Reviewed: June 8, 2005
Reviewed by: Mike Colgan
Manufacturer
Mad Catz
Type: Accessory Kit
System: Sony PSP
Rating: 8.5
MSRP: $39.99
I love handheld gaming. During the past year, I have gotten my hands on both a Nintendo DS and a PSP; having made a large investment into my gaming habit, it’s wise to buy some accessories to protect and enhance my investment. Because I am an early adopter, I purchased the PSP Value Pack, the only retail version of the PSP at the time. For $250, I got the system itself, a worthless trailer “sample disc”, the movie Spiderman 2 on UMD (no longer available), a nice pair of headphones with a movie control pad, and an adequate carrying bag.
I was forced to buy an accessory kit packaged together with the PSP, but the accessories are not all that satisfying. However, unlike the standard Nintendo DS package, the PSP did provide some of the basic tools for gaming on the road. In order to justify buying a full accessory kit, the producer of the kit would have to improve upon the standard accessories provided by the system’s manufacturer.
Mad Catz, creators of all sorts of handy accessories for video game systems, has released the wonderful new PSP Mobile Kit. The kit comes with about every accessory an avid PSP gamer might need to carry his or her game on the road (say, to E3). The biggest feature of the kit is the leather carrying case, which provides crucial protection to the vulnerable shiny surfaces of the PSP, and looks snazzy to boot. I would have liked to see a pocket or two on the case to shlep along some headphones or a game, but the case does keep a low profile to allow the gamer to fit the PSP easily in one’s pocket, and has room for the PSP strap to protrude for easy carrying. One other potential problem with the case is that it provides very little in the way of cushion; the chief function of the case is to protect the large screen from becoming scratched. Don’t rely on this case if you are rough with your electronic equipment, or are particularly clumsy.
The PSP Mobile Kit also comes with 12 UMD plastic carrying cases, ideal for carrying around a bunch of games without having to carry the bulky DVD style cases. The small cases come in clear, blue, and black, so the obsessive-compulsive gamer can even organize his or her games by genre. I put one disc case to immediate use to store my Spiderman 2 disc, which came in a cheap cardboard sleeve; with the tiny UMD's costing as much as $40, and the flimsy discs exposed through their plastic casing, the small plastic cases are just the right thing to protect your investment.
Also included are a USB cable for uploading pictures and music to the PSP, a car power adapter and portable AAA battery pack for extended play, and 4 screen protectors and a screen-cleaning cloth. The wrap-around headphones have a nice sound and are good for gamers who prefer not to use the ear-buds that come with the PSP Value pack.
Mad Catz has thought of just about everything with the PSP Mobile Kit, and while the $40 price tag may make some gamers wary, is a valuable kit for anyone who anticipates taking a long trip with their PSP. Even though some basic accessories come with the current retail package for the PSP, the Mad Catz accessories in the PSP Mobile Kit are an improvement on the original retail package in almost every way. If Sony goes ahead with plans to release a cheaper “PSP only” package, this kit will be even more valuable to you.