once their PSP's have wirelessly located it via WiFi. It works seamlessly and it merely adds another layer of modern technological sheen to the package. Some people too have complained about loading times but that really is being fussy. Yes, we love the fact that cartridges don't require loading times and would rather do without them but at the same time we don't abandon our PS2's or Xbox's because of them. Any sane-minded and balanced person will be perfectly equipped to deal with the quite normal loading times that are certainly no more frustrating than with any of the disc-based home consoles. And as for the games themselves, well, you will have to wait for the individual reviews to start rolling out before we can judge them but technically what I have seen so far is amazing. I admit, what I have seen so far is only Ridge Racers but it totally blew me away. Whilst perhaps just a whisker behind quality, for a first generation title that was not only produced very quickly but also with limited dev kits it's really astonishing. I have no doubt that PS2 quality graphics will soon appear on the system.

The only worry as far as PS2 ports are concerned is the lack of a second analogue stick and extra shoulder buttons that you'd normally get on a PS2. We shall have to see how badly this limits the system in the long run, but it is a slight worry. The main drawback of the is that whilst it's designed to run N64 quality games it lacks the analogue control of its console forbearer and therefore struggles to reproduce the titles that previously relied on it. The PSP might not have the exact same thanks to at least one analogue stick (even though it is far less sensitive than even the feeble sticks sported by the Dualshock 2) but any thoughts of or on the move are plagued by these missing inputs. Only time will tell how this will or will not affect the fledgling handheld.

For now we can be sure that the PSP is an absolute marvel of design and easily the most impressive feat I have witnessed in gaming for a considerable amount of time. The sad truth, for me at least, is that after you play on a PSP, when you put it down you really feel as if you've just experienced the next generation of handheld gaming. It pains me to say so, but you simply don't get that feeling after playing the DS, especially not once you've tried a PSP. Fortunately, both units are obviously aimed at different markets so there's a chance that both will do well. I hope so, I really do. I won't deny though that if I was going away and could only take one system with me, I know which one it would be... and I think you know too.

By Ben Parfitt Luke's impressions thus far... Living and working in certainly has its advantages: not only can I convince drunken Japanese ladies that yes, I really am David Beckham's brother, but I can also get my hands on the latest games and gadgets a little earlier than back home in good old Blighty. The PSP is a prime example of this, the so-called 'Playstation Portable' having launched throughout the Japanese archipelago on December 12th, nearly four months before the expected but still resolutely unofficial March 2005 debuts expected in North America and possibly (if they're lucky). Of course, as we already know, the PSP has sold out in Japan for the time being, the initial 200,000 units shipped disappearing pretty much entirely on day one; mainly via pre-orders, the source of our unit, captured from the local Yamada Denki for just over 20,000 Yen (£100) for the basic pack. The basic pack includes a PSP, charger, UMD and not a lot else, however for a little more wonga (about 27,000 Yen, or approximately £130), the value pack can be acquired which includes headphones, a carry case and a 32mb memory stick too - and looks like great value, when you see the extra items priced individually. Opening up the package and the first thing I noted was just how sleek and sexy the PSP looks - never let it be said Sony lack an understanding of their potential market, the PSP is the very epitome of chic, a 'lifestyle' accessory to sit alongside your slimline PS2, iPod and Starbucks coffee maker. It also makes the DS look like a cheap plastic toy; whilst by comparison the PSP looks like the future. Lifting the PSP out of the packaging, the first matter of concern is the shiny black and silver frontage which looks like it might attract more than the odd smear or scratch, a concern tempered somewhat by the sheer decadence of the PSP's wide screen, which is frankly huge (and already has me wondering how Sony can afford to sell this contraption for only £100, even with heavy subsidising, certainly the DS has them worried). Of course, the amount packed into the PSP makes it a heavy little monster, certainly a tad more weighty than the DS, a little wider also. The PSP definitely won't be fitting into any trouser pockets, that's for sure. Booting up the machine and the slick finesse of the exterior is instantly matched by the system's excellent menu system, which instantly places every aspect of the machine at your fingertips, from system options to pictures and music, everything is clear, accessible. Of course, the battery life - as a reviewer - was one of the first things of interest and entering the appropriate option I was pleased to note that with a full charge my PSP expected itself to last about seven hours initially, which I regarded with dubious relief. Of course, the real test would be the games - and owing to my more than a little lame Japanese reading skills ('Nihongo wa made heta desu'), I only had one title to fiddle with: Ridge Racers. Opening the tray to the unit's rear (a very strange feeling for a handheld), I inserted the disc-come-cartridge, and the UMD clicked into place and began whirring a little like a CD or DVD drive when I closed the tray. The PSP recognised the title and I was given the option of playing the game on the UMD, which I selected and was immediately presented with a loading screen - a new feature for a handheld, but understandable given the nature of the storage format. It is however still somewhat odd to have to wait ten seconds at various times (and not infrequently) either, during play. Fortunately, the sight of the game's slick intro on the PSP's beautiful screen helped alleviate my fast forming issues, and I instead stared in wonder at a sequence which rivalled the PS2's finest blazing across my handheld's screen. Yes, as you've probably heard already, the PSP is a graphical wonderment, and I'm still not used to seeing such outstanding detail and clarity in the palms of my hand, even after several week's play - the PSP does in fact feel very much like a gadget of tomorrow. Ridge Racers, needless to say, is by far the prettiest and most complex handheld ever - to the extent where I was actually drawing comparisons with other PS2 titles more readily than previous handheld driving games. After the initial shock of playing a game that looks like a current-generation console title on a handheld platform subsided, I began to look at Ridge Racers more objectively. It is a little sparse on the options front, it certainly wouldn't be anything special on the PS2, and whilst the wireless link-up option is very easy to use and great fun, the amount of choice can feel a little constraining. For all its polish, Ridge Racers certainly feels a tad like a hurried launch title in places. That said, the handling is convincing and impressively different between cars and courses, of which there is, by the way, quite a few. Some of the courses can become tiresome rather quickly, though others, especially the more hilly offerings are a joy to traverse, as you seek to gain ground on your competitors. The PSP's thumb pad was quite well tested in this game, and past with flying colours though I have concerns about its durability under intense use. The D-pad was also responsive, and the triggers utilised effectively. I shall leave further comment on Ridge Racers for a full review, but suffice to say it gave us an early taste of what the machine can do - my only real concern being the arrival of load times on a handheld, and the fact that the frequent UMD access means the battery runs down a lot faster in Ridge Racers compared to other titles. Indeed, two to three hours seems about the norm for Ridge Racers, whilst other games might allow five or more as they less frequently access the disk. This is a challenge for developers to overcome, and it will be interesting to see what battery time, and indeed more 'game' related plusses (visuals, multiplayer options, etc) can be squeezed from the machine as developers get to grips with it. All in all, despite its niggling faults, the PSP smells suspiciously like the future of handheld gaming - whether we'd like it to be in Sony's hands or not - and it is obvious that with this veritable beast the goal posts have been moved very rapidly indeed. The DS might be an admirable attempt at something new; but with the PSP Sony are threatening to do to the handheld market what their PS2 did for home consoles. Nintendo are going to be taking a long, hard look at their next-generation GameBoy plans.

By Luke Guttridge