The PSP go
A portable that was ahead of its time
When the PSP go originally released back in 2009 it was given a lot of flak for doing away with the UMD drive, which had been present in all previous versions of the handheld system. The console had decided to go all digital, doing away with physical media.
People who would be upgrading didn’t like the idea of buying all their games again, most likely at a higher price via the Sony store, when they already had a collection of games that they had built up over the 5 years since the original. In addition, people in the market for a new device to play with could find the earlier versions at a much lower price point. This did not go well for Sony and even caused them to relaunch the console at a lower price point with 10 free games.
So at this point you might be wondering to yourself why I’m telling you this. The reason for that is I just picked up a used PSP go for £45 on eBay. This is an incredible price in comparison to the original asking price of £225, and from the past few days I can tell you. It’s incredible.
The go is small and light in comparison to the original models. It sports a smaller screen with the same resolution. It feels sturdy in the hand, and the slide mechanism to bring up the screen feels strong. I’m not expecting it to brake any time soon.
Speaking of the sliding mechanism. This was one of the big changes that was made. Unlike its predecessors the go hides it’s controls behind the screen, only to be seen by sliding the screen up. This method can be a bit cramped when playing but overall I much preferred the smaller form factor.
So what about the games I hear you ask. Well you are in luck, as you have the entire back catalog of PSP games. Well, all the ones you would care about at least. This gets on to what I was saying earlier about how the console was all digital. You only get access to games that were released on the PSN store, and while for the most part, everything that I wanted to play was there, it still irked me that there are some games I would never get the chance to play.
So how does it stack up to other competitors on the market. Well the closest comparison to make would be to the Nintendo DS. The DSi XL can be found at a price between £45-60 which is about what you would pay for the go. The go certainly has more power behind it and the games are bound to look nicer on the PSPs screen. The DS on the other hand does have a larger line up of games, often with more uniqueness to them, due to the extra screen and touch capabilities. The problem here though comes down to a personal preference. What games interest you more. Do you prefer the 3D shooters and monster hunting or are you more of a Mario guy?
In the subtitle I say the PSP go was ahead of its time. The reason for this is that now, people are much more willing to pay for things digitally and in fact a lot of people prefer it. If the go had been released a few years later I feel it would have received a much better reception. Sony were trying to be ahead of the game and unfortunately in this instance it didn’t really work out for them. People just weren’t ready for a digital device.
Overall, however, I am very pleased with my purchase and I am sure I will be getting many hours of joy out of that £45. The go certainly had some problems when it first launched but at its current price I certainly think it’s worth a look.
Tom Singleton — www.onepixel.tk
