Goodbye, old storage media!
Rumored for God knows how long, and teased for months, the Sony PSP Go is finally available at your friendly neighborhood retailer. We have one—well, I have one—and have been playing with it for a couple of days now. As such, consider this a review. Spoiler: It’s not bad, but not great either.
What is the PSP Go? Nearest I can tell, it’s Sony’s attempt to usher in the Download Era. No more visiting the local shop to buy Game 3: Yes, It’s a Sequel to the Sequel, or waiting for the UPS man to bring your Amazon or Newegg order. Nope, all you’ll have to do is fire up your device, which, in this case, is the PSP Go, connect to a virtual store, then download the latest game directly to the device’s storage. Congratulations, you’re now the proud owner of Game 3, all without having to leave the comfort of your home. The concept itself, I think, is fantastic, and has been used by the likes of Steam for some time now. Who needs a pile of discs, and their plastic shells, when all you want is the game itself? That’s my attitude, though I can totally understand when people say, “I want the disc!” Your business is your business, and who am I to judge how you want to play your games?
Even Sony recognizes that there’s bound to be more than a few people who aren’t quite ready to give up their discs, which is why the PSP-3000 isn’t going anywhere for a while. (In fact, there’s gonna be a wicked Gran Turismo bundle coming out later this month, which, if I didn’t already have an old PSP (and now the Go), I’d be all over.) Expect the PSP Go and PSP-3000 to co-exist for some time, just like how the Nintendo DS and GameBoy Advance co-existed for some time. Should the PSP Go prove to be any sort of success, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sony axe the PSP-3000 in the future.
So that’s the philosophy of the PSP Go: a neat little device that’s able to download PSP (and PS One classic) games from the Internet.
While the philosophy is fine, and is one I subscribe to, the actual execution isn’t all there. If the PSP Go were a pro wrestling match, and I were using the Wrestling Observer five-star rating system (which I’ll be doing from now on with my reviews, thank you very much), I’d give the PSP Go a solid three point five (3.5) out of five stars. It’s not a perfect device, and it’s just shy of being very good; it’s good. (For comparison’s sake, I’d give the Zune HD a four point five (4.5) out of five: if only the screen were a little more legible in direct sunlight it would the best piece of hardware I’ve ever owned. It really is that good.)
So what’s wrong with the PSP Go? Let’s talk about what’s right first, then get into its shortcomings.
Eu gosto de…
• See you in Hell, UMDs. The UMD could be the worst disc format I’ve ever used. It’s clunky and brittle all at the same time (doesn’t it feel like a slight wind could shatter a UMD?), dreadfully slow, and, in 2009, entirely unnecessary. With flash storage being so cheap these, not to mention so fast, I’m very happy to see Sony kill of the UMD in the PSP Go. That’s right: If you didn’t already know, there’s no UMD drive in the PSP Go. At the moment, that means that your collection of UMD-based PSP games are 100 percent obsolete, provided you don’t plan on keeping a PSP-3000 (or older) handy. Sony has said that it’s planning some sort of trade-in program for the future, but it’s currently being held back by legal reasons. Or, if you’re a cynic, perhaps Sony wants us to buy Vice City Stories or Soulcalibur all over again, this time from the PlayStation Network?
• The general size and shape of the device. The PSP-3000 isn’t exactly huge, but unless you’re wearing Rocawear jeans you’re gonna have a hard time fitting it in your pocket. The PSP Go’s display has the same resolution as previous models (480×272), but on a smaller screen, so images “look sharper,” in layman’s terms. It slides open and shut sorta like the T-Mobile G1 (or pick your slider phone), but never feels like it’s going to break on you. The PSP Go also just looks neat, maybe not as neat as the Zune HD, but neat nonetheless; you tell it was recently designed, whereas the PSP-3000 looks so 2005 by this point.
• The screen. The screen, she is not bad. I played Gran Turismo, Rock Band, and Silent Hill (the PS One game), and all the games looked pretty good to me. I understand “pretty good” is more or less a worthless phrase, but at no point did I think, “Well this screen is rubbish.” Once again, playing the thing in direct sunlight just isn’t going to happen, but you probably assumed as much by now. Besides, I imagine playing this while on-the-go, as it were: on the train, at the airport, etc. If you’re on the Copacabana in Rio playing a portable video game system you may have to check yourself.
