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!
