Debuting in Japan and North America in 2004, the Nintendo DS is the next evolution of Nintendo's dominant handheld franchise, the Game Boy. That same year the Sony PSP made its debut in Japan, and presented Nintendo's first real challenge in the handheld console market since Sega's Game Gear and the Atari Lynx.

Having owned the Game Gear and various evolutions of the Game Boy, handheld gaming had always been a distraction that has never truly warranted straying away from the mainstay consoles. However, moving abroad left me with little choice but to enter the handheld market to continue enjoying life as a gamer.

Initially I had to make the economic choice between the PSP and the DS, lumping for the former, but in time I have come to own both consoles, so hopefully some objective insights can be provided as to which is the console for you!

A look at the contents of DS & PSP games

A look at the key handling differences of the DS & PSP