The PSP-3000 series Playstation Portable is the latest incarnation of the Sony Playstation portable series of handheld gaming consoles. The PSP-3000 series Playstation Portable features the following improvements over its predecessors;

Improved LCD screen
Increased colour range
Five times the contrast ratio
Half the pixel response time
Anti reflective technology for increased outdoor playability
Integrated microphone (for use with the built-in Skype telephony software)
Improved AV output for video and game playback on TVs

The buttons have also undergone some minor design changes which bring about a much more Dualshock 3 style layout, with the semi circles being changed to ovals and the home button being replaced by a “PS Button”.

Drawbacks

The new PSP-3000 series Playstation Portable isn’t without drawbacks however. The changes in the system have decreased the battery life, reportedly by around 20 minutes. The screen also possesses a new horizontal subpixel structure which has caused the screen to show visible dark lines, similar to traditional scan lines.

Why the Changes

The goal of the changes to the PSP-3000 series Playstation Portable is to establish it as “a viable communication device” according to Sony Europe boss David Reeves. The microphone that is now available will also open up a new world of opportunities for games development companies to make use of this new feature.

Games to Checkout

If you’re not a big gamer you may wonder what are the best games to pickup for yourself or as a present and here are our top tips:
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 3.11 million copies sold – If you’ve never heard of Grand Theft Auto you must have been living in a bubble for the past ten years. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, driving, and occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements and has gained controversy for its adult nature and violent themes. This isn’t one for the kids but is definitely one for the ‘big kids’ in the family.

Ridge Racers 1.04 million copies sold – The original Ridge Racer was hugely popular and often bundled with many an original Playstation when they were first released. Namco have ported this favourite over to the PSP. As an entry in Namco’s long running Ridge Racer game franchise, Ridge Racer for the PSP shares a number of gameplay elements, cars, and tracks with its predecessors. The game features a total of 24 courses (12 unique courses and the same 12 courses reversed) all taken from previous PlayStation games or the arcade-only title Rave Racer, and 54 unlockable (fictional) cars. As you win races, you unlock tracks and faster cars.

Everybodys Golf 1.00 million copies sold - The series is well-known for its humorous look on the game of golf (including cartoon-like caricatures) and guest characters from other games, along with modes such as miniature golf and its ability to maintain a realistic engine with precise control in tandem with the unrealistic design. The series is popular with both golf fans and non-fans alike.

Wipeout Pure 1.00 million copies sold - Pure also uses the Wi-Fi ability of the PSP for multiplayer racing. The game returns to the much loved handling of Wipeout 2097 and is a sure fire hit with almost anyone, a great futuristic racing game that is surely a classic in anyone’s book.

If you’d like to pick up a free PSP-3000 series Playstation Portable or even a free Free Sony Playstation 3 why not grab one today from Free Gift with a Mobile Phone with a new mobile phone contract.

Getting a Good Deal on a PS3

Have you ever tried to find a PS3 on sale? The demand is keeping the price high. It can be annoying if you only have a set amount of money to work with and it’s not quite enough to make the purchase.

I feel your pain! I’ve tried to justify the purchase in so many ways. To start building a PS3 fund I thought I would begin by selling my old PS2 games. I’ve given serious thought to cleaning out my closet, trying to find some of those old jeans that now seem to be in fashion and see if I could sell them on eBay. I dug through the basement in the junk room looking for old board games and stuffed animals to auction off online. We even put our stuff in a neighborhood sale to come up with the funds to buy a PS3. It netted me $52. As an aside, garage sales are not the way to go! You’ll make much more money selling your stuff on eBay.

I’ve been there before. There really is no comparison with other gaming consoles. I was sold when I found it was Blu-Ray. Obviously, the games are awesome in HD and I just upgraded my Netflix membership to include Blu-Ray/HD movies as well. Good luck getting that point past the wife! If you’re not already hooked on HD it only takes 1 day of having it in your house and you’ll never go back. At the end of the day it turned out to be easy to persuade her to get the PS3 on every front except the price.

I’ve done some research and what I’ve found is that if you want the best gaming console on the market and you want to play Blu-Ray DVDs there simply isn’t a better value than the PS3. Even when it’s not on sale! You can buy a Blu-Ray DVD player for your movies but it will not play PS3 games. Unfortunately for Microsoft, HD-DVD was not the chosen format going forward and this will ultimately hurt their sales. If at all possible I wanted to get the PS3 at a discount.

I searched on eBay and some other traditional auction sites and found that there really aren’t any ps3 sale prices out there. They show perceived value by including all these extras that you may or may not even care about. It just doesn’t add up when I’m trying to save money, not spend more.

Ultimately, I had to think outside the box. Somebody told me about unique bid auction sites and I started researching them. You’ll find a few out there for sure but one stands above the rest, www.auctions4acause.com. They have more everyday items available for auction, including the PS3, than any of the other sites. Most other sites focus on really high-dollar items like cars, boats, houses and land. You can pretty it up all you want but I just want the PS3!

I knew I had a winner when I found that site. They had 2 items going for them in that they had the item I wanted at a potentially very inexpensive price. I went there and created an account. I rung up 3 bids and knew I had the lowest and unique bid. I was only slightly discouraged when I didn’t win the first time. I had to wait until the next one came up for bid. I bid 3 or 4 more times, said my prayers and waited. Bingo! The second time around I won. After a few days I was wrapping up the PS3 as a gift for my nephew. All I had spent on it was $59.64. Not too bad if I say so myself.

It can take a few minutes of reading to truly grasp the concept of the lowest unique bid auction style. Once you get a handle on the concept you may not want to stop. Since that time that I won the PS3 I’ve bid on and won 3 other items including an iPod Nano (they have the best ipod prices) and $400 gas card. In total I’ve spent about $350 there and won over $1,200 worth of stuff.

So don’t go searching at Best Buy or Circuit City or Walmart for the best prices on the things you want. You can surely get a great deal when you go register at Auctions4aCause.

One of the most successful platforms of all time, the Wii Console is easily the best family-oriented console available today. When you purchase a Wii, there are a range of package options to choose so you can choose the one that suits your family’s interest best.

The basic pack comes with the Wii Remote and Wii Sports, which features five distinct nintendo wii games for you to enjoy. Other packages may include one or more of the many different controllers available for the Wii as well as other games to suit your taste.

The Wii takes a rather unique approach to the way in which it is used which is why it has become such a rage. With the easy-to-use Wii Menu which resembles TV channels, you can easily navigate with the wireless controller by simply pointing at the screen. The Wii Menu includes the Mii Channel (which allows you to customize your own character for play), the Wii Shop where you can purchase additional channels for your Wii console through WiiWare, and much more.

The Wii console is also backwards compatible with the Nintendo GameCube, which means that you can plug in your old GameCube controller and memory cards and play those games on it too. You can connect the GameBoy Advance to it as well. If you have a Nintendo DS, the Wii console can communicate with it over a built-in wireless networking capabilities. This allows you to use the DS as a controller in games such as Pokemon Battle Revolution, and the Wii can enhance or expand other DS games as well. Despite the popular belief that the Wii console is suitable only for children, there is now a huge collection of games available for the whole family to enjoy.