Sony Reportedly Ends PSP Go Production 47
Sony's PSP Go launched in late 2009 to mixed reviews and tepid sales. A little over a year later, Sony announced the portable console's successor, the NGP, leading to speculation about how long the PSP Go would last. Now, a report out of Japan suggests production on the device is winding down. Sony responded to inquiries about the report with vague PR-speak, but a UK retailer confirmed that they wouldn't be receiving replacements once their current stock ran out.
Kill it with fire (but keep the base PSP going) (Score:5, Insightful)
Good riddance. I could never see the rationale behind the PSP Go; why pay extra for a version of a handheld console that actually offered less functionality than the original? The online Playstation Store still has issues with the range of titles available (though this is improving), pricing structures (likewise improving, but only slowly) and user interface (where it is a long way behind Xbox Live and the App Store).
The weird thing is, however, that despite facing ridicule in its early years, the base PSP has gone on to be a curious kind of success story. With almost 70 million units sold worldwide and some impressive games sales figures, it's basically the first non-Nintendo handheld to achieve any real degree of success (even if it does lag a long way behind the DS). For comparison, Sega's Game Gear managed around 11 million units and the Atari Lynx a paltry 5 million - and the poor old Nokia N-Gage apparently only managed to attract around 3-4 million side-talkers. Weirdly, the PSP is now acting as the main competition to the 3DS, which it is now outselling on a week by week basis in some markets (with the PSP's lower price tag undoubtedly helping). It certainly helps - particularly in Japan - that the PSP has become the successor to the PS2 as the title that picks up the quirky and interesting low-budget games, particularly RPGs.
The irony is that having seen the PSP turn into a late-cycle success, Sony look set to kill it off with a successor at exactly the wrong moment. Latest sales figures indicate that had Sony left the PSP alone (while killing off the PSP Go like the irrelevance it is), it could have seriously hurt the 3DS's prospects in Japan - which is only one market, but nevertheless an important one. The 3DS is vulnerable right now - its launch games lineup is weak and its 3d effect is is impressive at first glance but everybody I know has turned it off after a day or two at most due either because they get headaches or because it's just plain distracting when trying to play games - it's still worth seeing, but you might as well just see it on a friend's console for half an hour rather than fork out for your own.
Keeping the games flowing onto the PSP for the next 18 months or so (capitalising on the weak 3DS lineup for the next 6 months) and keeping the spotlight within Japan on it could have denied the 3DS a convincing foothold and increased developer nervousness about jumping to a new platform. However, by putting out a new platform of their own so soon after the 3DS - and one which, judging by its specs, will likely cost even more than the 3DS (ouch), Sony are exposing themselves to exactly the same risks. A $350 NGP (number entirely hypothetical, but within the bounds of possibility given the spec) with another Lumines + Wipeout-style launch lineup (not to disparge Lumines, which was great) would really struggle in the present economic climate. It does make me wonder whether they learned anything at all from the harm that the high initial price of the PS3 did them. I wonder if it's their piracy-paranoia driving the switch - the PSP has been "unlocked" for a long time (as has the DS).
Re:Kill it with fire (but keep the base PSP going) (Score:5, Funny)
I could never see the rationale behind the PSP Go; why pay extra for a version of a handheld console that actually offered less functionality than the original?
It all makes perfect sense. The PSP Go is Sony in a nutshell, combining their two favorite activities - over-charging for hardware and stripping out functionality.
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I came here to say the same thing. Sony just followed their standard produdct practices. The "original" PS3 had features like OtherOS and PS2 emulation, which the newer Slim Version did not have [wikipedia.org].
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Well, not exactly *Less* functional.
It also had 16 gigs of onboard flash RAM and bluetooth connectivity. Also talked to SIXAXIS controllers(and DS3 controllers). That coupled with TV out made for a pretty interesting gaming experience.
As for the 3DS, they really dropped the ball, with the PSP as aged as it was, they should've moved swiftly and introduced the PSP's successor years ago. the psp is a pretty competent device, I love the platform(DS is also incredible; good time to be a gamer IMHO).
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TV out was crap though (unless they changed it for PSPGo), as it would not fill either dimension of the screen, had a thick black border all around.
Having to choose between the baked in flash (which can be mitigated with memory sticks)+Bluetooth (If they had made the TV output actually good, the Sixxasxis could have been cool, but otherwise) and being able to play the large volume of UMD only games... Yeah I'd take the latter.
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TV out was crap though (unless they changed it for PSPGo), as it would not fill either dimension of the screen, had a thick black border all around.
That depends on whether you use a composite video or component video hook-up, as well as the resolution of what you display. And whether your TV or receiver can scale the signal, of course.
I've watched UMD movies played on my PSP and displayed on the TV, and it's subjectively as good as a DVD.
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IIRC, games would render at a certain resolution within a very large black border, using such a small part of the screen that none of the scaling modes in my TV could make a dent in the border that much. I think I read they treated UMD movies differently, but never had the slightest interest in those.
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I didn't say good, I said interesting :)
But the issues you outline keep it from being enjoyable. Putting a proper scaler for output isn't too hard or expensive these days. I certainly hope they learned their lesson for the NGP.
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OTOH, the PSP Go was actually portable, as opposed to the original PSP.
