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PSPgo video hands-on quickie
Yeah, the PSPgo made the rounds at a little show you might've heard of called E3, but we tracked the thing down in the wilds of NY the other day, and thought you might like to see the wild slider action for yourself. We have to admit, the handheld looks better in person than it does in press shots, but only just barely. It's perfectly playable and comfortable to hold, but it almost seems a regression in design sense for Sony. In comparison to the PSP-3000, the PSPgo feels just a teensy bit lighter, but that's to be expected with the UMD drive kicked to the curb. At least it doesn't feel cheap. Because it isn't cheap. Video is after the break.
Sony hints at "non-game apps" for PSP
We've been hearing rumors about a non-game app store for the PSP since the launch of the PSP Go, and it sounds like the wheels are turning -- in an interview with CNET, Sony's Al De Leon said that while PSP content "will mostly be games, there's an opportunity to look at non-gaming applications." Sure, that's not exactly a hard confirmation, but it's certainly suggestive -- maybe we'll see something at Gamescom in August after all. Video after the break. [Via Joystiq]
SCEE: PSP Go takes advantage of early adopter 'premium'
Michael Pachter retracted one of the most correct statements he's ever made: the PSP Go is a "rip off" for consumers. The PSP Go takes away the expensive-to-manufacture UMD drive and replaces it with cheap flash memory -- and yet it still costs more than the current PSP-3000. Fun fact: You can buy a standard PSP and 16GB Memory Stick Duo Pro right now for less than a PSP Go.Sure, the new form factor looks nice, but Sony should have no manufacturing costs to pass down to the consumer. MCV asked SCEE's Andrew House if R&D or retailer markups were the reason behind PSP Go's high price. "Those aren't the factors," House admitted. "When you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account."Essentially, House is admitting you can charge more for technology when it's new. It's unsurprising, but it certainly leaves a bad taste knowing Sony can easily charge less for the PSP Go. Perhaps Sony will follow the iPhone's footsteps and suddenly drop the price of the PSP weeks after early adopters pay their "premium" price.
Sony working on a PSP non-game app store?
Now that Sony's committed itself to downloadable games with the PSP Go, it's only natural to wonder where that strategy might lead -- and the hot buzz says there's an "app store" of sorts due in August at Gamescom. The new section of the Playstation Store will supposedly impose a 100MB limit on content and set prices in the $2 - $6 range, but otherwise have no restrictions, meaning devs will be free -- and even encouraged -- to code up non-game apps as well. Of course, you'll still be able to snag other PSP titles from the other parts of the store, but if this actually happens it'll be interesting to see if Sony can channel some of the energy from the vibrant PSP homebrew scene into a more legit distribution channel. We'll keep an eye out.[Via Joystiq]
Go to have same battery life as standard PSP
You'd think that by removing the battery-draining UMD drive, the new PSP Go would have an improved battery life over its predecessors. That doesn't appear to be the case, as the European PlayStation.Blog notes "the battery life is equivalent with the current models." According to the site, that means "approximately 3 to 6 hours for gameplay and approximately 3 to 5 hours for playing back videos."The smaller system obviously contains a smaller battery, but we're still surprised Sony hasn't managed to engineer better battery tech for the upcoming handheld. Seems like those that want the most juice out of a PSP will want to stick with the 2000 series, equipped with the extended life battery.[Via Shacknews]
Pachter apologizes for comments about PSP Go's rip-off price
Michael Pachter has stated he "sincerely" regrets commenting that Sony is ripping off consumers with the PSP Go's $250 price point. In an interview with IndustryGamers, Pachter takes the opportunity at the end to say that he doesn't believe Sony is doing anything nefarious and has "the right to price its products at a point that they think is competitive." He states the company is pricing the handheld to be competitive with the iPod Touch and that the PSP Go "arguably has much more value than the Apple product."Hmm, as much as we respect Present Pachter's opinion, Past Pachter was a little more on the ball with the consumer's perspective of the PSP Go's pricing. Past Pachter noted, "The $169 PSP-3000 is a profitable device -- the disc assembly, for a UMD, costs more than 16 gigs of flash does. So this new device doesn't cost them as much as the PSP-3000 and they jack the price up $80?" It seems Past Pachter was viewing the product through consumer eyes, while Present Pachter is in business mode and wearing the glasses of the Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.%Gallery-64545%
A 'majority' of back catalog PSP games available to download Oct. 1, all first party titles thereafter
