The PSP Go Reviews
The PSP Go Reviews
4 Stars Great for its intended purpose!
First off, I’ll begin by saying I own a PSP Go…which unfortunately about 99% of all reviewers do not. So please accept a review from someone who has purchased one and logged about 30 hours of playtime.
I sold my PSP1000 this summer to fund the purchase of a replacement xbox that RROD’d on me. I’ve been wanting to get another PSP since, especially with the advancement of PSN games and PS1 games on the PS Store. The PSP Go only fueled my desire to get another PSP. One of my biggest gripes with the PSP1000 (which applies to the 2000 and 3000 as well) was the UMD drive and not-so-portable size.
Pros:
- Size. The Go really is small. You won’t realize how small it is until you’ve actually handled one. It is only a fraction larger than my cell phone. I know some people put it in their pockets, and it certainly is small enough to do that, however I do not for fear of scratching the screen. But it can be carried anywhere in a pocket, unlike the previous models.
- Screen. Coming from a 1000 unit, the screen is much brighter and much more vibrant colors. It looks gorgeous and the games really pop!
- Analog Stick. Much more improved feel, added resistance.
- Buttons. There is much less travel, and almost a “click” to the buttons. I much prefer that, as the older models’ buttons just felt too mushy. Even the L/R buttons are better. Many have complained that they are hard to reach. People, you don’t have to wrap your fingers all the way around the buttons! Just tap the tip that overlaps the side of the unit to press the buttons, they were designed that way!!
- Bluetooth. This is incredible. I have a nice set of bluetooth headphones that I love to use with the system. Not necessary, but just a bonus. I have used my PS3 controller with the unit once, and it is incredible, but the problem still lies in holding the PSP Go. If you’re holding the PS3 controller, who’s holding the PSP? I haven’t figured out the usefulness yet, unless you buy Sony’s proprietary cradle.
- Volume. I never remember my 1000 playing this loud. Part of that is the fact that the Go’s speakers are on the front of the unit, versus the bottom of the unit (i.e. under your hands) on the previous models.
- Pause Feature. This should be included on every system, portable or not. Better yet, stupid game developers need to abandon the “Save Point” system altogether. That’s the dumbest thing ever. Sony has remedied that as best they can with the Pause feature.
Cons:
- Finish. The “Piano” finish has no place in a portable unit. It gets greasy, smudgy, and just looks awful. Sure, the screen is fine as is, but sony should have definitely used the flat black from the bottom sliding portion for the rest of the unit. That flat black holds no smudges, doesn’t reflect, and provides more grip. Shiny =/= better.
- Battery. This is by far the worst part. I can only get 4 hours with full volume and screen brightness. That just isn’t enough, especially when there is no UMD drive. I can get over this as long as the battery has a fairly long life, but having to recharge this often will mean the battery might not last very long. I want several years out of it!
Nuetral:
- UMD/Lack of UMD. What do you prefer? People are offering way too much criticism of this aspect. Sony is not replacing the UMD nor the PSP3000. It is simply trying to offer a product to a specific customer. I prefer it this way. It makes the system much more portable not having to carry around 7 fruity little game “totes” with your 20 different UMDs when you go on a trip. I never liked that.
If you already have a PSP, this was not intended for you, get over it. If you are looking to buy your first PSP, and don’t want to carry around a bunch of little UMDs, this is for you. I just don’t understand why people are giving Sony so much flack for just adding more options. When they came out with the Purple Hannah Montana bundle, did everyone cry because it was just dumb? No, sony was trying to win over new customers of a different audience. It isn’t meant for everyone! It is simply another option…an option that I very much enjoy.
If sony had made the PSP Go flat black finished all around, and a longer batter life, I would have given 5 stars. As is, the Go is still a great portable game system, the most portable of all.
4 Stars Ignore the score
Ignore my score for a moment, please, because it doesn’t really mean much. Looking at the scores already here on Amazon.com, I completely understand and can agree with most of them. As such, it’s hard to really place a score on this new device. Honestly, I don’t think there’s been such a contentious electronic device launch like the PSP Go in…well, recent memory. Having refreshed the PSP what feels like a hundred times already, Sony, presumably feeling the sting from Apple’s success with the iPhone/iTouch as a digital gaming device, decided to refresh the PSP yet again. And herein lies the problem.
