In depth review of the PSP Go
User Ix-Red-xI on the US PlayStation forums alerted an unsuspecting world to the existence of the PSP Go. After my initial disappointment that there is no second analog stick, I decided to scour the press images to see if they offer us any new information.
First we have the device itself. The form factor appears to be very similar to the failed Mylo lines introduced by Sony in late 2006. The D-Pad, analog stick, START, SELECT, and face buttons are all dropped below the device once the screen slides out. Whether this proves to be a comfortable change is yet to be seen, but I’d like to think Sony have enough foresight not to release something unplayable.
The shell appears to be made of the same plastic that the PSP-2000 and PSP-3000 are made of, judging by the way light reflects from it’s surface. The screen is not flush with the shell like the PSP-1000, probably to save production costs, but this makes the unit look more flimsy.
The PS button has been moved to left of the screen, presumably to add the option of quick XMB access. The analog stick’s placement looks like it could cause more problems to unsuspecting thumbs than the current models. It’s awkward position to the right of the D-Pad looks incredibly uncomfortable, but no-one can say for sure until release.
Interestingly, the face of the unit has two communication indicators; WiFi (green) and Bluetooth (Blue). Hopefully this means we’ll see internet connections supported over bluetooth as well as wifi, and of course bluetooth file transfer. Looking further to the future, this could expand to bluetooth stereos, headphones and may even indicate a move to place this as a competitor to the iPhone, or at leat the iPod Touch.
The speakers retain their position from the current PSP models, but have switched to a four-hole design. Whether or not the speakers themselves have improved is another matter, and something that again will have to wait until we get a hands on.
Taking a look at the back of Sony’s newest child, you can see what appears to be rubber grips instead of the PSP’s usually metal ring. this should easily address the grip issues that some have with the current smooth surface. Also, you can just about see the shoulder buttons. Silver in colour and slightly raised, they disappear behind the screen when flipped up, or just behind it when the screen is down.
The power/hold button remains the same, and as such so does the “taking-it-off-of-hold-and-putting-it-to-sleep” problem.
Taking a look at the bottom of the unit reveals no remote support, just your regular 3.5mm headphone socket. The other. The only mystery is the port on the right of the unit; could this be power input to charge the internal battery or possibly a dock connector?
Oddly there is absolutely no sign of a USB input either. The current models use a USB-mini B port on the top of the unit. This would suggest that the new model either has wireless sync capabilities with a PC, or that the mystery port is a dock connector and that all PC-PSP communication will have to go through the dock.
Without a USB input, the PSP Go cannot use the Go! Camera or Go! Explore add-ons, slightly odd for the PSP “Go”. So far no camera is observable either from the pictures provided. Also missing is the UMD drive. This means current PSP owners will not be able to play their current collection on the PSP Go, unless Sony offer some sort of download-per-serial number service.
PlayStation Store and PlayStation Network integration is obviously what Sony are going for; downloads only and 16GB flash memory equal a lot of space to store games, without the need for a bulky UMD collection.
Game-wise we can look forward to a brand new Metal Gear Solid, Jak and Daxter, Gran Turismo Mobile (finally!) and LittleBIGPlanet, all to be announced later next week at E3.
You can view the full-resolution pics over at Eurogamer.
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[...] The name is kind of dorky if you ask me. Since they designed this thing to be more for the go, they need to allow us to have the files of videos or games instead of having to carry around all the UMD’s. If you don’t already have all of your’s ripped like I do.PSP Go in depth. [...]