Sony has confirmed that "just about" every PSP game releasing after October 1 -- the release date of the PSPgo -- would be available for download. PlayStation Blog's Jeff Rubenstein stated on Sunday (via Destructoid) that he couldn't speak about the availability of third party titles at that time.We followed up with Rubenstein today and he told us, "The majority of back catalog PSP games will be made available for download around the launch of the PSPgo." We made sure to ask if he was speaking strictly about first-party titles and he told us he meant "the majority overall."So, as of October 1: A "majority" of past PSP titles will be available for download.After October 1: All first party titles will release as downloads on the PlayStation Network.%Gallery-64545%
PSP Go lacks mini USB, compatibility with existing accessories, common sense
Confession time: we weren't exactly charmed by Sony's PSP Go when Sony made the thing official. It's not that we're particularly fond of UMD (quite the contrary as a matter of fact), rather we found it a little hard to stomach a slimmer device that offers nearly the same hardware as its predecessor, swapping an optical drive for more storage, yet will cost nearly twice as much. Factor in the cost of all new accessories and things get even less appealing, with confirmation that the Go lacks a standard mini USB port on top, meaning things like PSP keyboards and Sony's GPS accessory are on a fast-track to obsolescence. Even current A/V cables and chargers won't work thanks to a new multifunction port on the base -- but Sony will be quite happy to sell you new ones. Is this the price of progress, or an attempt to boost profit margins? It's not good news for gamers, regardless.
Video: White PSPgo hands-on
Sure, speaking with Sony's John Koller was great and all, but one of the real treats with the interview was some quiet hands-on time with a white PSP Go, unfortunately not turned on but with the same build quality and weight as its functional black model (also found tagging along to the Q&A). Our impression of the device is largely unchanged from the initial experience -- a sturdy build that's surprisingly light, although with this go around we didn't find the shoulder buttons to be more comfortable this time. Still, our interest wanes pretty dramatically when we're reminded of its $249 price tag, but enough with our chatter, hit up the break for an up-close video of all its nooks and crannies, and while you're there, stick around for more tidbits from our interview.
Sony working on "good will" program to give digital copies of your UMD collection
We just sat down for an interview with Sony's John Koller, who among many other interesting tidbits and factoids (more on those later) assuaged fears that our giant UMD library would be entirely forsaken. While light on details -- they're still figuring it out, he said -- there will be a "good will" program by which owners of current disc-based titles will be able to obtain digital copies for use on the PSP Go -- "a set number of titles for a set period of time," to be exact. He couldn't confirm all games, or at least all your personal collection, would be transferrable -- that might have to do with the number of digitized games they'll have at launch, which will be at least 300 but not the whole back catalog -- but despite calling it a short-term program he did say, should you receive a new UMD game later down the line, you should still be able to make the digital transfer. As for price, we're still looking to confirm something there, but they wouldn't be putting so much effort into the program if it wasn't at least for a discount, if not free. If you happen to like your discs, Koller said UMDs aren't going by the wayside so long as the PSP is still around, but he expects digital to start taking an increasing share. Looking to the future, he confirmed all first-party titles and most third-party titles (by the developers' own volition, not a mandate) will be available as digital downloads day and date with the UMD hard copies, and yeah, despite the reduced shipping and manufacturing costs, it'll be for the same price, too.
Is Sony's PSPgo just what you needed, or an overpriced rehash?
Apparently word is slowly trickling through Sony that its brand new handheld is actually called PSPgo (at least according to the second of two pieces of PR we've seen on the thing). We're guessing a similar word of mouth pace will operate in the inverse to communicate to top Sony brass that most folks think $250 for years-old gaming handheld hardware is a little steep these days. Of course, sequestered in our Engadget HQ and flush with cash from a hefty hit and run settlement a couple years back, we're more curious as to what you think about the price and feature set here. Don't be shy, just let it all out.%Poll-30708%
PSP Go first hands-on! (updated)
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/PSP_Go_first_hands_on'; Well we battled the mob to get our first hands on with Sony's latest PSP -- the Go! It was actually fairly light in hand, but not un-solid feeling. We thought there could be a little more depth between your thumbs and palm of your hand, and it felt a bit hard to locate the shoulder buttons, but that may be because we're used to the older model. Look -- we know what you really want, so hit the gallery below!Update 3: New galleries are in -- more pics, and some detail shots. Enjoy!