The Go gets rid of the UMD feature of all of the previous PSPs and embraces the digital world in a remarkable way for a gaming device. Without getting too far into the “owning versus not owning debate” (let’s keep this civil), a lot of people have flocked to the iPhone’s bite-sized, digital-only gaming and Sony’s new direction is pretty much inevitable. If a way of presenting games is making money, a company will always follow suit. The problem is that with the lack of a UMD drive, Sony’s faithful who’ve purchased at least one PSP in the past are left high and dry. For individuals who have a nice UMD collection going, this move can only be met (and has understandably been met) with vitriol, with calls of “why are you ignoring us?” There was talk, at one point, of having a UMD transfer system that would allow gamers to somehow turn their UMD into a digital purchase. This was scrapped in the USA even though, from the sounds of it, Sony Europe still has a program for some games. Then there’s the issue of the price. Buyers can easily purchase the slightly older PSP-3000 for about $170, $80 less than the PSP Go’s $250 price point. To make matters worse, any of the digital products being released for the PSP Go will work on prior models, as long as they have a memory stick. Yikes.
All of this history going into today leaves the question is the PSP Go worth it? Well, that kind of depends (with one huge caveat I’ll mention in a bit) on the consumer. The Go is about 16% lighter and 35% smaller than the PSP-3000 (more so for the original PSP) and has a slick sliding system that hides the keys. When closed, it’s roughly the same size as an iPhone, a tad longer, wider and rounder but almost the same size. Unlike the other PSPs, this one does seem a lot more portable. It also does look and feel like a nice expensive piece of electronics. I remember when I first held the original PSP in my hands and it felt like an expensive system; this brings back memories of that day. While it doesn’t have the UMD drive, it does come with 16 GB of storage space (which could cost you $60ish to get the same amount of space on the PSP 3000). One of the bigger new features, though, is the Bluetooh technology. The latest firmware update (available today) will allow tethering to your cell phone, which, if your plan allows for it, will allow you to use your cell phone as modem if you don’t have Wi-fi available. It’s a nicety and one I won’t be able to use (thanks AT&T) but somehow I don’t think a cell phone, even 3G, will be strong enough to consistently play online or be quick for downloads.
Not much comes in the box. You get a cell phone-like charging kit, based on a new framework for charging. It’s kind of a “one jack fits all” multi-purpose plug-in. The cord has a USB connector on one side and the cell-phone-like plug-in for the PSP. This same jack will be used for other purposes like TV out, etc. This means that any of your old accessories won’t work on the new system. It also comes with a voucher to download the PSP Go version of Rock Band Unplugged; this version is free to start out and comes with five songs (“Buddy Holly,” “ABC,” etc.) and then you just buy additional tracks à la carte. The demo for Patapon 2 comes pre-loaded, as well. The final thing, besides the manual, is the Media Go software which you can also download from the internet, to purchase games on your PC to transfer to your PSP. Nothing fancy. As a quick update, I’ve had more time to mess around with it and have started using the Media Go to download files. Like a cell phone, you can plug the PSP Go into your computer through it’s power/USB jack to charge the phone. Media Go acts like iTunes (and has a similar skin) so you can download games through Media Go, directly to your PSP Go. It’s a lot faster. As an example, it took me around the same time to download/install God of War (over 1 GB) via Media Go as it did Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (200ish MB) via the PSP Go 802.11b Wi-fi. The synching process will be familiar to anyone who’s used iTunes or Zune software and is actually a bit easier and quicker, even if it takes an additional step.
So, again, is it worth it? This brings us back to that one caveat: the price. If you’re not a current PSP owner, have embraced digital-only gaming and don’t mind dropping $250 (as a comparison, you could get an Xbox 360 or a Wii for that price or less; or, for $50 more, a PS3) on a “new” gaming system that is technically about four years old in terms of games (meaning, not a “next generation” PSP), then yes. The PSP Go is a worthy purchase. It’s still the same PSP, a strong, powerful device that has a good assortment of fun games. Even when the most angry at the product, you have to admit that. It’s just a great device, whatever version you buy. But it’s just not as well-rounded and consumer-beneficial as the older, cheaper models. So, if you’re not that person above, either keep (or upgrade to) the PSP-3000 and you have the benefit of not only getting all the new digital games and “minis” available today but also play UMDs.
I like mine and am glad I purchased it. I love the portability of it and the lack of UMDs. But, I’ll be honest, the PSP-3000 is still a cheaper and more well-rounded option.
4 Stars Go anywhere,anytime
At first i wasn’t going to get the go due to size,and converting everything worth playing that i haven’t beat to digital form. While smaller i must admit the shoulder buttons are night n day better than the cheap flimsy shoulder buttons on 1000,2000 or
3000. I really am glad it comes with bluetooth because you can link your phone,headset or more importantly a dual shock 3 controller.For this you’ll need your go,a ps3,the ps3 controller and 2 usb cables one of which is part of go’s power pack.
After setting it up you can set the go in the sony cradle -buy it-so you can see the screen straight on.
The only negative would be that if your go freezes during gameplay you will have a harder time popping the battery out as you need to remove 4 screws.
The old psp’s had a removable battery cover and an easily removed and reinserted battery.
