Why the Sony PSP Go is a Rip Off

My son has been saving up for a Sony PSP handheld game system. He had his sites set on the new PSP Go (PXP-2000) but, upon closer inspection, this system is a total ripoff. Yes, it comes with a new, smaller form factor while retaining the same large screen (more or less), but there are some major drawbacks.

The unit itself costs about $50 more than the Sony PSP-3000 and — get this — the PSP Go doesn’t have a slot for UMD game cartridges! It appears that Sony is trying to move away from physical game cartridges and toward downloadable software. Sony claims that this move makes the PSP Go “quieter” and “more energy efficient.”

Unfortunately, this move also makes the PSP Go even more expensive to own. The reason for this is that Sony controls the game marketplace, and they’ve expressed a desire to retain “pricing parity” with the MSRP of UMD-based games. But guess what? Stores almost never charge full MSRP on game cartridges.

Here’s an example… The game “Resistance: Retribution” has an MSRP of $39.99, and that’s exactly what the downloadable version costs. In contrast, the UMD version currently costs $17.43 at Amazon.

Adding insult to injury for existing PSP owners, there’s no way to convert your existing UMD game cartridges for use on the PSP Go. When they first announced the PSP Go, Sony stated that they would make a converter available, but that never came to be. Thus, you’ll have to re-buy your games if you move to the PSP Go.

My advice is to “just say no” to the PSP Go, and stick with the PSP-3000 instead.

Topic(s): Technology & Gadgets
Keyword(s): psp, sony, video games