GT - PSP or PSP Go

[Tornado]

U.S. doesn't get GT PSP for free. We get a (I know very well it technically isn't, so shut up) demo of the PSP version of Rock Band.

 

[FoolKiller]

a 16 Gig card..
will this one work?
Funny how TINY it is how much memory, this will double the PSP memory!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171403

Will it work for which device? That is good for the Go, but not a full PSP.

PSPGo - Memory Stick Micro
PSPStay - Memory Stick Pro Duo

 

[Tetradic]

Considering that the Go will likely be a failure in the U.S. (and almost certainly in Japan), I don't think UMDs are going anywhere soon.

Doesn't matter. UMDs are already failures. Few media publishers publish to the format, it never got the adoption rate Sony wanted (like they got for Blu-ray). Sony as a organization is move towards digital distribution across all it's business units (not just the Playstation) globally and ultimately that is where it will be in the next 3-5 years.

I know Sony has said that they will support the PSP-3000 and PSPGO equally but the writing is on the wall as far as physical formats vs. digital formats. There are certain edge cases where physical media will hold out but for the vast majority of users/uses digital formats will be what are used, whether they want it or not, they won't have a choice. It's where business models are going.

 

[webbo]

The PSP:Go is for those who don't already own a PSP and UMDs. Therefore it's great for you and your situation.

 

[Tornado]

Doesn't matter. UMDs are already failures. Few media publishers publish to the format, it never got the adoption rate Sony wanted (like they got for Blu-ray).

Failure as a movie format does not equal failure as a games format. It has problems as a games format, don't get me wrong; but it isn't nearly as inherently flawed as it was for movie and music use.

Sony as a organization is move towards digital distribution across all it's business units (not just the Playstation) globally and ultimately that is where it will be in the next 3-5 years.

In theory.

I know Sony has said that they will support the PSP-3000 and PSPGO equally but the writing is on the wall as far as physical formats vs. digital formats.

In theory. Even more so than the previous point.

There are certain edge cases where physical media will hold out but for the vast majority of users/uses digital formats will be what are used, whether they want it or not, they won't have a choice. It's where business models are going.

You've got that backwards. It doesn't matter what Sony wants regarding digital distribution or where they want their business models to go. What matters is if the people will accept it. And all signs regarding the actual answer to that question point to "maybe" at best, and even that answer depends on regional differences (ie. Australia cannot handle a DD system, Japan probably wouldn't accept it, internet throttling heavily affects people in Europe, used games sales are huge in America, etc.). If Sony was to force the issue, they would find themselves without a lot of customers.

 

[FoolKiller]

Doesn't matter. UMDs are already failures. Few media publishers publish to the format, it never got the adoption rate Sony wanted (like they got for Blu-ray). Sony as a organization is move towards digital distribution across all it's business units (not just the Playstation) globally and ultimately that is where it will be in the next 3-5 years.

I know Sony has said that they will support the PSP-3000 and PSPGO equally but the writing is on the wall as far as physical formats vs. digital formats. There are certain edge cases where physical media will hold out but for the vast majority of users/uses digital formats will be what are used, whether they want it or not, they won't have a choice. It's where business models are going.

If you and they think that everyone will be capable and willing to get full game downloads for everything in the next 3-5 years then you all are living in coastal city fantasy land. I can currently go to the store and buy a game quicker than I can download any digital version, especially the console games. We have members here on GTP that have monthly download limits.

No one wants to buy a game just to wait hours to play it, or max out their monthly limit downloading it so they can't play online for at least a day.

 

[ploopsy]

I have a psp3000 but I am still considering a digital download if it saves me battery and/or load times. I also may consider the digital copy since I will always want a copy of the game with me.

 

[Tetradic]

Actually I do live in a costal fantasy land (Manhattan) that is far beyond the curve of the rest of the country when it come to adoption rates of technology. Also part of what I do professionally is analyzing trends and strategy of digital content (primarily). So what I am saying is both my personal option but also trends I've been witnessing over the past few years. I should also say I've done work on various Sony projects over the years and have had access to their data and know some of their long range business plans. I'm not just some troll on a message board trying to start a fight.

