PSP2/Go! Storage to Use New SanDisk/Sony Memory Stick?

[Michael Grimm]

PSP2/Go! Storage to Use New SanDisk/Sony Memory Stick?

Signs point to Sony using a new memory storage device created through a joint venture with SanDisk for their upcoming PSP2/Go!

Speculation is wild about Sony's as of yet unannounced PSP2 or PSP Go! as it's being called, but most industry heads agree that the system will have a minimal focus on UMD if at all. Rumors have pointed to the system using internal flash memory storage for games, but a closer examination of a recent SanDisk/Sony partnership has led to a more likely possibility.

The press release from this year's CES focuses on tinier, faster, more versatile Memory Stick formats:

"[...]Sony and SanDisk "have co-developed two expanded Memory Stick formats." Think something like the Memory Stick HG-Micro, with a 60MB/s transfer rate, approximately 40MB/s faster than original Memory Stick Duo."

The external memory idea makes a lot of sense in light of these new products, as the internal memory would significantly drive up the base cost of the new PSP. Allowing the customer to purchase their own memory would keep the price relative to their needs. The new PSP launch would also create a strong sales boost for the new Memory Stick. Whether or not the new PSP will support previous Memory Stick formats remains to be seen.

Rumors suggest that Sony will announce or unveil the new PSP this June at E3.

Source: <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/164202/exclusive_sony_psp_go_storage_tech_revealed.html"
target="_blank">www.PCWorld.com


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[Tech Team FTW!]

This is great and all, but what exactly was wrong with the UMD?
Making the purchase of multiple memory sticks mandatory is more than a little fiendish.
Any estimates on the maximum size of this new type of memory stick?

 

[unangbangkay]

Until it's officially confirmed of course, this is all wild speculation, but what's been rumored-up so far feels like a natural step for the handheld. This was a natural step.

The PSP right now is a solid platform, but it doesn't have the chops to stand alone against its foes. Treating a future PSP as an extension of the bigger platform (PS3/PSN) would better differentiate it from its competition, since the Wii's limited online capabilities make it harder for it to be more cohesively integrated with the DS. And since MS doesn't have a handheld (yet), extending the reach of the PSN to multiple platforms in a comprehensive way would make the value proposition much more appealing for brand loyalists.

The PSN's been getting much better and you can already download PSP games and older PS1 games to memory sticks via the PS3 or PSP. Since many PSN games already exceed the memory limits of the UMD, increasing storage via high-speed memory stick can increase the capacity of future PSP titles, and may open up possibilities for moving more existing PSN games to the PSP (or having them interchangeable).

Further, I'm sure homebrew and custom firmware afficionados feel this was inevitable, seeing as they probably don't have too many UMDs, and that many games can run as well or better when converted to run via memory stick.

I wonder what this'll mean for PSP owners who've been buying a lot of UMDs, though, and for current and future releases. Will their existing games be rendered useless once their PSPs? Will there be opportunities to trade in used UMDs for download codes or PSN refunds? Will future PSP games have to be released in both UMD and download-only formats (unlikely, since even Patapon 2 is a PSN-only title)?

 

[jimduckie]

gee another storage format ,that all we need my biggest problem with the psp is the second stick missing ,oh well i'm more into console gaming anyway

 

[munx13]

This is a lot of buzz over a product that might not even exist at all.

Might? I never saw ANY real evidence of a new PSP.

 

[ffxfriek]

This is a lot of buzz over a product that might not even exist at all.

Might? I never saw ANY real evidence of a new PSP.

thirded and i used to want one till i saw you got a pice of junk for storage and you needed to buy new ones. also the dics for movies were also 25$ and the game was waaaaay to expensive.

 

[Al_]

Oh Sony. Why can't you just run with the herd and embrace SD cards? Why do you always have to have your own format?

 

[unangbangkay]

Oh Sony. Why can't you just run with the herd and embrace SD cards? Why do you always have to have your own format?

Sony is a hardware company. Their bread and butter is the design and creation of electronics. They might own media companies, but their core business is in hardware. They might make and sell VAIO notebook PCs, but said PCs still run on Windows. This means that they need to try and capture the market with a technology they can control, and they can control Memory Sticks, Blu-Rays (with their partners) and UMDs. The challenge is making those Memory Sticks and UMDs appealing enough for the public to adopt them as the default format.

While this has obviously not been the case for Memory Sticks, they're widespread enough that there is a market for them, and nearly every card reader included in a modern desktop (and many notebook) PCs includes some Memory Stick reading ability.

They may not necessarily NEED to create a new format, but if they can and are successful at doing so, the reward is great enough to justify the risk. After all, DVDs and Blu-Rays won, right?

 

[-Seraph-]

I don't like digital distribution one bit, I like my UMD's and hard copies because I like to collect games and have a sense of ownership to them. Digital distribution to me always feels like a loan. Now I would fully embrace the idea of the next PSP (not this bullshit PSP go rumor) using the produo sticks for games instead of UMD's as it's more convenient and greater memory capacity. Introducing it now with the current PSP is just stupid and should be left for the next true generation. I will be grateful when these dumb rumors are debunked. All these ideas are great and all, but introducing them now would do more harm than good.