Video proof that the PSP Slim really does cut loading times

Wow. Perhaps you’ve already heard my sad story about the purchase of a Metallic Blue import PSP right before the PSP Slim was announced. I thought I finally had my mind made up about not really needing one, and lately some Japanese bundles have been tempting me, but this video completely changes my mind.

Here we have video of the original PSP and the PSP 2000 (right) side-by-side, each showing off hand-synched loading times from the recently released Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. If somehow you’re reading this before watching the video (who does that these days?), let me tell you that you’re about to be surprised. 

The difference is a real eye opener. The PSP Slim manages to load a battle and play more half way through it before the original PSP even shows the battle screen. What’s worse is that the original PSP’s post-battle “return to world” loading takes even longer — almost 12 seconds by my count. The new PSP’s takes less than a fifth of that time.

While we can’t be sure that all games will show this much of a difference, I think most gamers around these parts are technically inclined to know that the PSP Slim’s doubled RAM is making the difference here, and other games that require frequent loading will probably see similar benefits.

With this, I’ll be buying a new PSP Silm this week.