It was impossible for the PSP-Go to flop. It doesn't take much money to reduce a chipset, honestly. That's probably all it cost Sony, really. Digital downloads spurred by the device make like 2x normal revenue, since cost-of-goods and retail cuts are missing from the equation, and we don't even see those numbers reported here on VGC -- just "100K FF7 sold in first month" and random other quips. For all we know, the PSP-Go has an unbelievable attach rate, and each of those software units rakes in a load more money than a UMD unit does.
I'm sure Sony hoped it would be the next big thing, but the retail demand for a high price stunted that somewhat, I think.
Honestly I think that calling something a "flop" requires some risk involved. I don't really think there was much risk associated with the Go.
Essay Pro