Get a grip and don't lose your way: Guitar Hero and Go!Explore are here

It says much about wider trends of digital convergence and cheap Chinese manufacturing that this week sees the major releases for both the DS and PSP based around hardware peripherals that extend each devices' functionality, albeit in very different ways.

Considering the massive success of Guitar Hero and its guitar console peripheral (who would have thought air guitarists actually needed to be holding plastic?) the DS's Guitar Hero: On Tour Guitar Grip is the most obvious add-on. Of course, considering form, portability and cost, all you're actually getting is a fairly functional four fret buttons 'glove', which plugs into the DS's GBA slot. But that's been enough – in the US, Guitar Hero: On Tour sold 300,000 units in its first week of release.

Sony's repackaging of PSP as a GPS device/satnav is more problematic, however. For one thing, the Go!Explore package is relatively pricey – £100 without a PSP or around £220 with. It's also unlikely to work as well as dedicated natsav packages from TomTom and Garmin, partly because of the PSP's lack of touchscreen and partly because it requires data streaming from a UMD disc, which is unlikely to be as smooth as other memory-based options. Still, we'll await the conclusion of our review before getting too definitive.

Europe: Out July 18th
Animal Genius (DS)
Go!Explore (PSP)
Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS) Europe: Out July 25th
Buzz! Master Quiz (PSP)
Fashion Dogz (DS)
International Athletics (PSP)
Lifesigns: Hospital Affairs (DS) (or read our review.)
Mister Slime (DS)
Road to Vegas (DS) US: Out up to August 12th
Bangai-O Spirits (DS)
Bratz Ponyz 2 (DS)
Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity
Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Race Driver GRID (DS)
Imagine: Teacher (DS)
Izuna 2: the Unemployed Ninja Returns (DS)
Line Rider 2 Unbound (DS)
Little League World Series (DS)
Madden NFL 09 (DS/PSP)
Mister Slime (DS)
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (DS)
N+ (DS/PSP)
Nancy Drew: Clue Bender Society (DS)
New International Track & Field (DS)
Professor Brainium (DS)
Puzzler Collection (DS)
Quick Yoga Training (DS)
Suzuki Superbikes (DS)
The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom (DS) Click on any of the above European games to buy them. We alternate between linking to either Play.com or GAME, depending on which offers the cheapest deal.