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How is the original PSP not portable? Mine went with me on any number of transatlantic flights, Eurostar trips between London and Brussels and domestic UK rail trips. The battery life was only enough for about 70% or so of a translatlantic flight, but you could always carry a spare battery if you wanted to. Its weight wasn't really a problem either - compared to the likes of the Game Gear (and even the original Game Boy) it was positively svelte. If anything, I found the DS harder to use on the move, becaus
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If anything, I found the DS harder to use on the move, because the stylus controls could be a bit of a pain if you were in a slightly unstable environment (such as a plane or train).
UGH! I've had the same problem with stylus-heavy games. Knights in the Nightmare and The World Ends with You were both unplayable in a car/on a plane.
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The DS did for a while, but the number of games coming out for it took a nose-dive as the 3DS approached. The PSP is now pretty much uncontested in this space - and the only real reason why it wouldn't remain so is the fact that Sony intend to replace it - with a console that will be more expensive to develop for.
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Yeah, Monster Hunter is a huge part of the PSP's late-life success. Though curiously, the Wii version doesn't seem to have anything like the same degree of traction. Actually, I suspect that's why the 3DS wouldn't, in reality, benefit from a Monster Hunter game as much as you might think.
My understanding is that the big appeal of the PSP Monster Hunter in Japan is its online play. Online play across Nintendo platforms - be they normal consoles or handhelds - is a bad joke. The 3DS really is no better in thi
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See here's the problem, you actually used the PSP for games.
I bought an original PSP, and realized that video games are for children and I wasn't so much interested in the small overpriced disks.
but... there was some non-game software available (translator stuff, dictionary, simulators, etc.)
And it had a 1Seg TV attachment ! (here in Japan), which could not only let you watch TV, but record and play it back later as well!
And it had a very nice GPS reader + Map Software (same as car navigation because.. sony
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Problem is lack of games. I WISH I could buy some fun games for the PSP, but all they do is re release driving games, that suck on the PSP or FPS games that also suck badly on the PSP. They treat the PSP as a 13 year old kids device...
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And nothing of value was lost (Score:2)
Honestly though, it was just a bad product that took out features from the original from attempts to close and kill out the home-brew (pirate?) community.
Fatal Error (Score:5, Interesting)
The hardware is beautiful but the marketing strategy was epic fail.
YOU CANNOT STORE GAMES.
It's download only, but you only get 16GB. And you could buy PSP games for the price of those super-mini not to mention empty memory cards.
They had a hard time selling them, because they had a hard time explaining why the normal PGP was better.
EPIC FAIL.
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They had a hard time selling them, because they had a hard time explaining why the normal PGP was better.
PGP?
EPIC FAIL.
Glad you admit it.
Fuck Sony, they are a has been in the internet age (Score:5, Funny)
Oh btw, did I mention?
Fuck Sony.
Re:Fuck Sony, they are a has been in the internet (Score:4, Interesting)
I find a pleasing symmetry between your user-name and the sane, calm, utterly harmless tone of your post.
Keep up the good work!
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Subject says it all. T
Fuck Sony, they are a has been in the internet age (
What the fuck does your title says? in your race for the first post you only wrote a lot of nonsense. Can yo please calm down and rephrase your rambling so that we can understand it?
Sheesh, we should strive to leave this kind of nonsense to Digg, youtube or the like.
Thank you.
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Sony's stock has been on a relative rise since 2009, going from 19-30ish.
The fact that your friend broke a tv mounting it to the wall means that your friend doesn't know how to wall mount a tv.
The original PS2 warranty was a full year, so you would have gotten a replacement. Of course, the PS2 didn't have internal storage, it used memory cards, so you didn't even lose anything if your system broke (except the 2-4 weeks while Sony attempted to fix your system before sending you a new/refurbished one). Today
Had to cancel my credit card (Score:2, Insightful)
My 8 year old son got a PSP Go for Christmas from his aunt. I used my credit card to put $40.00 on it so he could buy some games. He bought for $100.00 because my credit card information was stored on it, and it couldn't be removed. There was some option to reset to factory settings or something like that, I didn't try that because I figured it would erase the $100.00 worth of games as well.
So I had to cancel my credit card to prevent anyone who got his hands on the PSP Go from buying stuff on it.
No more So
PSP vs 3DS (Score:2, Interesting)
One thing people forget is that, for a growing number of games, the PSP is also capable of 3D via setting the display to red-cyan anaglyph images.
Of course, this is a 3rd party feature that can only be used on hacked PSPs last I checked, but it's not like that's very hard.
Too bad, I like mine (Score:2)
My wife bought me a PSP Go for Xmas when they first came out.
I like it - nice and compact, doesn't need a stack of discs to work, nifty form factor, great screen, and a whole bunch of cool games.
I never understood the virulent hate for this system - I enjoy mine.
DG
Re:Too bad, I like mine (Score:4, Informative)
People dislike it because it sold for about 100 dollars more than the standard PSP, and not only did it not bring anything new to the table, but it was functionally inferior. Yeah, it didn't need a stack of discs to work, but neither does the original model - they all have access to the same online store, only the "classic" design has access to an even greater library of games thanks to the magic of physical media, and generally at lower prices.
So what? (Score:2)
So you pay a little more for the compact form factor and the associated cost with miniaturization.
There is value to smaller. Maybe not enough value to justify the price premium and lack of physical media for you... but hey, that's a design tradeoff and not everybody has the same wants and needs.
The tradeoffs can certainly influence the decision to purchase one model over the other - but HATE? That's just silly.
DG
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So you pay a little more for the compact form factor and the associated cost with miniaturization.
No, you pay a lot more for a device that's cheaper to manufacture.
They couldn't figure out how to include retailers (Score:2)
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