PSP Go? Anyone? Bueller?

[stubadub]

I couldn't resist, but I feel like I'm one of the few. Anyone else taking it in the ass today?

[aerodash84]

If I had the money. I was impressed at the games put on the PSP store today though. I didn't get to see everything, but some good titles in there. I'm taking mine to work to play some more Mega Man X though, but post what you think so far and all. I'm interested, but like I said money is short & PC needs some repairs.

[vegan]

I was impressed at the games put on the PSP store today though.

I'm impressed by retail clearance prices and used game prices. Sony has no reason to put any of these on sale, ever. They'll expect full MSRP years after a game comes out. No one should be supporting this thing, it's anti-consumer. Sony made the PSP Go for Sony, not for you.

[johnnysix]

As a day 1 purchaser the first time around, I've been burned enough by Sony to hold off on the Go! until I see how it all works. The whole PSP experience soured me on Sony. The only reason I picked up a PS3 so early was because I'm a collector of sorts. I think the iPhone has proven to me that I don't need the big names to get my fix of portable gaming. I happily purchase $10 iPhone games, but it's gonna be hard to shell out full price for downloadable PSP games now.

[blacksymbiote]

I never got a PSP or a PS3 (yet, will be remedied for God of War 3) so I have yet to feel the burn from Sony. I guess what I'm trying to point out is that I don't have anything against Sony. But truth be told, I haven't been hearing many good things about it. Also the idea of not being able to buy used games or rent games doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I have a DS already, and I barely play that as it is. I don't see the need for another portable in my life right now.

[raysor]

How much does a full price downloadable psp game cost?

[stubadub]

Depends on the game, very small games are $4.99, and the brand new big name games like Gran Turismo are $39.99. There are a few games on there with prices lower than what they sell for new ($15.99 for God of War vs $19.99 in stores) but for the most part they are exactly at the MSRP.

My first night with the device, and I've spent the last hour and a half downloading and installing the free Rock Band Unplugged Demo and Gran Turismo. Don't know why I wasn't expecting that after my experiences downloading games on the PS3.

[bobafettjm]

I am not going to get one, at least not yet. The price point is far too high for me, especially with not being able to use my physical media. I am too much of a collector for having a handheld with no physical media. Plus I already have a PSP and don't see a need to upgrade quite yet. I might possibly get one when the price drops however.

[az0madman]

Between having the iPhone and an older model of the PSP, there's no reason to really get the Go. I do like the form factor, but as it stands, I don't want to deal with getting games I already own onto the new one (if there's even a way for that yet). Plus, the lack of changable battery is a downside. It makes me happy knowing that my PSP can last up to 8 hours, not that I ever play that long without a charge, but never know.

I'll always be tempted to get one though just because it's the latest version. I still want a DSi and DS Lite but until my Phat suffers a horrible accident, I'm stuck with that lackluster screen.

[dolson]

I'm impressed by retail clearance prices and used game prices. Sony has no reason to put any of these on sale, ever. They'll expect full MSRP years after a game comes out. No one should be supporting this thing, it's anti-consumer. Sony made the PSP Go for Sony, not for you.

Sony made the PSPgo for Sony? As opposed to Microsoft, who made the Xbox 360 for you, the consumer, because they aren't a business like Sony, trying to get your money into their pockets? lol

The pricing thing may be a valid point... IF most of the games in the PS Store were full-price, and if they hadn't already put games on temporary sale several times in the past on the PS3 as well as several PSP games on sale right now.

Sony has no reason to ever drop the price on a PSN game, such as PixelJunk Eden. But yet, they have cut the price on it, as well as many other games, on many occasions. They have also dropped price on full PS3 games such as Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, matching retail price-drops. Full-priced games, like Siren: Blood Curse, have also gone on sale.

At least look into your accusations before you throw them around.

The real issue here, for me, is the lack of ownership of a physical object - I can't trade in (edit: or sell to a friend, which is what I usually do, as trade-ins are rarely worth it) my digital download games. That part really bothers me.

[dolson]

Depends on the game, very small games are $4.99, and the brand new big name games like Gran Turismo are $39.99. There are a few games on there with prices lower than what they sell for new ($15.99 for God of War vs $19.99 in stores) but for the most part they are exactly at the MSRP.

My first night with the device, and I've spent the last hour and a half downloading and installing the free Rock Band Unplugged Demo and Gran Turismo. Don't know why I wasn't expecting that after my experiences downloading games on the PS3.

I always found downloading on the PSP (slim model, anyhow) to be far slower than on my PS3. I'd recommend you download your PSP games on the PS3, then install them there... (stupid step, I know) and then copy to the PSP over USB. I haven't measured the time difference, but I'm reasonably sure it's faster. Worth trying, at least.

[satori]

if they could give me my UMD games as downloads for free, or allow me to install them some other way I'd be fine, but in the current offering I see no reason to buy one. My current PSP links to my ps3 just fine.

