Sony: We Planned A UMD-Less PSP "Since The Beginning"
See Full ImageCompanies are always looking a few years down the road in order to remain both relevant and proactive, but did you realize that the recently announced PSP Go is the portable unit Sony had in its mind this whole time? Or aren't you surprised?
According to a GameBusiness.jp interview with Sony's product planning division boss Naoya Matsui, Sony had always planned to go all digital, right from the start. Yep, it's now obvious that they didn't expect UMD to shoulder the load forever; Matsui said, "we'd planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning." If you're wondering why Sony didn't just start with the PSP Go, Matsui answers:
"But if we'd simply released the hardware, there wouldn't have been much for everyone to enjoy. We needed to prepare the right environment for it first - things like the transferral of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as Media Go."
Obviously, there were a few technology hurdles to clear as well; he further explains that Sony wanted to wait until digital content could compete favorably with physical media. Well, that time is now, but it's also a reason why Sony will continue to sell the standard UMD PSP alongside the PSP Go. For our part, we always find such information fascinating, just 'cuz we get an idea as to how corporations think. We may do the news every day, but they're continually writing our news stories for us years in advance.
7/2/2009 Ben Dutka
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Comments (Beta)
englishgolfer
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:19:07 AM
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0 up, 0 down
Kevadu
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:26:32 AM
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I'm sure that somewhere in Sony somebody had the idea for a UMD-less PSP, but claiming that it was always the plan sounds like a load of corporate ass-covering BS to me.
5 up, 4 down
Button Masher
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:37:15 AM
5 up, 3 down
spiderboi
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:52:51 PM
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Nestore
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:55:45 AM
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UMDs are digital as well.
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NoSmokingBandit
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 2:57:15 PM
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Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 12:01:56 PM
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2 up, 1 down
Deadman
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 3:31:11 PM
3 up, 1 down
Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 4:05:30 PM
2 up, 1 down
SarahPalinMILF
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 9:37:48 PM
1 up, 0 down
BigBoss4ever
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 12:41:01 PM
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same goes for ps3, now if the newer ones will have b/c, then it's such a rip-off to whoever bought the console without b/c. so they better have some firmware update to add on the b/c to those ones do not have it, just to make it fair to all consumers.
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 7/2/2009 12:45:43 PM
1 up, 0 down
NoSmokingBandit
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 2:58:13 PM
1 up, 2 down
BigBoss4ever
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 6:42:00 PM
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 7/2/2009 6:43:51 PM
1 up, 0 down
LegendaryWolfeh
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 7:02:54 PM
1 up, 1 down
mustang750r
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 12:54:59 PM
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0 up, 1 down
LegendaryWolfeh
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 7:04:34 PM
1 up, 0 down
shindelion
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 3:17:25 PM
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1 up, 0 down
SarahPalinMILF
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 4:08:41 PM
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I think it's a response to the people who never liked UMD...I personally never had a problem with it but...oh well
Last edited by SarahPalinMILF on 7/2/2009 4:09:38 PM
1 up, 0 down
SarahPalinMILF
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:26:57 PM
tasteful isn't it...
1 up, 0 down
jdt1981
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 6:50:44 PM
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Karosso
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 8:20:26 PM
I just now recall a news article about PD doing a demo of GT5 running at an incredible resolution and frame rate by using 4 PS3s linked together they said it look real just because the refresh rate was off the charts.
That could surely be done but, if you don't have internet access or is constrained by bandwidth caps, it would not work.
I'm sure we will see a PS4 sometime in the future but games that are online only like MAG, could use such a technology to excel in the graphics department.
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jdt1981
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 9:07:26 PM
You're right there most likely will be a PS4. I failed to take into consideration how many people have the right internet hookup necessary for an all cloud based system to work. There's enough people with broadband connections for a cloud computing service like On-Live to be marginally successful in a niche market. Consoles as we now them today will be around for another generation or two at least.
In the meantime like you said online only games could use cloud computing to take graphics, A.I., physics etc. to the cutting edge, perhaps rivaling pre rendered CGI blockbuster movies in realism.
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BikerSaint
Friday, July 03, 2009 @ 11:16:56 PM
If that's so, I'm f*cked!
And that will be the end of my long years of collecting.
I want all my discs sitting all in a row, and seen, And not a bunch of flash drives, which I'd probably forget what games are on each damed one of them!
And they'll look like a bunch of fugly lil ducklings all sitting in a row
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Superman915
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 7:29:25 PM
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Jove
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 8:21:46 PM
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Ricochet
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 8:55:41 PM
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I heard "downloadable" PSN games have a limit of 5 times so the games must be PERMANENTLY on your Memory drive.
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___________
Friday, July 03, 2009 @ 9:44:49 AM
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that way i can by the games from the shop come home and put it on a memory stick, because i want to get a PSP go but am not going to wait 3 hours to download 1 single psp game.
plus waste my download usage im struggling to stay under as it is.
1 up, 0 down
JJJames
Reply
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:17:19 AM
Last edited by JJJames on 7/2/2009 11:17:53 AM