In a move to help the Playstation Portable ship an additional million units for the year & to push their digital download sales into the portable gaming market Sony released its new media device dubbed the PSP Go. The PSP Go is the first major update of the original PSP with a smaller & lighter design and several changes to its look & feel including the absense of a UMD slot.
Hi, I'm the PSP Go.. my mommy doesn't love me 
However, since its launch the Sony PSP has been under much scrutiny with a poor game lineup & an equally lackluster battery life. Now to add to Sony’s woes the PSP Go appears to be heading for the long list of failures.
This should “Go”…sorry… without saying but the Nintendo DS & the DSi are still trumping the PSP Go with even the Apple iPod Touch taking a piece of the pie.
The PSP Go has other problems as well with a steep $245 price tag compared to the $170 it would cost to get your hands on the existing PSP & isn’t substantially less than the Playstation 3 console at $299.
In a strange disclosure Sony officials have admitted that the PSP Go has been an epic failure when it comes to sales. Why? They believe it is too confusing for most consumers due to the lack of a UMD drive which ultimately resulted in fans of the media staying clear of the new PSP device.
According to Media Create using retail sales the PSP Go the new device has sold a total of 23,455 units in Japan versus an average weekly sales of 70,342 units for the original PSP.
In this writers opinion it seems safe to say the PSP Go is on its way out. What do you think?
Popularity: 16% [?]
The only way to make this ill -conceived, DRM-friendly, also-ran, less popular would have been to include a free do it yourself bowel surgery kit, and a smack upside the gob.
Says Sony, “I know, Let’s take features off the PSP, and make it unable to play the vast library of pre-existing games, and then keep the price high!”
Sony must be ran by the American Democratic party.
And I say that as a Democrat.
Wow, that is so sad dude. I mean really. PSP was always the best handheld available.
Jo
http://www.anon-vpn.net.tc
I have a PSP slim. The wifi has long failed, but I still refuse to be parted from it. Of course, I say this after I put custom firmware on it.
But still, it is not a bad device, and by now there are a number of good PSP games. If you can pick up a used PSP slim for cheap, I’d recommend it.
“In a strange disclosure Sony officials have admitted that the PSP Go has been an epic failure when it comes to sales. Why? They believe it is too confusing for most consumers due to the lack of a UMD drive which ultimately resulted in fans of the media staying clear of the new PSP device.”
If there exists a fan of the UMD drive media to begin with, then he is a Sony executive.
Not offering an update path to current PSP customers was this kiss of death.
However hard it would have been or how many potential games sales they might have lost, the net result was that the people who liked the PSP the most were encouraged to try out other platforms because there was no advantage to staying with their current one.
In an effort to get people like me to spend the maximum amount of money, they convinced me to spend nothing at all.
I actually think the PSP Go is a good idea, especially lacking the UMD. Just iron out the kinks, resolve the service asymmetries, and price it more accordingly. Say, $50-90. That would make it competitive, and appeal to people that want a Sony device but actually think the PSP is too much. Like people who just want games, but think a DS is too much, they go for an iPod Touch.
I agree though, $250 is outrageous for a device that’s half as capable as it’s competitors AND more powerful predecessors.
“In a strange disclosure Sony officials have admitted that the PSP Go has been an epic failure when it comes to sales. Why? They believe it is too confusing for most consumers due to the lack of a UMD drive which ultimately resulted in fans of the media staying clear of the new PSP device.”
have a source for this?
The PSP Go was simply overpriced. Approximately $242 overpriced.
I purchased a PSP and after six months I gave up on it. I paid %5 in cash all up (loyalty program product) and I believe I paid twice what any PSP is worth.
If there exists in this universe a more shitty piece of hardware then I would be impressed. Crap hardware that made me wish for a PS1 and games that made my eyes and ears bleed… not to mention gameplay that would have been embarrassing on an Atari 2800. The UMD movies were novel, but they cost more than a DVD which made them an idiots choice.
Sony dropped their biggest turd with this one… and that is impressive because Sony has dropped some world class turds in the past… MANY of them (I have almost lost count).
I think the Sony brand has become less compelling over the last decade.
I hope PSP Go is better than older version.
@ Pete
“Like people who just want games, but think a DS is too much, they go for an iPod Touch.”
