PSPGo Not Out Yet … Already Behind the iPod Touch / App Store

Posted on 17 September 2009, at 1:17 pm, by Michael Anderson

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Less than two weeks before I’ll get one in my sweaty hands, Sony has revealed to Yahoo! Technology News yet another reason why the PSP Go might just be the absolutely worst purchase idea for anyone to make this fall! Read on to see what they said!

One of the key features Sony is pushing with the upcoming digital download-only PSP Go and associated PSN Store are what they are calling ‘Minis’ – small games less than 100MB that will cost a few dollars and are being positioned to compete with the <$10 structure offered by the iTunes App Store.

But even before the new service is launched, we learn of limitations that place the Minis well behind offerings on the iTunes App Store:

Sony has confirmed that Sony’s “Mini” games for the PSPgo will not have wireless multiplayer functionality, downloadable content or software updates — all features available to iPod touch and iPhone gamers in iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

Justin Cooney, senior account manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America, told Gamasutra the decision was made to “accelerate the approval process.” He said that additional quality assurance (QA) was required to initiate those features, and that such capabilities “increase the barriers” for a timely release.

The quote mentions all items as available since “iPhone OS 3.0″, but of course software updates have existed since the beginning and are a key way for developers to get games out and keep them fresh and satisfying for gamers. I have seen new features added, tweaks to balance and gameplay, and many other enhancements added. If Sony doesn’t address this ‘beyond 1.0′ strategy it could cause some real issues for the upcoming service – it will certainly make gamers more hesitant about spending money before they know that the game is feature -complete and rock-solid.

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Final image part of article at Joystiq released after initial post.

Source: Yahoo! Technology

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Tags | Apple iPhone and Touch Applications, Apple iPod and Touch Devices, Games & Gaming, Gaming Devices, Sony

2 Comments For This Post

Michael Anderson Says:
September 17th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Jotstiq has a report from the Austin GDC where Sony actually is presenting about this. You can see the slide showing the exact details there … I’ll also add it to the post:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09.....oval-time/
bluemonq Says:
September 17th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
“The quote mentions all items as available since “iPhone OS 3.0″, but of course software updates have existed since the beginning…”

…if by beginning you mean “OS 2.0″. Honestly, I’m not a fan of the PSP (not a fan of handheld gaming in general), but the main target of the PSP/PSPgo is not those minis but the Crisis Cores, the Dissdias, the Gran Turismos, the Assassin’s Creeds. Touch controls might work okay or even great for puzzles and small RTSs, but how are you going to do a fighting game for instance without buttons? And what happens if someone calls you in the middle of a multiplayer game?

The reality is, people who are so hyped up on the “gaming experience” of the iPhone probably weren’t going to buy a PSP anyways.