Sony PSP Go! Console (Black)

 

 

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First off I would like to say that Sony's handling of the 10 free games promotion has been a disgrace. They made the procedure for getting it quit clear in the Terms and Conditions, so no one can complain about that. If you weren't aware of them, it's the retailer you bought from not providing the information. However lots of people have been waiting over 30 days, and some over 40. If you are in this scenario, phone the customer helpline, and if they don't send the code within a couple of days, ask to make an official complaint stating they are breaching their own terms and conditions. Personally I waited exactly 2 weeks for the code.

Anyway.... the PSP itself. I've had an original PSP since they were released. Loved it to bits and played it very often. It's problem was it was too nig, heavy, noisy due to the UMD drive and as I bought more DLC from the PSN network, the 8GB memory stick I had was no longer sufficient. So how does the go compare?

Cons
- More expensive than a PSP-3000
- Battery life.... I don't think I've got much more than 4 hours in a single charge. If it had double the capacity, would be nearly a perfect console for my needs.
- The screen is half an inch smaller than the standard PSP (although it is better quality as mentioned before)
- If you have larger hands... I'd imagine you'd probably get cramp quite easily, and the L and R buttons might be hard to reach with the screen slid up.

Pros
- incredibly lightweight and portable. Only a little bigger than most smartphones
- very vibrant screen with excellent colour depth
- 16GB internal storage (although your 10 free games take up about 10GB of the 14gb usable)
- Double the capacity by getting an M2 memory stick for less than the price of a game.
- charges from USB! Although I think the PSP slims do... my PSP-1000 did not!
- Storing games on the memory stick makes them load very quickly! I've noticed on some games you don't even have the time to read the loading screen
- If you have smaller hands like myself, it's very oomfortable to use as the buttons are smaller and closer together.

Now that's the hardware out of the way. What about the PSN store?
Con's
- Not all new titles are on the PSN store. Not a problem if you have another PSP but some major titles have not been on PSN since the go was released (Dissisia, Kingdom Hearts for example)
- 3rd party games are very expensive. Expect to pay £30 for a game you can buy on UMD for £20. However Sony DOES NOT SET THIS PRICE! All of the games Sony Publishes are very reasonably priced might I add. Expect them to be on the store for £15-!8. In fact the new God of War Game is going to be £17 on the PSN store I am led to believe... and £22 to pre order on UMD from Amazon as I type this.
- Larger games take AGES to download! Even via Mediago, a 1gb+ game will take a good 2 hours to download.

Pro's
- Ever expanding number of essential titles on PSN for between £6 and £8, and most are good quality
- Mini's, whilst varying in quality and value; there are some real gems here!
- PsOne classics. Not as big a selection as the US store, but again some incredible value to be had here. Most games £3.49 with some of the big name titles (MGS, Final Fantasy) costing £7.99.
- If you have multiple PSP's, you can download the games you buy to up to 5 oonsoles. (although not 10 free games, which must be used on a PSP go)
- Some great games among the 10 free games, although are a couple of filler ones that you wouldn't dream of buying unless they were free!

Overall:
No doubt about it, this is a niche product. If you already own a PSP, and PSN content, and are looking for something more portable. This is perfect. If you are looking into buying your first PSP. I'd recommend a PSP slim and lite, the massive back catalogue on UMD is simply not substituted for on the PSN store, despite the cheaper value range, plus second hand UMD games are generally quite cheap. Not forgetting of course every single thing on the PSN store can be purchased and downloaded to a standard PSP.

If you are a mother or father thinking of buying a PSP GO for your loved one, REALLY make sure this is what they want!
Here's why:

Unlike the original PSP, the PSP Go DOESN'T play PSP games that you buy in the shops. Sounds ridiculous, but its true. Sony have removed the disc drive from this model, so any games that your child may have previously bought will NOT work.

The PSP Go uses exclusively downloadable content, therefore if you don't have a wireless broadband connection in your house, this is pretty much a paper weight!
As a 'buy- product' (bad pun totally intended) of this, your child will not be able to buy second hand games or trade in their games when complete. Or what about the game they get that they just don't like? No returns or refunds like you can at gamestation, grainger games or even amazon! They will have to pay full price everytime they want a new game - not to mention they'll need YOUR credit card details to buy the games - that £20 note in the christmas card from auntie Liz is no good here!

This isn't a rubbish console by any stretch of the imagination, it does however have a very small market, the executive version of the PSP if you like?
I personally feel that Sony hasn't really thought this one through - furthermore the advertising does an extremely poor job of letting people know the pitfalls of buying this version of the PSP.

