Sony: PSP without UMD 'always the plan'

DSi took away your ability to play games from last generation, PSP Go! took away your ability to play games from this generation.

Take that for what you will

It was always Sony's plan to phase out the UMD slot and go completely digital? That changes everything! Now I'm buying a PSP Go on release day!

So, as PSP 1000 - 2000 and 3000 user, should I get the GO now?

i'll say GO!!!

Ok, GBA slot loss was a mayor loss, but at least they added a couple of cameras that add new features and new thing devs can work with in future games, more ram and CPU so devs can give better looking games, lighter and has new things in the DSiWare section. Besides, maybe they hadn't announced but i'm pretty sure ther will deliver VC on the GBA, there's a lot of potential for it. And besides, between a Lite and a i, there's only 40 bucks of difference. Notice also the SD slot and bigger screens!!!!

On the other side, Go cut away the "so revolutionary UMD", smaller screen, ok, they added the 16gb of flash (gosh, thats more than the Wii!!!!) and more battery life. Also added bluethoot, opening the thing to a whole new world of posibilities, but still, the 16gb and the bluethoot ain't enough to charge 90 bucks more than a regular PSP3000!!!!!!

So yeah, for me Go is the mayor ripoff. Besides, GBA is sooooo last gen!!!

where'd sony get all these people with such extraordinary insight?

Got a question guys il get a PSP for my birthday.

My birthday is the 26th of October roughly 25 days after the scheduled release of the Go! Was wondering should I just get a 3000 or Go?

Damn Sony.... smh

Sounds more like 'we needed to wait till people waste enough money on UMD's that will be worthless after PSP-Go comes out.'

d

Complete BS. Everyone is just jumping on the digital content bandwagon because of the "success" of the iPhone and iTouch apps. However, I wonder if any of these guys have actually looked at the top selling games for the iTouch and iPhone. The number one game is stickman and it sells for $2.95 or something. I believe they are overestimating the demand for digital download hardcore games or how much of a discount people are going to expect since you do not get the hard copy anymore.
Not to mention PSP is a hardcore gamer platform and it will have a hard slog to over come the DSi's dominance as the preferred casual gaming platform, the PSP go is not going to change that. All I see is a company struggling to revive its portable line and is trying anything it can think of to do it (they should try to actually come out with some better titles on a more regular basis). Hell they probably could have sold more PSP's if they just added a second joystiq and called it the PSP 3500.

I've finally come around to the fact that I really want a PSP, mainly because I'm a Metal Gear/Kojima fanboy. With that in mind, the PSP Go does absolutely nothing for me. As near as I can tell it has less functionality, and they have the audacity to ask for more for it. Plus it's just ugly.

If PSP Go results in a price drop for the PSP-3000, I'll be very happy.

I'll Pass! Need Physical still, 'Hello I would like to sell it....eventually!

oh noes! DSi took away my ability to play Guitar Hero! Now what am I supposed to play on the way to work?

How about all those other awesome games for the DS?

Brilliant!

Will you guys stop with the price shit already?!?1 Haysoo Kreesto!!

This is the electronics games... if you want to be the special kid with the newest shit, you are going to take a loss. thats how it goes PERIOD.

My broke ass goes through it all the time... because I am one of the impatient saps? no, not imo but Impatient? YES! I know the rules of the game i am playing and I don't cry foul about it. I paid $599 for my ps3... Couldnt really afford it, but did it. Cuz I had to have it. (or felt that way at least) I paid big for my g1 which DIDNT have cupcake, OR a Protective Case OR a 3.5mm adapter (ALL OF WHICH COME IN THE BOX NOW)

Early adopters pay more to usually get less, or at least a less complete product.

we get more bugs, less bundled goodness and pay MORE for it.

Why? BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE IT, AND WE HAVE TO HAVE IT NOW!!!!

calm down people. let them sell the good ol psps, and the gos will drop.. hell even if they dont, the go's WILL drop

yeah the economy is fucked, but you're still being a cheap ass. Cheap and Day 1 Gadgets don't really go hand in hand people

that is all

/vent

Yet the PSP still only has one thumb-stick.

UMDs are great as far as a reliable platform for pre-recorded games goes.

I wish I could say the same for paying just as much for lame digital distribution - which I can't lend, swap or re-sell (should I choose to do that).

