Continuing the “Holiday Gift Guide” is the Gaming category. I’m going to list the gaming consoles that your money deserves for this holiday shopping season. And of course the Xbox 360 is in there, why wouldn’t it be? Let’s begin with the Gift Guide for gaming, shall we?

Microsoft Xbox 360

I’m sure you knew this would be your best bet, wouldn’t it? What’s better is that there are different packages to choose from, and they’re all affordable. Netflix streaming, the latest (and best) games, Xbox Live Gold (you’ll have to pay for it though), and of course the HD graphics make the Xbox 360 one of the best gaming systems of all time. It comes in 3 different versions: the Arcade package for $199.99, $299.99   120 GB Elite version, and the $399.99 250GB Elite. It’s your choice. Compare all 3 consoles here, and buy it from different retailers here.

Sony Playstation 3 Slim

The PS3 Slim isn’t going to let the Xbox 360 get what it wants so easily. Packed with a 120 GB hard drive (a 250 GB is available also), DualShock 3 controller, PlayStation Network, and great games make the $299.99 PS3 Slim a good buy. Even though the game library isn’t fine tuned yet, remember Gran Turismo 5 is making its way soon. Did I forget to mention  Modern Warfare 2 is already out? Buy it from SonyStyle here, and compare the two versions here.

Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii. It’s so popular you probably know everything you need to know about it, any maybe (surely) have used it. Starts at $199.99, comes with the Wii Remote, Nunchuck controller, Sensor Bar, and a library of endlessly excellent games. Don’t forget Zelda and Mario. Just don’t forget also that there’s no HD;  one of the only deal-breakers. Buy it from different retailers here.

Sony PSP Go

It doesn’t quite feel at “home”, so to speak. High price tag ($249), unimpressive looks, and the major deal-breaker: You can’t play your UMD games because it’s digital only. If there’s one thing we know about the PSP Go, it’s it won’t sell very well at all. buy it from SonyStyle (cough) here. A better option is the cheaper, larger screened, UMD-compatible, and much more reasonable PSP-3000, which you can buy from Sony Style here for $169.99.

Sony PSP-3000

Nintendo DSi

A major improvement overall. 2 cameras (yes, two), one of which points to your face, is what makes the DSi so good. Yes, there aren’t many stuff to download off the store, but bigger screens, audio recording, web browsing, SD card expansion, and direct-game-downloads make the DSi a very popular and good option in the portable sector. Buy it from different retailers here for $169.99.

Next up in the Holiday Gift Guide: it’s secret. Yes, you’ll have to wait until it’s posted, but you can be sure it has to do with something very popular.

A special that lasts only till 3:00 AM EST tonight. You can get the PSP Go (full price) but with a free $50 PSN Gift Card. It’s not much, but you can still get some games for your overpriced new gadget. [Amazon]

Even if you hate the PSP Go, you have to love the mod that’s on this one.  You have a bunch of LEDs,  running off the battery, and looking good. If the actual PSP Go looked like this, maybe I would spend $250 for it. What about you?

By the way, I’m kidding about buying it if it had the LEDs.

The modder is roro3030 at AcidMods.

[Engadget via AcidMods]

PSP firmware 6.10 is out! What’s new in it? Well bluetooth tethering for phones is a major new feature, which lets you and your over priced PSP to use a laptop or cellphone to go online.

Another new feature is “SenseMe”, like Apple Genius, and it has different modes to you keep you entertained from thinking about the price. You might just need to take  deep breath (and drink water) for the price of this thing. It comes out today at a full $249.99 US.

As seen here, the PSP Go is torn apart on video, which looks really cool. So, sit back and relax.

[via CrunchGear]

Okay, really Sony got me here. I though that GT PSP would be in a bundle package with the PSP Go!, not the crummy PSP 3000! As usual it’s $199, comes out October 1st, has a copy of Gran Turismo PSP, a 2 GB memory stick, PSN movie downloadable voucher (we don’t know which movie yet),  a Sony MusicPass that lets you get 10 songs, a voucher to get a white Corvette ZR1 for the game, and a PSP 3000 of the same color.

It’s probably the most stuff Sony ever put in a PSP bundle, but come on, no PSP Go? At least it’s a lot of bang for your buck.

[via CrunchGear]

LevelUp has gotten their hands on a PSP Go (somehow they did it) and took the thing apart, piece by piece, revealing the PSP Go’s unremovable battery, circuit board, screen, controller buttons, nub, and everything else. So hopefully, the PSP Go has some durable insides to withstand a fall.  Now they just have to put it back together again, somehow.

Hit the LevelUp link for the complete teardown.

[LevelUp via Engadget]

An unconfirmed leak by PocketGamer suggests that Sony is hiring iPhone game developers to port their games to the PSP Go. These developers will be  able to price their games from $1-5 Euros ($1.50-7).

The problem though could be porting the iPhone games. The iPhone 480×320 display is different than the Go’s 480×272 display. But it means Sony finally got their brains back and figured out that iPhone is a real threat. But I’d still buy Gran Turismo PSP over Tap Tap Revenge..

[Pocket Gamer]

First released in 2005, it was a slightly bulky, and slightly heavy portable gaming system. It had a few good games here and there, but the Nintendo DS and DS Lite knocked it off shelves in terms of sales. After having one for a considerable amount of time I must say there was a lot of cons: It caught fingerprints easily, made disc noise, and the buttons were very low, which made it very uncomfortable for gaming.

The original PSP.

Most of this changed with the PSP 2000 Series or PSP “Slim and Lite”.  It was lighter, had better buttons, not as much disc noise, and was a better product overall. After owning a silver PSP 2000 (and later selling it due to wanting to get another gadget) I thought Sony was on the right track. The DS Lite still was beating it in terms of sales (which I think was correct since it still was not perfect).

The PSP 2000 or "Slim and Lite"

Then I heard a PSP 3000 Series was coming out.  Known to some fans as the PSP Brite due to its anti-glare screen which was brighter, it had a “Playstation Button”  like the PS3 controller and a built-in microphone for use with Skype (a feature introduced in the PSP 2000.)

I have never owned this type of PSP, but from the looks it is another slight improvement. After three different kinds of PSPs , Sony should have been done making new a new PSP every year.

The current PSP 3000 series

Nintendo then made the best Nintendo DS ever: The DSi.  It has 2 cameras, bigger screens, an SD card slot, music capability, and many more features. A new problem in bad economic times for Sony.

Sony then created the most “interesting’ PSP ever: The PSP Go!. A compact PSP with a sliding screen, 16GB internal Flash memory, and Bluetooth,  it will have great titles like Gran Turismo (which will include 800+ cars and 60 tracks!),  Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier,  Little Big Planet, and others.  Slated for release on October 1, 2009 (one day before my birthday in fact) will be the second option to buy a PSP, since the 3000 will still be on sale for years to come. I think it will be a very good step to combat the iPhone, DSi, and iPod Touch.

A PSP Go! press photo.

Though it has a lot of bad and good features, it might just work! The cons are: no second analog stick, something everyone has requested, the price tag of $249 USD (a rip off), and an “unusual” design make buyers go away. The pros are: smaller design, better titles, Bluetooth, and internal memory. Although for very strict and smart buyers, this might not be enough to spend a hefty $250.

Still, let’s wait for October 1st to review it..

Stef

12 year old technology reporter