What? My original PSP's battery had worn out by around this time last year. The PSP Go sounds like a pile of flaming crap... bad shape/design, no drive for playing... PSP games. Now no replacable battery? They're crazy if they think I'd ever pay for that...
...and I have a PSP 1000 and 2000 already, so it's not like I just hate the PSP or something! Between all handhelds and consoles this gen, it's my favorite platform...
You know I was really worried when I heard Apple released the new macbook with an internal battery cause I thought it was gonna start a trend. Glad to know I wasn't wrong.
@Nassin: It's also funny that this same thing caused a big stink with the original iPods, so Apple gave in and made them user-replacable for a while... of course, now you'd literally have to pry your iPod open to get to the battery pack again.
The reasons to buy this thing just keep slipping and slipping. Funny how they haven't made note on how the GO's battery life is equal to the 1000's series stock battery yet.
So once again, Sony screwed over their PAYING customers. Nice one.
You DO KNOW that if someone is going to pirate --- a little internal battery is NOT going to stop them. Right? It's freaking whack-a-mole.
The unit is made in China, right? A lot if not all of the pirating software/hardware comes from China, RIGHT? Do I really need to finish this sentence? 6 months on the outside, 2 months on the in.
Unfortunately from a Sony perspective this is one of those "You gave us no choice" scenarios. Pirates have ravaged the system from top to bottom and Sony is still trying to prevent it.
@slight: The batteries were vulnerable because they allow the PSP to boot into a service mode which gives the Sony service centers the ability to boot firmware off a memory card.
This allows them to reflash a PSP which was corrupted by a bad flash, and it allow allows additional diagnostic checks.
Sony changed what they are checking to boot off the memory card so the later 2000s and all 3000s do not have a permanent hack available for them. It is possible to get a new firmware that makes the system unable to be hacked. The older PSPs could always be hacked due to the service mode booting.
It looks like Sony wanted to take fewer chances on the PSP go being hacked out of the box and games being loaded on it's internal memory. I'm sure if a hack is found it will be simple enough to open the case and swap batteries if need be. PS3 controllers don't have user swappable batteries and they are easy enough to do.
@slight: It is pretty dumb... the original exploit was based on the battery's reflashable serial number, so making it non-removable has nothing to do with vulnerabilities - they could, and did, simply stop using that as the emergency reflash trigger.
This is more smoke and mirrors along the lines of "we can't make rumble work with SIXAXIS for technical reasons!" I'm thinking it's simply cheaper not to make presentably-cased batteries and sell them on store shelves.
Awesome move sony. Not only does the battery last a maximum of 3 hours (usualy less) of gaming time, the pspgo owners cant have a spare charged battery in their pockets for long trips. Awesome.
Great thing about consoles and "console portables" (as opposed to phones, PDAs, laptops etc) as opposed to most electronics:
I don't usually feel bad for buying something early with gaming machines...
If I get an iPod, there's a new one soon
If I got an iPhone (which I wouldn't, because AT&T has an abysmal network) there would be a new one soon
If I buy a PC, what I paid would be too much in 3 months.
If I buy a laptop, there will be a much better one in 6 months or less
If I buy a TV... well, ok, TVs don't get better as fast as computers...
None of this is a problem, and with things like this, buying early is a benefit.
And Sony is lying their asses off about this. Pandora isn't possible on new PSP motherboards...
@bobtheduck: Yeah I'm fairly sure that I read somewhere that Pandora Battery wasn't even possible on PSP-3000? I dunno... Hmm.
Either way, this is punishing legit gamers rather than pirates... Somehow, someone is going to hack this device. They always do. Sure, making Pandora Battery not an option anymore is probably gonna slow them down, but they always figure something out.
So yeah, I think I'll stick to my good old PSP-1000. Hasn't failed me yet!
@bobtheduck:
While current PSP motherboards (ie those found in 3000's) are currently pandora proof and have yet to be hacked that doesn't mean the PSPGo is going to be. Because it's a large hardware revision from the current PSP and it's going through a lot of changes it's incredibly likely that it'll open up new security holes in the device. All Sony are doing is trying to close doors that have been used in the past.
I've stopped seeing the PSPgo as a handheld gaming device, to me it is now a horrible foreboding demonstration from Sony of the lengths the industry will go to, to respond to piracy.
@flashtut: What about those honest consumer's that legitimately want just the homebrew content? Is it so wrong for me wanting to support mkv files on my psp?
