Sony PSP Go review and news
T3 is first in the UK to test drive Sony’s latest handheld
Sony’s PSP Go launches on 1 October with T3 being amongst the first to give Sony’s latest handheld a thorough playtest.
And their verdict? While the PSP has gradually shed a little weight with a new refresh every year since its original launch, the PSP Go or PSP-N1000, “is a whole new thing.”
The new device will launch at a price of $250 over in the US and ’still to be decided’ for the UK when it finally hits the streets later this year,
It is approximately half the size of the original PSP, has no UMD drive, 16GB of onboard storage and a slot for a compact Memorystick Micro rather than the whopping Memorystick Pro Duo of the original.
The small 3.8-inch screen slides up to reveal the D-pad, analogue nub and face buttons, plus Sony has added in Bluetooth connectivity to the usual Wi-Fi.
“The key change in all this is the replacement of UMD with memory and improved online access; Sony obviously wants to go head to head with the iPhone and iPod touch and their game-stuffed App Store,” notes T3.com in its review.
TechRadar is particularly keen to try out Skype on Sony’s new PSP, which could also give Apple’s devices a run for their money.
“Proprietory discs shops made of bricks and mortar are out. Games bought or rented online and downloaded and ready to play in a trice are in.”
UMD replacement plans
If you have a ton of games on UMD already, but would still like to upgrade to the new PSP Go, then never fear, as Sony is hinting that “most of the back catalogue will be available for download – presumably for free if you already own the relevant UMDs.”
The overall experience is essentially the same, with “the joystick, buttons and so on…roughly the same place, and gaming feels exactly the same, once you get used to the shoulder buttons being slightly obscured by the open screen.”
Battery life is pretty much unchanged and to buy games you will have to sign up for a PlayStation Network ID.
Finally, T3 notes that “the Go is a more serious multimedia device than its predecessors, and the superb Xross Media Bar offers very easy access to your movies, music, pictures and games….By trimming the UMD drive and adding onboard memory, Sony has made the PSP Go a multimedia device fit to trade blows with the iPod Touch.”
Stay tuned for more news on the forthcoming Sony PSP Go and its accompanying download store as we approach the October 1 launch. In the meantime, head over to T3.com for the full review and video hands-on with the new Sony PSP Go.
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