PSP Go

[Agent Whiskers]

Am I the only one who's gonna purchase one of these newfangled doohickeys?

I had the old PSP Fat for so long until it crapped out and I missed out on a handful of games (GoW:CoO, Dissidia, Crisis Core, etc.) so I decided why the fuck not? It's better to buy from PSN in my case as to avoid mark-ups by Saudi retailers. Thinking of picking up the black one.

[Don Flamenco]

hadn't thought of that angle-- the system is great in countries where retailers mark up official versions of games like crazy.  I guess the question is whether there's a big enough market who want official versions vs. just pirating.

[Purple Filth]

Am I the only one who's gonna purchase one of these newfangled doohickeys?

I had the old PSP Fat for so long until it crapped out and I missed out on a handful of games (GoW:CoO, Dissidia, Crisis Core, etc.) so I decided why the fuck not? It's better to buy from PSN in my case as to avoid mark-ups by Saudi retailers. Thinking of picking up the black one.

Seems like it. With that fucking price i can see why.

[bork]

The only way I'd consider buying one is if Sony has a way for me to be able to play all of my UMD games on the Go.  I'm not re-purchasing the same games I already own. 

Since you can just use a regular PSP (which has a bigger screen and it would appear, a more comfortable form factor), which costs less, and has cheaper storage methods available (buy a micro SD adaptor and get up to 16GB or 32GB easily!) to play games purchased on PSN, I really don't see the point, but if the Go gets a bunch of favorable impressions and a UMD solution is found, sure, I might bite. 

[Sho Nuff]

Just curious how much Saudi retailers jack up the prices of games. In Japan we usually see US PSP games for 5800-6800 yen. Geez

[huckleberry]

 I am gonna bite.  I love the small form factor...being able to actually pocket it is a huge plus.  I gave my wife the ipod touch so I can use the Go as a music player...only thing I listen to are podcasts anyway.

 Not buying one because of having the games on UMD is totally understandable though.  I sold all mine a while back after my PSP broke.
 Would still love to either see a dual analog nub...but apparently Sony cannot get their head out of their asses on that one.



 Does anyone know if I would be able to download a copy of a game to more than one PSP?  My son has a PSP and it would be great if I could let him download a copy of the game as well.

[bork]

I think it's pretty hilarious that Sony's "goodwill program for pre-existing UMD owners" turned out to just be a sale on digital versions for everyone for the first week.

Is that all that it's going to be?   

[cool breeze]

I'll buy it if it fits my criteria of

-letting me play all my umd games for free via some program without sending my umds in
-price drop or decent bundle.  $250 with Peace Walker is a maybe.
-second iteration isn't as dumb
-full screen TV out with PS3 controller support for all games

right now I'm waiting for the 4000 announcement.

[archie4208]

I think it's pretty hilarious that Sony's "goodwill program for pre-existing UMD owners" turned out to just be a sale on digital versions for everyone for the first week.

Haha.  I thought they would have at least let you traded in your UMD for a download voucher or something.

[bork]

Just curious how much Saudi retailers jack up the prices of games. In Japan we usually see US PSP games for 5800-6800 yen. Geez

I remember buying GTA:LCS for $80

 

The most jacked-up price I ever paid was $120 for the Japanese version of Tekken 2 back in 1996.  Much worse!

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

I remember buying GTA:LCS for $80

Crazy. Doesn't Saudi have official distribution channels for this stuff (i.e., games aren't imported from US/Europe)? Reason I'm asking is I remember a friend owning a PS2 from Saudi that looked "localized" and stuff; ran in PAL and had instructions in Arabic.

[bork]

I think it's pretty hilarious that Sony's "goodwill program for pre-existing UMD owners" turned out to just be a sale on digital versions for everyone for the first week.

How will this work? I have some old PSP games? What if I buy a PSP GO later on? I will never be able to play them on it?

Seems that way, yes.  Digital distribution only.  I'm not against the idea of this, but I have 50 games on UMD; the PSP Go is not a brand-new system, so for me to consider it, I want a way to play all 50 of those games on the Go.

