14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that Sony was well aware that some retailers and some players would not be too pleased with the PlayStation Portable Go and with the lack of transfer for UMD games to the PlayStation Network. But the company is saying that until now, it is mostly satisfied with how the public has received the new handheld.
Claire Backhouse, who is the United Kingdom product manager for the PSP Go, told Gamesindustry.biz that “We were very aware of concerns when we went into it and I actually expected a lot more negative responses than we actually got. They were really quite fine with it. They see it as a way of getting people into the store because it's new interest, a new product. And they've had such strong sales as well of PSP-3000 almost off the back of it.“
Sony is also quick to emphasize that the PSP-3000, the latest version of the handheld console to support the UMD disk drive, is still an alternative for those who do not appreciate the Go, mainly because of its online-only nature. Sony will continue to encourage developers to both deliver games online and on the UMD, and support for the PSP-3000 will not be discontinued in the short term. Backhouse actually sees the two devices as coexisting, saying that “dad might buy the PSP Go but the kids might get PSP 3000s. I think that works quite well for us.”
She also admits that the Go is a way of responding to the increased importance of the iPhone in the gaming segment, with the PSP Mini service allowing more games to be delivered with lower prices. Sony is also thinking about adding more support for music and video streaming after the initial launch in order to emphasize the versatility of the PlayStation Portable Go.