Eu não gosto de…
• The download speed. This, I feel, is the single worst part about the PSP G0: it only has 802.11b Wi-Fi! I’m sorry, is this 2003? For a system that’s supposed to usher in the dawn of a new era, this is the absolute dumbest thing Sony could have done. What’s the price difference between an 802.11b and 802.11g chipset? (The Rock: It doesn’t matter that the price difference is!) How much money did Sony lose already with the PS3, $400 zillion? Man up and go with 802.11g. Let me illustrate how slow this is, and keep in mind that I have the fastest residential Internet connection in the United States of America: Gran Turismo for the PSP weighs in at 937MB. It took 21 minutes to download the game, and a further 20 to actually install it. This is not good enough! At that point, I may as well have driven to the store, bought a physical copy of the game, stopped at Taco Bell, then watched a good chunk of The Ultimate Fighter all in the time it took to download and install.
• Game prices. Downloaded from PSN, Gran Turismo cost the same price as it does at retail stores: $39.99 (plus tax! bite me, New York state!) Couldn’t Sony throw us, say, a $5 discount because we’re not buying a physical item that costs money to produce, then ship, then sit on Wal-Mart’s shelves? Isn’t that one of the allures of downloading content, that it cuts out the middleman (the retail stores like Best Buy), and has zero costs associated with production? It’s not like there’s a truck that deliver the ISO from Sony’s servers to my PSP Go, a truck that needs gas, has a driver who’s on a salary, etc. These prices need to be lowered because, otherwise, what’s the point? I already said how it’s not terribly fast to download the game, and now it’s not any less expensive? Lame.
• The nub. If it’s at all possible, I will never use that thing. The physical location of the nub is fine, I have no problems there, but it just feels useless. (Needless to say, I’ve been using the D-Pad to play Gran Turismo, like I did in 1998 when the first game came out.) Would it be impossible to include an actual analog stick? (The D-Pad, for the record, feels more “clicky” than “pushy,” if that makes any sense.)
Conclusão
Again, using the Wrestling Observer five-star rating system, I’d give the PSP Go a fair three point five (3.5) out of five. It’s not going to light the world on fire like the iPhone or anything, but it’s not a huge bucket of fail either. The Wi-Fi is murderously slow, and for something that’s supposed to be all about downloads, well, I think that’s an oversight on Sony’s part. Once your games have downloaded, though, then you’ve got as much space on there as you want. The PSP Go comes with 16GB of built-in storage, which is expandable up to 32GB with the addition of a Memory Stick Micro card. (Are there even 32GB of PSP games worth playing out there? So that’s plenty of space, unless you want to watch movies and whatnot, which I patently have zero interest in.)
So, not bad, but could have been a little bit better, absolutely.
There is too much bad with this device to get me even slightly interested. It may not be all bad, but the negatives are pretty large.
High device cost ($250??) + high digital game cost (Full price? BS.) + long download times (Wireless-B? Really? In 2009/2010??) + long install times + pointless design change which is, imo, worse than the original PSP design + no UMD trade-in program or service = Why am I going to buy this? That’s right, I’m not. Why would I?
Conclusion = What is the point of the PSP Go? Not speaking of what Sony was trying to do, but what they actually did. What did they actually do with the PSP Go? Nothing. There is absolutely no improvement here at all.
They should have just updated the old PSP with the new hardware and what-not. Now THAT would have been pretty cool. This though, this just isn’t that cool at all. And it’s expensive, slow and inconvenient.
It may not be horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no problem with saying that I’d rather have the older PSP.
You know what would be cool Sony? PSP Original with two analog sticks (with D-Pad still, I feel the need to say that with you for some reason), touch screen, 16GB/32GB models with expandable options, UMD slot or at the very least Wireless G (Preferably N) and a trade-in service instead of just plans for one. Why the hell did you make this device?? It’s so pointless…
Here is a much shorter summary…
They got rid of features, they use yesterday technology which makes it slow and inconvenient, they changed the design for no reason at all and then jacked up the price.