I agree with both of you that digital distribution has issues; intellectual rights, redistribution, bandwidth and ownership are the four main ones it has to overcome. Without letting this thread snowball away from the original topic (trying to keep it related) I'll just reply to two of those points in both your comments above (digital distribution and broadband).

As for digital distribution... Apple has proven the model works and works well (even with the studios, labels and media distributors putting up roadblocks every step of the way), they have proven it over many years but two years ago with the introduction of the App store on the iPhone platform they showed it's possibilities. Also look at businesss that made their money dealing with physical formats for digital (or material that can be digital)e (i.e. big box stores, amazon, netflix, etc) and notice how all of them have adopted and shifted their business goals to said digital areas. Is digital distribution perfect right now? Nope, far from it. The issues are obvious and multiple as to why, but they will eventually get solved. Do digital versions of things work better than physical ones, often yes, often no (i.e. books are still better on paper, though I prefer reading on my kindle app on my iPhone)...

To Toronado's point on "You've got that backwards. It doesn't matter what Sony wants regarding digital distribution. What matters is if the people will accept it"... I disagree, so does most of the digital world/industries. The majority of users don't know any better or care, as long as they get what they want. Those who do care are either passionately for or against digital versions of things, but both are edge cases and far from the majority (though they are far more vocal). Apple/Sony/Microsoft/UMG/Universal, etc will decide what user's get. Scary? Yes in some ways but it's already happening. You can't stop it now. 10 years from now, other than edge cases, anything that is (can be) digital will be distributed as such. If you want a physical copy of it, you'll pay a premium for it.

To Foolkiller's point " can currently go to the store and buy a game quicker than I can download any digital version, especially the console games.".. Ok, I buy that, but you are the edge case here. I live in Manhattan, I have a 50mbps pipe that comes into my apartment which has no download cap and I can download easily at 5-50mpbs. I don't own a car and wouldn't even consider going to the store to buy something when I can download it faster (and cheaper). Much of Europe is in the same boat, as is all of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and much of coastal China. Broadband is still a perk in the USA (especially away from the costs) but in most of the rest of the world it's not, even the developing world (i.e. see recent press about the cables that recently plugged Africa into the global network, broadband is cheaper and more saturated in Rwanda now that it is in the USA, sad really).

I grew up in the middle of nowhere (literally, on a dirt road, in a state forest on a mountaintop in on of the most remote areas on the east coast). My mother still lives there and even she has a 3mbps capless connection to the internet allowing her to download (theoretically) a game quicker than it would take her to get in the car and drive the hour (one way) to the nearest best-buy to buy the thing.

Ever been to Japan? Singapore? Taiwan? On your handheld, wirelessly,e you have broadband faster than what most American's consider "fast".

When it comes to both broadband saturation and broadband speeds the USA is far far behind the global trends, in speed and cost.

 

[Tornado]

The majority of users don't know any better or care, as long as they get what they want.

Again, regional. And, strictly related to video games, we don't know how the buying public will react come next generation; and its likely that they don't realize the limitations that DD inherently has yet. Only then will we know for sure what DD will mean for video games.

10 years from now, other than edge cases, anything that is (can be) digital will be distributed as such. If you want a physical copy of it, you'll pay a premium for it.

For that to be true, some recent trends will have to be reversed; and certain markets would have to be eliminated entirely. It also implies that things are static around the advancement of internet proliferation, and they aren't.

Much of Europe is in the same boat, as is all of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and much of coastal China. Broadband is still a perk in the USA (especially away from the costs) but in most of the rest of the world it's not, even the developing world (i.e. see recent press about the cables that recently plugged Africa into the global network, broadband is cheaper and more saturated in Rwanda now that it is in the USA, sad really).

