Rumor: PSP Go! to use Memory Stick HG-Micro or something like it
by JC Fletcher 
{ May 1st 2009 at 2:00PM } 
PC World's Game On is reporting that its "sources" have "hinted" at the storage medium for the rumored PSP Go! Refuting the claim that the device will ship with on-board Flash Storage, the blog suggests that it will make use of the Memory Stick HG-Micro format announced at CES, although it's not clear from the wording if that "expanded" version of the current Memory Stick Micro (pictured) is the exact format or just an example."Think something like the Memory Stick HG-Micro," Game On's Matt Peckham said, "with a 60MB/s transfer rate, approximately 40MB/s faster than original Memory Stick Duo." Tiny memory cards would be great -- if this news turns out to be real. It contradicts what we'd already heard about the system, and we don't know who's got the facts straight. For that matter, we don't really know if there are any facts involved. We're talking rumors about rumors.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Fernando Rocker @ May 1st 2009 2:07PM
Sony should use SD cards... way cheaper, and the size is bigger.
Plus, Memory Stick Duo are are very expensive compared to SD cards, and these new micro Memory Stick are even more expensive.
NaeemTHM @ May 1st 2009 2:11PM
But then they couldn't pimp their own proprietary crap Fernando.
required @ May 1st 2009 2:13PM
They are practically the same price these days. Both formats are around $100/32GB
Insight (Fatass Defense Force) @ May 1st 2009 2:15PM
Its easy to get Memory Stick Duo on the cheap these days, and I'm pretty sure the transfer speed is faster than that of an SD card.
Mr. Joe @ May 1st 2009 3:01PM
i don't think it's the size of the boat here. i think the new battle is going to be with transfer speeds. you can get twenty 1g cards no whoop, just swap games out whatev. however, with a next gen handheld, with all digital content, the transfer speed is crucial for it be truly break through the next gen boundary.
ShadowflareXIII @ May 1st 2009 4:39PM
(Slowly raises hand...)
C..can I ask something??
What's wrong with the PSP they have now?
It looks the same to me...the only difference is they are shrinking the memory card and taking off the disk drive.
I like the one I have now...and I really don't get the change.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 1st 2009 5:10PM
There's no capacity difference between SD and Memory Stick Duo.
If we're lucky, it'll have the kind of slot my Sony phone has which can use either SD micro or M2 (pictured, no idea where the Memory Stick Micro name comes from).
chispito @ May 1st 2009 5:25PM
@Sony guys
It may be that Memory Stick Duo, or whatever the current iteration is called, may be in the same price range as SD. But, unlike Sony's format, SD cards fit into everything else and there's a good chance you already have a spare card or two laying around.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 1st 2009 6:16PM
I have a pile of Memory Stick Pro Duo cards lying around.
ssuk @ May 1st 2009 7:01PM
Shadowflare: In a nutshell, if Sony loses the UMD drive, they save themselves a tiny little bundle as the UMD platform hasn't taken off at all. No one but Sony has any demand for UMD drives, thus the price to develop each drive hasn't really come down from competition and the interest in better drives from 3rd parties has been non-existent. Then UMD discs are the same boat, slow to fall in price, not sought after by 3rd parties.
Plus, publishers/developers were, and I quote "about to ditch the PSP 18 months ago" over piracy and it's rampancy on the PSP. So, way to fix it: Make games downloadable (i.e. in a format which people pirate them in. customerRelation++;) and DRM them up the jacksie and publishers/developers are slightly happier. Makes it harder to pirate, less costly to publish because it cuts down on distribution, packaging, manuals, etc.
On the flip side, no UMD content means stores are out of tangible products to sell other than game redemption vouchers for those who don't want to share credit card details with Sony/people on unsecured WiFi. Of course, it also rids the second hand game market, which publishers detest so. Means publishers get 100% of the game's sales royalties (which they don't off second hand games) which should keep them happy even if piracy did start to break out again on the platform.
And at the end of the day, while Sony is busy dancing around a pole for publishers and developers. Us end users; gamers, get the raw end of the stick. Sure, we MAY see price cuts (no promises, though), but you're stuck with a system which you may only be able to download a purchased game *once*. If your storage medium dies you can lose 5+ games in a go (+ save data, + DLC). Then you can't resell games on (I don't anyway, but I know people do and I believe they should have the right to do so) and transferring games from one PSP to another (say, you upgrade) on a one-download system would mean DRM nightmares.
I would be interested in this new PSP if things are cheaper on the platform, but let's face it, that wont happen. It'll be the same RRP as if they were sitting on store shelves. Infact, with the false security of anti-piracy measures, they may even increase new game prices again. Wouldn't that be grand?
