PSPgo - AD HOC with PSPs

Tonight I managed to find answers to some of the questions I pestered that Sony rep about at Future Shop about the PSPgo... specifically the AD HOC mode: can a PSPgo AD HOC with previous PSP models, can a digital & a UMD copy of the same game get along?

The answer is yes.

I loaded up Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron on both my PSP-2001 & PSPgo (PSP-N1001) and they communicated pretty much like any other 2 PSPs.

I also wondered about Game Sharing-- can a PSPgo recieve game sharing data from a PSP with a UMD game? Yup, did it with Wipeout: Pulse... though it was annoying trying to figure it out... the game sharing mode on Wipeout: Pulse is not in the AD HOC menu like it should be. It's in the EXTRAS menu. Oh well, it worked great, in fact after the game was transferred the PSPgo, it loaded the data way faster than my PSP-2001 loading it from UMD, so the PSPgo had to wait for the PSP-2001 to finally join in.

One feature of the PSPgo I haven't talked about is the PAUSE/RESUME game setting. So in the grey Do You Want to Quit the Game? screen, there's Quit and Pause. A lot of reviews have talked about it; it just saves the game in mid-play wherever you leave it (whether in mid-game or at a pause menu) and on the XMB there's a RESUME GAME icon in the GAME section when you've paused a game. It's a handy feature to have. So Wipeout: Pulses' game sharing is like a demo but not stored permanently; you turn off your PSP & the game sharing data is erased. But with the PSPgo's pause game feature, you can keep the game there, play music, video, whatever on the XMB & come back to it. Kinda neat.

UPDATE: The RESUME GAME save stays on the XMB even if you turn the PSPgo hard off, not just sleep mode! That's cool. But it does warn that if you "change the PSP settings" it may do something to the save. So I guess you don't want to have a PAUSED GAME then mess around changing your XMB theme or wallpaper or something....



later
don

PSPgo - the PS Store

First off, remember how I mentioned that Future Shop was selling those PSN game cards.... they were mostly Greatest Hits titles; God of War: Chains of Olympus, Twisted Metal: Head On, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, etc. they were selling them for standard retail price, $19.99 & up. I went back in there yesterday, and they were almost completely gone. They had STACKS of these things, hanging up on pegs, and there was only a small pile of an NBA game PSN card left.

What gets me is that when I checked out the PS Store, I saw a lot of those games for LESS than what Future Shop was selling those cards for. Twisted Metal, for example, is on the PS Store for $14.99, and I know that those PSN card versions of it were $19.99.

So makes me wonder, are PSPgo owners kinda, ummm... stupid??? Seriously..... obviously this resurgence in sales is due to the opening week of the PSPgo launch. And of course new owners are really excited to load up this new console with games. But to buy a card that is a voucher for a game-- not the actual game itself, just a placeholder til you download it-- aaaaaand to pay MORE for that card than you would if you just went to the site itself (which you have to go to with the card anyway) and just paid for it there. Or if you don't want to pay online, you could just buy a general PSN card & spend it however you want. I will say though, that Future Shop didn't have any PSN cards when I checked, and it's not made clear that you can do that by them or Sony at all... a major marketing slip-up there.


So... the 2nd part of my PSPgo experience. For the first week or so I just played with it offline, no access to Media Go software & the PlayStation Store. Last night I installed Media Go; first I updated my Quicktime because I knew it required that for some reason. I hardly ever use Quicktime.... and I also uninstalled my old PlayStation Network Downloader from back when the PC access was more direct instead of being through Media Go. I also of course had to update the PSpgo's firmware to 6.10.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if you're updating through a PC and getting the update from the PlayStation site, be aware that there are *TWO DIFFERENT FIRMWARE UPDATES*. One for PSP-1000/2000/3000 models and one specifically for the PSPgo (PSP-N1000). On the Update page they don't really explain that clearly, so make sure you get the right update for the right PSP!

After jumping through all those hoops, I gave it a shot & tried to download from the PS Store, a demo for Undead Knights. I had some problems, I kept getting this message:

A connection error has occurred. (0x80048b1f)

I have to admit, I was pretty down about it. If I couldn't get the PS Store to work for me, I'd have to return the PSPgo, otherwise what good is it? So today I checked my firewall settings, did everything I could to get this to work, and it did! It updated the PSN downloader and everything seemed to work.

