Dam, I hate to ask this here but I need some help......... The kid want's one for Christmas and I don't know squat about these things. I grew up with pinball cause that's all there was but can see the cool factor in the PSP and might even fiddle with it myself. So, I see there are several different gens of this thing and found them pretty reasonable/preowned at Gamestop. What should I be looking for and what do I need to make a nice little bundle for Jr???

PSP, Games, Carry case, head phones.  That should be a nice package I have a first gen model but don't ever use it and saw the new Gen models are sweet looking.

I think the 3rd generation PSP would be the best, you can buy a package deal (case memory stick etc..) for around $199.00 neew, the PSP GO is the newest model and is priced kind of high.

go with the PSP 3000  which is the newest model of standard PSP, they are about $160 for just the system or $200 if you get a bundel which is the system a game and normally a memory card and other stuff

Just so you know, PSP 3000 = UMD witch is the drive used for the games, it also has online capablity and a hole slew of other featers

PSP GO = no UMD, PSP go you have to DL all yout content off of the PS Store and can't use the UMD games on it

Man, I thought you were looking to buy your son an H&K pistol.

I have the PSP 3000 and it is a pretty good unit, plus it will still use the UMD disks.  I download Tivo recordings onto it and also play mp3s, pretty handy when traveling.

Right now Sony seems to be phasing out the original PSPs, and IS literally forcing people to rebuy every game over their site when they get a PSP GO if they're switching from UMD to the new PSP for whatever reason. Basically this means that games will be placed on a memory stick, and UMD is being made obsolete.

I personally would probably still get an older version, the generation 3000. It will be cheaper, and I have a feeling that since Sony seems to be giving up on UMDs, that there may be a major blow out down the road and you may get some decent deals on games and maybe movies.

So a bundle

1 : PSP 3000; this should come with headphones, a battery charger, and several other accessories.
2 : Check the box before you buy this as the PSP may come with one, but a decent memory card, memory stick pro duo type (at least that's what mine uses).
3 : A game or two! Maybe he'd like Gran Turismo? It's a decent driving game from the reviews I've seen. There is another game called Rock Band Unplugged that he may like. It really depends on him.
4 : A plastic screen cover, to protect the screen from scratches. (Trust me, this is more important than it seems)

Take care!

No kidding... the original post had me scratching my head!