(ie. Australia cannot handle a DD system, Japan probably wouldn't accept it, internet throttling heavily affects people in Europe, used games sales are huge in America, etc.)

I'll also add that more and more broadband companies in both the U.S. and Europe are also starting to throttle down internet use in addition to the companies that had already done so.

 

[Tetradic]

For that to be true, some recent trends will have to be reversed; and certain markets would have to be eliminated entirely. It also implies that things are static around the advancement of internet proliferation, and they aren't.

I agree, but that was not my point. Internet proliferation is not static and companies will find it's cheaper to distribute digitally. The point about if you want to buy a physical copy of something it will be more expensive was not about that. It has to do with some people will want a physical copy of said product (the common example is a book) so publishers will offer limited edition copies of said book or very elegantly printed and bound micro runs of said edition for a premium. It's about people still wanting a physical product and said companies seeing a place to make more money.

I'll also add that more and more broadband companies in both the U.S. and Europe are also starting to throttle down internet use in addition to the companies that had already done so.

I am aware of this too. In fact the 50mbps connection I have I pay a premium for (but given I stopped cable 18 months ago and haven't had a landline telephone in over 10 years) I actually save money than if I had all those redundant services. Often, those providers that are capping users are also (generally) providing premium accounts without caps (or much higher caps) for the same reasons I mentioned above about publishers providing physical limited editions of things. They can make a buck. This trend though will have to die. This is why I've mentioned recent articles about parts of Africa coming online, they have sidestepped many issues about broadband pricing and just gone to broadband saturation (the same as they did with sidestepping landline phones and going straight to cell networks in the 90s early 00s). Also read about recent trends in Asia (especially Japan and Singapore) about having broadband saturation to almost 100% for pennies (some state run/mandated, which I don't think is the way to go, but it makes the point).

 

[FoolKiller]

Actually I do live in a costal fantasy land (Manhattan) that is far beyond the curve of the rest of the country when it come to adoption rates of technology.

Right, and my point is that the fly over states are not even remotely close to being ready for total DD of HD movies and games. Heck, it is barely ready for HD. Downloading MGS4 would have taken me days, fortunately I am not capped so it would be possible.

I live in Manhattan, I have a 50mbps pipe that comes into my apartment which has no download cap and I can download easily at 5-50mpbs. I don't own a car and wouldn't even consider going to the store to buy something when I can download it faster (and cheaper).

This is not the norm, millions of homes have automobiles. Even at the 8Mb/s fastest option I have available I could still get to Wal*Mart or Gamestop and be back in 15 minutes, especially if we are talking about versions of Blu-Ray games.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere (literally, on a dirt road, in a state forest on a mountaintop in on of the most remote areas on the east coast). My mother still lives there and even she has a 3mbps capless connection to the internet allowing her to download (theoretically) a game quicker than it would take her to get in the car and drive the hour (one way) to the nearest best-buy to buy the thing.

I live in Kentucky. Trust me when I tell you that your middle of nowhere is not as remote as you think.

When it comes to both broadband saturation and broadband speeds the USA is far far behind the global trends, in speed and cost.

Good point, so unless you are trying to say the US is not an important market it should be noted that this all digital jump is still a ways off. I honestly doubt it will be doable in less than 10 years. In 10 years maybe. But then there will still be the issue of ownership, the psychological effect of physical possession, etc.

I'm not giving up my wall of movies.

 

[Tetradic]

I know parts Kentucky, from racing mountain bikes. Yes, that is remote...but where I grew up in middle of No-where New York State is out there, not to mention is buried under snow for 8 months of the year. THus my example of my mother driving over an hour to the nearest best-buy is in perfect summer weather. In the winter driving anywhere for days at a time isn't even a possibility (cross country skiing is more realistic).