Aguiluz @ May 1st 2009 2:07PM
Oh, tat...
My 4 memory card duos (1's and 2's GBs) are useless on the next PSP Go! if it's true.
required @ May 1st 2009 2:10PM
I hope they don't move beyond Memory Stick ProDuo, 8GB are currently ~$25 and 32GB ~$100.
JDHexen @ May 1st 2009 2:17PM
it could always use both types.
murph @ May 1st 2009 2:20PM
Exactly! I paid $125 for 4GB 2 years ago. MS ProDuo memory has finally come down to a respectable level. Leave it alone.
Although I totally wouldn't put it past Sony to $#@*@ it up and switch to some newer format just to increase that format's sales. Think about your customers, not your pocketbook Sony.
NaeemTHM @ May 1st 2009 2:29PM
@murph
Hey Sony is in the business of making bank, not making friends. You just have to deal with it.
I mean I used to own a Sony PDA (I think they were called Cleo's...like the call me now lady) and I bought a 128MB memory stick which was 50 bucks back in the day. 7 years later you can't even FIND a stick that small.
It's just the way technology flows. Every couple a years better stuff comes out and the old stuff is forgotten and laughed at.
50 beans for a 128MB memory stick! LOL! I'm an ass.
NaeemTHM @ May 1st 2009 2:33PM
Whoops! I just interneted, the Sony PDA was called Clie. Man they made awesome PDA's.
Smartphone killed the PDA star.
Extinction @ May 1st 2009 2:11PM
That would be a huge mistake. PSP2/whatever must take PSP memory sticks/games
BigD145 @ May 1st 2009 2:47PM
PS3lackofPS2backwardscompatibilityinlatermodels
Alex Sohn @ May 1st 2009 2:12PM
I guess the good thing is, all of these rumors coming forward means something is definitely in the works, and we should end up with a pretty exciting E3 from all the companies.
Archon (PSN: Archonik, XBL: DarkARHN) @ May 1st 2009 2:13PM
Sooooo... It's a rumor, about a rumor for a rumor?... That makes sense. Plenty of it.
Malkmus @ May 1st 2009 6:00PM
Welcome to blogging
Damian @ May 1st 2009 2:15PM
Just release your games on SD card/Memory Stick HG-micro, and let me install it on the PSP2 harddrive, or if i dont want to, play it from the memory stick, then its smaller packaging, and you dont have to go fully digital.
Extinction @ May 1st 2009 7:22PM
Releasing games on a memory card of any kind would drive up publishing costs exponentially. And is retarded
Cosmo @ May 1st 2009 2:18PM
I hope that Memory Stick Duos will stick be compatible or that would be really lame.
Sony really should also put an SD reader in the PSP2 as well. They've done it now with all their computers and the PS3s that come with a built-in memory card reader read SD cards as well.
Sony can make it so that games will not run on the SD card but it'd still be good to get a cheap SD card to store multimedia and a memory stick for the games.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 1st 2009 5:52PM
they took that SD reader out of the PS3 dude...why would they put an SD card slot on there?? thats asking for people NOT to use their format...lol
Cosmo @ May 2nd 2009 4:54PM
Sony took out ALL the memory card readers in the new 80gb, 160gb and 40gb PS3s.
Einlander0 @ May 1st 2009 2:21PM
Why cant they just keep the umd drive and modify it so it takes umd shaped cartridges too?
Lets take it a little bit further. Why not make an adapter cartridge that lets you plug in multiple forms of memory sticks into it?
If it was done in this method, we could see al sorts of ne things happening. The cartridges could finaly add tilt,gps,bluetooth, or additional hardware processing power to the psp. This is how the snes got arround its limitations, near the end it was even doing 3d.
This way you wont piss off the people that have a ton of umds for what ever the reason is,(i just like physical media, what if i dont pay my bills and my internet goes out, what if god forbid another katrina happens and the infrastructure goes out and you want to keep kids busy with new games?, what if sony dies- how will you get games then?), you give an incentive for people to upgrade to new hardware, and you give the game industry more reason to develop on your console,(by supplementing the psp's cpu power with the cartridge, you make it that much harder for people to run it from an iso, and you can use a chip to encrypt the data).
Sadly i dont work in the industry.
Sony how bout' some xbla style deving for us people that like the console
Draco @ May 1st 2009 3:29PM
well if Sony goes belly up I don't they will really care if their customers have access to their software.
Mr Khan @ May 1st 2009 4:37PM
wouldn't UMD-shaped cartridges be rather large?
