because of the lack of a way to move umd games, they spent the time to build a product for peripherals. they could have worked out a deal where you traded in the game they gave you a voucher for the games download or equivalent if unavailable. they could have made a transfer cable that ripped it from an older psp. 

basically some psp owners (like me) feel like sony is threating the device with premature death.

if they had launched this as a psp2 with a second nub, and a duo slot  people would still be upset but far more willing to buy it. 

...and that you can't resell them.

Isn't Sony trying to sell this as a 'third pillar' like Nintendo tried to do with DS when GBA was still popular? Of course Nintendo only said this to cover their arses. Should DS fail, they still had the GBA. I think it was always their intention to have the DS replace the GB line.

Anywho, if Sony is selling this as another option instead of a replacement, then this might not be a big deal. Does the PSP have any real powerhouse games? Seems like a system with very respectable sales, doesn't seem to push any games or have all that many solid third party support. At least nowhere near what DS has, so a fresh approach to how they distribute games may not be so bad. I have no issues with a 'third pillar' because lord knows I'm sick and tired of all of us rewarding these companies by buying their latest update every few years.

As for distributing games through downloads, I was hearing from pro-Sony editorials right after the launch of PS2, how they would usher in a new age of internetz downloads. And how we would get cheaper games, because these companies wouldn't have to press discs or sell through a brick and mortar place. Hell, one guy boldly claimed we could literally see $10 games. I'm amazed how wrong these 'professionals' always seem to be. I knew then, that game prices would not change. The companies would just pocket the difference. And this is what is happening here. As cool as it is to DL a game, who really doesn't want a physical copy of it? Especially if you're charging the same amount. Hopefully they have something in place like Nintendo does, they know what you DL and you can redownload it should something happen, free of charge.

Apple seems to be doing this right. As clustered as the App store is, the DL service is rather seamless. And cheap. I can live without a physical copy of a game (iPhone and iPod Touch have games that really look amazing unlike most cell games) when you're paying $5-$10 a game. Of course Apple doesn't have anything in place like Nintendo does, as far as I know. Any game you DL will have to be backed up on your computer through iTunes. Should something happen to the phone, Apple doesn't seem to have anything in place to allow you to redownload for free.

I think people are misunderstanding what Sony are hoping to achieve with the PSP Go. I don't think they are trying to make a blockbuster hit, at least not in the short term, instead they are preparing for the future. Everyone know and assume digital distribution is the path going forward, and systems like the iPod, various smartphones and systems such as Microsofts Zune are feeding into that belief.

I think Sony feelt that currently the PSP is fighting against the Nintendo DS. And my guess would be that when they looked at how the market would evolve, they felt that beating the DS would only give them a bigger stake in a shrinking market. Instead they need to prepare the PSP and Playstation brand for a future when things like the iPhone is the major competitor.

Sonys problem here though is that their current business is built on top of having a good relationship with sellers of packaged goods, like Gamestop and friends. This is important to maintain their current PSP business and for the future of their PS3 business. And introducing a device like the PSP Go is a good way to quickly sour that relationship.

So Sony is trying to balance. On one side they try to prepare their business for the future with building up a good online distribution system and on the other side they can't risk an all out war with their current retail partners. At the same time Sony is not in a position where they can afford sinking tons of money into something, so their efforts need to at least break even financially.

The result is what we see. The PSP Go launched as a first step for Sony to start moving their business to a pure online distributrion model, but at the same time the pricing of both the console and the games are set to a level meant to not aggravate their current partners to much. Microsoft had a similar issue when they did the on-demand games thing for the Xbox 360 recently, where the digital copies cost a lot more than you could get the games for through retail stores, I am sure the pricing was set to avoid all the game retailers deciding to favour the Wii and PS3.

So I think Sony is happy if the PSP Go ends up a moderate success, and something they can build upon to over time migrate their business to a digital distribution environment. I am also sure we will see the prices of the online games go down over time too. And at the same time the process is slow enough to not lose the goodwill of the retailers they still depend so much upon.

If they had priced the PSP Go a lot cheaper they might have had a meltdown in retailer support and would suddenly find themselves in a situation where no major games retailer would stock even UMD PSP games, and thus Sony's way to the market with the Go would be even harder than it is now.

Once again I asked, why would you need a Go if you already have a PSP? It's not created to be an update but to coexist with the current PSP. Sony wanted to reach a different market, stop bitching about it and actually buy PSP games, that's the bigger problem.

psp go is such an innovation in gaming that some don 't understand the winners from this is sony and the companies just imagine in the future all consoles will not allow you to buy games from shops anymore only internet i thing this is the first step if people let it pass with high sales then other consoles will follow and we are doomed

yeah, its pretty much the single best piece of handheld gaming HARDWARE to ever be released.

Price is high, thats the only issue with it.

no UMDs is not a complaint, the system was designed not to use them ITS NOT A FUCKING POINT.
Its not like you bought it EXPECTING to use UMDS.
The Proprietary Plug is amazing. It lets you charge two items at once.
Downloads can be resumed if you use Media Go or the PS3, which is what you're supposed to do.
Old PSPs cannot be used for anything else either.
Controls are a massive upgrade, feels amazing. Clearly he hasnt used it. I have football hands and it works fine for me and feels way better than my 3000. The analog stick and l/r buttons are infinitely better.
Smaller screen: of course, its a smaller fucking system! This is not an issue!
DRMed games up to 40$, er.. yeah right. Nice play on words. UP TO 40$, do not mention the waves of discounts available, just stick to the bad.

Fewer features?

Can I play 2 player PS1 games on my PSP?
Can i just pick up my dual shock 3 and play any game on my original PSP?
Can I Save states of my games and play others while coming back to the original game at any time? I can effectively save FF7 at any time, pull up my music and go. The PSP go literally solves every portability issue the PSP had.
Can I tether my PSP original to my cell phone for internet access on my psp anywhere in the world?
+ the minis, and more games hard to find in retail available

along with the single most high quality piece of hardware ever created for a handheld. It is unbelievably high quality build. I feel like I could chuck it off a roof and it would be fine.

Portability is way way up, its about the size of an iphone. I dont think you people get how small it is.

anyway, price is high, but its far better than old psps. its not like we have people sitting on mounds of umds.

If you own a psp then do not buy a pspgo the Go is in simplest terms to appeal to anyone and everyone who does not already own a psp.

/thread

You can still resell UMD's at any Gamestop or Buybacks, etc. The psp-3000 is still in production along with the psp-Go therefor UMD's still exist and will keep existing.

Yes. You can redownload you games as much as you want on up to 5 systems.