14 DAY TRIAL // The Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment has stated that the PlayStation Portable Go, which lacked a UMD drive or a removable battery, had a poor launch and subsequent sales because of the smaller market it catered to.
Kaz Hirai, who is the leader of SCE, told MCV in an wide ranging interview that, “I think we did cater for a market, albeit not as big as the traditional PSP-3000 market.”
He added, “It is the first time we have done that with any of our devices, and we did get a lot of feedback, both good and bad. I think we need to make sure we have as many titles available to download as possible, to make the experience as easy as possible.”
The PSP Go is now widely seen as a test on Sony's part, with the removal of the UMD and the lock down of the battery designed to, at the same time, eliminate piracy on the device and test whether getting content just via digital distribution is a viable alternative for a handheld.
The problem was that making the battery unremovable affected customers by reducing their autonomy while the lack of UMD meaning that some content will never get to the device, with the recent Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep from Square Enix perhaps the most clear example.
The PSP Go also had a problem with the price, which was higher than that of the normal PSP-3000, a model which still sells pretty well especially on the Japanese market.
Hirai explained by saying, “Because of the cost reductions we've been able to do over the years, the traditional PSP has benefited. But the PSP Go is a completely different design, so the cost trend is different.”
Sony is widely believed to be working on a new handheld, the PSP 2, which will be able to compete with the three dimensional capable Nintendo 3DS