 Reviewed by: Reem from Reem
1
I was excited about the Go when it was anuenncod. Sony seemed committed at the time to making this a dramatic plunge into moving towards what the next generation will almost certainly be about, if we’re to believe they hype from industry pundits and analysts. An all-digital handheld multimedia device that has all the strengths of the PSP, with none of the weaknesses associated with removable media (less moving parts to break, faster loading times, built in high-capacity high-speed r/w storage) sounds great on paper. Coupled with Sony’s initial promises of support for transition of early PSP adopters to this exciting hardware refresh, and this had all the makings of a tremendous success to look forward to.What a difference 90 or so days make.Suddenly, the Go is Sony’s ill-will generating machine du-juor, the cool-kid lunch table that original PSP owners are being told they really weren’t ever expected to be able to sit at, and I’m left to wonder what happened between the initial announcement and now that we are facing such a dramatic turnaround in Sony’s stance on who and what the Go is really designed for. I am suspicious of retail as having played a role in some of the turnaround, as we have seen the backlash present itself in the form of some retailers outright refusing to carry the Go at all, and others were hesitant to promote it until seemingly about 3 weeks or so back, which adds to my suspicion. I get it, I mean, why carry a system that ultimately isn’t going to generate add-on sales and will never be a part of most retailer’s business strategy, since the majority of dedicated game retailers are really glorified pawn shops who see their profit base built on used game sale and trade-ins. Did Sony cripple their plans to support their install base in order to maintain relationships with the retail sector? I think it’s a good question that we’ll likely never see an answer to. In early August, I spoke with a Gamestop employee who is fairly high in status in the region, and he was confident that they weren’t going to be carrying the Go, or at least weren’t going to be actively stocking it in the same fashion as the PSP-3000 since it really wasn’t a device that was in the best interests of Gamestop and the markup wasn’t profitable for retailers to waste shelf space on. Obviously, this has changed, and we’re starting to see the fruits of Sony’s retail strategy manifes in the form of specific game vouchers and network cards, which allow a small amount of retail add-on sales and additional revenue beyond the hardware itself. Scuttlebutt is that the price of the Go has a higher profit margin built-in for retail as well, but this is unconfirmed.I never had any faith in the publishers playing ball on UMD conversion from physical to digital, as great an idea as it would have been. There’s nothing in it for them to allow this to happen, and regardless of it would have been the right gesture or not, they’re not in the business of making us feel good about our purchases, and certain individuals have already gone on record as stating they feel we’re not paying enough for their product in the first place. The gaming industry is not our friend, and thinking otherwise is a mistake. Does this mean there couldn’t have been some sort of compromise reached, be it via trade in, digitally unlocking the ability to purchase games we own at some sort of a markdown, or even just working with Sony to get legacy product online at a price point which is realistic in contrast to the sort of value that UMD games at retail can be had for, but this isn’t the case. Even European customers are able to get a few first party games and Gran Turismo PSP as incentive for their purchase, which is apparently not in the cards for North American purchasers. Sony’s strategy to point back to the PSP-3000 as their solution to UMD owners is both disingenuous and also certain to be phased out as stocks of the hardware eventually diminish.At the end of the day, I think it’s easy to blame Sony for being solely at fault for bungling this product as effectively as they have, and they certainly make it very easy to do just that. There are other guilty parties here, and to ignore that is to allow this sort of behavior to become acceptable and routine. This is a great concept that we are just not quite ready for yet. Greed is a strong motivator, and at a time when global profits are at an all-time low, launching a product that isn’t aggressively priced and poised to capture both new and old customers is a big mistake. I think Sony will look back on this launch at some point as an example of how not to build on a user base, but right now I don’t think that is a concern.I’m committed to the idea of the Go in spirit if nothing else, I like the all-digital format and would like my legacy to not be filled with any more eventual biomass for the landfill than it already has wastefully generated. I am reluctantly moving forward with my purchase, but I won’t be replacing my PSP-3000 with the Go as much as I’ll be treating the Go as another new handheld I own. I have an income which allows such a foolish purchase, but I realize this is a privilege a lot of consumers don’t enjoy. It’s a shame Sony doesn’t realize this as well. I’d wish them well with their experiment, but I have a heavy heart and reservations about how and why I’d like the Go to succeed. It’s probably too much to wish for an 11th hour revelation from Sony to generate some smidgen of good will with all of us original PSP customers who would embrace the Go if only they’d give us a sign we’re even invited to the party. But I guess good will isn’t very profitable these days.
|
+ 