Again, no point in this device at all.
Price and review comparison… looks like I’m basically right.
http://www.amazon.com/PSP-Go-Black-Sony/dp/B002BSC55M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1254697100&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/PSP-3000-Core-Pack-Black-Sony/dp/B001KMRN0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1254697112&sr=8-1
I’m glad you took three posts to say something, repeat it, and then pat yourself on the back for being right.
Hey, let me edit my posts and I wouldn’t do that. :p
But seriously, who cares? What are you? A post count nazi? lol
to jashua you ovisley have no idea what psp go can do first of all sixteen gigs of memeory and expenditure and up to 16 gigs maby it is got a liitle over the top desighn and it does load fast and is very easy to use so get one and were i am it costs 455$ witch is in austrailia
The negatives for Australians?
Price for unit. AUD$450. A PS3 slim is just shy of $500 with a game.
Price per game. As stated in the review: Why are they the same price when significant savings are made on production and distribution? Australia already pays artificially more for downloadable content because of artificial territory barriers. Isn’t the point of globalisation and DLC to let consumers gain access to games at competitive prices? (Answer: no, it’s to get you to pay the same price while cutting costs)
Downloads. Unlike our North American brethren, Australia has archaically slow internet and offensive download caps. At the moment I pay $115/mth for 55gig downloads at 8000kps. So, it will be slow to download and I have to use some of my precious quota to even *get the game*
I realise that Australia hardly makes a dent in terms of world sales, but really, if you were here, would *you* buy one?
Hell no I wouldn’t buy one Dear lord, you aussies have it bad down there. On top of giant ass spiders no less! lol :P (yummy kangaroo steak though, has an interesting flavor)
It looks like it doesn’t matter where you live though. The reviews really aren’t all that great, especially compared to yesterdays model.
That, and with Wireless B, nobody is getting quick downloads.
for mater of fact wour austrailian doller is around 64cents less then yours and the kangerro is our nation animal and the emu
yes i would because the psp go is worth it and ps3 prices have gone down bye heeps it used to be $999
hot
It doesn’t seem like most people yelling about the price, and that’s their only complaint, are noticing the internal memory. Think about it, how much are you spending for a sixteen gig memory stick after a 170 dollar game system? Yes, I’m pissed they used the micro stick for this new one. Point it, if you own a psp and a bunch of UMD’s, don’t get it. Please don’t, because no one wants to hear anyone complain about it as much as you will since you already have one.
For those of us who do traveling, don’t like keeping up with a bunch of UMD’s and are new to the PSP, this system is really good. Not, OMG, I need one, but really good. It brings nothing new to the PSP, but if you don’t have one, why not? I don’t have one, I hate UMD’s(we all agree they suck), and I like having all of my stuff on a small easy to access system. It’s not a bad system, but it’s not an improvement by any means. If you don’t have a PSP, consider it. If you do, then keep your 3000 model, I hear they’re great. I’ll probably get one after a couple of paychecks, because after getting a PS3, I am in love.
OK, but what about this:
I’m a bargain game shopper. I like to buy used games. I will not be “forced” to purchase a new copy via download.
And that’s the problem. I wouldn’t buy a PSP Go if I had all the money in the world. And a word of warning to Nintendo/Microsoft: DON’T even think about this ridiculous idea. Real gamers want hardcopy games, not downloadable ones subject to erasure. This is a joke, and honestly, people like Marc above aren’t real gamers. What kind of buffoon wants to pay full price for an older game when a used copy on eBay will suffice?
Bargain bins usually contain old or unwanted games, I imagine they’ll have the same online, just like anywhere else online. But I do see your point and I agree with it anyways. I want hard copies, period.
What if I want to sell my old games? What if one of them becomes super rare like Zelda Gold or something like that? Then I can’t do anything with it. What if I sell my PSP? Do I charge for the games like I usually would? or do they get erased when the new person sets up there account on it?
This is a great and stupid idea. Its great when its both digital and hard copy, its stupid when its just digital.
