

The PSPgo is officially dead, why did it fail? - ukdm
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/the-pspgo-is-officially-dead-why-did-it-fail-20110420/

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kenneth_reitz
First off, the PSP Go is my all-time favorite device, but only once you enable
the ability to run unsigned code. Because of it, I can have every NES and SNES
game ever released in my pocket at all times! It's incredible.

\--

Seriously though, the Go failed for a few reasons. Sony made some critical
mistakes with it. First off, the device's main method of obtaining games is
wifi. The Go has an 802.11b chip in it, which is extremely slow and outdated.

Most of the problems are UX related.

Turning the device on for the first time, you try to sign into the PlayStation
Network to download your first game. First, you must update your firmware. To
do so, you have to have the device fully charged (90% doesn't count), even if
it's plugged in. So, you have to leave your brand new gaming device plugged in
for at least 4 hours while the battery fully charges before you can download
and install the system update so you can install your first game.

Once charged, you access your PSN account, and search through the limited
selection of available games. Most new PSP games are released on UMD disks
only, and take many months to arrive in downloadable form, if ever.

So, _if_ you find a game that you like, you download it and wait 45 minutes
for it download over the 802.11b connection. Then you have to wait another 15
minutes for it to be extracted. Then you can play.

Of course, any of the games you likely already own from your other PSPs can
never be played on the device at all.

\--

It's absurd. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
You can tell there's a lot of "design by fiat" going on at Sony.

One one hand, the interface on the Playstation devices looks slick and
elegant.

On the other, you have to deal with these really bone-headed decisions
scattered all over the place, some of which you already mentioned, that just
ruin the experience.

And this goes beyond just the interface. Sony may have brilliant engineers,
but you can tell it's a dictatorship - and The Man, while he may be a good
general-purpose businessperson, is pretty dumb in other ways.

~~~
cube13
>And this goes beyond just the interface. Sony may have brilliant engineers,
but you can tell it's a dictatorship - and The Man, while he may be a good
general-purpose businessperson, is pretty dumb in other ways.

After this and the entire GeoHotz fiasco, I actually have the opposite
opinion. Sony has some pretty brilliant designers-the UI and device styling is
quite nice. Their engineers, on the other hand, seem to keep on making pretty
stupid decisions that make actually using the device difficult to use.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
That's possible, too.

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cube13
There's also the fact that the system uses 802.11b wireless, which makes any
downloads unbearably slow.

In addition, the PSP's prices for older titles are quite high-usually around
$20. For a few titles(especially the ones published by Atlus), this means that
the download is cheaper than a physical copy because of the rarity of the
software. For a lot of games, however, it's possible to find cheaper copies on
eBay or even in big box store bargain bins.

~~~
Splines
Plus a physical copy has resale value, so when you're done with a game you can
sell it or trade it to a friend.

Aside from 802.11b (and maybe the battery), the hardware is really nice. The
system has a really nice solid feel to it, the screen, while not up Retina
standards, is bright and more than adequate for games/movies, and the controls
have a good tactile response (although the shoulder buttons are a tad
awkward).

I had a PSPGo for a short period of time, and running emulators on it was
fantastic. Sony seems to like the razor-blades sales model, but the homebrew
community sure adds a ton of value to these devices.

