Quote:The new, UMD-less PSP Go is an absolute dream for Sony. Since it lacks a way to play games purchased at retail, Sony gets to set the prices for every piece of content bought on the system. Who cares if the store down the street has a game for $10 cheaper? You can only get your games from one place; competition with discounting and used games is gone. Sony will now be selling you every game that goes into the Go's 16GB of storage, and without the ability to buy or sell used games, Sony now owns every single piece of the market with this system. And without an easy way to switch the battery for hacking purposes, piracy won't be as easy.

Like wee said, the PSP Go is great for Sony. For the rest of us, retailers included, not so much.

Wee bought our system at retail, and there was no line, no risk of a sellout, and no signage or posters in the store hyping the system. It was the most mellow system launch you'll find in this business. The unboxing was impressive, and it's easy to be impressed with how sexy and sleek the PSP Go looks. But now that wee've had a day or so to play with it, it's clear that Sony's new portable is nothing but raw deal after raw deal. The complaints are numerous, the slights against consumers are many, and the hardware is flawed. On top of these issues is a price point that's so high it seems like a sick joke in the current economy. The PSP is a great system and a strong platform. The PSP Go is a terrible, terrible deal for everyone but Sony.

The Go's screen is smaller: 3.8" instead of the 4.3" of the older PSP models. The resolution remains the same, however, at 480x272. The action when you slide the screen up to reveal the controls is smooth, and that screen is a dream to play games on. There is no argument to be found about aesthetics; on the surface this is one of the best-looking pieces of consumer electronics out there.

Your old games are worthless
Sony may have promised everyone a program which would allow you to trade in your old UMDs for credit or download tokens or some such, but now that wee're at launch, the company has admitted that their plan to help those of us with large UMD collection... never really existed. If you buy a PSP Go, your UMDs are worthless; there is nothing to be done with them.

It's somewhat infuriating to see a sticker announcing a voucher for Rock Band: Unplugged that comes with a few free songs and access to the store. So you don't get the full copy of the game, but you can buy a track or two if you want. The problem is, I have a copy of Rock Band: Unplugged. This is a recent game, released when everyone knew the PSP Go was coming down the line. To continue to play it, I can either keep my old PSP around, or rebuy it. There is no way to verify my copy of the game and receive a download to use it on the PSP Go.

Sony will soon release Blu-ray discs with transfers for a PSP version of the film, so you're telling me there is no way that physical games could come with codes allowing you to download the game via the PlayStation Notwork? That way you could have a copy to play or loan to a friend, trade it in when you got bored with it, and Sony could still tie the downloaded copy to hardware or your PlayStation Notwork account.

The phantom 2GB
When it comes to storage, what it says on the box and what you see as being available rarely line up. The PSP Go is supposed to come with 16GB of internal storage, but when you first turn on your virginal system you'll find 14GB free for your games, movies, and songs.

How much would a 2GB M2 card cost to make up the difference? Depending on where you shop, $20 to $40. This isn't false advertising, the hardware does have 16GB of internal memory, but you won't be able to use all of it. Be aware.

The price
Here's the number one thing that may take down the system before it's barely off the ground. The PSP Go is a $250 piece of hardware. That's $50 less than a PS3, which you can also use as a Blu-ray player. The PSP Go won't be able to play all those cheap UMD movies that are on the market these days, it won't work with your old games, and the screen is actually smaller than the existing models of the hardware... yet it's much more expensive. As wee found out, wee're not paying for enhanced wireless capabilities, so where is the value here?

For $200 you can buy a PSP 3000 that comes with a 4GB Pro Duo card, a movie, and a current game; there are a ton of great packages out there with different colors and games for you to choose from. The PSP is a great system, and that's a pretty good deal. If you don't need something shiny and new you can pick up a used system for as low as $100 online, and that's a heck of a bargain as well. Want to take advantage of all those games released on the PlayStation Notwork? Any existing PSP can do that.

In the middle of a recession, Sony has released the most expensive portable system on the market, and as an added bonus the company seemed to go out of its way to give the finger to existing customers. You can't even trade in your older system for the newer one to help with the price, because then you can't play your games.

There are reasons for the pricing, of course. It gives retailers a higher margin so they'll stock the hardware, and the hinge mechanism is expensive, but none of them are very good ones from the one point of view that counts: the customer's.

The PSP you have is already a Go
In one sense, Sony has released a service as much as they've released a new piece of hardware. From now on, every PSP game will be offered as a digital download as well as a physical release. The thing is, you don't need a PSP Go to take advantage of this, as every PSP with a memory stick can jump online and download the games directly from the server if you're interested in digital distribution.

Heck, Pro Duo prices are even reasonable these days; I picked up a 4GB Pro Duo card for my PSP 3000 for $30 on sale, and this was at GameStop. Sony has been sending us download codes for their games to review for the past month or so, which means wee've been using our PSP 3000 as a digital platform for the same amount of time. It's a pretty good system, with the ability to download games directly from Sony's servers or to play existing UMD-based games.

So you don't need a PSP Go to take advantage of Sony's digital ecosystem, and in fact, if you upgrade you're locking yourself into Sony's pricing structure. Gamers with PSP or PSP 3000 systems can check prices on the digital store as well as a multitude of physical retailers for sales, pre-order bonuses, used games, the works. On the PSP Go you'll sometimes pay more for your digital copy than you would for a copy of the same game with a UMD, case, and physical instruction manual.

Ultimately, this is the rare case where an old product gives you more freedom, more features, and at a better price. Of course, an older PSP won't have Bluetooth, and the screen won't slide to hide the controls, but existing customers can cry themselves to sleep on piles on cheaper games if they become upset.

