PlayStation Portable Go Overview

A broad overview of Sony's newly announced handheld — the PSP Go

Aug 14, 2009

During this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Sony unveiled their sleek new iteration of the PlayStation Portable device, dubbed the PSP Go.

The PSP has been fighting an uphill battle since the hardware's initial release in 2005. Piracy issues, stagnant interims of software releases, the deluge of shoddy ports and rehashes, and the obtuse UMD media format. Making its debut during Sony's press conference at this year's E3, the reimagined PSP Go appears to be the company's way of turning one hundred and eighty degrees, in hopes to bolster PSP sales and increase its dwindling fanbase.

PSP Iteration Background

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) has gone through a number of iterations in its life cycle; PSP 1000, PSP 2000 (or PSP Lite, or Slim), and the PSP 3000 and now the PSP Go. Each new version being slightly slimmer and aesthetically streamlined then its predecessor. The Go has been given a drastic overhaul in both size reduction and functionality. Consumers can get their hands on Sony's handheld system this fall for a staggering $249, the same price as the original PSP model when it launched.

PSP Go Specifications

Everything from memory support, to the critically dismissed UMD drive has been addressed for the system. Some of the new specs are as follows:

One complaing consumers and critics had about the PSP was the lack of another analog stick. Unfortunately that problem has not been adressed, so the single analog stick will remain.

Reinforcing the Digital Distribution Model

If current generation video game consoles have foreshadowed anything its that video game distribution is destined to be digital, probably sooner rather than later. Xbox Live and Steam have been remarkably successful in both the intuition of their services and the content provided, so it seems likely that they will expand and inspire other companies to follow suit. The quality of experiences being offered are becoming more and more comparable to that of full price retail games. Sony is delving headlong into this relatively recent trend with its new device, adhering exclusively to digital distribution. Such a device will tailored to Sony's existing PlayStation Network which will serve as the central hub for both games and other media.

Upcoming PSP Game Lineup

Numerous titles at E3 and the months following have been announced. If there ever was a chance to revitalize the PSP, this would be the time. Here are some highlights of the upcoming games:

With games like Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Persona and Jak and Daxter on the horizon, Nintendo's DS and even the iPhone may have some competition.

PlayStation Store Connectivity

PlayStation Network (PSN) is predominantly a PlayStation 3 service for downloadable digital content, but is also accessible through a PC through the software application Media Go. PSP users will also be able to access the PSN by using the Media Go application as a means of downloading games and other entertainment which the store has to offer. Sony currently has a limited library of retail games that can be purchased through download as well, and has released one download-only game thus far being Patapon 2.

The copyright of the article PlayStation Portable Go Overview in Video & Online Games is owned by Dennis Buckley. Permission to republish PlayStation Portable Go Overview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.