[Jansen]

no, you will never be able to lay your umds on it. yer only choice would be to buy the game again in digital form

seriously the pspgo is so fucking stupid, you'd really have to either be an ignorant moron or a dumbass fool to drop the cash for one.

[TakingBackSunday]

How's hacking, emulation, and homebrew working on the 3000?  I might ask for one for christmas but I wasn't sure which one to get (excluding the Go).

[pilonv1]

I think it's pretty hilarious that Sony's "goodwill program for pre-existing UMD owners" turned out to just be a sale on digital versions for everyone for the first week

10% off then

[tiesto]

I heard a rumor that Sony was gonna release a PSP-4000 that still took UMDs, it'll have a better screen than the 3000. My 1000 is so old and I hate the screen, I hate the ghosting, I would probably purchase a 4000 since there are quite a few PSP games backlogged that I wanna try.

An attachment UMD drive that you could connect to the PS3 and play your games off there (complete with DualShock 3 support) would be ace.

[GoofyGoober]

I think the PSP go was created for the High school crowd and first time PSP buyer. Otherwise it makes little sense.

[Smooth Groove]

The PSP-GO's design is pretty nice.  It's compact and looks more elegant than the original PSP design. 

I definitely wouldn't mind having one to replace my red God of War PSP 2000 which has a little chip in the corner that annoys me.   I just can't help being a little OCD about blemishes on my gaming gear. 

Ultimately, like it was with the PSP 3000,  the factor that will most influence my purchasing decision is whether it would support freeware or not.  No free games means no buy. 

Just curious how much Saudi retailers jack up the prices of games. In Japan we usually see US PSP games for 5800-6800 yen. Geez

I remember buying GTA:LCS for $80

I bought it in Hong Kong for about $20 two years ago during my trip to Asia.  HK stores probably have to jack down the prices due to the rampant piracy. 

[Agent Whiskers]

 Does anyone know if I would be able to download a copy of a game to more than one PSP?  My son has a PSP and it would be great if I could let him download a copy of the game as well.

Yeah, you could download the same purchased item up to 5 times.

[Don Flamenco]

 Does anyone know if I would be able to download a copy of a game to more than one PSP?  My son has a PSP and it would be great if I could let him download a copy of the game as well.

Yeah, you could download the same purchased item up to 5 times.

not exactly.  if it's like the PS3, you can have 5 activated systems.  so if you deactivate one, you get an activation back.

[Agent Whiskers]

You can download and delete a PSN game as many times you want as long as your account is activated on that PS3

My apologies. This.

[cool breeze]

PSP can be a bit annoying about accounts if you buy from both US and another region.  If you download a Japanese demo and put it on there, your system will be identified as that Japanese account and you lose access to all your American games. 

I haven't tried multiple accounts on each system yet.  Don't imagine there will be a problem unless maybe for multiplayer.

[pilonv1]

How will this work? I have some old PSP games? What if I buy a PSP GO later on? I will never be able to play them on it?

That is correct.  You will have to buy them again if you want them on the Go, unless they figure something else out in the meantime.

I'm sure it's on their "to do" list right after PS2 BC

[bork]

The Sony Style store at a local mall had a PSP Go display unit.

+The Go is noticeably smaller than the regular PSP series. 
+Screen is awesome (same as the 3000, I think); very clear.
+The nub felt a little better.
+The L and R buttons felt better.
- The screen is smaller than the regular PSP series.
- The nub being directly to the right of the d-pad felt awkward.
- The recessed d-pad sucks.  I can't even imagine what playing something like Tekken or Soul Calibur must feel like on it.
- The face buttons are smaller and recessed.

Still, it's an attractive little unit.  It's too bad about the whole being forced to get games off of PSN/no way to transfer your UMD games to the unit thing.  I'd probably consider buying one if they hack it though.  :P

[chronovore]

It's sexy and small, but the L/R buttons don't feel better to me, I feel like my monster mitts are going to drop the thing when I try to use the shoulder buttons.