[trunolimit]

I've noticed that this is where a lot of markets are going. School text book makers are putting more and more of their content online and making students pay to access it, once their class is over that material is no longer available and they are basically trying to kill the used book market. Now sony is trying to get you to download games instead of buying the physical media so no more sharing games, reselling, or renting. Microsoft is also trying to offer downloads of full games instead of selling you the disc.

retailers like gamestop and walmart hate sony and microsoft for doing this because this is just taking away from their business.

I think we are seeing the beginning of the end for companies like gamestop and gamefly.

But to play devils advocate UMD's suck. almost all of mine are broken and every PSP that I have owned has had issues with the UMD compartment (either the laser arm thing gets loose or the metal casing bends and has to be replaced. I'd rather play games off of the memory stick. And I hate having to physically switch my disc in order to play different games. if I could have all my games on my hard rive on my xbox and be able to switch amongst them with a couple of buttons it would be heaven.

[tokenuser]

I wasn't going to get one - but on the inside cover of my LBP GOTY Edition (replacing my original LBP disc which developed a crack at the hole in the disc - and THE game my wife loves to play) my wife saw the portable version of LBP being released in November. Guess I know what someone wants an an anniversary present now.

When did PSPgo become the 8th Anniversary present?

[dolson]

I wasn't going to get one - but on the inside cover of my LBP GOTY Edition (replacing my original LBP disc which developed a crack at the hole in the disc - and THE game my wife loves to play) my wife saw the portable version of LBP being released in November. Guess I know what someone wants an an anniversary present now.

When did PSPgo become the 8th Anniversary present?

8 years? Nice, good work. Helping to get that average up there. :) PSPgo is a fine gift for 8 years.

Oh, heh. It's my 8th this December as well. Haha. Aww, I am getting old. :(

[tokenuser]

8 years? Nice, good work. Helping to get that average up there. :) PSPgo is a fine gift for 8 years.

Oh, heh. It's my 8th this December as well. Haha. Aww, I am getting old. :(Its somewhat ironic that when my wife and I first moved to the US, we had been living together for a couple of years (unmarried), and continued to live together (unmarried) even after buying a house together in SoCal.

A friend of my wife's frowned on our relationship - living together, unmarried - despite the fact that as an unmarried couple, we had been in a committed, monogamous relationship for longer than the average length of time people remained married in California (it was 5 years) ... and that was on top of the fact her mother was on her 4th marriage. We had been together dating, and eventually living together, for 10 years before we actually got married.

I guess that would make it our 18th anniversary coming up ... I think that fits for a PSPgo anniversary. She'll also be travelling for conferences a lot over November, so it could be a win/win.

[scoobydiesel]

I have not bought one, an I dont think i will so far.

We still have 9 PSPgo's in at my store and no one has even asked about them.

I've told a few folks about em and tried to inform people but no one can get over the price point and some have trouble digging the downloadable content side of things.

When the price point is better to my liking i will buy one and hope to see some good hacks on it. otherwise im on the waitlist.

[blacksymbiote]

Price just dropped for the PSPgo in the UK. I guess the retailer boycott worked.

[dolson]

Price just dropped for the PSPgo in the UK. I guess the retailer boycott worked.

Huh? It's the retailers who are slashing the price, not Sony. Sony went on record (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-pspgo-sales-in-line-with-expectations) to say that sales are, so far, meeting expectations.

Retailers were boycotting because the profit margin was too low, and the fact that the device undermines the rest of the PSP business - UMD games, specifically - and therefore large potential profits. Some retailers even liked the PSPgo because it makes the PSP-3000 price look that much more attractive.

[vegan]

Some retailers even liked the PSPgo because it makes the PSP-3000 price look that much more attractive.

I... guess that's a way of looking at it....

[dolson]

I... guess that's a way of looking at it....

Yeah, if I were a retailer, I'd totally use that as a sales tactic.

"Well, this one here, it has a bigger screen, it costs almost $100 less, and you can play PSP games on it."
"Sold."

I imagine it'd be something like that.

[trunolimit]

This lady at work asked me if she should upgrade her son's old psp to the psp go and I told her you do realize the only way to get games on it is to buy them online and download them. She's like "WTF I aint going on no internet to buy games" then I realized that the psp go will lose out on a huge market of parents who buy their kids stuff but aren't too computer literate themselves. Then when they kill off UMD's I think the DS will rain supreme. Parent's want to be able to walk into a store have their kids pick out a game or buy one as a present then physically give it to their kids.

[vegan]

Yeah, if I were a retailer, I'd totally use that as a sales tactic.

"Well, this one here, it has a bigger screen, it costs almost $100 less, and you can play PSP games on it."
"Sold."

I imagine it'd be something like that.

You know I was mocking it, right? If something's biggest success is making the other model look good, that model has failed as a product.

[dolson]

You know I was mocking it, right? If something's biggest success is making the other model look good, that model has failed as a product.

I fail to see where you think I misunderstood you. I never said the PSPgo was successful because of the light it puts the older PSPs into. I simply stated how some retailers were putting the thing to use by using its high price and lack of UMD drive as a way to push more of the retailer-friendly PSP-3000.