@hanulbada: Like I said, the honest consumers get screwed by pirates once again. I guess that includes you getting screwed, hanulbada. There's a fine line between being one or the other.
I modded a PS1 back in the days to play imported Japanese games. Back then PS's were region-locked. I thought that was fair use of modded a console.
It's not wrong to want many things, but now it's just harder to get what you want with the latest versions. Your wants can still be satiated with the older PSPs, correct?
@Rob_Nomad: Well, to begin with, SONY isn't Apple. Hell, SONY isn't even SONY from the early nineties anymore. Regardless of how people feel about the device, image has a lot to do with driving Apple sales, just like image used to drive SONY sales.
On top of that, SONY hasn't given most current PSP owners a significant reason to upgrade to this model. Some will, of course, but I think that the high price tag keeps that number quite low.
And finally, it simply doesn't have the primary function of the iPhone: making and receiving cellular calls. (This primary function also drives sales because it puts a second giant corporation's advertising dollars behind it.)
So while it's true, a lot of poeple have bought iPhones, I don't think it's a predictor in any way of PSP Go! sales.
08/31/09
...and I have a PSP 1000 and 2000 already, so it's not like I just hate the PSP or something! Between all handhelds and consoles this gen, it's my favorite platform...
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
You DO KNOW that if someone is going to pirate --- a little internal battery is NOT going to stop them. Right? It's freaking whack-a-mole.
The unit is made in China, right? A lot if not all of the pirating software/hardware comes from China, RIGHT? Do I really need to finish this sentence? 6 months on the outside, 2 months on the in.
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
This allows them to reflash a PSP which was corrupted by a bad flash, and it allow allows additional diagnostic checks.
Sony changed what they are checking to boot off the memory card so the later 2000s and all 3000s do not have a permanent hack available for them. It is possible to get a new firmware that makes the system unable to be hacked. The older PSPs could always be hacked due to the service mode booting.
It looks like Sony wanted to take fewer chances on the PSP go being hacked out of the box and games being loaded on it's internal memory. I'm sure if a hack is found it will be simple enough to open the case and swap batteries if need be. PS3 controllers don't have user swappable batteries and they are easy enough to do.
08/31/09
This is more smoke and mirrors along the lines of "we can't make rumble work with SIXAXIS for technical reasons!" I'm thinking it's simply cheaper not to make presentably-cased batteries and sell them on store shelves.
08/31/09
08/31/09
Oh wait, we're complaining about the PSPGo now? Sorry...
08/31/09
08/31/09
Seriously Sony, how do you expect me to buy a PSPGo without compatibility with my UMD games?
08/31/09
08/31/09
I don't usually feel bad for buying something early with gaming machines...
If I get an iPod, there's a new one soon
If I got an iPhone (which I wouldn't, because AT&T has an abysmal network) there would be a new one soon
If I buy a PC, what I paid would be too much in 3 months.
If I buy a laptop, there will be a much better one in 6 months or less
If I buy a TV... well, ok, TVs don't get better as fast as computers...
None of this is a problem, and with things like this, buying early is a benefit.
And Sony is lying their asses off about this. Pandora isn't possible on new PSP motherboards...
08/31/09
Either way, this is punishing legit gamers rather than pirates... Somehow, someone is going to hack this device. They always do. Sure, making Pandora Battery not an option anymore is probably gonna slow them down, but they always figure something out.
So yeah, I think I'll stick to my good old PSP-1000. Hasn't failed me yet!
08/31/09
While current PSP motherboards (ie those found in 3000's) are currently pandora proof and have yet to be hacked that doesn't mean the PSPGo is going to be. Because it's a large hardware revision from the current PSP and it's going through a lot of changes it's incredibly likely that it'll open up new security holes in the device. All Sony are doing is trying to close doors that have been used in the past.
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
I modded a PS1 back in the days to play imported Japanese games. Back then PS's were region-locked. I thought that was fair use of modded a console.
It's not wrong to want many things, but now it's just harder to get what you want with the latest versions. Your wants can still be satiated with the older PSPs, correct?
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
On top of that, SONY hasn't given most current PSP owners a significant reason to upgrade to this model. Some will, of course, but I think that the high price tag keeps that number quite low.
And finally, it simply doesn't have the primary function of the iPhone: making and receiving cellular calls. (This primary function also drives sales because it puts a second giant corporation's advertising dollars behind it.)
So while it's true, a lot of poeple have bought iPhones, I don't think it's a predictor in any way of PSP Go! sales.