Your reasoning about direct purchase sounds smart, but with a pile of UMDs and no official way to transfer them, I'll watch Go go on by.

[cool breeze]

How does the nub feel better? I've seen that mentioned before too.  Is it more like the PSP-1000 nub? Compared to the 1000, the nub on my 3000 and 2000 PSPs felt cheap.  D-pad and face buttons got way better, but the PSP 1000 nub still feels a lot more smooth.

[originalz]

IGN says the battery lasts around 3 hours.  That sounds pretty damn bad.

[cool breeze]

apparently Daxter is coming to PSN, and since this is both post-God of War CoO/use of 333mhz and from the same dev, they're updating the version to support 333 (instead of standard 222) that would bump up the frame rate quite a bit.

Of course this feature has been available to CFW for a long time now, but this stuff getting done officially is nice.  It also screws over those who own the UMD version, like myself.

[bork]

It's sexy and small, but the L/R buttons don't feel better to me, I feel like my monster mitts are going to drop the thing when I try to use the shoulder buttons.

Your reasoning about direct purchase sounds smart, but with a pile of UMDs and no official way to transfer them, I'll watch Go go on by.

Why the aren't they releasing a UMD adaptor?  Even that would be better than nothing.

How does the nub feel better? I've seen that mentioned before too.  Is it more like the PSP-1000 nub? Compared to the 1000, the nub on my 3000 and 2000 PSPs felt cheap.  D-pad and face buttons got way better, but the PSP 1000 nub still feels a lot more smooth.

It's smaller in size, but just felt more solid and less "cheap" to me. 

IGN says the battery lasts around 3 hours.  That sounds pretty damn bad.

WELCOME TO 1991!  Game Gear style, yeah!! 

 

[originalz]

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/102/1021995p1.html

According to the article they also say that the new placement feels fine at first but starts to be cramped after awhile for complex games, although I suppose with enough time people can adjust to it...

I really wonder how this thing will do in Japan.  Everyone who I've talked to seems to have no interest in it.

[maxy]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[chronovore]

It's sexy and small, but the L/R buttons don't feel better to me, I feel like my monster mitts are going to drop the thing when I try to use the shoulder buttons.

Your reasoning about direct purchase sounds smart, but with a pile of UMDs and no official way to transfer them, I'll watch Go go on by.

Why the aren't they releasing a UMD adaptor?  Even that would be better than nothing.

About a "promotion," they say:

SCEA: No UMD conversion programme for PSPgo

Sony America has said that it will not be possible for people to exchange their UMDs for digital versions of the games they already own.

"We were evaluating a UMD conversion programme, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the programme at this time," a spokesman has told Kotaku, as reported by Eurogamer.

The idea would have been to hand in your UMD copy of, say, Lumines, and receive a digital copy of the same game in return.

In Europe, at least, Sony is offering people who upgrade to PSPgo the choice of three free digital downloads, providing they own at least one UMD game.

There are 17 titles to choose from, including Echochrome, LocoRoco, Patapon, Resistance: Retribution and WipEout Pure. The deal, which will run between October 1 and March 31 2010, was announced at TGS yesterday.

As for technical reasons, they're probably just taking a play from Nintendo's playbook, and planning on selling your the same game multiple times, with the added gall that the spec is similar the same.

I think what Sony has miscalculated about is the idea that there are a lot of people out there who were waffling on a PSP purchase who will be lured in by "newer, smaller, sexier" charm. Those terms really appeal to the early adopters, and telling the existing PSP users that they're out of luck to play the games in which they've already invested is like Kutaragi telling everyone that the PS3 would be so fuck-awesome that they'd WANT to get an extra job just to pay the higher price for the console.

[cool breeze]

That would seem like a good solution but Sony, and more importantly the retailers (Gamestop), wouldn't want everyone to trade in their UMDs.

