PSP Go

[Brad Grenz]

This is basically the device I was expecting, although I'm a little disappointed with the final look of the device. Smaller screen is not a plus and I think there's too much wasted space on the face of the device. Still, a great move for the platform, fixing just about everything people complained about with the original disc based form factor. I'm glad they didn't cheese out with 4 or 8 GB of internal memory.

Not introducing a second nub or a touch screen is the smart thing. Those advances can wait for a new generation. Basically, there is nothing you can do on the Go! that can't be done on an original PSP with a large memory card. A touch screen doesn't add enough to the experience, especially given the added cost and the fracture of your market base. Another nub has the same problem, though cost is less of a factor. Adding Blue tooth is cool. I sometimes forget the original PSPs don't have it. I wonder if pairing with a phone will allow you to access PSN and the internet everywhere...

I've wanted a PSP for a while now, but this is really the version I've always hoped for. Small enough to fit in a pocket, with enough storage that I don't need to bring my iPod or any game discs. I don't want an uber phone anyway. My disposable piece of junk is small enough and works well enough for my needs. A truly upgraded PSP Touch Phone would have just priced it out of my interest.

 

[V3]

I just can't see it competiting with DSi without a touch screen. Seems like a mistake. They need to offer an external UMD drive to transfer stuff to that 16 GB flash. They seem to be doing well with PSP recently. I don't know why they would screw it up.

Should have called this PSP Lite or Slim. It's the best way to describe it.

 

[Brad Grenz]

I don't think they're worrying about transferring existing games for existing owners as the whole point of the new model is not to encourage upgrades but convince new customers.

And I don't think they're trying to compete with the DSi. They want to be distinct from it. The whole intent of the PSP line is to recreate a more substantial, console like experience on the go. As you might expect, the on the go aspects are what is enhanced by the PSP Go!. It's more portable, has better battery life and makes buying and carrying games more convenient. Since those are the three things people cite as reason not to buy a PSP it's nice to see those areas improved. Trying to respin the platform as a Nintendogs/Brain Age machine will just alienate the existing 50 million owners (few of who will upgrade at all, let alone for touch games) and run the business into the teeth of the DS and iPhone's strengths.

 

[V3]

Convince new customers? New customers are mainly going with DSi. Though iPhone gaming is taking off. This PSP Go is competing with the potential PSP market. It's a distraction to the momentum that PSP has going. It's a stupid move.

Except for size they could have just upgraded the current PSP to support what ever feature this Go version is going to offer.

Maybe if this PSP Go is a less than $99 product, perhaps it might carter to that market. It does look kind of cheap from those photos.

 

[Brad Grenz]

There are plenty of people out there who wish they could get a powerful hand held that isn't hobbled by price and swipe only controls (iPhone) or ancient hardware, a ludicrous multi-screen set up and stylus driven game design (DS).

Distracting from the momentum of the PSP market? That's simply absurd. Was the GBA SP a distraction to the GBA's momentum? Was the DS Lite hindering the DS? The whole point is to expand the potential market. I never would have bought a GBA if they hadn't made the SP.

Except for size they could have just upgraded the current PSP to support what ever feature this Go version is going to offer.

Uh, yeah. That's kinda the whole point. It's not a new platform, it's an improved form factor.

 

[patsu]

iPhone is a phone at the foremost. Most people won't game or watch movie for extended hours on it. I do find most iPhone users web browse *a lot* due to the cellphone network coverage.

DSi is an upgrade of DS Lite. Their software library and media capability will differentiate both (like PSP vs DS). The key thing is whether PSP is piracy proof. Since there is no mention of touch screen in the Qore interview, I'd assume there's no touch screen.

As for price point, I have no official info to comment on. It could go either way -- depending on build quality and how well it works. Small doesn't necessarily mean cheaper.

 

[I.S.T.]

Distracting from the momentum of the PSP market? That's simply absurd. Was the GBA SP a distraction to the GBA's momentum? Was the DS Lite hindering the DS? The whole point is to expand the potential market. I never would have bought a GBA if they hadn't made the SP.

Bad example. the DS Lite and GBA SP could directly play old games/games already on the market, and were basically just shrunk versions of the original systems. The PSP Go will need to have games put up on sony's download service. I doubt everyone will put all of their games up on that service.

