PSPgo - Want to make your Wallet feel a Lot lighter? Buy this beast !

This year Sony is giving the PSP a make over with the PSPgo. Compared to previous models it is smaller, lighter, looks better and comes with a 16 gb hard drive. Sounds pretty awesome right? Probably not once you learn about the price tag and soil your pants.

I own a psp-1000 and when I look at the PSPgo, I would be honest and tell you it looks like a great product but the price is expensive and there is not much different between the psp-1000 and a PSPgo.

First the PSPgo doesn't have a UMD drive and requires you to buy games online. This is a leap of faith because if you are paying for something virtual, you are expecting the games to be at least 20% cheaper because of the money developers save on producing hardcopy UMD's. Unfortunately there is no difference between digital and hard copy prices on the playstation store so what gives?

Not only that, Sony changed its mind about a UMD conversion kit for current PSP owners and instead is offering them 2 online game downloads (from a selection of 8 games). OH boy. I can't wait to play Buzz beater and some other crap games they offer.

Second is the design of the PSPgo. It looks great, its sturdy and its light. It is honestly a pretty good system when it comes to hardware and quality but probably the biggest problem of the PSPgo is the Analog Stick that is positioned in the center of the handheld.

Some reviewers said it made their hands dig into the console and others said it they had no problem. In the end it just depends on your hand size. This Sony PSP is facing the same problems that Nintendo had with the Gameboy Advanced. The original GBA fit everyones hands perfectly but was not visually appealing. The GBA SP on the other hand was small and cute, but caused hand cramps.

Third is the battery life. You get 3 hrs on regular playing with headphones as speakers on the psp-go (Source: IGN UK). It isn't even on the highest calibar and gets 3 hrs which makes it extremely disappointing. You also can't swap batteries for the PSPgo or have a higher capacity battery installed into it (it is unsure if sony is manufacturing a higher end battery at this time, but if they do, it should be in stores by next summer). Getting 2 hrs less play time for $80 more? Not a wise decision (no wonder they wouldn't answer how many hours it gets at their press conference).

Suggestions

I don't think the PSPgo is a bad system, but I do think that Sony should stop shooting themselves in the foot and be more realistic with the pricing (not to mention that foot is probably a stump with a lot of bullet holes by now). The PSPgo does everything a normal PSP does except doesn't have a UMD drive and now comes with a 16gb hard drive.

Sony you offered to sell PSP owners a built in 4-8 gb hard drive for psp-1000 and 2000 but no one bought it. Why do you think anyone will buy a 16 gb one with your PSPgo system? Seriously Sony what were you thinking? (same thing i wonder when the ps3 was $400). 

There was nothing wrong with memory sticks to start off with. They were fast enough to play games and saved more battery life than the built-in hard drive. Also they were a lot cheaper  !!

Conclusion

If you already own a PSP, it is probably better to avoid getting the PSPgo unless you want to render your UMD's obsolete and re-purchase them from the Sony store. If you are new to handheld gaming and rich, you might as well give it a go. Wait a while for the price to drop because it will drop by the time christmas comes. (It is already estimated that it will sell for $199 by christmas).

I predict there won't be any shortages for the PSPgo and it will probably sell very slow. I mean for $249 you could buy a XBOX 360, Wii, new graphics card or a ton of games. Which makes me wonder...who is going to buy the PSPgo?