Everything is proprietary
The PSP 3000 simply works with the cables you have. The hardware has a mini-USB port on the top of the system so you can move files or hook up accessories, and you can connect your PSP to your PS3 using any USB cable. In fact, one USB cable attached to your PS3 will let you both charge your controllers and connect to your PSP to move content.

That was a good thing, so of course it was time to get rid of it.

The PSP Go now uses a proprietary plug, which means no more generic USB cables. Your old chargers won't work either. In fact, the charging solution is rather tedious: you plug the cable into the PSP, and then into a block of plastic, and then you plug the power cable into the other side of the plastic, and then plug that into the wall.

Let that sink in: the cable you use to charge the hardware comes in three parts. You don't own a single cable that will work with the PSP Go.

It gets even sillier, however. You can use the Bluetooth capabilities of the system to link a Dual Shock 3 to the system, in order to play with an actual controller. That's a pretty cool feature, right? The only problem is, without USB you need to connect the controller, and the PSP Go, to a PS3. So to sync the controller to the system you need another system, a USB cable, the proprietary PSP Go cable, and the controller. It's not exactly the most elegant solution, and in this situation the PS3 works as a $300 adapter.

Again, the reasons for this are obvious: retailers get to sell high-margin replacement cables, and that also benefits Sony. Those who lose out? The gamers.

Getting started is a pain
This is petty, but I love new hardware. I love the look of it, I love the smell of it, I love taking it out of the box for the first time and playing a game. The problem is that the PSP Go doesn't want you to play with it. In fact, you need to carve out a significant amount of time before you get to the gaming.

On the PSP, Sony requires you to install each update before playing games. After the system was first powered on and connected to our wireless router, wee were told that an update was required before wee could go online and download a game. So wee downloaded the update, which was a speedy affair. After the system rebooted, it told us that, although the system was plugged into a wall socket, the update could not be installed until the batteries were fully charged.

So the system had to charge, and then the update was installed. But then of course you have to download a game, since you can't use any of your UMD software, and that takes a while. But then the system disconnected from my network randomly because the 802.11b hardware doesn't handle being walked around my house very well, so I had to start completely over on the download.

All told, it took around three hours to get to playing an actual game. I passed the time by playing Gran Turismo on the PSP 3000. If you buy a PSP Go, I suggest bringing another video game along to keep yourself occupied while you wait for it to allow you to play something.

Now, keep in mind that the update issue exists on the standard PSP, but if a game required the update you always have the choice of putting in an older UMD that doesn't. You can have the system up and running in minutes. Since you're locked into using Sony's servers to get games for the PSP Go, you'll be forced to get every update they decide to send out, no matter if the game requires it or not, and if your battery isn't fully charged that could take a while.

Is there anything to like?
Lest you think wee're simply going to bash the system for the entirety of this review, wee'll bring up a few things that are good about the system.

A smaller screen at the same resolution means that the image is brilliant, sharp and clear. The system is obviously smaller, not to mention thinner, so it's a little more portable. Both the d-pad and the face buttons are much "clickier," although that's obviously personal preference. But for our money, the buttons feel great.

The other solid addition is the pause feature, and this is something wee hope at some point makes the move to other PSP models. At any point in any game you can hit the PlayStation button, and save the game wherever you are. Then you can play another game, listen to a song, watch a movie, and come back to exactly where you saved when you're ready to play again. In the middle of a fighting game or mid-turn in a racing game, this is a great way to make up for games that don't have portable-friendly save systems. You can only have one save on one game at a time, but it's still a wonderful feature.

In conclusion
It's hard to pin down who exactly this system is for. People with unlimited gaming budgets? The Go is more expensive than the current PSP offerings, and it gives you fewer options about where you can get your games. Since Sony has stated publicly that the company is going to stick with MSRP for all of its releases, the digital versions of games may be the same price as their retail counterparts, but more likely will be more expensive in many circumstances.

You can't shop around for the best deal with your games, you'll never be able to sell a game, and the system is completely locked down when downloading a purchase. The controls are more cramped, and Sony has made sure you can only buy their cables. The wireless standard hasn't been upgraded, and the system is significantly more expensive than any of its competitors. When you close the system you see a big, beautiful screen you can't do anything with.

In other words, this system is for people who don't mind rebuying all their content, never buy used games, and don't mind paying more for less. If you're agoraphobic and the idea of driving to a physical store to buy a game is terrifying, this system is for you. So wee're looking for a gamer who is both wealthy and frighteningly antisocial.

The rest of us will stick with our current hardware, thanks. If you sell a system that takes hours of setup, downloading, and charging before you can see what a game looks like on the screen, you have failed pretty spectacularly. I absolutely love my PSP, but this new iteration of the platform is what would happen if a facepalm was turned into a piece of hardware.

The Good
-The screen is beautiful in action
-Clicky, responsive buttons
-Hardware is aesthetically pleasing
-The pause function is great
-Bluetooth headset, to use with your bluetooth headset, PS3 controllers, or to tether to your cell phone
-Sound is strong using the built-in speakers



The Bad
-the system can't download games while you're doing other things
-Way too expensive
-Absolutely no way to play any of your existing games
-Controls are cramped
-Smaller screen
-Games tend to be more expensive than retail
-No competition in pricing for games
-No way to sell games you buy
-None of your cables or accessories will work, except for headphones
-Screen is wasted while closed, only shows clock, calendar


The Ugly
-Waiting hours to download a patch, charge your batteries, buy a game, download your game, and then install your game, and then finally... guess what? playing your game!
-Your system can already do what this system claims to do, and better. Minus the bluetooth and the 16GB of internal storage, this is a step back in every way
-If Sony continues this trend, expect a $500 PS3 that doesn't play Blu-ray discs



Verdict: Skip