The fix would be to get a 32GB M2 memory stick micro and put all downloaded games on the easily removed memory stick-my hope is by removing the game from the system
it would go to the xmb screen…if not just wait til the battery dies and recharge it. I doubt it would continue to stay frozen.
This is highly unlikely to happen to you as all games are downloaded and unless you power off during a loading screen it shouldn’t happen.
1 Star No significant new features; previous PSP models are more capable
Bottom line: Spend your money on a PSP-2000 or PSP-3000 plus a 8 or 16 GB memory stick (or just stick with your current PSP if you already have one). Aside from Bluetooth connectivity, the previous PSP models do everything the Go does, plus give you the option of playing UMD games and movies, plus work with the standard Mini USB transfer cable that you probably already have.
Sony has put out some misleading advertising suggesting that downloading digital games from the PSN Store is a new feature unique to the Go, but every regular PSP can already do this. I really don’t think this can be overstated: Every PSP can get online and download games in exactly the same way the Go can, and has been able to do so for a long time already. The Go does not even speed up transfers or allow downloads to run in the background. The functionality is exactly the same.
(Note that while every piece of digital content playable on a PSP Go is also playable on the older PSP models, there are some UMD games that are not yet available on the PSN Store, and may never be. PSP Go owners are simply locked out of playing these games at all, in any form.)
The PSP is a very impressive handheld system with a ton of great games already out, and many more promising games on the horizon. Sony’s renewed focus on online content means that there has never been a better time to enter the PSP scene. Unfortunately, the Go is a botched release that is inferior to the previous PSP models in nearly every way.
5 Stars A review from a first-day original PSP owner
The PSPgo is an interesting device. It would appear to many that this hardware revision seems to have taken one step forward (sleeker design, bluetooth capability, built-in memory) and two steps back (no UMD drive, price, purchases tied to the PSN Store). I’m here to say: I love my PSPgo.
First, a little bit of my background: I was an original adopter of the PSP-1000 system. I love the PSP platform and feel as though the hardware itself as well as many of the platform’s games are severely unappreciated.
I want to provide some commentary for what kind of customers might be looking into purchasing a PSPgo:
1) The Gadget Geek
It’s obvious, even from the customer images and official product images, that the PSPgo is one slimmed-down, sexy device. If you’re into gadgets, the PSPgo will not disappoint: this is a much more portable, sleeker device than the PSP 1000 / 3000 systems. This handheld will fit where the old PSPs won’t, that’s for sure. The sliding-open of the controls is addicting; it mimics many of the cell phones that have this kind of mechanism.
2) Someone who is looking into purchasing their first PSP system
It’s a tough call to truly recommend the PSPgo for those who are looking into purchasing this as their first PSP system. Personally, I would. Many probably wouldn’t. As of right now, the PSN Store does not have all of the best PSP games available to download. However, they do have a fantastic current selection that includes Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2, LocoRoco 2 and more. As of today, they do not have several fantastic games on the PSN Store (Dissidia and Crisis Core, to name a couple). I can only assume, in time, these will be available.
The other consideration is buying used games at stores such as Gamestop. As a new PSP owner, you probably want to buy a lot of older games that you have yet to enjoy. These probably come in at fairly cheap used game prices at stores. If you have a PSPgo system, some of these prices are comparable; some are not.
If a first-time PSP owner does decide to purchase a PSPgo system, they don’t want to worry about purchasing additional memory right out of the game, which is a nice little bonus.
3) Someone who currently owns a PSP 1000 / 3000
If you have the financial means, I think purchasing a PSPgo to compliment your PSP 1000 / 3000 system is a great idea. This is the kind of customer I am. I was able to use Amazon’s video game trade-in program to knock the price down for the PSPgo system. I still have my PSP 1000 system around in case I want to play any of the games I have on UMD. And, not surprisingly (or maybe surprisingly for some), I have yet to have a hankering to go back and play any of the UMD games I own since owning a PSPgo. And I have some fantastic games on UMD that are not offered as a digital download currently on the PSN Store!
And I think this is where the PSPgo system gets a LOT of hate: the whole discussion about not being able to play any UMD games you may currently own. My thought on that is this: I think before owning a PSPgo, this might be a concern. But when you have one, you don’t have a drive to play any of your UMD games. I have plenty to play in terms of PSX / PSP games I’ve already downloaded and have downloaded since owning the system. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a special case or something.
Conclusion
I absolutely love my PSPgo: it’s sexy, it’s incredibly portable and I love having a whole smattering of games available right there on my system. The price may be a tad bit high, but if you can swing it, you’ll love the PSPgo system. Since owning my PSPgo, I have not wanted to play any of my current UMD games on my old PSP system. There’s a lot of currently released titles on the PSN Store to satisfy my needs.
