That's the question I have to ask myself when I hear about things like the recent release of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on PSP. Over in Europe, where the game was recently released, people should have no trouble finding it in stores. But for those who would choose to download it -- or would have no choice at all because they have a PSPgo -- aren't going to be able to get the game from the PlayStation Store. It isn't there.
For reasons we haven't been made privy to, Konami's not publishing the game digitally in Europe. Sony's policy is to allow publishers to decide whether or not to put their games on the platform on a case-by-case basis. Why Konami would choose not to do this is confusing but probably down to costs somehow.
Which leads me back to Sony and what I find far more baffling. Why is Sony even making it an option for publishers at all? In producing the PSPgo without a UMD drive, they took a big risk that could have the potential to divide their customer base. To then take a laissez-faire attitude when it comes to the standards for the platform and ensuring that software will be available to all users of it is a terrible decision.
It's not their first time at the rodeo, either. It falls right in line with their online strategy for the PS2 and even today, to an extent. They've always placed the onus for online features on the publishers which has resulted in a very inconsistent experience. So, I suppose this should be considered par for the course.
If I were you, however, I'd give serious reconsideration to any thoughts you might have of buying a PSPgo. Lord only knows what you might miss out on later.
A worrying sign of things to come for PSP Go? [GamesRadar] Thanks, Ali D!
Contest:
5:00 AM on 04.03.2010 | 
Its fucking shit in europe, the only reason i HAVE a psp is for the free games i get sent from sony reps.
Dont you mean Silent Hill Shattered Memories?
Also, This is to be expected. Europe gets the shaft when it comes to Konami or the general gaming community.
But seriously, why release the game on two of the other major regions but ignore the third region, the one where the game was actually developed?
Strange stuff Konami.Is it safe to assume Konami hates the Brits. D:
Five years from now, watch how common place digitally buying games, especially handheld, becomes. Sony is just throwing one out early for those who like to be first in their gadgets while still selling the Slim.
Sony tends to think longterm, not right now (which if Microsoft had been the same we wouldn't have suffered the red ring epidemic).
Go is there if you want it, but it's not like Sony took the original PSP off the shelves. Now you just have more choices in what you prefer in your handheld. More choices is a good thing, seeing as you weren't forced to buy it.
Sony does a lot of bonehead things, all the consoles do, but this isn't one of them. From a market penetration standpoint, like Blu-ray, they're going to look like chess game geniuses a decade from now when all the gamers who don't know clue one about marketing get the lightbulb moment over their head about why PSPgo came out.
In the end, you knew what the Go offered. Don't like it, don't buy it.
Me, I'm just about truth. I'll bash away when the corporations pull bullsh*t, but at the same time...sometimes they're being attacked by people who see the situation wrong (though that's more often than not the fault of game sites as they try to create controversy for hits).
It's because publishers make more money by publishing the games themselves. They should have forced them to publish their game on the Go if they wanted to grow it's user base, but again it's seems like not everyone at Sony is aligned with that vision.
I don't see a single thing that they did right in the PSPgo aside from kind of liking the slide-screen design. Although they could be following the Nintendo method, in which the first iteration of a new handheld is passable at best, and then they release the "Lite" or "SP" version that fixes most of the problems of the first and makes it worth getting.
Bring on the PSPgo2!
A very astute observation - with Tekken and SoulCalibur on the system, a portable version of SF4 would have been clutch.
But, it's true Sony style to drop balls like an epileptic juggler.
I've said it more than once, and shall continue to do so: when Sony fired Ken Kutaragi, the vision left the building along with him. Hirai, Tretton and Dille collectively are pale imitations of their predecessor's singular presence.
Sony, admit you were wrong for once. Bring Kutaragi back and watch your star rise again. Quickly, before Nintendo or Microsoft decide to pay him for his magical digital aura.
Yeah, I totally agree. If Sony wants the Go to work, they have to force publishers to get their game ready for PSN Store download (on launch day) along with the UMD version.
I think the Go, kind of like the PSP I suppose, may never reach its potential. And that's too bad.
No, we want it. Look at the iPhone and iTunes, or Android and Market...we want it, bad.
The problem here is this device isn't good enough for many to warrant a second PSP purchase, as cited here, games aren't guaranteed, and the pricing is pretty selfish. Packaging, blank UMDs, the process of putting it all together and shipping, that costs something that you aren't paying for with digital distribution. Pass the savings on to the people who are downloading, everytime. Put games on sale regularly. Make it a realistic alternative to the retail market, and not a full priced nightmare.
I do prefer the feel of the Go in my hands in comparison to the 3000 though.