Sell a device that allows you to digitally convert your games onto your PSP. That way you still have the games and no value or anything is lost at all. Maybe make it so you have to register it with your specific device so that it only works for your PSP. or something. You know what, fuck the Go, just give us back the damn 3000, give it two analog sticks and a touch screen and onboard memory for digital downloads IF WE want them. Fuck you sony, you dont give two shits about what your only customers want. Whatever happens to you at this point is truly your own fault. Start listening to your damn customers, you don’t know what they want, you can only guess, THEY DO know though. And what I just listed is basically exactly what everyone either wants or would like. It might even be worth the $250 then too.
Also, what if I want a classic someday in the future? You can’t buy games that are no longer offered through the online PSP games store. So you’re basically shit out of luck. For this reason alone the games should stay hard copy and at the VERY LEAST, they should be discounted. No physical medium, no shipping costs, basically no cost at all and you can just copy + paste if you need more.
This really is a giant bag of fail when you think about it. Although I don’t think some people will care.
Everyone should just stick to the PSP 3000, the sales numbers should finally get the message through their thick head. You won’t be missing much by skipping out here anyways.
Games are discontinued because of production costs that no longer pay off. There is no production cost on a download so they keep things on there. Hell, all those old discontinued PS1 games are being brought back in download form. And on top of that, if you get another PSP once the old one kicks the bucket you can use these downloads on up to 5 PSPs as long as they are signed up under your account. You can just store the data on your pc or PS3 and install it on your psp again and again and if the pc or PS3 breaks down as well you can download these games from the network 5 times as well.
From that perspective they at least don’t screw you with the download being stuck to only one system. And as for rare games, who the hell wants to search high and low for a game when you can just go online and get it.
The wireless speed, they could update that but realistically it wouldn’t make it Go any faster. Do you typically go out and randomly decide that you want to download and play a game? Its better to back up and store the games elsewhere anyway.
Oh no, its an all digital psp. More than likely its just to test the waters for the next generation of their portable system. They aren’t going to add another analog or a touch screen interface as that would mean that some games could only be played on this much more expensive portable. How much more pissed off would you be if a great new psp game only worked on the PSP Go because it had one little extra analog. You people that complain about a company giving people a choice between the old style of the system and the new one are completely dumb.
Dude, Wii offers nes, snes, nintendo 64 games for super cheap. You can also download some awesome classics for cheap on the playstation network…except Legend of Dragoon unfortunately…anyone know why? So if I break my disk, I have to go buy another one? Fuck that, I’m not buying any game twice. And I’ve bought “bargin” used games…yeah, they froze and don’t work after twenty minutes. Screw that. I’d like to buy it once, store it, and never have to worry about it. With the old cartridges, those last forever, but how long do these crappy cd’s last? They suck and don’t last like the originals used too. If you’re a real gamer, you’d want everything back the way it was with cartridges. I blow into it, stick it in the system, it works. Playstation has acknowledged that. I can get some decent playstation one games straight on my ps3 for like ten bucks. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start it the right direction. I agree with the hard copy digital copy argument, but we’ll just see if it goes that way. But a hard copy of a game on CD is just stupid, always has been. I want a game that my stupid family won’t break when they play with it.
Sony knows that if you already have a 3000, you won’t get the go. Everyone and their dumb mother knows that. You have a PSP, then don’t get it. Please don’t. And if you believe that sony really isn’t listening to gamers at this point, then why try so hard to talk to them?
What if your Wii dies? Even if you were smart enough to back up all your downloaded purchases onto SD cards, will they work in your new Wii if you ended up getting a new one from Nintendo or if you went out and got another to replace it?
I’d rather know that I can sell off my copy of the game and feel secure in that I can use my game in a new unit that replaces my old one.
i m the same as joushuer our what ever and i like pre owned games better because they r half of the price and marc is not a good gamer
The PSP Go! says ” I have money, fuck you.”
I’ll pass.
There’s one aspect not mentioned here that makes me dread the PSP Go and everything it stands for: Censored software.
Here in Germany we are used to software not being published in our country because of “youth protection reasons”. Games like “Gears of War” have never been published in Germany because they would have been banned before hitting the shelves, and whenever something with an 18+ rating comes out, you can be quite sure that it’s a censored version. Can you imagine Fallout 3 without slow motion effects and gore? Well, you could if you had played the pathetic German version.