 

[patsu]

I doubt everyone will put all of their games up on that service.

Do you know why they wouldn't ? There is at least one fewer middle man with the download model, so the publisher should get more share of the revenue (I don't have the details).

 

[-tkf-]

Convince new customers? New customers are mainly going with DSi. Though iPhone gaming is taking off. This PSP Go is competing with the potential PSP market. It's a distraction to the momentum that PSP has going. It's a stupid move.

Except for size they could have just upgraded the current PSP to support what ever feature this Go version is going to offer.

Maybe if this PSP Go is a less than $99 product, perhaps it might carter to that market. It does look kind of cheap from those photos.

Size is the most important aspect of the market they are trying to get into. Music,Video and games on the GO. Putting 16GB in the PSP doesn´t solve the size question and getting doesnt get rid of UMD, it only makes it more expensive.

 

[-tkf-]

I doubt everyone will put all of their games up on that service.

Of course everyone will put their games up, it´s the only way they can sell the games

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Watching the qore episode it's obvious it was intentional. And people had got e:mails on the ps forums from Sony bots telling them to download qore

Yes, intentioanl 'leak' IMO. Why keep news like this on a paid-magazine thing only? They want to tell the world. Keeping it all 'secret' encourages curiosity and raises the profile. Making it an illicit leak is going to garner more attention.

As for the device, smaller screen? It'd better be much better quality! I assume it's the same resolution. The controls look a bit awkward. Mixed response from me. If it's cheaper, and it should be as there's no drive and less stuff, then it makes sense.

 

[nintenho]

Even with all the aesthetic and design changes, this won't attract new buyers without a big price drop. It's been like 4-5 years since PSP and DS entered the marketplace so I'd imagine that the market's saturated.

I really don't know what to think about the digital distribution model though. On one hand, it probably will reduce piracy and boost battery life. But it makes a problem for current PSP owners who want to upgrade.

I think that since they did limit the Go to just downloaded games, then they should have also put in a second analog nub where the start/select buttons. It would have addressed a lot of the camera and control issues with porting a console game to PSP.

 

[Arwin]

But porting games to the PSP is the last thing Sony wants from publishers now. They've started to actively discourage publishers from doing so and instead encourage them to make smaller games that are much more suitable to both the online store and gaming on the go (and on the PSP, obviously).

I'm 100% certain that the PSP Go is going to be more expensive than the 3k model. If you think otherwise, you haven't been watching that youtube video with enough care. Also, bluetooth and 16Gb flash and such are going to be more expensive than the UMD drive they replace, at least a little bit for now. However, I'm not sure how expensive that is going to be - we may well see it placed at where the PSP 3k is now and see the 3k drop in price.

 

[Brad Grenz]

Yeah, I think that's the most likely pricing scenario.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Also, bluetooth and 16Gb flash and such are going to be more expensive than the UMD drive they replace

Perhaps, but I doubt there's a lot in it. The UMD is proprietary, which means manufacturing geared over to relatively small quantity devices, pushing the price up. Thus the price difference will be, I dunno, in the order of $20 more maybe for the flash and Blue Tooth (pie in the sky figures!) over adding a UMD drive, while a smaller screen may make savings. Total production costs for the PSP Go versus PSP 3000 are going to be very similar - not enough to lead to a substantial price difference. Any large difference will come from market positioning IMO.

 

[Cornsnake]

With this new PSP only being able to download games from the PSN store, has anyone recently reminded Sony that they still haven't any pre-paid PSN cards in europe?

I can understand that having different currencies makes that more difficult. But seeing as there is money to be made here, you would figure it would eventually get done. Instead of ignoring it for quite awhile now.

 

[I.S.T.]

Of course everyone will put their games up, it´s the only way they can sell the games

I'll rephrase: Put up the old games, the ones already made. New ones will, of course, pop up on the service the same day or just after the day of their release.

 

[Aeoniss]

You don't have to guess with pictures. The current psp has a 4.3" screen. The psp go has a 3.8" screen.

But it appears that the PSP GO's screen is a bit wider horizontally?

 

[Quaz51]

no, exactly the same ratio
you can measure

http://i39.tinypic.com/wjf9eb.jpg
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/news/05/11/psp/psp_screen001.jpg

 

[Nano]

Just the direction I expected, I don't think optical storage has a place on mobile/handheld devices.