thaddius' Console Classic 2012 Edition: Round 12

[thaddius]

A Go to the PSP is like a PS3 Slim to the Fat - a revision with different functionality, but in this case, the functionality is extended not lessened.

At the risk of being pedantic: UMDs.

I know what you mean though. I'm just being silly.

 

[emigre]

A Go to the PSP is like a PS3 Slim to the Fat - a revision with different functionality, but in this case, the functionality is extended not lessened.

At the risk of being pedantic: UMDs.

I know what you mean though. I'm just being silly.

Not being able to use UMDs sounds more like a gain rather than a loss.

 

[Just Another Gamer]

A Go to the PSP is like a PS3 Slim to the Fat - a revision with different functionality, but in this case, the functionality is extended not lessened.

At the risk of being pedantic: UMDs.

I know what you mean though. I'm just being silly.

Not being able to use UMDs sounds more like a gain rather than a loss.

No disagreement there. Although the smaller screen and slightly awkward controls of the Go isn't for everyone either so.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

No disagreement there. Although the smaller screen and slightly awkward controls of the Go isn't for everyone either so.

I liked it because it was actually super portable. Like it was the size of my cellphone basically and I could put it in my pocket without it feeling awkward. I eventually got used to the controls (I also liked the bumpers on the Go better than the PSP) but after getting a Vita I realize that it's just better designed. Larger? Oh yeah. But with that you get a nice big screen and it's so damn comfortable. I never had to "break my hands in" for it. It feels almost as natural as holding a regular controller. It's excellently designed to say the least.

 

[Foxi4]

A Go to the PSP is like a PS3 Slim to the Fat - a revision with different functionality, but in this case, the functionality is extended not lessened.

At the risk of being pedantic: UMDs.

I know what you mean though. I'm just being silly.

UMD's have been replaced with internal storage - perhaps it could be considered "decreased functionality", but to me it's a "viable replacement" of one function by another. The unit was more portable and had longer battery life and those are two things a portable should excel at, don't you think?

Besides, as I said, I'm keen to say that the DSi is a different console with a layer of hardware-based backwards compatibility while a PSP Go could be threated as a revision with modified hardware.

Wii ---> Gamecube does not equal PS3 ---> PS3Slim

 

[Just Another Gamer]

No disagreement there. Although the smaller screen and slightly awkward controls of the Go isn't for everyone either so.

I liked it because it was actually super portable. Like it was the size of my cellphone basically and I could put it in my pocket without it feeling awkward. I eventually got used to the controls (I also liked the bumpers on the Go better than the PSP) but after getting a Vita I realize that it's just better designed. Larger? Oh yeah. But with that you get a nice big screen and it's so damn comfortable. I never had to "break my hands in" for it. It feels almost as natural as holding a regular controller. It's excellently designed to say the least.

I never got used to the Go and preferred my pre-owned 2000 over the pre-owned Go I was gonna get but got to agree that the Go's bumpers are better than the other models, still overall I like the 2000/3000 series more but thats just how I am. The Vita's design was for me fantastic and so easy to just pick up and start using and the analog sticks were to me much better than the PSP's although I have to kinda hate the LiveArea and how you must use the touch screen to scroll through each screen and select things.

 

[thaddius]

Wow. I really didn't think people would defend the removal of a feature as not being decreased functionality. Personally, I can't play my UMDs on my Go. Sounds like decreased functionality to me.

It was a joke after all though, and I don't really care. I do like the Go better.

 

[Foxi4]

Wow. I really didn't think people would defend the removal of a feature as not being decreased functionality. Personally, I can't play my UMDs on my Go. Sounds like decreased functionality to me.

It was a joke after all though, and I don't really care. I do like the Go better.

The thing is, when you plan on buying a PSP Go, you don't buy UMD's.

At the time, two PSP's were released. The PSP Go was aimed at new customers who did not have collections then. At the same time, the 3000 was launched for those who did. Sony covered all bases there and did not force you to buy the Go - the Go was a good choice for those who didn't have a PSP yet and aren't particularily interested in carrying UMD's around.

 

[Just Another Gamer]

To be fair not alot of people actually liked the UMDs in the first place. I bought a PSP late in its life and I don't own 1 UMD and I know its kinda of a waste to have a 2000 model and not use a UMD with it since I can just buy a Go but the UMDs are just clunky and annoying, if anything I consider them a collector's item.

 

[Foxi4]

To be fair not alot of people actually liked the UMDs in the first place. I bought a PSP late in its life and I don't own 1 UMD and I know its kinda of a waste to have a 2000 model and not use a UMD with it since I can just buy a Go but the UMDs are just clunky and annoying, if anything I consider them a collector's item.

That combined with skipping issues and increased battery drain are two main factors as to why even users of PSP's with drives are more keen to play games off the Stick. The UMD was a good medium for storage, but storage alone. It could've been used for installing games only but at the time of PSP's original release sticks were insanely expensive.

 

[thaddius]

Foxi, you can use special pleading all you want, but the PSP Go is part of the PSP line and it lacks a function of it's predecessors.

You know what I mean. And I do understand that you feel the Go has an overall increase in net functionality, but that's not the same thing. Anyway, I'm not going to argue this anymore.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I don't know why we're complaining about UMDs. Everyone bought a Go and switched over to the digital medium anyway so UMDs are useless.

But my major gripe with the Vita is that shit selection they call PSP games. If you want to transfer "unsupported games" you need a PS3 to do it. And like tons of games you'd actually want to play with a second analog are "unsupported". Peace Walker, God Eater, Syphon Filter, the list goes on.

