Hands-on With the PSP Go 73
ANkleStrong writes "Sony Corp unveiled on Tuesday a smaller, lighter PlayStation handheld game device called the PSP Go, in a race to catch rival Nintendo in an intensely competitive mobile games arena."
E3 attendees were able to take the new Sony handheld for a test drive, and more pictures and videos are now available. It's set to be released on October 1st, and will retail for $249. A new Resident Evil game is being designed specifically for the updated hardware, and Metal Gear Peace Walker is coming as well.
Failed design is fail. (Score:5, Interesting)
The price tag is bad enough - but until I can flip a PSP closed to protect the screen and controls the way anybody can with any of the three models of the Nintendo DS, there's just no way in hell I'm going to waste my money on one of these.
I carry my DS in the hip pocket of my cargo shorts - it gets banged up, sat on, smooshed against the hull of the bus. It's spanged off of desks and doors, barstools and bannisters. And while the case is scraped and scratched (and mildly pulverized in one corner thanks to a FLYING LEAP the thing took onto pavement), the screens are still in working order and the machine continues to give me games on the go without complaint.
Sure, I could buy a screen protector or whatever for the PSP like I have for my iPod - but the only thing I've ever had to buy for my DS is games, and I prefer to keep it that way. If I'm gaming outside and it's raining, I just stick the thing in a ziplock bag.
As I see it, I'd be paying a hundred bucks more for the "privilege" of the screen getting scratched all to hell the second I stick it in the pocket with my keys... and it doesn't play any of my games. And I have a lot of DS and GBA games.
Sony may have owned the 32-bit generation of consoles, but they have yet to come up with anything compelling in the portable (or online) arena. Heck, the one friend of mine with a PSP uses it to run a Skype client. What does that say about the platform?
On a related note - when the first GBAs hit the market, they could play GB games. That was dropped with the DS, which could play GBA games. Now, finally, with the DSi, Nintendo has dropped the GBA capability (along with battery life, which is why when my DS gives out I'll be buying a DS Lite - or even another DS if I can find a new one. The DSL is a smidge too small for my hands). Nintendo has gone through several generations of handhelds and has maintained backwards compatibility with at least the first generation of each. Sony's on their second PSP and they've already dropped UMD - which screws over anyone who's paid good money for games that come on UMD media.
Clearly, they don't understand why Nintendo continues to dominate the market - only that they do. Kinda like Microsoft and Google - Sony, like Microsoft, seems to keep trying to take the lead, and every attempt is further and further proof that they just don't get it.
Re:UMD copy utility and PS3 slim (Score:3, Interesting)
No info on that. But apparently from this point going forward, any new PSP game that's available as a UMD will also be available as a download. I'm sure a decent portion of the back catalog will get moved online also.
Spread too thin? (Score:2, Interesting)
Currently Sony has such a complex line of products, virtually none of them leaders of their segment, that you can't help but wonder if they have completely lost their bearings. Perhaps a re-invention of the company, a la Steve Jobs when returning to Apple, would allow them to cut the dead wood and refocus on a few areas where they can be again undisputed kings. As it is right now, however, every new launch seems like another (overpriced) dead horse.
Re:Obviously not for kids. (Score:3, Interesting)
THANK YOU SONY!!!!!
I fix video games for a living, and Sony has made great plans to keep me in business. This thing looks like it could quite possibly be the most fragile system ever. Adults can't use sliders without breaking them, and Sony wants to give them to teenagers and children that will throw them in backpacks with textbooks.
Taking clamshell durability versus slider durability, then comparing to the rate of user destruction of clamshell systems would imply that without a carrying case or protective hard cover used constantly for storage, these things are just simply doomed. I don't see how a single one can survive on its own. I imagine the fish that are presents for the little girl in Finding Nemo.
I hope they've already started working on the logistics of handling millions of warranty returns and repairs at once. Microsoft may be able to provide some advice on that front.
RE: AC below commenting on flex ribbons wearing out: I don't think I've seen more than one or two (out of several thousand) ribbons in a clamshell system that have just "worn out." They do break easily, but only once the actual case or hinges are broken, or if someone was tampering with the internals. Even the few that were "worn out" appeared to have worn out because there was a ton of dirt and debris inside the areas where the moved around, adding to the wear. They are simply not the fault point on their own or through normal use.
50+ Million PSPs vs Some Guy On Slashdot (Score:2, Interesting)
Over 50 million PSPs have been sold worldwide by Sony. But some guy on Slashdot says they don't know what they are doing...
Which one to believe?