Sony PSP Go announced -- $249, no UMD
Just as expected, Sony just announced the PSP Go at E3 just now -- Haz Kirai called it the "worst kept secret at E3." The slider handheld has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage, all in a case 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP-1000 -- a weight savings we're guessing is directly attributable to the loss of the UMD drive. That's right, the Go doesn't have a UMD drive -- games will instead load in through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over PlayStation Network. That's not the end of the classic PSP, though -- Sony says it will "live on." New PSP titles will be distributed through both UMD at retail and online simultaneously -- Sony's beefing up the desktop client and renaming it Media Go for easier access and syncing with Playstation Network media, but you'll be able to get PSN content directly from the Go as well. The PSP's music features have also been beefed up with a new auto-playlist feature called Sense Me, which sounds a lot like Pandora or iTunes Genius playlists, and there's a new video delivery service being rolled out.Don't expect the loss of UMD to lower the price, though: the Go will be $249 when it launches on October 1 in North America and Europe and November 1 in Japan. Sony's showing demo videos with both black and white versions, but that's not confirmed yet -- we'll let you know.Update: Check the full PR here.Update 2: Sony has just blasted out the detailed specifications. Here are the highlights: Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth) Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter) CPU: 333MHz 64MB memory 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution) Built-in stereo speakers and microphone 802.11b WiFi Bluetooth 2.0+EDR USB 2.0 Memory Stick Micro slot Analog video out 16GB storage
PSP Go box design lends more credibility to slim PS3 rumors
Remember when those slim PS3 shots came out and skeptics bemoaned the missing "spiderman font" as proof of mischief? Well, if you believe that the PSP Go is a lock, and really, at this point there's no reason to doubt it, then a side-by-side shot of the PSP Go and slim PS3 box art should be quite revealing... and it is. Note the similar font, horizontal band, and general placement of device specs like memory capacity. Pretty similar, thus giving the slim PS3 rumor that much more weight. If this is the new slim PS3 then the only question now is whether it'll be unveiled at E3 next week or not. [Via Joystiq]
PSP Go revealed in June issue of Qore [update]
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/30/rumor-psp-go-revealed-in-june-issue-of-qore/'; Update: A video from the June issue of Qore is now available on YouTube (and after the jump). In the video, Qore host Veronica Belmont discusses the new PSP Go handheld with Sony's John Koller who mentions the handheld (which features 16GB of internal storage, a memory slot for expandable memory and bluetooth) will not replace the current PSP-3000 -- they will coexist.According to Koller, new titles will be revealed for the platform at E3, specifically: a new Metal Gear Solid and Jak & Daxter. Also, expect Sony's E3 briefing to mention Jak & Daxter PSP (announced previously) and Gran Turismo PSP -- which has been known since the birth of the platform. Get those bingo cards out, kids!Original Article: According to images grabbed by the Gaming Console Network, PS3's virtual magazine (Qore) made its latest issue available early and revealed the (long-rumored) PSP revision. As rumors and mockups theorized, the PSP Go in the images features no UMD drive and a sliding screen. It also features a single (and poorly positioned) analog stick. Adding fuel to the fire, PlayStation LifeStyle has posted an image it states is of the actual retail packaging for the soon-to-be announced handheld iteration -- and both designs match. As we have not been able to spot the images on Qore our self, we're calling this rumor. It appears, with the video, PSP Go is all but confirmed. Only a few days until we find out if the madness is true.%Gallery-64545% [Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Via GameTrailers Forum. Image Credit: Eurogamer]
Video: Sony's PSP Go leaks out before E3, is obviously a go
