What difference does it make? It's a propriatary format just like fucking cartridges, GD-Roms or anything else. I never understood the whole "Oh no.. UMDs.. lame" thing, it doesnt make any difference, they're only designed to be used with the console anyway... It's no different to putting a cart in your GBA/DS/etc or a 'miscellaneous disc' in your PS1/DC/Saturn/PS2/3/Xbox. Noones trying to make them into anything else so why does it even have an impact?
Unless you're saying you'd rather the console didn't have any physical media in which case... yeah... No, it wouldn't have sold at all, consumers at the time would have rejected it.
I would love to see more "bite-sized" games come out specifically for the Go. The bigger games are fun and all, but if they want to break into the market more than they have with the existing PSP's (and let's face it, they do, or else they wouldn't have re-designed the damn thing in the first place) they'll have to re-create what has made the iPhone and DS such successes.
Fun, easy-access games that lend themselves better to playing on-the-go as opposed to console-style games crammed onto a handheld.
If that happens, I'd be more than willing to pick up a Go.
I already have a normal PSP so a PSP GO would be better for me to buy rather than an upgrade. But if I need to buy games with credit card or whatever then I probably can't buy one anyways because I have no access.
@The_A_Drain: I get it, you like UMD's, that's fine, I for one prefer more portable storage devices. And if they had made a PSP without UMD and just with a card slot they would have sold just fine, it would be the same as the Nintendo DS, more portable and more batery life. "....No, it wouldn't have sold at all, consumers at the time would have rejected it. " Just look how well it work for Apple.
Call me crazy, but I don't quite understand what's to gain from not having a drive? .. I'm not trolling ... [more]
The UMD drive is one of the primary reasons for the PSP's generally lower battery life compared to comparable devices. It's loud, load times are fairly slow compared to games played off of a memory stick, the device can be smaller without it, they save tons of money from making all those UMDs, etc.
The actual PSP2 will probably have to use hi-cap flash carts for games. Hopefully a system for registering said games and letting them get ripped to the device itself for use will be designed too, although that's a pipe dream I think.
What? No that's a ridiculous assumption. I don't care for UMD's at all, but it's a much cheaper way of storing that amount of data than a flash cart, they would have been incredibly expensive, and still would now.
You people realise DS flash carts are only something like 512mb right? With very very few games using a specialised one with larger storage.
As for 'how well it work for apple' what does that even mean? Apple don't have a directly comparable device, nor does any similar device have applications that need gigabytes of space.
@Jayge:
They might have saved money by not making UMD's but that money would have either been ten times larger for flash carts, or the console would not have sold as well if they'd gone the other direction and simply had users store games on their own memory sticks.
Face it, some form of disc was the only solution to the problem, but thats what happens when you want (essentially) a portable PS2. It either costs a huge amount of money, or you make sacrifices, and UMD was one of those sacrifices.
If the new downloadable content comes to the old PSP, then the old PSP, that way I get both UMD's and the new downloadable PSP GO games. If not, then neither. I don't want to miss out an a load of good UMD games, but equily I don't want to miss out on the new downloadable games. And I'm not going to get 2 PSP's, so I'll have neither.
@The_A_Drain: You do know that a UMD store capacity is 900mb or 1.8gb in dual layer and that the first PSP came out in 2005, when there were available 2gb Memory Sticks (witch is a Sony product).
I'm sorry I didn't realise the concept of worth didn't exist...
Think back to 2005, how much did a 2gb stick cost? That's right, a fuckton. Even now it's something like 4x the price of a disc, back then it was bordering 40x
Unless you wanted to pay $80+ for your PSP games, that was not an option.
@The_A_Drain: Yeah that's true but those selling prices not cost of production prices, I believe that if Sony really wanted they could have done a UMD less PSP with reasonable memory stick prices but other interests were in play. I like my PSP but I would liked much better without the hassle of a UMD.
You beleive what you want, but no, I wasn't reffering to retail prices I was reffering to production costs. Retail prices are even more expensive, obviously.
Nowadays, sure it's plausable but it would still be expensive. Back then? Impossible, but believe whatever you want.
@mikesira: You beleive what you want, but no, I wasn't reffering to retail prices I was reffering to production costs. ... [more]
It's the whole cloud computing concept dude. Sony is already providing the memory to you. All you have to do is download from some server the content you want. When you're done with the content you either delete it or hang on to it. If you hang onto it though you are limiting your available space. This concept will only work if Sony allows you to delete and redownload over and over again.
There are some downsides but there are also some clear benefits to this strategy for both the user and the distributer.