Do you mean the console itself or the games?
http://www.ebuyer.com/cat/Apple-iPod/subcat/iPod-Touch
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=63&cat=371&subcat=2990
A brand new DSi is about the same price as the cheapest touch (at least on that site, from the UK) so I have to assume you meant the games, yes?
hmm..while all of you make good points…the actual rock solid reason that the psp go failed was because it gave everything that nobody asked for. I for one had only ONE add-on in mind. THE SECOND ANALOG STICK! Fans have been begging for a second analog stick and sony either doesn’t care or doesn’t know how to implement it into their current system. Also, the lackluster game library for the psp was not helping either.
I have 22 PSP UMD’s. If I could use them on a PSP GO I would get one. Till then. Na.
PSP Go? Meh. PSP Phone? Yes, please. I don’t mind digital-only games (alternatively, sell them on Memory sticks?). I don’t even mind the DRM if you have a half-way sane store that lets me redownload purchased games later on an updated/replacement phone. I just want to reduce the amount of devices in my bag. Come on, Sony, MS and Apple are about to take the whole game away from you if you don’t watch out.
I hope the PSP Go isn’t on the way out. I predict its going to be remarketed with a price drop at E3.
I can admit sony dropped the ball on rolling out the PSP Go. I love the design, but it needs some tweaks. Mainly a price drop on the unit. Sony admitted from the beginning that there was some extra cushion in the profit for retailers to make up for the lost sales in software. It was also evaluated that the sliding mechanism is what makes the unit expensive.
A price drop on the games. Its ridiculous to pay the same for a download as the UMD. This was done to please the retailers. Everyone was bitching about UMDs. So dont act like a UMD-less PSP was a bad idea.
I dont care about the trade-in program. I dont think Sony intended the Go to be an upgrade fromt he 3000. Just a different option for new adopters and pirates who have a psp but no UMDs.
The Go does not have fewer features. With the removal of the UMD (that everyone wanted to get rid of until it served their purpose in criticizing the Go) Sony added a save state feature that would allow someone to completely power down the device to save battery and still return to where they left off in a game. They also added bluetooth that can be used to pair headphones/mic, ps3 controller, or a phone for internet connection. And who could forget a 16gb HD.
You have to be out of your mind if you say the PSP doesnt have any great games.
Sony’s gamegear was remarkably ahead of its time. Still it was not more popular (I think) than the gameboy. There somehow missing the essential connection with what their target audience (kids) really want. I mean I’m a 24 year old with a DS, not sure why but I didn’t even consider a PSP of any kind. I do like this DS though.
I, personally, enjoy having a solid copy of my games, and if I don’t like them I can at least recover some of my money by trading them in.
Where is the source for this article? When did Sony ever say they failed?
I believe the author may be telling something not true.
jojo,
Gamegear was a Sega product, not Sony.
http://www.industrygamers.com/news/psp-to-see-big-big-titles-this-year-promises-sony/
here’s the source.
[...] gamesummary99 PSP Go is a failure%u2026 Surprised? http://www.retrohive.com/2010/03/17/psp-go-is-a-failure/ (via http://psp.mygameonline.net [...]
I think Sony should do more on marketing on PSP Go.
The slim psp which i owned is more batter then this one.
All the claims of a poor PSP library are just parroting a meme at this point.
It’s simply not true.
Fighting
Tekken: Dark Resurrection. ( 2 new characters plus start with all characters unlocked. )
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny. ( 2 new characters. )
Fight Night Round 3. ( New career progression ladders and less in game advertising. )
Fate.
Smackdown vs. Raw 2010.
RPG
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony.
Final Fantasy: Crisis Core.
Brave Story: New Traveler.
Strategy RPG
Final Fantasy Tactics ( contains new cinemas, and a new, more coherent translation. )
Jeanne D’ Arc.
Racing
Ridge Racer.
Burnout Legends.
Wipeout:Pure
Action:
God of War.
Resistance.
Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow.
Platformers
Daxter.
Little Big Planet.
Puzzle
Lumines 1&2.
Rhythm
Patapon.
Still to come:
Metal Gear: PeaceWalker
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.
The Game Gear never had this level of support.
Samael, you mention PSP games, not PSP Go games. Many of the games you mention are not available for the PSP Go, either because they’re not available in the PSN or because they’re not available in one or more regions (yes, the PSN is region-locked).
It’s also sad that some features like PSP Comics are mostly only available in North America but not other regions like Europe. This alone could add the much needed extra value.
[...] Sony's refresh of the PSP isn't going so well & this is why…Source:http://www.retrohive.com/2010/03/17/psp-go-is-a-failure/ [...]
Old psp was better. This psp have small screen.