I have no idea if/when my PS Store access will bugger up again. I have to be prepared that it might just decide to not work for me tomorrow, next week, whenever... so I bought a few games.... honestly, there's not a lot on there that I'm dying for or anything. For now, last I checked, it worked.

I've been thinking who is the PSPgo for? What is Sony trying to accomplish here? I think I have a better idea of what they want: they want PSPgo owners to download games, but they mostly want them to download video; tv shows & movies. The vast majority of the PSP PSN content is video; they claim there's something like 16,000 pieces of downloadable content and 225 of it is games. You do the math.

Well that leaves Canadian PSN users out in the cold since we can't buy video content from the PS Store. But honestly, I wouldn't buy that stuff even if I could. yeah I load lots of tv content on my PSPgo (and PSPs) but it's from the Neuros Recorder 2+. Paying per show seems like a rip-off to me, but I guess if you don't subscribe to cable & only buy a few shows then it's worth it for some.

So I'd say the PSPgo puts a priority on video (they want you to buy it from the PSN) and then games. With it's smaller size & most of the same featureset of the previous PSP, it's clear that Sony sees it as a media player first & game player second.


later
don

fake memory stick adapter?

Man... I've been having problems with my PhotoFast CR-5400 adapter I bought back in March.

Last night I was playing Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron on my PSP... I was playing the Galactic Conquest mode, and I wanted to save the game before I quit. When I went to do so, the memory stick light was flashing for a long time... way longer than it should be-- it usually saves game data in 1-2 seconds. After flashing for like 30 seconds it finally came back to me with a "Game save failed" message. So I tried it again, and again another save fail.

So I just exited the game & checked out the data at the XMB save data menu. Sure enough there were 2-3 corrupted files. Very odd. When I tried to delete them on my PSP, the delete failed! Not good.

I then hooked up my PSP to my PC in USB mode, went in to see these folders/files, tried to delete them. I managed to delete 1 folder with files inside them by deleting the files 1 at a time. But there are 2 corrupted folders that Windows won't allow me to delete! What's worse, when I come out of PSP>SAVEDATA my PC stops detecting any info on my PSP at all! Yikes...... NOT GOOD AT ALL.

So I turned off my PSP & charged it overnight. This morning I turned it on, when it got to the XMB, there was NO MEMORY STICK icon at all, and the memory stick light was pulsing... like once per second. This looked very, very bad.

I restarted the PSP, same problem. Then I put the PSP into sleep mode, and turned it back on. The memory stick showed up normally, with all the data it should have. I'm glad I can still access it. But I can tell it's going to fail again, and this is the end for it.

I think it's the adapter, it's possible it could be the cards, which is really bad since they cost so much. I dug out the adapter packaging, as show in the pic above, and checked out that page put out by PhotoFast on how to spot fake adapters. I noticed that my packaging doesn't have shiny silver lettering, it's just plain white. I'm thinking that the adapter I got from DealExtreme is probably fake.

I do have a rule when buying products from places like Deal Extreme who sell a lot of fakes: never buy a battery or memory cards from these types of places. If it's just a hunk of plastic like a battery cover, it probably doesn't matter if it's "real" or fake, but actual electronic stuff-- as long as you know what you're getting. I sorta broke the rule by buying that adapter, but it was the only place I knew of that shipped to Canada.

And for 8 months, it worked awesome. I haven't had any problems with it at all until now. It's just strange that it would go after all this time. Usually fakes make themselves known right away; they generally don't work right out of the gate. Maybe shoddy materials just couldn't take the stress over the 8 months of use?

I just ordered another CR-5400 adapter from a Canadian site... I really hope it's authentic, as I paid a lot more for it than at Deal Extreme. As long as it's authentic, it'll be worth it.


later
don

I bought a PSPgo - initial thoughts part 1

Saturday night I went out & bought a PSPgo.... I'm not sure if I should keep it.

There are some really nice things about it, but there are a lot of issues. There's tons of reviews out there of the handheld-- so I'll try not to go over the same ground too much.