I know living in Manhattan sans a car is far from the norm for the USA. But let me use another example. I live in midtown Manhattan (near Times Square) I have two Best Buys close to me, one is 7 blocks away (6 streets, 1 Avenue) and the other is 15 blocks (all streets or two subway stops) from me, there is a 3rd (the best Best Buy in the city) 5 subway stops from me. Regardless, it would take me a good 10 mins to walk to the closer Best-Buy, another 5-10 to find the game and checkout and another 10 to walk back, say 30mins. I can download the game in less time (say 20mins for 3GBs), even if downloading it is more time I don't have to waste 30mins of my day (or say 60mins if I go to the others via subway) to walk to the store to buy something. I can do something more useful with that 30mins. It's simple examples of like that that justify things moving to digital distribution.

One thing that will keep physical products that could be digital selling in the USA is places like Wal-mart. They have no vested interest in things being digital and want people in their stores buying crap (I picked my word there, not flippantly). They could just as easily offer download cards that you buy in store to then go download a product (I noticed Best Buy doing this for GTPSP) but the point is they still want you in the store. The less people Wal-mart has in the store the less money they make, they don't want that to happen. Say what you want about Wal-mart (I personally loath the company) but they are not stupid and know how to build, maintain and optimize distribution/econimic systems to a masterful degree. They are true masters of that and it is what makes them so powerful.

Thankfully the much of the rest of the world (much of Europe, Asia) finds that Wal-Mart/Costco megestore model as distasteful as I personally do.

I gave up my wall of movies and music almost 10 years ago. The bigger step for me was giving up my wall of books, which as of last summer I gave up. Now I just need to convince my girlfriend to drop the wall of books (ha!).

 

[FoolKiller]

I am not saying that digital distribution is bad. My checking account looks like I have a weekly subscription to the PlayStation Store.

What I am saying is that a 100% digital distribution model will not work in 3-5 years. It is not possible in the US. The only way Sony could get away with pulling that off without losing a ton of customers is if they can get all their competitors in all their multimedia markets to jump in at the same time.

I am honestly curious how you deal with the DRM limiting media you use? How do you let a friend borrow a movie or game tied to your system? I let a friend borrow Burnout Paradise for a week so that he could see if he wanted it. How could I do that if I had bought it off the PlayStation Store?

And it will be a very, very long time before I give up my walls and boxes of books. I never get rid of a book. My mom has a Kindle and I tried ebooks on my brother's iPhone. They just don't work for me. Audiobooks from Audible? Yes, those are great for my 40 mile drive in to work. But again, I can't let a friend borrow those and I find it annoying.

Having physical and digital available is a great idea. But if they switch it all to one format, just because, they will find that I am not likely to buy it. I love Patapon but Patapon 2 has yet to even be considered. Maybe if the price drops over time I'll consider it. PSN stuff is fine as it doesn't even make sense to put it on a disc, but fully featured games downloaded just don't work for me.

I am excited about the iPhone App style Minis. Altghough I think a lack of multiplayer being allowed will kill them quickly and we will just have a ton of Mah-Jong, Solitaire, and Tetris clones. Oh, and don't forget Block Breaker. Never enough of those.

 

[Alonsomania]

What I have been told is that shops (at least in Holland) sell PSN codes + memory card next to UMD discs.

However, I haven't seen it confirmed by Sony so we'll find out in a few days/weeks.

 

[Kryz11]

Will it work for which device? That is good for the Go, but not a full PSP.

PSPGo - Memory Stick Micro
PSPStay - Memory Stick Pro Duo

yes for the PSPGo

Thanks!
I remeber First PSPs had limit on Gigs for memory sticks, will PSP go have the same problem or not? and also i remeber reading something maybe 32 gig sticks will come out very soon

 

[Tornado]

I remeber First PSPs had limit on Gigs for memory sticks, will PSP go have the same problem or not?

That was a firmware limitation that was solved way back with 2.81, so it isn't a problem with any PSPs anymore.

 

[alba]

I'd say Go is way better. If i didn't have my 2000slim I'd get the go in a heartbeat