Also no PSX support, although hopefully when it is implemented it'll be glorious. I'm hoping it'll have some good upscaling and maybe they'll add some other neat features (I dunno what but you never know). Or I'm hoping they add PS2 games but that's probably far from reality.

 

[Just Another Gamer]

I never bought a Go but I get your point. Its kinda sad that PSP support on the Vita isn't that good although i'm sure when its hacked that will change.

To be fair not alot of people actually liked the UMDs in the first place. I bought a PSP late in its life and I don't own 1 UMD and I know its kinda of a waste to have a 2000 model and not use a UMD with it since I can just buy a Go but the UMDs are just clunky and annoying, if anything I consider them a collector's item.

That combined with skipping issues and increased battery drain are two main factors as to why even users of PSP's with drives are more keen to play games off the Stick. The UMD was a good medium for storage, but storage alone. It could've been used for installing games only but at the time of PSP's original release sticks were insanely expensive.

Yes that to.

 

[Foxi4]

Foxi, you can use special pleading all you want, but the PSP Go is part of the PSP line and it lacks a function of it's predecessors.

You know what I mean. And I do understand that you feel the Go has an overall increase in net functionality, but that's not the same thing. Anyway, I'm not going to argue this anymore.

Revert a few pages to my original statement, you seem to have forgotten that this isn't about the PSP but about the DS and DSi, we've went horribly off-topic here. My whole point was to say that the DS and the DSi may be in one line of DS products, but they are different consoles due to hardware differences, and that said, the only competitor for the DSi hardware in such a clash would be the Go as it was released aproximatelly at the same time and stands at a branching of PSP revisions - one branch went with UMD's (3000 and the later budget E-1000) and the other went with digital distribution and withered.

 

[thaddius]

I don't know why we're complaining about UMDs. Everyone bought a Go and switched over to the digital medium anyway so UMDs are useless.

Sony was going to implement a UMD transfer program. Then they canned it. Then they did the same thing for the Vita.

You're right, Sony has sure demonstrated that we shouldn't care about the UMD.

I really do wish that I could have played my UMD games on the Go/Vita though. That would have been nice.

 

[Foxi4]

I don't know why we're complaining about UMDs. Everyone bought a Go and switched over to the digital medium anyway so UMDs are useless.

Sony was going to implement a UMD transfer program. Then they canned it. Then they did the same thing for the Vita.

You're right, Sony has sure demonstrated that we shouldn't care about the UMD.

I really do wish that I could have played my UMD games on the Go/Vita though. That would have been nice.

Sony's afraid that if they do implement a transfer program like this, people will start buying pre-owned copies on the rise, register them and return them to the stores, as a UMD game really has no distinctive features. One copy could be "transferred" numerous times, and they want to avoid that.

Nintendo avoided this issue by using a backwards compatible slot on the 3DS - rather then "uploading" DS titles onto it you just "play them" as you normally would, and for that, Sony would have to include a UMD drive on the system. Nobody wants it there, it would decrease the already scarce battery life.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I don't know why we're complaining about UMDs. Everyone bought a Go and switched over to the digital medium anyway so UMDs are useless.

Sony was going to implement a UMD transfer program. Then they canned it. Then they did the same thing for the Vita.

You're right, Sony has sure demonstrated that we shouldn't care about the UMD.

I really do wish that I could have played my UMD games on the Go/Vita though. That would have been nice.

For the record this never bothered me because I pirated all my PSP games anyway. Like the first PSP game I bought was Armored Core Portable 3... less than a week ago.

But I can see why people would not like this although my larger complaint is the lack of PSP titles. Also some of their pricing is still rather silly. $40 for Tekken 6 PSP? Seriously? I can go buy UMvC3 for the Vita for as much. Or BlazBlue. Or probably SFxT when it comes out. Or Mortal Kombat.

Also some of their launch titles (or at least early PSP games) like Dynasty Warriors and Untold Legends at $15 is a joke. I mean for $5 more I can get Persona 3 Portable which came out like what, last year?

EDIT: What I would do (if I were Sony) is let people buy a "digital pass" for the game for, say, $5. Basically anything you have a UMD copy of, you can pay $5 extra for a digital copy as well. I know it sounds sleezy but for $5 extra you get to transfer it to your Vita (which upscales the games, adds bilinear filtering, and that whole color stuff) and other devices (well, up to two devices) and Sony still makes a small profit. It's not exactly friendly but it seems the most reasonable way of giving people what they want (digital copies of their games) for a relatively low price.

Also they could discount the pass for PSN Plus subscribers (like $2.50 instead of $5 for a digital pass).

Although I keep railing on this I still realize that I bought a Vita for Vita games, not to play PSP games. It's just annoying that they give us all these excellent PSP game options but give us nothing to play it with. I had to spend $20 for MHFU and in all honesty what I wanted was God Eater.

 

[thaddius]

Sony's afraid that if they do implement a transfer program like this, people will start buying pre-owned copies on the rise, register them and return them to the stores, as a UMD game really has no distinctive features. One copy could be "transferred" numerous times, and they want to avoid that.

Oh I know. It sucks that they abandoned early adopters like me because they got behind a format that didn't have legs.

Basically, I learned my lesson with the Go, so I'm not going to buy a Vita in the near future.

 

[emigre]

RE: UMD

UMD is a shit format. End of.

 

[thaddius]

Indeed. I can't tell you how many UMD covers I had to repair for people.

Here's a question to start things up again in another direction:

What do people here think of this 3D trend?