In a nutshell: The PSPgo is a great small media device first, and a handheld gaming console second.


First, the price. At $250.00, it's expensive. But there are a couple things to consider: The Canadian price is the same as the U.S. price, which is rare/unheard of right now. More importantly, the PSPgo has 16GB of flash storage built in. In Canada, a 16GB memory stick pro duo usually retails for about $100.00. So it is close to the price of a PSP-3000 & a 16GB memory stick. I'm not saying that the PSPgo should be $250.00, but it is almost understandable. I do think that there will be a price drop soon, maybe after Xmas.

My initial impressions:

The screen panel that slides out.... it's jiggly. It doesn't feel like it will slip out of the extended position; I've held the PSPgo straight up & down & it stays in place. But there is some wiggle of the panel-- about 1 mm-- which is annoying. On my DS Lite, once I unfold the top screen out it clicks into place & feels solid. The 2 DS lite panels feel like one unit. The PSPgo... the shakiness of the top panel constantly reminds you that it's balancing the top screen panel on the 2nd one when you hold it, and I don't like that. Normal micro-tremors of your hands will shake the screen panel. It's the single biggest issue I have with the gadget.

The screen quality, however, is pretty good. Colours are noticeably deeper & more vibrant than on my previous PSPs. In the System settings there's a color mode: wide or normal. Wide is a little better, but they're both fine. It seems that Sony has adopted the colour mode from the PSP-3000 but there's no interlacing issues that screen has. This is more like the previous PSP screens... and I know that LCDs fade over time, so the brighter colours of the PSPgo screen may just be because it's newer (than my other PSPs)

The screen is smaller, not by a lot, but smaller, with the same resolution. This is good, but it may be problematic for some games that are made for the regular PSP screen. I know there were some comments that God of War: Chains of Olympus had parts where Kratos is really small on the screen... well, if he's small on the regular PSP, think how small he'll be on the PSPgo.....

Drag & drop: I've talked about how I love that the PSP is a drag & drop device. Fortunately the PSPgo is, too. I was shocked to find that not only did it have the PICTURES, MUSIC, VIDEO, PSP folders, it also has the MP_ROOT folders with 100ANV01 and 101MNV01 inside! I was really happy to see that, as a lot of my video will only play in the ANV folder, and not in the VIDEO folder for some reason. Basically the firmware 5.70 which ships with the PSPgo still supports it.

Built-in storage with memory stick micro (M2) expansion. Yes, we all know that the PSPgo has 16GB actual use 14GB onboard flash storage. But how does it work if you also have a M2 card in there? I don't have one, so I haven't tried it, but I'm pretty sure that it sees them both as seperate storage areas, like partitions on a hard drive. So say you go into PHOTOS, below the camera icon will be storage (with however much memory is left) and below that would be memory stick (with however much memory is left).... I'm not sure, but I think that if you have a memory stick in the PSPgo, it will just double the folder structure that's on the onboard storage? So just another set of PICTURES, MUSIC, VIDEO, PSP folders, etc.??? Sounds weird, but I can't see how else they'll do this. So when you access any data, you basically have to pick from where you want to access it from? That's less convenient than my current Photofast 32GB MicroSD setup, where both 16GB cards are seen as 1 big 32GB memory stick on my PSP-2001.

Gameplay on the PSPgo: Ok, this is a big one. The control scheme is laid out very differently than previous PSPs, particularly the D-pad & analogue nub. We're all aware of this.

I kinda thought that a layout like the one below would be better:



I was skeptical of having the analogue nub so close to the center of the device, but the PSPgo is so small that it sort of makes sense. Your thumb stretches out more to reach the area, and it sort of works. It also makes it easier to grip the PSPgo, if the nub was closer to the left edge less of your hand would be able to hold the handheld, maybe? I dunno, there's so little control realestate there, not a lot of space to work with.