Bottom line, DON'T BUY unless you're absolutely SURE this is the one for your son/ daughter! Get the PSP 3000 instead, its cheaper and has a LOT more games readily available, that CAN be traded in, bought cheaply and second hand.

I used to own a PSP-1000, one of the original launch models. I upgraded to a PSP Go!, and I have already come to love my new PSP; more so than my old model. The PSP Go! isn't perfect, but it is actually a nice upgrade for the PSP line, although it isn't suited to everybody.

So, what are the benefits? The PSP Go! has by far the best screen on a PSP yet - compared side by side to a PSP-2000 the Go! is much clearer, sharper and with a much wider colour space/contrast. Quite simply, any old PSP looks washed out and faded in comparison - and Nintendo's DSi/Lite just doesn't compete. Yes, the screen is slightly smaller, but once you get to using the Go! you'll never notice the difference.

Linked into the smaller screen size is the overall size of the system - the old PSP models were long, bulky and impossible to put in a pocket. In fact, my old PSP rarely left the house at it was an awkward thing to carry without a bag. The Go! is only a small amount longer than an iPhone 3G, and actually fits in my pocket - making the PSP actually portable for the first time. The clever sliding mechanism accounts for most of this size saving, and thankfully the slider is solidly built and doesn't feel like it will fall apart any time soon. The controls are the same as the original PSP, and the new layout doesn't take long to get used to. The lighter weight (especially compared to the original PSP-1000) is a great help for long gaming sessions as it helps to alleviate the age old problem of hand cramp.

Anything else? 16GB of internal flash memory for a start - plenty for a stack of digital downloads, and you can always expand with an M2 memory stick. The Go! also adds a new Pause function for games, Bluetooth for connection to a variety of devices such as headsets and phones, and of course, not having to carry UMDs around.

If you have a large number of UMD games, the PSP Go! may not be for you. The Go! is aimed at people new to the PSP, or those who are willing to sacrifice their collection of UMD titles for convenience. If you already own a PSP, then it probably won't be high on your purchase list - and this is where all the vitriol from the "community" is coming from. Simply put, don't buy one if you don't want it. For me, the smaller size, higher quality screen, and the inbuilt memory makes the PSP Go! worthwhile. Your miles may vary, but the PSP Go! is a good product ultimately.

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3.0 out of 5 stars disapointed
Item new in box however item was sold with the games offer already applied for.
No small print to explain this! Read more

Published 25 days ago by michelle

5.0 out of 5 stars PSP Go
This was very difficult to get hold of as it had stopped being manufactured a long time ago, and as a result the packaging did show signs of aging. Read more

Published 1 month ago by G Kelly

3.0 out of 5 stars PSP Go
overall the psp go isnt a upgraded psp more like a side partner if your turning from the ds side to the psp side psp go is probably the handiest as you have no umds so you dont... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Henry Hill

3.0 out of 5 stars free games
Ok lets start with the goods
1.it looks realy sleek
2.it's realy fun to play on
3.my ten free games ariived in 4 days

Now Bads
1. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Tom

1.0 out of 5 stars PSP Go with 10 free games??
We followed all the instructions for our 10 free games. Last week I called sony on 0844 736 0595 to be told I should call back in 5 days when the 30 days were up. Read more

Published 7 months ago by NC

5.0 out of 5 stars The only true portable gaming device..
People love to hate on the PSPGO, Why, im not sure.. Yes the original PSP is bigger, it takes UMD's (why this is a good thing is a mystery to me, not exactly portable) and You can... Read more

Published 10 months ago by R White Devil

2.0 out of 5 stars Good potential ruined by lazy sony.
The PSP Go is technically impressive, it looks nice, feels good in the hand and has a reasonable selection of games available. Things start to go wrong from there. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Ian London

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Piece of Kit
I finally got a PSP Go at a decent price to complement my PSP 1k-2k-3k collection ;p

It is a sleak and tiny piece of kit that is quite beautiful with a nifty sliding... Read more

Published 11 months ago by A. Rennie

2.0 out of 5 stars psp go and 10 free games
Well I bought this for my sons 9th birthday. Great device BUT how about the free games ?? To get them you first have to download a a special theme and register to get the code... Read more

Published 11 months ago by xrayman

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Spectacular, don't read the bad reviews because they're nonsense.
Being 14 and having loved my now broken PSP 1000, my dad ordered this for me as a replacement (or because I got really good grades). Read more

Published 12 months ago by A 14-year-old

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