PSP Load Time Results
Graphically simple games, such as Lumines and Gradius, have some of the shortest loading times. The longest load times belong to the sports category. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 took an astonishing four minutes to load, topping the next-slowest game by a full minute.
Before we even got to the loading screens, we noticed that many games had an inordinate amount of splash screens that we couldn't skip. Each splash screen would generally add a few seconds to the load time.
Shortest PSP Load Times
(Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds))
Longest PSP Load Times
(Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds))
Load Times Organized by GameSpot Ratings
If we break down the games according to their GameSpot ratings, we see that the best-rated games have the lowest average load times. Average load times also trend upward as review scores drop. Once we dig down to games rated 6.9 and below, the average load time drops considerably, breaking away from the prevailing trend.
PSP Load Times
(Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds))
Genre Load Times
Broken down across genres, we see that sports games take much longer to load. Racing games follow behind by a wide margin, and the rest cluster much closer together, loading at under a minute and a half.
Genre Load Times
(Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds))
Sony PSP vs Nintendo DS vs Nintendo GBA
We didn't have the time to test a great deal of DS or GBA games, but from the random few we tested, we're more than certain that both of Nintendo's handhelds load games much quicker than the PSP. Much of Nintendo's speed comes from the solid-state nature of its games. Cartridges in general will have lower load times in comparison to optical discs, but the trade-offs are numerous, storage capacity considerations chief among them. UMDs can hold vast amounts of storage in comparison to both DS and GBA cartridges. Game developers can use the extra space for larger textures, which results in better graphics, and a host of other features like speech or full motion video.
We tested the following games for the Nintendo DS: Nintendogs: Chihuahua and Friends, Kirby: Canvas Curse, MechAssault: Phantom War, Tetris DS, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Lost In Blue, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. We also tested the following GBA games on the Nintendo DS: Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
PSP vs DS vs GBA
(Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds))
Conclusion
PSP games take a long time to load. Hardly any PSP games took less than a minute to load and quite a few took two or more. To be fair, once you manage to get past the initial load time, subsequent loads from standby mode are much quicker. Booting a game from standby generally takes a handful of seconds. However, this doesn’t mean you won't see further, rather lengthy loading screens once you're in the game.
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If you have a PSP, how long do your games take to load? What about the games from your other handhelds or consoles?
Under the Hood: PSP Load Times
Let's face it. The PSP suffers from horrendous load times. But just how bad are they?
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