My first experience with Sony's Media Go program

I have a PSP-2000. It's a great little system. But with all this hoopla about Sony's new direction, I thought I would finally check out their digital distribution thingy. I have never downloaded anything for my PSP. No custom firmware, nothing. I was straight up UMDs on my system. I don't have a PS3, so I can't connect through that. My wireless router uses WPA2 security, which is not supported on my PSP at least. I go through my PC (even though I would like to go through my Mac, but whatever...)



So I download their Media Go program. I get on, and my first impression is that it is annoying to browse around. Sony needs to look at how Steam and iTunes do it, because those are actually pleasant to browse.

I finally found something I wanted to download (a demo). So click on it, log in, and it tells me I need to download some download software! I click it, and it downloads. It automatically installs, and it tells me I need to restart the program. So I do.

I get back on, find the demo I want, click on it, and it tells me I have to connect my PSP if I want to download it. What the hell? Can't I just have it on my computer so I can put it on my PSP at my convenience?

I plug in my PSP to my PC, and click retry. Crap, I need to update my PSP software! Does it do it automatically? Nope! It tells me to refer to my system manual first! An no, I do not have any custom firmware on my PSP. The most recent game I've played on it is Resistance: Retribution, which is a fairly new game.

Sorry Sony, I dig my PSP and all, but if this is how you are doing digital distribution, you have a long way to go.

So I click around to get the firmware update. It opens another IE window for some reason and brings me to the Playstation Store website. Ok... where is this firmware update thingy? I guess I'll click on the PSP link.



I'm now on the PSP site, and I see a big link in the middle of the screen about some firmware update. I click on it. Oh wait, no, that was just a news posting from yesterday telling us about the cool features of the upcoming update! Because it was written yesterday, there is no link to the place I actually get the update!

I click back, and find a small link on the side of the screen about the firmware update. I click it. It brings me to a place that tells me how to update my system! I can choose between the Network, the PC, or through a UMD. So I click on PC, because that is what I'm doing. It gives me instructions. Ok. How do I download it. Oooohhh... there is a small button hidden in the instructions that allows me to download it.

So I download it. Turns out I actually had to read their instructions to actually get the update on my PSP. Why isn't this crap automatic?

This is not how you do digital distribution. I've been trying to download a demo for half an hour now, and it still isn't on my PSP.

I followed their directions and I still can't get it on! I just put the new firmware on my PSP and it is telling me I still need to update! Finally, I look at my PSP, and apparently the update file is corrupted! Awesome! I'm so frustrated, I don't even want to deal with this ever again.

Sony, fix this if you want your PSP Go to succeed. I like Sony. But this is ridiculous.