Jonas Salk says:
March 18, 2010 at 11:37 am
“The only way to make this ill -conceived, DRM-friendly, also-ran, less popular would have been to include a free do it yourself bowel surgery kit, and a smack upside the gob.
Says Sony, “I know, Let’s take features off the PSP, and make it unable to play the vast library of pre-existing games, and then keep the price high!”
Sony must be ran by the American Democratic party.”
Actually, that is the very core of Conservative Corporate Republicanism. Charge more, give less to the consumers, ask for bailouts, when you mismanage the company, and give *huge* bonuses to the incompetents that created the mess in the first place.
Corporate Republican Ideology 101:
Privatize the profits, and socialize your losses.
This seems familiar..
IPod/Phone -> Fail IPad
PSP -> Fail PSP GO
These companies need to be creating something new, not something with less features yet more expensive.. (XBox 306 Models, PS3 Models..)
Only idiots buy things AGAIN with less features.
There are SO many fails in the comments here that I just can’t take any of your opinions seriously.
Sony Game Gear?
Atari 2800?
etc…
Woem: where are you writing from? All of the titles that Samael listed are available in the US Playstation store right now, in addition to about 200 others.
While the complete collection is not available digitally, I agree that it’s a tired cliche to say there are no games to play on the PSP Go.
I got one specifically to use the legit firmware and to ditch the slow, bulky, fragile, and power-hogging UMD format.
The GO is worth it to me for the smaller, more comfortable form factor, larger internal memory capacity, and (possibly most importantly) the ability to stop and save any game at any time without needing a save point.
I think that if PGP Go launched for less than $200 we’d see slightly less bitching about it.
[...] Source:http://www.retrohive.com/2010/03/17/psp-go-is-a-failure/ [...]
[...] PSP Go is a failure… Surprised? [...]
[...] PSP Go is a failure… Surprised? [...]
[...] is PSP has stood the test of time. With that said, barring anymore unfortunate failures like the PSP Go I see no reason why Sony’s entry into the portable gaming market can’t continue to keep [...]
I got to play with a PSP Go a couple of times, but I knew it wouldn’t replace my Kratos one. I admire the move toward digital distribution in a way, but like so many others I love having the original art, cases, and discs for my games. Nicole and I have amassed a fairly decent collection over the years (and a ridiculous amount of swag considering she works at a game store) and it’ll be a sad day for me when I’ll never get to go to a midnight launch again.
Jindo Fox,
Where exactly in the PSN can I download Final Fantasy Crisis Core? I don’t give a crap about any of the other games listed. That makes for a VERY tiny downloadable content list for me. I’m sure I’m not alone. It’s not the TOTAL number of games available, because not everyone likes every single genre available.
yeah it’s a failure… removing the umd and replacing it with a hard drive is just another reason why more people will hack the
psp go
Why would you pay more for a more limited device? I love the original PSP, games are always cheap on clearance because no one owns a PSP. Those games are on UMD. I don’t mind internet connectivity and the ability to download games, but why isolate the user from the existing library of UMD games that are easily available? If the user could buy games on UMD when needed and not waste their storage space downloading them they’d probably have a more marketable device. I’d I were Sony I’d have tried to make the UMD drive thinner and lighter.
I easily get addicted to PSP games and i am always updated with the newest PSP games in town.*`~
Told you so…… I hope the fanboyz are crying all over their PSPgo.
Add second thumb stick and put more memory into it. It will then be able to support real FPS games instead of the REPEATED top down recreations of game that are full FPS on other consoles. Duh !!!!!!!
Sony has a habit of doing stupid things. It is as if they refuse to listen to customers.
OK – so Sony PSP is a fine piece of equipment.
I believe sales would go CRAZY for a device that had at least the following:
> Capability to upgrade existing UMD’s to downloadable content, plus allow this content to be ‘traded’/sold with others
> non-proprietary connectors should be on the system (memory/headphones/USB/etc..)
> allow mainstream memory types to be used for expansion
> provide capability to plug in a usb stick for media trade/playback
> Bluetooth
> Wireless N – not B
> capability to play all types of media natively without requirement for conversion (avi/mpeg/etc…)
> Decent wifi browser
> Internet Radio (yes, PSP has it, but bodgy).
> Keep price reasonable and charge reasonable prices for DLC – focus on adding content and selling more quantity to boost revenue, not gouge for the unit and selling just a few games.
> Integrate internet telephone capability
> Include 3+ MP camera in all units (front and back)
> Include GPS functionality in all units
Just a few thoughts… Get on-board Sony – sink or swim – don’t let Apple and MS lead the way!