Maulok @ May 1st 2009 2:23PM
Agree with everyone here. Just man up, admit your mistake, and put in an SD slot. Heck, at least people with Sony cameras had MSPros they could use in a pinch. Don't force another proprietary format down people's throats when you're trying to push a struggling system. Sheesh.
RobT @ May 1st 2009 2:24PM
Yay! Now instead of losing a single game/umd i have the ability to lose 4-5 at a time! Seriously how much smaller does flash mem cards need to get? Christ, last week i accidentally inhaled my micro sd card ( for my acekard 2i) and i'm still waiting for it to show up in my toliet...
Maulok @ May 1st 2009 2:37PM
I have no idea if you're being serious or making a joke, but I LOLed pretty good at that!
shamowfski @ May 1st 2009 2:40PM
If you inhaled it, it would be in your lungs, not your stomach. You don't poop because you breathe.
Dirty @ May 1st 2009 2:41PM
Would that be an upload or a download?
Inect @ May 1st 2009 4:38PM
upload information is leaving your system.
MrEverdred01 @ May 1st 2009 2:31PM
So a PSP that might not be real might use the HG-micro format? This is a rumor about a rumor... take it with a grain of salt?
Damaga @ May 1st 2009 2:33PM
Two things wrong with the idea of replacing MS pro duos with SD: SD is a physically larger card than the thinner, smaller ms, and ms pro duos support magicgate, which could be used for content authentication.
Now that I think about it, the use of HG-Micro could be a physical DRM so the sticks could be sold in brick-and-mortar stores as an alternative to UMD.
ABRaquel @ May 1st 2009 2:34PM
I just hope that in the end they (SONY) will allow folks with an older PSP model to connect to the PC and transfer their UMD games to a Memory Stick hence playable on the new PSP (if all the rumors turn out to be true about ditching the UMD drive)
PSN: Erdie (Now equipped with Wii!) @ May 1st 2009 10:38PM
Seriously. If I can't do that, it's a no-go for me. Darn rumors!
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 1st 2009 2:35PM
dammit to hell....I JUST got a 16GB MemStick for like $30...gonna make me buy some more new shit??
Tez @ May 1st 2009 4:23PM
Yes.
RobT @ May 1st 2009 2:47PM
@shamowfski: i knew some dick would have to ruin the joke by pointing out that lungs do not connect to the stomach, damn you! ;) Maybe i inhaled it into my mouth and then swallowed?
BigD145 @ May 1st 2009 2:48PM
What? The microSD card in my phone won't work in a PSP? F* that.
Josh @ May 1st 2009 2:55PM
I feel the same way.
Just use the fucking standard, Sony.
baconaholic @ May 1st 2009 2:58PM
Let me use my MS Duo!
...or I can just keep using my PSP-1000. It still works.
baconaholic @ May 1st 2009 3:01PM
Let me use my MS Duo!
...or I can just keep using my PSP-1000. It still works.
mr nimblewick @ May 1st 2009 3:07PM
At least they are getting away from UMDs. Big improvement right there, no matter the actual stick that's used.
Darryl G. @ May 1st 2009 3:16PM
So, let me get this straight....
A. My games that I own on UMD are useless.
B. I can't/hard to reach the shoulder buttons because they are placed onto the sliding useless face. (What does this add to the system?).
C. My accessories (battery, cases and memory) are no longer going to be compatible to use on the GO.
D. Still, No second joystick, seriously?!
E. What, if any, is the advantage/benefit of buying this system instead of keeping my own?
This doesn't sound like a good move to me. It's just a system change with minor cosmetics and I guess a different way of preventing piracy to encourage sales. I would rather see more games, cheaper priced and a more "compromising" solution with dealing with modders (i.e an open 'aps' solution like the I-Pod).
Darryl G.
DangerMouse @ May 1st 2009 3:22PM
Um, if you're talking about the PSP image from the link in the article, it's not real, just a mock-up.
Vidikron @ May 1st 2009 3:27PM
A) Not if you keep your PSP.
B) AFAIK the images floating around are just fake mock-ups. The sliding would serve to allow the system to be more compact when not in use or when playinggames that didn't require the buttons hidden by the sliding screen.
C) Again, keep in mind we're still dealing with rumors... but so what? You could likely use some/all of the same cases, but why would you expect the batteries to be the same? It's hardly unusual for newer generations of portable devices to use different batteries. If the PSP Go games require faster media then that would likely be part of the reason for changing the type of media.
D) Again, we're looking at fake mock-ups.
E) The same advantage for buying any new system... you get games that may be exclusive to that system. Decide for yourself as with any system.