Im loving the design! But I already have a PSP....
E3 2009: PSP go Impressions
We weigh in on the newly updated handheld.
by IGN Staff
US, June 3, 2009 - The PSP go made its official debut Tuesday at E3 2009, and although the fact that most of the details regarding the device were leaked last week, this week was a rare opportunity to get some pre-release hands-on time with the new handheld. To give you a full rundown on the new handheld, we gathered a number of impressions from IGN PlayStation team editors Chris Roper and Greg Miller, as well as IGN Gear editor, Scott Lowe. Check them out below.
Chris' Take
I kind of dig the design of the PSP go, but I'm not quite sold on a couple of the elements surrounding the system itself, outside of the design. The bit that I've played of it felt good in my hands. The fact that the buttons are a little lower on the system than the current one means that you don't have to form as much of a claw to use the shoulder buttons. There's more distance from the bulk of your hand and your index fingers with the go, which should make it more comfortable in the long run. I hope that the fact that the buttons are flush up against the back of the screen portion doesn't mean that they'll get cramped that way, but so far so good. The shoulder buttons also feel more responsive than the current plasticy-feeling buttons.
I like the size quite a bit. I never carry my PSP around unless I know that I'm going to use it simply because of its size, but that may change once I get a PSP go. The analog stick also felt a little more solid and smooth than the current one, but I'll hold my final judgment on that until I get more time with it.
My two issues are with price and what you'll do with your current library of UMDs. The system is launching at $249.99, which is the same that the machine cost when it launched years ago. Granted, the 16GB of built-in memory certainly adds to the cost, but it's playing the same games, and with the price difference between it and the DS and DSi, that's a little too much for my wallet. And, Sony has yet to answer how, and if, you'll be able to swap your UMDs over for digital versions. If you have a big library of games already that you're still playing, you likely won't be switching to the go if you can't transfer your games in some way.
Scott's Take
When I first saw the leaked images of the PSP go, I couldn't help but feel that the design was a step backwards for Sony. The PSP go appeared plain, with it's matte plastic design and soft, rounded aesthetic. What's more, the physical dimensions of the device are hard to gauge from the press photos; for whatever reason, Sony opted to use a person with circus hands to show off the product's slimmer, compact design. Instead, when you get a glimpse at and feel of the PSP go as one of the product's target audience -- semi-adult and male -- the device is strikingly compact.
No wider than a decent sized cheeseburger and roughly the height and depth of an iPhone when extended, the PSP go is a drastic tactile departure from the PSP-3000. Despite its incredibly compact design, however, the PSP go isn't too small for those same enlarged, semi-adult male hands. My fingers wrapped comfortably around the edges of the device and I didn't have to cramp or arch my fingers to get a good feel on the shoulder buttons. Outside of my concerns about the physical size of the device, another big worry of mine was the positioning of the thumbstick. Again, misled by the in-hand promotional pictures, the thumbstick appeared to be bit of a reach for a player's thumb, but in reality its within a comfortable range. The weight of the device was hard to gauge because Sony had the units locked into a wire clamp mechanism, so we'll have to wait and see in that respect. From a hardware perspective, I was pleased by the PSP go, but not blown away. In a perfect world, I would have liked to have seen some serious processing boosts, but I expect that the flash-based games will take a sharp performance boost anyways.
Greg's Take
I'm all over the place on the PSP go. I think $250 is too much to charge for a platform that's been out for four years now, but I definitely think it looks sexy. I think the slide screen might make accessing the shoulder buttons hard, but I dig the compact size. I got to play the PSP go yesterday, but it was in a metal holder and anchored to a bar so the weight and feel of the unit in my hands was off. I felt like the nub was in a goofy place, but Roper played it without the holder and said he didn't have the same problem so I think that concern is mainly due to the holder.
In general, I'm going to piss and moan about the price and the unannounced plan for what we're supposed to with UMDs, but after playing LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid on the slick little screen, I'm ready to plunk down the cash for the new unit. I'm a little *****.