So the controls feel sort of ok. The analogue nub is about 2/3 the size of previous PSP nubs. But the biggest problem is it's recessed into that hole around it. I think the analogue nub on the PSP is one of its greatest strengths as a handheld; nobody else had done this before. So I really wanted to see how the PSPgo's nub would deal with some of the more intense 3D shooter games-- I loaded on the demo for Syphon Filter:Dark Mirror. I found the skin of my thumb getting pinched in that recessed hole quite a bit. I think if I raise my thumb rather than lay it flat against the nub it might help, but it will take some getting used to. I've said it before, but it feels like the PSPgo would rather players use the D-pad.

Which brings me to the D-pad & face buttons. They are also smaller than on previous PSPs. The d-pad has that slide around feel, you know how you can slide the d-pad around underneath the faceplate? But both the pad & face buttons are very low to the system. They don't really press down, more like a clicky feel to them. So any amount of pressure triggers the click of the button response. It's not bad exactly-- but it all feels less like a console, doesn't even feel like the regular PSP buttons, feels more like a less intense gaming device. Like if you play games on a cellphone.

The shoulder buttons are the most different. They have way less "press" to them, and in fact are very VERY sensitive. Overly sensitive. I found myself accidentally shooting my gun in Syphon Filter, and skipping tracks while on the music playback screen. I also played a Loco Roco demo, and I had a harder time with it than I normally would. Again, might just take getting used to.

The small screen & the less precise controls made it harder for me to do accurate things that I need to do in Syphon Filter, like aiming for headshots. it may just be that I need to get used to playing on the PSPgo, but I do find it's not as suited for gameplay as the regular PSP. The priorty of this system seems to be to make a smaller PSP. I've thought many times that I would like my PSP to be smaller; I originally bought it for mp3 playback, and while I got into the gaming part of it bigtime, I love its media functions and a smaller form factor would really help its portability. I guess it's sort of a case of "be careful what you wish for". Sony is like one of those evil Genies that corrupts your wishes. I can't even count the number of posts I've read where people said they wanted a downloadable PSP, and all the hate for UMDs... which I don't exactly understand; to me it's like saying "I hate that the Xbox plays game discs!!!!!" or "I hate that the DS plays cartridges!!!" What's the difference? UMD is just a format. I will say that DS carts are small; I have about 12 DS games & most of them fit in my DS case. But back on point: all those digital download fans got what they asked for, just that Sony corrupted their wish by making digital version cost the same/more than the UMD version, lack of selection, etc.

So the PSPgo is sort of a culmination of corrupted wishes. But all that said, it is still kinda nice. It is easily the most portable PlayStation Portable created so far.

UPDATE: I started writing this entry on Sunday, and it's now Monday night.... I have to admit, the PSPgo is growing on me. I'm not sure if I *will* take this thing back after all.... I dunno. I'll have to see if I can install Media Go and access the PS Store properly. I've had problems with them & haven't gone back since then.


later
don

salivating over the PSPgo

Oh man.... I just got back from Future Shop... I am seriously considering picking up the PSPgo, even though there's NO RATIONAL REASON to do so.

A Sony rep happened to be there, and I cornered him long enough to pick his brain about it. He had a PSPgo with him, it was in the leather traveler's case, which looks really nice. Let me tell you, THE THING IS SMALL. I knew it would look smaller in person, but it is an impressively cute package.

The Sony rep didn't know lots, but he had hands-on experience with the PSPgo. I asked him whether AD-HOC gaming where one person had a PSPgo with a digital copy of a game, and the other had an older PSP with the UMD copy would work. He hadn't tried it, but he was fairly sure it would. I've had problems where I have a North American version of a game, and someone else had an Asian copy of it & they wouldn't connect via AD-HOC, so that's why I was concerned.

I asked him about the PSPgo's video out feature-- do PSP games output to a TV still show up with the black borders? Unfortunately yes.

Future Shop has the PSN game cards, which are redeemable for a digital copy of the game. I asked whether we pay GST/PST when we buy them from Future Shop, or if we have to pay at the PS Store, or what. He didn't know, but I'm betting we pay GST/PST at Future Shop (or whichever store you buy them from) then plug in the code to download it from the PS Store.

I asked about the Bluetooth remote dongle, which he knew nothing about. I suspect it might be a japan-only release.

I asked him about the memory stick micro-- M2-- how that's seen by the PSPgo: is it like my 32GB of dual microSD storage-- it's seen as one big memory stick on my PSP-- or do you have to switch between the onboard 16GB storage & any M2 expansion that's in the PSPgo? He didn't know.

