If The PSPgo Was A Test, What Does This Mean For The PSP2?

SCEE president and CEO Andrew House recently stated that the PSPgo was merely a test of consumer behaviour. Whether this is indeed the truth or a marketing ploy to deny failure, the result is bad news for all the UMD haters out there. In case you haven’t heard, the UMDless PSPgo was a bomb. Apparently, Sony wanted to see if consumers were interested in a more compact handheld that exclusively played downloadable content. In other words, were consumers willing to do away with physical media for handheld gaming? Mr. House’s comments give me the terrible feeling that the Go’s failure means that the next generation of handhelds will inherit some sort of UMD-like drive. It’s 2010 people! Time to move on I says.

I’m not saying the PSPgo should’ve been a success or that its failure is the result of a whole lot of UMD love. I personally have no idea what drives other consumers, but I know what I want, and I know there are other factors that caused its failure.

Did I buy a PSPgo? No, but UMDs had nothing to do with it. I didn’t buy the Go for the same reason I didn’t buy the 3000. I already own a PSP 2000. Unfortunately for Sony, the added benefits didn’t justify the $250 price tag, and even if I didn’t own one, it would be a hard sell since its still $80 more than its UMD counterpart. This begs the question, if the PSPgo was a test of consumer behaviour, why did they price it out of contention? Its like they wanted it to fail.

About a year ago when the Go was first announced, there was a lot of talk about a UMD backup solution. Sadly, Sony didn’t delivery. What exactly did they want me to do with all my UMDs? As much as I’d like to rid myself of the format, I’m not buying games twice, and I don’t know anyone who would. This was a huge oversight and a deal breaker for many I’m sure.

So if I didn’t buy the PSPgo, I must prefer games on UMD rather than on a memory stick right? Wrong! I haven’t purchased a UMD since they relaunched the Playstation Store, and I can say that I’ll never buy another one as long as I have an option. UMDs are inconvenient, awkward, noisy, a battery drain, and an overall pain in the ass. I bought another 8GB memory stick and haven’t looked back.

It’s clear the PSPgo was doomed to fail from the start, but its not because people want or love UMDs. Sony, it’s time to move on, and what better time than with the launch of your ‘Next Gen’ handheld. Bring on the UMDless PSP2.