And I don't trust the battery life calculation.  There are way too many variables to get an accurate read.  Like, estimates of DSi battery life were in the teens; when I first used it, it lasted a little past a third of that since the screen brightness was all the way up.  Same deal with my PSP-2000 when I turned the screen brightness down and all that.  If 3 hours is the low point and not the average, it's still pretty bad, but if the low point is even lower, then that will be a disaster.

[AdmiralViscen]

As someone who only owns 4 or 5 UMDs, I probably would be interested in a PSP Go as a second PSP where I would be able to play new releases without worrying about ruining my cfw. But for $250, get real.

Does anyone know how fair they are on the game pricing? Any notable discounts over the UMD versions?

If the battery is 3 hours then that's a fucking joke too.

[AdmiralViscen]

That sucks man. I coulda sworn that the PSP games I checked out on PSN a few months ago were more fairly priced than that. I know they shift the pricing around a lot - did they jack t hem up in the lead-up to Go's release?

[Beezy]

As someone who only owns 4 or 5 UMDs, I probably would be interested in a PSP Go as a second PSP where I would be able to play new releases without worrying about ruining my cfw. But for $250, get real.

This shit is still gonna sell for $250? Who the fuck would buy this over a Wii/360 or a PS3 for just $50 more?

[Rman]

Does anyone know how fair they are on the game pricing? Any notable discounts over the UMD versions?

Nope.  Sony says that DD pricing would be on par with retail.

[bork]

Does anyone know how fair they are on the game pricing? Any notable discounts over the UMD versions?

Nope.  Sony says that DD pricing would be on par with retail.

DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUUUUUUUUUUUUMB

[treythemovie]

Does anyone know how fair they are on the game pricing? Any notable discounts over the UMD versions?

Nope.  Sony says that DD pricing would be on par with retail.

Why would anyone buy a PSP Go? (even more so than before that is). Its pretty much turning out to be the nightmare scenario for a digital download future.

[bork]

I guess people who would be interested in the Go:

-Like the smaller size and form factor
-Don't mind that it's priced higher than the other PSP models
-Don't care about owning physical copies of the games
-Don't mind that the prices for games are the same as retail
-Are suckers

[cool breeze]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

[Don Flamenco]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

with the way this thing is going, there'll be a drawback like stupid lag

[bork]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

This is confirmed?  That IS awesome.  The cons still outweigh the pros though.  

[cool breeze]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

This is confirmed?  That IS awesome.  The cons still outweigh the pros though.  

It was confirmed that it would work in menus and stuff, but some reviews have mentioned it also works for games.  Unless they are really dumb to write about it and not check, it should work.

[bork]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

This is confirmed?  That IS awesome.  The cons still outweigh the pros though.  

It was confirmed that it would work in menus and stuff, but some reviews have mentioned it also works for games.  Unless they are really dumb to write about it and not check, it should work.

It had better work for games!  What the fuck would the point be in it only working in menus?     But then, that does sound just dumb enough to be true. 

Then again, with a CFW PC and a PC app, you can get full screen with filters on all games, plus use any controller.  CFW OWNS AGAIN

[Don Flamenco]

whoa, does it look good?  what kind of filters?  does it work well?

[cool breeze]

ok, there is almost a killer feature with the Go in that it lets you use dual shock (or sixaxis) to control all PSP games.  Now if it supported full screen and could play my UMD games, that would be great.

announce these features for PSP 4000 already

This is confirmed?  That IS awesome.  The cons still outweigh the pros though.  

It was confirmed that it would work in menus and stuff, but some reviews have mentioned it also works for games.  Unless they are really dumb to write about it and not check, it should work.

It had better work for games!  What the fuck would the point be in it only working in menus?     But then, that does sound just dumb enough to be true. 

Then again, with a CFW PC and a PC app, you can get full screen with filters on all games, plus use any controller.  CFW OWNS AGAIN

yeah, I used that a bit and it wasn't a perfect solution.  There were graphical issues and compatibility wasn't too great either.

Even Nintendo put out the Gameboy player and Super Gameboy a long long time ago, and the PS3 doesn't even need a hardware add on.

btw, it's kinda bizarre that PSP games cost $10 more than PS2 games.  The PS2 versions of Motorstorm and Jak Lost Frontier cost $30 while PSP versions cost $40.  That's some bullshit.

