PSP Go is now available in “Piano Black” and “Ceramic White” at all major retailers in North America and European territories for $249.99 and 250 Euro respectively, while coming November 1 in Japan. The day one game support is astounding (we are covering that in a separate post), the new features (like bluetooth tethering, DS3 support) are awesome, and the system itself is quite the desirable little pony. I was very impressed with it during our hands-on with the Sony PSP Go.
However, with no way to play your current games on UMD and without the FULL library available, I can definitely see why this is more feared towards the market that doesn’t already own a PSP.
I think the pre-order numbers for this device were relatively strong, but I can see how most consumers will be patient and give it time to really saturate. There is a lot of negative criticism in comments on the Playstation Blog USA/Europe (+1). However, to the general consumer who might be totally unphased by Internet slander the PSP Go is a new handheld device that is ultraportable and better than most alternatives for spontaneous gaming sessions. I am confident saying that as an iPhone owner the PSP Go would be a much more satisfying portable gaming experience. No longer having to carry discs is huge, and in comparison to the iPhone/Nintendo DS the PSP has much more polished, quality software titles. This is really a little dynamo that you could throw in your bag and enjoy anywhere. An added plus is that I could fit this thing in my pocket, whereas the regular PSP-3000 is usually too akward for such an idea. Unless your trying to impress the ladies.
Many have commented they want the PSP Go to hit a price reduction of $199 as soon as possible. I agree – if it can hit that price point before Christmas somehow, then people would seriously have difficulty resisting. I believe that those technophile gotta-have-it-at-launch ways we’re all familiar with have slowed down a bit in the midst of the recent economic situation.
Here’s where things get funny, though. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is giving away a free Gran Turismo download with the purchase of the PSP Go. Sony Computer Entertainment America is giving away Rock Band Unplugged. I would have preferred Gran Turismo, or at least the alternative of getting that instead of Rock Band.
Playstation Blog USA: As we mentioned before, included with the PSPgo system is a voucher to download a starter version of MTV Games’ Rock Band Unplugged from PlayStation Store. You’ll also receive a demo of Patapon 2 pre-loaded onto the system’s memory, along with an interactive ESRB application that explains ESRB Ratings and Content Descriptors and provides instructional videos on how to setup the PSPgo’s parental controls.
And..
electronictheatre.co.uk: To celebrate the arrival of PSP Go, SCEE is launching two great launch promotions: for ten days only, SCEE will be giving away a copy of PSP Gran Turismo with every new PSP Go – absolutely free. Gran Turismo on PSP offers the keys to more than 800 beautifully rendered cars, and the best tracks to race them on. Register your new PSP Go on PlayStation Network and follow the simple instructions. But beware, the offer only runs from 1st to 10th October 2009.
And to make it worse for us in the USA, if you live in Europe you get three games free if you own existing UMD games. If you live in the USA, there is no rewards program and you must purchase new games. Why would Sony have launched the PSP Go so perfectly in Europe but scrape their knees in the USA? If Sony had come to the USA with this same exact plan they used in Europe it would have had a much warmer reception. People would have said, “Wow, okay, there may not be a trade in, but at least we get three games to start out with.” That blows my mind that Sony USA didn’t match the European plan. That was a major error, and it will be interesting to see if early sales in Europe are stronger than the USA. If they are, then what does that say? Sure the Euro market is bigger, but when people in the USA want to spend they will spend hard.
Do you own a PSP-1000, 2000 or 3000 and a Universal Media Disc? Think of buying PSP Go? Then SCEE would like to offer you your choice of three free games from an all star list of sixteen titles including Killzone: Liberation, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, WipEout Pure, echochrome, Buzz!: Brain Bender, LocoRoco and Patapon. Head over to www.eu.playstation.com/pspgorewards for more details and full terms and conditions.
Regardless, I still think the PSP Go is a phenomenal gaming device and will appeal to many people even at this price point. However, the true appeal is to those type of people with disposable income as it is an expensive proposition buy this console and buy 3-5 games, spending $40ish (and of course less) per game. Sony needs to offer a rental game service through the Playstation Store for PSP Go’s as soon as possible.
