Product: PSPgo
Price: $249.99
Rating: Two thumbs sideways; 70/100; C-; * * out of five.
Pros: Gorgeous design, comfortable controls, convenience.
Cons: High price, no real improvements, 802.11b wireless for a download-only device is not fast enough.
Overall: Designed with a specific consumer in mind, not the average gamer.
Some of the reviews of Sony’s PSPgo may leave you with the impression that the system is actively killing puppies, ponies and everything nice in the world. The venom that pours from the words of some of these reviews bewilders me and yet, at the same time, I can sort of understand way someone might be so negative about the device.
At the asking price of $249, the PSPgo is a Siren of game devices, offering a lot of sexy style without a lot of substance. There’s no UMD backwards compatibility at this time, leaving anyone with a large collection out in the cold or having to be re-charged admission.
There’s no second analog stick, which is something we have been asking Sony for a long time to include. Finally, Sony is asking consumers to give up physical retail shopping for the convenience of only using the Playstation Store at retail prices
It’s very clear that the PSPgo is aimed at a certain type of consumer and I just so happen to be one of those consumers. I don’t have a UMD collection to speak of, I dislike the UMD format and I’m attracted to new, shiny gadgets.
Design
Opening the box of the PSPgo almost feels like unboxing a cell phone especially since the device is much smaller than the previous PSPs and is about the size of an iPod Touch. You flip open the top and there the device is, looking back at you in all it’s $249 glory. Truth be told, love it or loath it, the PSPgo is one sexy piece of hardware and you definitely get that feeling the first time you set eyes on it.
I went with the piano black model which, like the original Playstation 3 and iPhone, is super shiny and heavily prone to finger prints. In only a couple days my fingers have subdued the plastic sheen and trying to wipe them away has proven futile.
Sliding the screen upward reveals the device’s controls. It is a smooth glide and securely locks in place. To enable such motion, the buttons have all been recessed into the device but they all still feel comfortable and responsive without having to mash them down.
The single analog stick has been moved from the awkward corner of the PSP-3000 to the just right of the D-pad, which makes more ergonomic sense. Despite the stick being smaller, I never felt that my thumb was going to slide off during hours of play. I prefer it since the PSP-3000’s analog stick cramped my thumb up whereas the PSPgo doesn’t.
The L and R, volume and display buttons have been moved to the top of the back of the device, which is initially a bit awkward to control. These buttons are recessed as well, making it somewhat difficult to press. However, after training my fingers to find them, it became an easier feat. The Home button remains up front for easy access.
The PSPgo’s smaller form also shrinks the screen down to 3.8 inches (roughly iPod Touch territory) from the PSP-3000’s 4.3 inches. The PSP bezel could’ve been left out to give more screen real estate but whatever Sony. The combination of the downgrade in screen size and retaining the 480×272 screen resolution actually makes things look better on the PSPgo than the PSP-3000, especially since Sony fixed the ghosting issues.
Features
The removal of the UMD drive and the missing removable battery is what really allows the PSPgo to have a similar size of an iPod Touch, though I would have preferred some bulk if I could change the battery, especially on long trips. The current battery inside the Go has given me roughly 4 and a half hours of battery life before the green power light started blinking. This is in line with the PSP-3000’s battery life, which features a removable battery. The PSPgo’s battery also takes a little longer than an hour to fully charge which you will discover when you try to install your first firmware upgrade out of the box (it requires a fully charged battery).
Also missing is a stronger wireless signal. The PSPgo still features a 802.11b wireless, which is the same as the PSP-3000’s. To put that into perspective, your iPod Touch has a wireless-G, which can download media much faster. For a digital download-only device at this price to feature what is pretty much a dinosaur of a wireless radio is mind-boggling. Even the knock offs include wireless-G.
Further putting this issue into perspective is trying to download a 836MB game onto the PSPgo. Total time: 60-120 minutes. That’s an hour to two hours that you can’t use your device.
Luckily, Sony offers a few solutions to this problem. The PSPgo comes packed in with Media Go software, which is Windows compatible (no Mac support). From there, you can download what you want to your PC and copy it over to your PSPgo. You can likewise do this from your PS3 if you own one. You can also theoretically tether your PSPgo to your cell phone thanks to the addition of Bluetooth.
Speaking of Bluetooth, the PSPgo has new feature that allows PS3 owners the opportunity to sync controllers up with the handheld device. This comes in handy when playing for a longer period of time or simply when the device is hooked up to the television. The process takes about a minute but because this takes away the sync to the PS3. I suggest using a back up controller.
As for hooking up your PSPgo to the television, you remember all those fancy cords and accessories the PSP-3000 offered? Those are now useless (thanks Sony) since the PSPgo used proprietary cables. There’s no backwards compatibility with accessories either. That’s a real shot in the foot for potential upgraders. In fact, Sony has made things more complicated by increasing the number of cables to charge your PSPgo from the two it took to charge the PSP-3000 to three. Lose a part and you are screwed.
Bottom Line
The PSP Go is clearly a device that was never intended to replace the PSP-3000 but instead offers consumers another option – UMDs or digital distribution. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has listened to Sony speak in the last three years, they are big proponents of the digital distribution model and my hat’s off to them for making the ballsy move to be the first to offer such a device for mainstream gaming. However the execution was badly flawed, even if it is gorgeous, and that can’t be ignored.
It’s not so much that it takes the benefits of shopping for physical media out of the equation (I picked up Prinny for $10 bucks on PSN as opposed to $40 at GameStop), it’s offering a device with no real change in functionality for a much higher price that is a bit ludicrous even if you can justify the extra hundred dollars for 16GBs of memory – the iPod Touch is $299 for 32GBs in comparison.
If nothing else, Sony did at least get the PSP word of mouth spreading if the 300 percent increase in sales says anything.
If you already own a PSP-3000, I highly suggest sticking with that. If you are really thinking about purchasing a PSPgo, then I implore you to actively seek out discounts such as the one Dell was offering because $249 is a bit hard to swallow. Well, at least you get a pre-loaded demo of Patapon 2 and a voucher for Rock Band Unplugged. That’s worth something, right?
Site [SonyStyle] Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamertell] Photo Gallery [Gamertell: PSPgo]
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the cons are that you need a memory stick for it to run and a limited amount of games..