Why did the PSP Go fail?
Launched in October of 2009; it s nearly been a year since Sony launched a revamped version of its portable gaming device and boy-o-boy has it been a disappointment. Sales figures themselves show that Sony s PSP 3000 the last iteration of Sony s original PSP design still sells more than the PSP Go!
Why? For starters, PSP 3000 has a Universal Media Disc or UMD drive which Sony very conveniently removed from the PSP Go as it wanted the Go to be a download only based gaming system. To be fair, Sony did support the Go pretty well by giving the system 16GB inbuilt flash memory expandable up to 32GB via M2 memory cards and a good lineup of games for download during launch.
This system of Sony s may have actually worked had it not been for one tiny problem. The existence of hundreds and hundreds of UMD s not only available in the market but also in consumer s homes. This is really not a problem if you are a new user as a fresh system would mean a fresh collection of games. But if you re like me, you probably own one of the older PSP s and have a sweet collection of UMD games. Before the launch of the GO however, there were rumors that if you upgraded to a Go, you could trade in your UMD s and be able to download the same game for free. However, those rumors didn't prove to be true and so the PSP Go story didn't play out as Sony would have liked!
Don t think the Go is a bad device. Not at all! On the face of it, Go is superior to the PSP 3000 in terms of display brightness, speakers, feel. But, the screen was smaller than the 3000 at 3.8 inches as compared to 4.3 inches on PSP 3000.
Sony did admit that the shift to digital distribution only was an experiment, to what cause? Is still a mystery to me! Majority of the world s gamers population still prefers to own physical copies of a game as compared to a digital version. It makes more sense as it is easier to exchange games with friends, sell them for 2nd hand once you re done with them. Call me old fashioned but just the feel of a brand new game in my hand cannot be replaced with a digital download. Also the fact that the PSP has penetrated markets where internet penetration is still low (such as India), so it does make sense for Sony to stick to the physical form of distributing games.
Though some may argue that digital distribution is more convenient for the content provider as they don t have to worry about transportation, lower production cost, commission of middlemen like retailers, etc.
Sony also faced problems from retailers in terms of the PSP GO. Once a retailer sells a gaming system, he has a potential client who will keep coming back for the games. In terms of the GO however, once the system is sold, there is no scope of the retailer selling the games for that system. That really didn t go down well with the retailers!
Sony s portable device has an unmatched lineup of games such as God of War, Resistance Retribution, Locoroko, Patapon, Metal Gear Solid, GTA, Castelvania, Tomb Rader, Tekken, Gran Turismo, just to name a few. This does make it the king of portable hardcore gaming! I would really love to upgrade to a PSP GO for it's sleek, small look that fits well in my back pocket. But then what am I to do with the 50+ UMD s lying in my drawer? No wonder the PSP 3000 still outsells the PSP GO by a mile!
Why? For starters, PSP 3000 has a Universal Media Disc or UMD drive which Sony very conveniently removed from the PSP Go as it wanted the Go to be a download only based gaming system. To be fair, Sony did support the Go pretty well by giving the system 16GB inbuilt flash memory expandable up to 32GB via M2 memory cards and a good lineup of games for download during launch.
This system of Sony s may have actually worked had it not been for one tiny problem. The existence of hundreds and hundreds of UMD s not only available in the market but also in consumer s homes. This is really not a problem if you are a new user as a fresh system would mean a fresh collection of games. But if you re like me, you probably own one of the older PSP s and have a sweet collection of UMD games. Before the launch of the GO however, there were rumors that if you upgraded to a Go, you could trade in your UMD s and be able to download the same game for free. However, those rumors didn't prove to be true and so the PSP Go story didn't play out as Sony would have liked!
Don t think the Go is a bad device. Not at all! On the face of it, Go is superior to the PSP 3000 in terms of display brightness, speakers, feel. But, the screen was smaller than the 3000 at 3.8 inches as compared to 4.3 inches on PSP 3000.
Sony did admit that the shift to digital distribution only was an experiment, to what cause? Is still a mystery to me! Majority of the world s gamers population still prefers to own physical copies of a game as compared to a digital version. It makes more sense as it is easier to exchange games with friends, sell them for 2nd hand once you re done with them. Call me old fashioned but just the feel of a brand new game in my hand cannot be replaced with a digital download. Also the fact that the PSP has penetrated markets where internet penetration is still low (such as India), so it does make sense for Sony to stick to the physical form of distributing games.
Though some may argue that digital distribution is more convenient for the content provider as they don t have to worry about transportation, lower production cost, commission of middlemen like retailers, etc.
Sony also faced problems from retailers in terms of the PSP GO. Once a retailer sells a gaming system, he has a potential client who will keep coming back for the games. In terms of the GO however, once the system is sold, there is no scope of the retailer selling the games for that system. That really didn t go down well with the retailers!
Sony s portable device has an unmatched lineup of games such as God of War, Resistance Retribution, Locoroko, Patapon, Metal Gear Solid, GTA, Castelvania, Tomb Rader, Tekken, Gran Turismo, just to name a few. This does make it the king of portable hardcore gaming! I would really love to upgrade to a PSP GO for it's sleek, small look that fits well in my back pocket. But then what am I to do with the 50+ UMD s lying in my drawer? No wonder the PSP 3000 still outsells the PSP GO by a mile!
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