As German law forbids the distribution of most types of 18+ software (it’s a rather complicated system here – we have 18+, we have stuff on “index list A” and “index list B” and banned stuff) over the internet, Sony couldn’t even provide those sorts of software for the PSP Go if they wanted to. Importing the software from the UK, which many Germany do as of today, isn’t possible because there’s no disc to be mailed to you and accessing the UK store always carries the risk of your account being banned because you violate the PSN usage agreement.
The problem isn’t restricted to Sony – I am already used to not having a chance for downloading the extra maps for Gears of War or CoD5 because of the German censorship laws. At least I can buy the actual games for the other consoles, though – the PSP Go would make it impossible for me to play anything the German censors deem unfit for me even though I guess that I can be called more or less “adult”. At 34 you expect to make your own decisions regarding games and movies, and all that download shit takes that right from me.
if u want portability with psp3k,get cfw then u cn copy and dwnload games.it sux here in s.africa:a pspgo sells 4 r3500 and a ps3 slim is r3799!bout 400 to 450 usd!! and internet is f ing slow! we pay r300-40 usd a month for 2gb of data at 1mbyte per sec!!
IT TRULY SUX-PAYING 400 USD FOR A PSP GO AT R8 TO 1USD…AND INTERNET IS CRAP THE ONLY PLACE THAT HAS THE FASTEST INTERNET IS ABSA BANK, AT 5MB PER SECOND FOR REGULAR PPL WE HAVE 2 PAY UP TO R8 FOR 4MB- 1USD EQUALS 4MB
Rá, sabia que você era brasileiro ;)
E pra mim o PSP Go! (e todos os que vieram depois do 1000, que eu orgulhosamente tenho) nada mais é que uma atualização babaca e desnecessária, afinal, tudo o que roda no Go! roda no 1000, a única diferença é o “fator prestígio”, design essas coisas, o que não faz a menor diferença pra um habitante dum país de terceiro mundo como eu. É um luxo desnecessário (diferente do PSP-1000 e do meu iPod Touch, afinal brasileiros não tem acesso, AINDA, ao Zune HD)
At least the PSP Go supports bluetooth, so you could have games that support the bluetooth ball:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/10/04/finnish-startup-throws-small-ball-at-gaming-console-giants-video/
I guess everyone’s right on this issue. I just bought one today trading my psp 3000 and this downloading is reallying ticking me off. I’ve read the reviews before and I thought that It wouldnt hurt to least buy and try. Took it home and tried to download some games but it said that it needs to be updated before it can do anything. So i did, I went to my friend house to use his internet, and this took me over 2 hours just to get 20%. I just want to throw this at sony’s face and take back what was before. AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
What a joke !!! All the investment I have made in my previous PSP games, and there is no way to transfer them to the new PSP GO. Who are the clever gurus in Sony that make these decisions ? Sony – you are dreaming. Why would anyone buy a PSP GO ? Interesting to see that Nedgame has decided to boycott the PSP GO. Sony, you had such a good opportunity to embrace the gamer industry, but through greed & stupidity, you have failed miserably.
i would like to say thank you to everyone who posted these comments until now.You guys saved my butt here,i was about to buy a psp go,but it doesnt make sense to anymore. i bet the psp 1000 is better than the go,seriously.and when is sony gonna update the firmwire any of the psp’s so that we can watch youtube ”n” stuff. i mean come on!!!!!!
I think theres a bit of biast towards the Go in the review as the reviewer owns one (noticed in his view on UMD’s). People do tend to favor their possessions to make them feel better about owning them. I dont own either version of the PSP but i’m trying to decide which to get for Christmas..
also the remark about ‘PSP 3000 coexisting with the Go similar to DS and GB advance’.. the DS was a BIG step up from the GB’s in almost all aspects..Games, Design, Touch screen, features, its a new generation of system..the PSP 3000 to the Go is merely a small transformation, a re modelling with small tweaks.
when i first saw an ad on tv for the GO i was intrigued and came online looking for specs but i was disappointed when i saw that all the content was Downloadable only.
i haven’t got a credit card because i prefer spending cash..
also here in Australia internet isn’t that fast and the price of the GO is like $450 as opposed to a PSP 3000 which is in the low to mid $200’s (i think) and all your really getting is a downscaled PSP with a slide out button pannel with awkward positioning, few new technological trinkets which aren’t even that usefull.. and your saying bye to the days of eagerly unwrapping a present to find a cool box/case with a game inside to welcome in the heartless download era.
