A cycle ennumerating the ironies inherent in a cyclical industry codifies our comic entry today. Is it any surprise that a business risen from a practice steeped in recursion, a process so curved that its functions occur in loops and are named as such, so wholly embraces a release calendar in which many of the products are indecipherable from their forebears?
Anyhow, I have been trying to keep my calm level at an acceptable degree with the PSP Go dropping this past week. My opinion has stood for some time that the PSP was victimized, receiving a bad rap in the face of the unprecedented success of its competitor. At launch and a little after, the PSP faltered hard, offering little in the realm of games with better active lineages elsewhere. Did I really need the weakest version of Pac-Man World 3 on the go, watered down from its console brethren? Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was a mediocre game on the PS2, but the PSP version was comical. I especially appreciated the neverending missions without save points essential for short-burst gaming, the portable staple.
Still, things improved. Slowly the absurd console ports slowed (though never stopped) and better portable games meant to be portable rose up. Jeanne d'Arc, LocoRoco, and Hammerin’ Hero all made fine salvos in the PSP’s arsenal, joining the swelling ranks of competant console crossovers Gran Turismo, Daxter (of Jak and Daxter), and God of War. One problem always plagued Sony’s foray into the handheld wilds, though. Simply stated, the PSP was too big.
In an age where cell phones, PDA’s, and cameras are all shrinking for better storage and carry, the PSP slipped on a long plastic plank form and expected the world to ignite in effigy. Whether it was the 2004 chic technology under the hood, or the UMD drive, or the need for a 4.3" widescreen, Sony insisted on a size that would not comfortably accomodate most pockets. Personally, the idea of hauling around a separate pouch never appealed to me, prone as I am to forget things not physically tethered to my body. My DS won by default, though its superior 2006-2008 lineup didn’t hurt either. But the truth is that I carried it because I could. Its form factor made it practical. By contrast, my PSP reminded me of my old Turbo Express, only without the advantage of running the Blazing Lazers HuCard.
Flashing forward to the present, I have learned to better enjoy my PSP, though typically inside of my home instead of the road. I have a nice library of fifty or so titles, all UMD except for Badman, and now - NOW - Sony finally releases the model that I always wanted. Unfortunately, the size resembling more an iPhone than a PSP comes at the price of which I am sure you are all aware: it doesn’t play retail PSP games. Try to jam a PSP disc into the unit all you want, but scratches and dents will denote your only reward. To me, a PSP Go purchase deprecates my entire games list, minus Badman. That the Go is overpriced by at least fifty bucks does not rub salve on matters, either.
This is new. I have never known a console manufacturer to release an updated system incapable of offering a substantially improved experience, whether through improved interface or more powerful processors, while simultaneously invalidating an entire segment of its audience. The DSi removes Gameboy Advance capability, sure, but it is a DS. It still plays DS titles. However, the PSP Go cannot play the overwhelming majority of its own library.
I think it has never been a better time to jump into the PSP market, while simultaneously it has never been more justifiable for current owners to never touch it again.
- Irving
