PSP Go size

There's an interesting article at Gizmodo Au talking about the PSP Go size. One thing we're not really realizing is how small this thing is. It's hard to say for sure, until we get our hands on it. They've also posted a nice gallery of shots, including the missing topside of the PSP go, the side that gets "slid over":




Finally get to see where those volume controls-- looks like it's changed to a volume rocker-- as well as the sound & display buttons went.


GameSpot posted some ok photos (Hint: learn to focus, GameSpot) and one of them finally has a comparison shot of the PSP Go & PSP-3000:





Not a great shot, I'd like to see them both laid flat side by side, and top to bottom. The PSP Go is small, but not quite as small as I thought, I thought it might only be as wide as the PSP-3000 screen. Of course the screen also looks pudgy; doesn't look like it's the same dimensions as the PSP-1000/2000/3000. So does that mean everything will look vertically stretched? Hmmm.


It's really hard to get a read on how thin it is, but each "piece" looks almost DS Lite thin, which may be why they changed the USB port to proprietary (if they indeed did do that)


Man, it does look cute compared to a DSi:



I'm wondering if the face buttons are DS Lite/DSi-sized. I've noticed the DS buttons are a bit on the small side, and the PSP Go face buttons look about the same size.....



Honestly, if this was May 2006, I'd be pretty interested in the PSP Go. Back then I was *desperately* looking to get my first mp3 player, one that played video, and the Sandisk E200 series was my main choice until I researched the PSP. Believe it or not, I did originally buy my PSP-1001 primarily as an mp3 player. One of the detriments was the PSP size. So the PSP Go size would have been very appealing. Though another main thing I was trying to get away from was iTunes dependence. I didn't want to buy content that had no physical copy. So I may've passed up the PSP Go as being another "iTunes enslavement wannabe" which is about WORSE than being enslaved by iTunes... which is not a good thing either.

PSP Go control placement is a big issue. The analogue nub being in the middle with the D-pad on the left side. It seems odd... but I'm guessing that once I get my hands on it (if I can) everything will seem close together because the overall unit is small. Another thing I was thinking is that, Sony is not only wanting download-only games, but they want SMALL download-only games, that cost a lot less for them to make & maybe they'll price them accordingly.

Basically, they want to muscle in on iPod Touch's App selection. Small simple games, that aren't too expensive, can be developed quickly, and there's a huge selection. So how does this relate to the PSP Go controls? No, I haven't forgotten the point I was making... just setting it up for... now:

It's as if Sony is saying the D-pad is the preferred control method for PSP Go games. They probably want small 2D sidescroller games-- like many iPod Touch games. Sony stuffed shirt John Koller has mentioned on many occasions what he calls, "bite size gaming", regarding PSP download games. Draw your own conclusions.

So it's almost as if Sony is saying the analogue nub is included reluctantly: "Sigh-- we know you'll all just bitch, so here it is."

Despite all this, I have to admit I'm warming up to the idea of picking up a PSP Go. I know-- I *HATE* the download-only trend. But a smaller PSP with the same media functions as the current models does sound somewhat appealing. It's almost like 2006 again, where I didn't even think about games for my PSP until a few weeks after I bought it...... of course, it's now 2009 & I have 40+ UMD games (and about 4 UMD movies).... the largest game collection of any system I own.

But it brings up another conflict, one that reared its head last year for me: should I just get an iPod Touch instead?

If I'm going to surrender to download-only content, shouldn't it be with an company that at least knows how to do it? What Playstation has going for it is its franchises: Loco Roco, God of War, etc. But all I want are good games. They don't have to be brand names, as long as they're good. And I'd gladly pay $5.00 for a good iPod Touch game rather than $20-30.00 for a Playstation one. At least if the $5.00 game screws up I'm only out $5.00.


later
don