The key disadvantage really is ownership. While ownership is well defined with physical media it is not with digitally distributed content. Sony needs to make sure that they are clear on this issue. Hopefully they will adopt Valve's Steam service strategy.
They Key advantage is convenience. You don't have to go to a store for your game. There's an unlimited supply so you will never have to worry about a store not having your game, You can carry many games with you at one time right inside the unit.
Also someone asked about credit card payments. Sony will provide vouchers for games at local brick and mortar stores which allow you to purchase games using cash. It's the same concept as pre-paid cellphone minute cards or gift certificates.
If the new downloadable content comes to the old PSP, then the old PSP, that way I get both UMD's ... [more]
The downloadable content is already available on the PSP. I currently have Patapon 2, Resistance Retribution & an older Burnout game all downloaded to my PSP-1000. Oh and PS1 game Syphon Filter.
Heck, the PSP already has the Playstation Store on it.
2) Irrelevant point, my argument was that at the time, there was no alternative to a disc based system in order to deliver the content they wanted to deliver.
@cspiffo: 1) That's not the concept of cloud computing.2) Irrelevant point, my argument was that at the time, there was ... [more]
1) Yes it is. It's not the whole concept but it is part of the concept. 2) Your original question was what was to gain from not having a disc and I answered that...duh! 3) I can't help it that you don't want to hear the explanation. But you posed the question. 4) How does cost of media figure into this whole update if Sony is giving you the Space upfront? IT'S BUILT INTO THE UNIT! It's a one time charge for Sony and the consumer! I'd say that is much cheaper than producing a proprietary format like UMDs.
Jolly_Lolly said: PSP "1000" is still the king of all PSPs.This new "go" just seems unnecessary. IMO It's like upgrading ... [more]
No..not really.
I'll agree with the "DS Lite to DSi" transition though, mainly because it's pointless and, again, unnecessary. But I'm just basing this all on looks, hardware could be a different story.
TheMustacheHero said: Jolly_Lolly said: PSP "1000" is still the king of all PSPs.This new "go" just seems unnecessary. IMO It's ... [more]
But the DS Phat to DS Lite was a huge overhaul in looks and size of the DS.
@The_A_Drain: Well, now we're getting the Go which has a rumored 16 gigs of onboard memory, enough for eight of those dual-layered UMDs, or 80% the capacity of a Xbox 360 Pro. If it gets full, you can put flash memory in it, or you can delete your stuff and download it again later from the Playstation Store. Without the spinning disc, this will have better battery life. If Sony does a rigorous re-release of the back catalog for PSP, there will be plenty of cool games to choose from. This is the redesign I've been waiting for, and I can't wait.
No my original question was not what to gain from not having a disc, it was a supposition, and it was that Sony could not have released the PSP as it was without them. Which is still true no matter what you want to believe. Which ties into your next question, the cost of media factors in as proof that back in 2005 (or heck, even now) it would be impossible to release PSP games on memory cards. (Fact that storage is provided is irrelevant to that point, and again, that storage would have upped the cost of the unit significantly back then too)
@TobyD81
80% the storage capacity of a 360 pro hdd... Strange point to make, and totally irrelevent given the 360 still has a disc drive, and it's downloadable games are nowhere near the size...
Now, i'm not the average consumer, i'll accept that. But my shelf currently has 19 PSP games on it, and there are at least 3 more I still want but havn't gotten around to picking up yet. Now, I can't be the only one who wants to say a big fat 'fuck you' to constantly redownloading stuff. (Ontop of that I have several PS1 games downloaded onto my PSP from the store as well) Now, yes, I can go get a memory stick in addition to that 16gb (Which will probably be something like 15.5 in effect) but why the fuck should I have to? I'm paying full fucking price for the games and I guarantee you I would be paying the same price (if not more) from the store. As for redownloading stuff when I want to play it, not only do I have to be at home (or near a wi-fi spot, which arent all that common in the UK outside of london) but the avg broadband speed here is slower than a snail, fucking 2mb and you rarely see the full speed of what you're paying for anyway. Having to redownload something completely cuts the ability to play something on impulse, which I do quite frequently, so in effect it means I actually get less for my money because i'm impatient. Call it facile if you will but that's the way i'm going to look at it, and I guarantee you many other people will too.
So fuck it. No. I don't care how you cut it, this move is completely anti-consumer and very few people would be as happy as you to make the switch.
I'd definitely be interested in the PSP Go if Sony get their act together and actually start putting some decent games up on the UK's PlayStation Store. Compared to Japan and even to the US, the service we currently have is terrible.
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