Look up there, folks. That's the future of Sony's hopes and dreams in the handheld gaming sector. With just hours to go before the company's official E3 2009 press event, it looks like the pieces are all coming together. First a UMD-less game release, then a highly credible mole giving the PSP Go a name, and now -- live action shots. The images here were sourced from an obviously slipped June 2009 Qore video, and aside from giving us a look at the slider-based system (which, let's be honest, looks a ton like the questionably successful mylo), we're also told that it'll tout 16GB of internal memory, built-in Bluetooth and an undisclosed memory slot. If all goes well, it'll ship this Fall for a price to be determined, and it's actually not slated to replace the PSP-3000, as both of 'em will attempt to live on store shelves harmoniously... at least for awhile. Oh, and don't worry -- we'll be on hand in LA to bring you all the impressions we can muster early next week.[Via PlayStation Forums, thanks Matt and A1]Update: Video is now after the break! Thanks adizzy615!Update 2: Official press shots have emerged. [Via Engadget Spanish]Update 3: A few more official specifications are flowing from the full Qore video (pardon the sync issues). Here's the dirt: 3.8-inch display (resolution is undisclosed) 43 percent lighter than the PSP-3000 16GB of Flash storage Bluetooth built-in; supports handset tethering and BT headsets No UMD drive Memory Stick Micro slot New Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet and new Metal Gear Solid (!) on the way Full PlayStation Network support (movie and TV rentals / purchases) Integration with PlayStation 3 (works the same as the PSP-3000 does) Sony views each of its products as "10-year lifecycle products," so the PSP "needs to live on."
"Mole" says UMD-less PSP-Go! is on for E3, slimmer PS3 to follow
Ready for this? No, seriously -- are you strapped in? The same reliable "mole" that enabled ArsTechnica to correctly call the Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle and the new Halo 3 / Fable 2 bundle (among other items) has come forward with convincing evidence that a UMD-less PSP is indeed on the table for an E3 launch. Truthfully, we'd be more shocked if Sony didn't announce such a product, with the download-only release of Patapon 2 being a telltale sign that something was up. We're told that the so-called PSP-Go! will be debuting in LA next week, but that a slimmer, trimmer PlayStation 3 likely won't. The reason? Sony's waiting for its current stock of PS3 consoles to dwindle, after which it intends to refill channel partners with the physically fit edition that we peeked just over a week ago. We'll be live at the expo to give the low-down on this as it happens, but suffice it to say, buying a bulky PS3 over the next few months will likely morph into a regrettable decision.
Next PSP to rely on Memory Stick HG-Micro for storage?
You can be sure this won't be the last PSP rumor to surface before E3, but the word going around now is that the so-called PSP Go! (or PSP2, or PSP Slide...) won't rely primarily on some internal memory for storage as previously speculated, but on something like Sony's new Memory Stick HG-Micro format, which is about 40MB/s faster than a standard Memory Stick Duo card. That word apparently comes from some "sources close to PSP development" that have spoken to PC World's Game On blog, who seem to also be suggesting that the Memory Sticks would effectively replace UMDs as a game delivery format, and not simply be used for downloaded games and whatnot. All of which certainly seems reasonable enough, even if it's still far from being anywhere close to official.[Via Joystiq]
Sony unveiling UMD-less PSP with slide-out buttons at E3?
Whispers of a new or revised PSP have been growing decidedly louder as of late, and now 1UP's gotten a ton of new details from what it claims are "sources directly involved with the new system" -- our favorite kind of people, actually. Here's what they were told: UMD is out, replaced instead with options for either 8GB or 16GB of built-in flash memory. Also nixed is any hope of a "PSP-4000," with Sony opting instead to use a subtitle. Three rumored names include PSP Slide, PSP Flip, and PSP Go!, the latter of which borrows from Sony's pre-existing Go! brand and suggests there might be a built-in camera à la PSP-3000's Go!Cam peripheral. The same D-pad, analog nub, and face button configuration remains, but they now slide out from the bottom of the unit (see mockup, pictured). Expected launch is September for Japan and late October / early November for US, and coming with 'em are over 100 classic and new downloadable titles including Gran Turismo Mobile as a headliner. Sony's supposedly going official with all this during its E3 press conference in early June, and for now they're opting to give the staple "does not comment on rumors or speculation" response. That's one mighty intriguing rumor -- we can only hope it pans out.