Last week, Sony released the new PSP Go! This device is being marketed as the next generation of handheld gaming. The PSP Go is a small, easy to handle device that Sony is hoping will give it dominance in the portable gaming arena.
They have a ways to go.
While the device boasts many amazing features, you will begin to ask yourself if it is worth the price and hype. First we’ll look at the price, at $249 this unit doesn’t come cheap. In fact, one would have to wonder who the core demographic of the unit is as I wouldn’t trust this thing to anyone under 15 years of age. With the price that high, you could easily purchase a regular PSP and still have money left over for games. The unit is also $80 more then the Nintendo DSi and over $120 more than the standard DS.
Now I could overlook the price if the unit boasted an amazing interface. Of which it doesn’t. You need to install the Sony Media Go software to your desktop in order to transfer files over to the unit to use. However, the interface of the software is cumbersome as you can’t easily drag and drop files into the software. You will have to set up monitoring on selected folders in order for the software to see it. Also, don’t bother trying to transfer over digital copies of movies that you received when you purchased a DVD or Blu-Ray, because they are not authorized to play on the device . So theoretically the only movies you can play on the unit are ones purchased over the Sony Media Go interface. However, with most DVD ripping software, you can easily transfer files over. However in doing that, you do run the risk of copyright violation on something you already own. The next problem I have is the software. Before the unit was released Sony was toying with the idea of you being able to transfer games to the unit via your PSP’s UMD library, however Sony nixed that idea and now if you want a game that you previously had on your PSP you will have to repurchase it.
Here is where I have the biggest problem of all, and it’s not just with Sony but with the whole entertainment industry in general. In the entertainment field’s quest in moving the masses to a download business model, we tend to forget one thing. If I am tying up my bandwidth, my hard drive, and giving the publisher the ability to not have to create packaging, or physical product, then why in the heck would I pay the same price for a download that I would for a tangible piece of product?!
I browsed through the game library that Sony offered and I’m sorry, I have a problem paying $40 bucks for a download game. I don’t care how great it is. Will Sony be there to happily let me re-download the purchase if or when my Hard Drive fails? I doubt it. But while the PSP Go! display is vibrant, and is fun to hold and use, you could go broke trying to re-purchase your library to download to your new system.
So with it’s 16GB of memory ready to be filled, you will find yourself in somewhat of a quandary. Do you pay $250 bucks for a device that you have to then turn around and pay again to fill it up? Unless you plan on using the device to listen to music, or rip movies, I don’t really see an overwhelming reason to rush out and purchase a PSP Go! You would be better suited purchasing a lower cost alternative.
Keep Moving Forward!
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