It might just be me, but i like having a hard copy of what i own, it just doesent feel the same when its all unsee-able digital matter. Its been argued that the UMD’s are fragile but i think its more fragile if it can be erased from existence via a button. Its possible anyway to save PSP games to the normal consoles memory right?
each game i’d buy on a GO, i’d have to leave downloading overnight judging by the general size of most games and my pitiful internet speed.
i dont like where gaming is headed..games become more shallow as the systems get more high tech. i see the peak of consoles as the long ‘PS one – N64 era’. back then you weren’t waiting for upgrades and better ways to play the games, you were just waiting for the games themselfes and were alot more satisfied with what you got. Not to mention there was so much more spirit in them like with Banjo Kazooie or Zelda: Ocarina of time, you weren’t just sitting in a room trying to win it, there was more too it but i cant word it, but it was great for my imagination.. i got a Nintendo 64 back in 1997 for my 6th birthday and didn’t buy anything console related except controllers and games until 2002 or whatever when i got an Xbox
i’m definitely leaning towards the PSP 3000 that way i can play the UMD’s, share em with other people that got PSP’s, all that. but i dont wanna go gettn a game console to find the “psp 4000″ comes out a few months later and killing some of the vibe around the system i got. though i’m sure the next upgrade is far away since they got the “Go” to market around with. In that regard i think the GO is solid for a while which would be one of the elements of persuasion in me buying it.
sorry if this seems like a rant or anything i just like to voice my view on gaming these days its something i care about and dont want to see go downhill for new generations of kids..
on that note, Downloadable content Only! that eliminates all children, only those families everyone hates, mr and mrs know it all, are gonna be able to master the online downloads for their kids.
its not rocket science but i’d love to see parents from my generation working this shit out.
if theres a reason i should get a GO rather than a 3000 let me know peeps
otherwise im pretty certain i’ll just get a PSP 3000..
I am getting the Go because I am tired of carrying around my UMD games. Im just going to sell all my psp games i already have for full retail price and rebuy all my psp games off of the PS store. I will realy enjoy the lightness of the PSP Go and will enjoy playing the games with my ps3 controller. I am not loosing anything buy switching and will enjoy this new stylish system.
I cant believe this guy who wrote this……..20minutes for almost 1 gb?!?!?!
Right now I am waiting for need for speed shift (880mb) and so far it has taken an hour and a half and it’s only at 60% downloaded……Now that is sllllllooooooowwwwwwww I hate psp go…….. and I just bought the game for 39.99 plus tax?!?!?! Taxes on the internet?! that is truly screwed up……..Where is the logic in charging taxes to an american company when I live in Canada……I am going to start a revolution…..nobody else will…..everybody just takes it like a prisoner bent over in the shower………..
wow i mad i got it ,it sucks!!!!!!!!
HI THERE YOU ARE BOTH RIGHT AND WRONG AT THE SAME TIME SURE THE DOWN LOAD TIMES ARE LONG BECUASE SONY DID NOT HAVE THE 802.11N THAT WOULD ADD FEW DOLLERS THE 880 MB GAME WOULD PLAY FASTER WITH A FASTER CPU AND MORE RAM AND BETER GRAPHICS CHIP WOULD HELP OUT WHAT WE NEED FOR PSP GO 2 IS A FAST 1 GHZ CPU WITH 1 MB CACHE AND 128 OR 256 MB OF RAM STILL 16 OR 32 OR 64 GB FLASH DRIVE BE ALSOUME AND GO WITH THE NEW WI-MAX NOT WI-FI
HI THERE IF WANT A PORTABLE PS3 OR XBOX 360 THE COMPANIES HAVE THE TECHNOLOGIES TOO SOO BUT YOU WONT LIKE THE PRICE OF THE UNIT SPEED ADDS COST