With that said, the claim that they wanted to go UMD-less from the birth of the PSP makes me laugh. They mentioned certain things not being ready for digital distribution on release; Playstation store, content transfer to store, etc. What they don't mention the small issue of needing to meet up with your banker about a loan to buy a 1GB memory stick back in the day.

For your own amusement, please look up how much that 1GB stick set you back when PSP was released (and for a good while after release). Games and movies on Memory Stick via downloads? Hah!

For the privilege of handing over half your pay, you'd be lucky to have 3-4 games on the stick, assuming any one of them wasn't unusually big - then you'd get one or none.

Not only that, they did everything in their power to downplay the ease of putting movies and audio on the device. The result being that almost nobody in the real world could be bothered doing it - and Sony's own software still sucks last I looked. Very few would chase up third party software. My opinion is that they tried everything for UMD to succeed as a non-game pre-recorded platform, including limiting the usefulness of playback of videos from Memory Stick (until they relaxed these restrictions and added more useful AVC).

Wanting UMD-less from the get-go? Hah! No chance, right down to the Universal in the naming scheme :)

So anyway, to re-cap, now:
1) we have PSP Go with 3.8inch screen as opposed to 4.3inch.
2) we have added bluetooth of debatable usefulness
3) we have 3.8inch screen versus 4.3inch
4) we have a far more compact device (best feature)
5) we have non-removable battery (the fun starts after 300-500 charge cycles...where you'd want to permanently run off AC power due to poor runtimes of the battery developing). We are also deprived of swapping batteries out when travelling.
6) we have no means to play UMD content (!)
7) we have 16GB on-board - which can easily be had via Memory Stick Pro Duo for less than the additional cost of the PSP Go - with the added bonus of being an easy replacement if the flash memory fails. Memory Stick Pro Duo also cost far less and enjoy higher capacities than Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards employed in the Go
8) we quite likely have worse ergonomics in the PSP Go than the current model.
9) we have proprietary USB cable

Soooo:
Regular (larger) PSP with UMD capability and download capability and cheaper memory expansion (never thought I'd say that)

OR

PSP Go, with bluetooth (?), compact size, no removable battery, quite likely worse ergonomics, higher price, 16GB storage, no UMD capability, M2 memory cards for more expensive storage expansion.

Once again, my respects to UMD and the currently-selling model in the face of:
low-value
download-only
embedded storage and embedded battery craptastics of the Go.

I wonder if later they'll admit the memory stick format was a mistake and switch to micro/sd :P

Once again Sony continues the spin cycle.

This is a comments section, not a blog. but I get your point.

Sony LOVES proprietary formats:
Beta
MiniDisc
Memory Stick
UMD
Bluray

"We'd planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning,"

I call BS on this. No way they "planned" on ditching a proprietary format before they even launched the format.

"Here's this new videogame handheld we would like to launch. It uses this new disc format that is proprietary to this videogame device. It will cost us XXX Millions of dollars to implement and promote it. We also plan to release new versions of this handheld every year or two, eventually eliminating this new disc format in about 4 years time that we will have spent XXX Millions of dollars to implement and promote"

"Great, I love it, it's a Go!"

Sony has the right to do whatever it wants. A UMD-less PSP 'is' a good idea, but not for us, 5-year-old users. There are millions of potential customers who don't own a PSP. The Go will target those people.

Bitching about the whole idea and about the price is really immature.

Just enjoy what you have, and leave this to the new customers.

I don't really have too much to add other than the fact to echo what other posters have said. There is no way that the PSP without a UMD was planned from the beginning. The whole statement is BS.

To Tekdroid - good comments and observations.

is that what they told the movie studios before they quickly began pilling up on store shelves by the hundreds?

This is a load of crap.

They only planned on going UMD-less when people started burning ISOs with reckless abandon, and they couldn't stop it.

the PSP Go is an attempt at an anti-piracy device (note: I didn't say anti-homebrew, just anti-piracy), they should just come out and admit it.

that said though...The Go eliminates the primary excuse used to justify burning ISOs.

"I hate carrying the UMD, so I burn my game to the memory stick after I buy it."

if that's the case, then buy the Go, whenever the price comes down.

should be interesting to seperate the Pirates who CLAIM they buy the games and burn them (but actually just steal the games), from the people who actually DO buy the games and then burn them.

I can tell you one thing, I'm sticking with my DS Lite and my 2000 series PSP.