[bork]

It looks good though.





Anyway, that's definitely a function you have to give the Go points for.  Hook it up to a TV with the cradle, break out a PS3 controller, and you have a mini console.

[bork]

wait...

i assumed at the $249 the thing came with the damned cradle - but it does not. Throw in an extra $30 for that.

It doesn't even come with a little slip case.     Just the system, AC, and usb adaptor.  I think they changed the USB plugs too, so you can no longer use mini-USB cables and have to stick with Sony's own format instead.

I think what I am gonna do is go and order two 16GB micro SD cards to use in my photofast memory stick duo adaptor, get more memory, and load up even more games and ROMs on my superior CFW PSP 2000.

[cool breeze]

In the end, even if Go is a flop, there is still the extra support for the PSP

Right now I'm stuck deciding if I want to buy Arctic Edge or not.  I was hoping to try it via demo or downloaded, but no CFW let me play it and there is no demo yet.

[chronovore]

Does anyone know how fair they are on the game pricing? Any notable discounts over the UMD versions?

 

As if. Same price, or more.

Wipeout Pure retail: 9 euro
PSN: 20 euro

Syphon Filter retail: 13 euro
PSN: 20 euro

And, to me at least, the key deficit in this system isn't the price, but the fact that it's a license which can't be transferred. You can't loan it to a friend when you're done, you can't sell it back for profit. That they're coming in such a high pricepoint is just crazy, when they don't have to worry about lost revenue from used game sales under this model.

[Sho Nuff]

I hope this dies fast

[cool breeze]

I'm hoping it's a very, very minor success.  Just enough to make PSP more popular (as a whole), not enough to rule out a PSP 4000 or PSP2, or hell, a PSP Go 2 that isn't shit.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

The PSP Go is not meant for existing PSP owners.  It is meant for newcomers and die hards so Sony can squeeze a bunch of profit from them to make up for projected software revenue loss due to piracy.

[pilonv1]

i cannot imagine any circumstance where this does well

[Smooth Groove]

Why are some of the biggest Wii detractors here talking about connecting a PSP to the TV?  PSP graphics blown up look significantly shittier than Wii graphics. 

[cool breeze]

Why are some of the biggest Wii detractors here talking about connecting a PSP to the TV?  PSP graphics blown up look significantly shittier than Wii graphics. 

no no, the ultimate goal is to have the PS3 upscale the PSP graphics to play on TV.  Letting you use a PS3 controller on the PSP is just a nice feature and some progress.  That said, DS games on the DS look shittier than Wii graphics; PSP games on PSP look shittier than Wii graphics; PS1 games on PS2/3 look shittier than Wii graphics.  It's just easier to excuse them for being older or portable.

[Smooth Groove]

Based on my experiences with the PS3's backwards compatibility, upscaling is a pretty useless feature.  In every case, native 480P rendering not only looks better than upscaled 480P but better than upscaled 1080P.  If you really want 480I or bellow graphics to look good, you basically need to keep a CRT around.  CRTs are the only TVs that make older 3D graphics look somewhat decent.   

[chronovore]

I laughed until I snorted.

[cool breeze]

Based on my experiences with the PS3's backwards compatibility, upscaling is a pretty useless feature.  In every case, native 480P rendering not only looks better than upscaled 480P but better than upscaled 1080P.  If you really want 480I or bellow graphics to look good, you basically need to keep a CRT around.  CRTs are the only TVs that make older 3D graphics look somewhat decent.   

I didn't mean what PS3 does to PS2 games.  I mean the best would be the PS3 actually emulating the PSP and enhancing the image similar how PC emulators do it.  I don't get why it wouldn't be possible to do.

And actually there are two good features of the Go (first being the controller support).  The save state thing sounds awesome.  Being able to stop a game at any point and resume later should be in all game devices; it even does it automatically when your battery dies (which is apparently frequent with the Go).