I’m interested in getting a PSP Go…but really, I don’t have $250. People complain about that price for some reason though, when in reality it works. A 16GB Zune HD $219, but it has a touch screen. Thing is, no expandable memory, no bluetooth, and no convenient physical buttons. An iPod Touch is $200 for 8GB and $300 for 32GB…no 16GB. Again, no expandable memory, limited bluetooth, and no physical buttons. The PSP Go also has WiFi, cell-connect for internet where there’s no WiFi, expandable memory, and plays a shit load of games while it can be a media player. It can also connect to your PS3 over WiFi (and presumably cell-connect) to play some games and go through your at-home library. It is also now comparable in size to the other devices. While a bit smaller it makes more sense for being on the GO. So is $250 a bad price? In the current market, no.

Another complaint is that your whole UMD library is obsolete. See, the selling point of the device is having a removed UMD slot, so like what the iPod Touch garnered in and the DSi built on, is all games are downloadable. Luckily, you are not forced in any way to buy the PSP Go. In fact, you could buy the PSP Go and still keep your original PSP for the UMD games. Outrageous, I know!

The Nintendo handelds worked in a similar fashion. After the arrival of the DS Lite, Nintendo unveils the DSi. No GBA slot for your GBA library, and now the ability to download DSi Ware games to an SD card. Yeah, the Lite can’t do this…but where were the complaints? Maybe people don’t complain because they know Nintendo devices will sell and make them look stupid? I don’t know. As for sales, while the PSP Go is doing fine, it actually picked up sales for the PSP 3000. Choice is there. win/win for Sony and consumer.

One valid complaint though is the (somewhat) promised UMD to Go transition…of some kind. We were told it may be possible to transfer UMD’s to digital format, or even get a couple of free games. But did Nintendo offer this? No. You can’t even buy GBA games on the DSi store, and even then, DSi and Wii points aren’t interchangeable, whereas Playstation points are universal. I’m not pissed at Nintendo or anything, but if you gamers want something to complain about, here you go. So while that does suck, it was a promise that most companies don’t even bother making.

There are also some technical issues about transferring already purchased digital games to the Go, as well as downloading them. Look – most, if not all, hardware (and software) can have some technical difficulties at release. Yes, this is something to be aware of, but to act shocked that there’s a hardware problem is not a valid reason to write off the handheld. In the end, companies will fix these.

In closing, I still don’t have the Go, but want one. It’s a slimmer, sleeker version of the PSP that’s easier to carry around. And for people that want all your games downloaded on the device for easy transportation despite having a UMD collection (or not), the market is there. It’s an option Sony is making available for consumers, and they should be applauded.