I didn't get to actually hold the PSPgo, but oddly enough I did get to play a bit of Gran Turismo on it using a Dualshock 3 controller. I knew that the PSPgo's Bluetooth supported linking to a DS3, but you can also use the DS3 to control the game on the PSPgo.... it's weird. I asked about the specifics-- you *do* need a PS3 & USB connection to pair up the PSPgo with a Dualshock controller. But he mentioned that you could just bring a DS3 to a display PS3 & do it... not sure how that works, but I guess it is possible if you don't own a PS3 & just buy a DS3?

The PSPgo screen is smaller, but it still seems very usable. But this is all just a brief viewing & the "Wow!" factor is still in effect... I still have stars in my eyes over the thing.

I have to admit, I am *very* close to just buying a PSPgo from Future Shop, just to try it out & see if it's worth keeping. They have a 30 day return policy, so I'd have some time to put it through the motions.


later
don

sometimes Sony does something right (wrong)

hehe.... I didn't take advantage of this, but there was an unexpected "bonus" when SCEA unleashed the spate of new PSP games, demos & videos on the PS Store today (Oct. 1, 2009).

Among the new releases was supposed to be a free demo for the game Undead Knights... only where you go to download the demo, they had the FULL game!

I noticed it when I looked at the preview info of the file. I downloaded the Japanese demo a few days ago... couldn't play it because it requires 5.51 firmware, and my PSP is on 5.03. But I know that the demo is about 100 MB. But when I saw the demo at the PS Store, it was about 500 MB. I thought, "Wha?? Why is a demo so big??"

Then I read on the PS forums how it was the full game. Gotta love Sony's unintended"goodwill program"... a free game on the PSPgo's release date! "Good for you", Sony! hehe. Was that Karma?

I guess we know why they normally only dribble releases out on the PS Store, because any more than 4 new games & they get too confused.

I'm sure Sony will make sure such "promotions" don't happen again.


later
don

haven't bought PSPgo...yet

Ok, from where I'm sitting, it's almost 5:30PM, and I've managed to go almost the entire day without buying a PSPgo. If I can only hold out a little longer.... it'll be easier after the first day.

There's no real rational reason I should buy it... but that doesn't stop me from WANTING it. Let's face it: I love PSP. I've always wanted a PSP that was smaller, because I originally bought my PSP primarily as an mp3 player.

I've been thinking a lot about the PSPgo: who is it meant for? It's not meant for previous PSP owners, as it has a smaller library of games. You'd think it'd be meant for new owners who've never owned a PSP.... but if someone was choosing between a PSPgo, and an iPod Touch, why would they get the PSPgo? iPod Touch has a much larger library of games & the prices are *waaaay* lower. iTunes is probably a better media manager than Media Go. Both devices feature Bluetooth (though you have to pay $10.00 for an iPod Touch firmware upgrade to enable it) and of course, the iPod Touch handles music playback/playlists much better.

Back in 2006 I chose the PSP over the iPod Nano (no Touch back then) because the PSP has drag & drop. You didn't have to use a proprietary software media manager to put files on it. I really appreciate that freedom.

But now in 2009, the PSPgo almost requires Media Go software. Sony is obviously trying to copy the iPod/iTunes integration.

Still, aside from buying games from the PS Store, I don't think even the PSPgo is entirely dependent on using Media Go to put media on it.

So I think I know who the PSPgo is for. It's for people who want a PSP, but are not all that into playing games. Maybe like me, they use their PSP for watching video & listening to music a lot, but only play games on it occasionally. It looks like Sony wants PSPgo owners to only have a small library of games, maybe 4 per system or something. They sure as hell don't want people buying too many!

So maybe the PSPgo is for me. I do want a smaller PSP. I like to play PSP games-- hell, I have 42 of them (on UMD) last I checked-- while sometimes I do marathon game-playing sessions that completely drain the battery, other times I go weeks between playing games on it.

Sony's marketing of the PSPgo is pretty perverse, because I can't imagine there are that many nutty people like me out there to count on selling the PSPgo to.



later
don