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Rumor: A UMD-less PSP could be announced at E3
It looks like the UMD-free release of Patapon 2 was only the beginning, as now rumors of a UMD-free PSP have surfaced. According to a story at 1Up, Sony will be revealing the PSP Go! at E3 2009.
PSP Go! is the name most people are using to refer to the update, but 1Up points out that PSP Slide and PSP Flip have also been mentioned as code names, so PSP Go! isn’t a definite name. We’ll know for sure in June.
The system will also be appearing shortly after in stores. Japan will allegedly receive the new PSP in September 2009, with versions appearing in other regions a few months later. There will be no UMD drive and no second analog stick. The actual system will supposedly be available in two variations, one with 8gb of memory and one with 16gb of memory.
The reports also state that the PSP portion of the PlayStation Store will be beefed up for the new PSP, with over 100 PSP games added to it. Considering the trickle of PSOne Classic games released, this would be quite an impressive feat on Sony’s part if true.
If these rumors are all true, then Sony could be commiting handheld suicide. While downloadable games do have their appeal, that glimmer fades when it is the only option available. What happens if Sony decides your account goes against the user agreement? You lose access to all of the games you’ve purchased and downloaded, and perhaps even the ability to play ones you’ve already downloaded to the system. What happens if Sony closes down the PlayStation store? You can’t get backups of your downloaded games.
In addition, it ends up implementing a form of region protection on a system which previously had none. When you connect a PSP to a PlayStation Store account, the games are authorized for only that account and that PSP. You have to decide whether you would rather play only Japanese games or only US games.
And forget about bargain games. With a download only store, Sony will have no motivation to reduce prices and there’ll be no more used games.
I hope this is rumor isn’t legitimate. If it is, then my PSP will be facing an untimely demise. Or, if it is true, that Sony doesn’t immediately change over to a UMD-less future.
Read [1Up] Via [Siliconera]
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The real question is, should this have been what the original PSP was? Did they ever really need UMD?
Also, a SSD/flash drive should help improve battery life too.
on April 30, 2009 at 06:13 PM - LINKVery true.
Another good question is will it even be accepted? Based on the brewing rumors, it’s essentially the exact same PSP, no upgrades, just with no UMD drive and more play time.
I’d never go for it, simply because of the region protection it will end up imposing on the system.
on April 30, 2009 at 06:55 PM - LINK