So i just got a promotion at work and one of the implications is that starting in April I will be on the road about %50 of my life.  ...so i've decided to get a psp so i can continue gaming while on the road.  thing is, i'm having trouble finding anywhere that provides a solid comparision of the psp vs. the psp go so i'm hoping someone can help answer my questions.

first off, i'm drawn to the psp go because of the ability to download games.  not having to swap disks would be a great convenience for me and imo worth the extra cost of the system/games.  so for questions...

1. can i download games to a normal psp and just use it like it was a psp go?

2. does the psp or psp go have a better battery life?

3. is one or the other system more comfortable?  i've sort of had one in my hands but it's really hard to tell in the store because of the anti theft that surrounds both devices.

4. how is the psn for psp games?  i've heard it was kind of limited by i'm not sure when the reviews i read were written.  can i get all of the best psp games from psn now?

5. anything else that makes one better than another (that's not money related) that i'm missing?

...and i kind of have an idea of what games i want but i'm always open to suggestions.  Thanks in advance for your input.

1. Yes.

2. I think the Go has a shorter battery life.

3. Not sure but the Go has a smaller screen.

4. Most of them but there are still notable omissions.

You might as well get the regular model- more available games, better battery, bigger screen.

1. Yes you can, you just need to buy a memory stick for it.

2. Not that I know of, I think they're about the same.

3. Good question

4. You can check Sony's Media Go program (downloadable from their homepage) and see what they have on PSN from there before you get a PSP.

5. The Go has Bluetooth and can have a Dualshock 3 connected to it, if you'd rather play with that (that's mostly for use when you playing the PSP via your TV though).

To answer your questions:

1. Yes, though you will need to purchase a memory stick to compensate for the lack of the 16 GB built into the Go. However, you can get said 16 GB stick for less than the $80 price difference.

2. The main comparisons show them to be equal; the PSPGo has a smaller battery, but doesn't need to power the motor of the PSP. If you are playing off the memory stick on the PSP, though, you should get better battery life on the old model.

3. This will be a personal preference thing. From my experience, the PSP Go is more comfortable in smaller hands, whereas the PSP is better for larger hands. The Go personally cramps me, but this will vary from person to peron.

4. Again, depends on what you consider 'best'. If by best, you mean new, then almost all of them are seeing simultaneous releases. And many of the big name hyped games are also availiable. However, if you like those niche games from the smaller publishers, you may find the selection lacking. Some publishers, like NIS, have been good about getting them up. But a few others are rather slim pickings. Of course, for those games, finding the UMD version may also be tricky...

5. Well, the PSP has a bigger screen, but the Go has a more sleek look and, when closed, smaller design making it easier to fit into a pocket. (Though I personally have no problems getting my PSP into my pocket.)

As for games, well, what are you starting at looking at? From there, we can recommend other games hidden in those categories, since the PSP does have a few hidden gems that nobody seems to have heard of...

1.  Yes

2.  They fairly have equal battery life but i think the Go has slightly more as i've used the normal PSP before i had the Go.

3.  It depends on what size of an object you hold in your hand that makes it feel more comfortable.  Some prefer Xbox360 controller over DS3 but to ones own opinion.  Mine however, i think they're both equally comfortable/easily to adjust and get use to.

4. Currently the library is lacking on PSN compared to the normal PSP but hopefully itll catch up, but newer games are being currently released simultaneously as the the retailers.

5.  The Go fits better in your pocket giving the more 'portable' feeling =)

okay thanks for the input so far. now i'm mostly interested in the psn store and unfortunately since i'm on a mac i can't download the sony media go thing (but thanks for the suggestion since i hadn't heard of that). so the games i know i want:

1. ratchet and clank.
2. god of war.
3. patapon.
4. lacoRoco
5. little big planet.
6. VC 2 (when it comes out)
7. jak and daxter
8. monster hunter

are any of these notably missing from psn? i'm hoping not as i don't think any of these are particularly niche.

Without checking up on it, I'm pretty sure they're all there. You should watch for sales though, Monster Hunter has been on sale a few times already.

perfect!

once last question i just thought up.  how big are psp games?...i.e. if i had 16 Gb of memory how many games can i have downloaded at a time?  much of my travel is going to be overseas so I probably won't be able to swap which games i have on my psp while on the road.  

All of them are on the eu store. I'm guessing VC 2 will be too but can't be sure.

Good question. I think I remember hearing that few PSP games are over 1 GB (with a duallayer UMD holding 1.8 GB). God of War is the only game I can name that takes up more space, but that's not exactly saying much on my part