Sony's PSPgo UMD Conversion Plans Come to a Halt

[Tom Goldman]

Sony's PSPgo UMD Conversion Plans Come to a Halt

Sony's official plans to allow PSPgo purchasers to convert their UMDs to digital copies are... nothing.

Ever since the announcement that the PSPgo, Sony's second major iteration of its PSP handheld gaming system, would do away with its predecessor's UMD drive and only be able to play digitally-downloaded games, consumers have been wondering if they would be able to convert their UMD libraries into digital copies somehow. Sony has been teasing a super secret plan to allow consumers to do just that for some time now, causing much speculation as to what that solution just might be. And here we are, on the cusp of the PSPgo's North American October 1 release date; a perfect time for Sony to reveal this super secret solution. Unfortunately, there isn't one.

Speaking to Kotaku, a Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesperson said, "We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time." The "were" in this statement makes me worry that the company has given up on the idea of UMD conversion. That could explain why Sony is now offering three free games to those who upgrade to the PSPgo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94962-Sony-Offers-Three-Free-Games-to-PSP-Go-Upgraders], almost as an apology of sorts. However, saying they "will not be offering it at this time," could mean that Sony is still considering something. Without a very sound conversion method, Sony could open up the doors to piracy, so the company definitely has to come up with something good. However, the lack of any method at all will no doubt turn off many consumers, especially in light of earlier promises.

The "gotta-have-anything-new" impulse in me still wants to purchase a PSPgo, but I can't justify paying $249 for a system that offers what I see as less functionality than the $169 PSP-3000, but with an added 16 GB hard drive. Sony itself sells 16 GB MP3 players for $130, so the addition of a hard drive doesn't justify an $80 price hike. Sony believing that it should sell the PSPgo at $249 retailers miffed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92735-Sony-PSP-Go-Costs-More-Because-of-a-Premium], and with the lack of a UMD conversion method as of yet the system is sure to be received by consumers a bit differently now.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5367207/sony-nixes-plans-for-umd-conversion-program-for-pspgo]

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[Sparrow]

Oh, well. That sucks I suppose. I'm sure that'll piss some people off.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

So...whats the point of the PSPgo anymore? If I were to say, trade in my original PSP to upgrade, I'd have to trade in all my games too. What a joke. Try again Sony, harder this time though!

 

[Mr.Pandah]

I don't see why people are obsessed with being able to play old games on a new system. No one is forcing you to get rid of your existing PSP when you buy the Go, just like no one forced anyone to get rid of their PS2 or Xbox when they bought a PS3 or a 360.

Its the same system though, just getting the games differently.

 

[The Lost Big Boss]

Is Sony doing this stuff just to piss people off and not sell the system? I would say they are shooting themselves in the foot, but by now all they have are stumps for feet.

 

[AceDiamond]

I don't see why people are obsessed with being able to play old games on a new system. No one is forcing you to get rid of your existing PSP when you buy the Go, just like no one forced anyone to get rid of their PS2 or Xbox when they bought a PS3 or a 360.

Then why would you get a Go if the PSP works just fine? That's the entire problem here. They're offering absolutely zero good reasons as to why you should spend more than the PSP costs now to buy the PSPGo.

 

[Jumplion]

I don't see why people are obsessed with being able to play old games on a new system. No one is forcing you to get rid of your existing PSP when you buy the Go, just like no one forced anyone to get rid of their PS2 or Xbox when they bought a PS3 or a 360.

Then why would you get a Go if the PSP works just fine? That's the entire problem here. They're offering absolutely zero good reasons as to why you should spend more than the PSP costs now to buy the PSPGo.

It's been said a billion times before, the PSPGo isn't aimed at existing PSP owners.

Personally, I do plan to buy it, maybe when it drops down in price a dozen dollars or so. I've never owned a PSP but I've been meaning to get one for a while. If you already have a PSP, then sure, there's not much reason to get a Go. For everyone else, there's plenty reason to buy one.

 

[AceDiamond]

I don't see why people are obsessed with being able to play old games on a new system. No one is forcing you to get rid of your existing PSP when you buy the Go, just like no one forced anyone to get rid of their PS2 or Xbox when they bought a PS3 or a 360.

Then why would you get a Go if the PSP works just fine? That's the entire problem here. They're offering absolutely zero good reasons as to why you should spend more than the PSP costs now to buy the PSPGo.

It's been said a billion times before, the PSPGo isn't aimed at existing PSP owners.

Personally, I do plan to buy it, maybe when it drops down in price a dozen dollars or so. I've never owned a PSP but I've been meaning to get one for a while. If you already have a PSP, then sure, there's not much reason to get a Go. For everyone else, there's plenty reason to buy one.

Yeah but if the 3000 is still on shelves, which it most likely will be, then it's hard to take a look at the two side by side and say "oh I want the one that costs more"

Though I guess this explains why they have a pretty paltry upgrade incentive [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.145543]

 

[Jumplion]

I don't see why people are obsessed with being able to play old games on a new system. No one is forcing you to get rid of your existing PSP when you buy the Go, just like no one forced anyone to get rid of their PS2 or Xbox when they bought a PS3 or a 360.

Then why would you get a Go if the PSP works just fine? That's the entire problem here. They're offering absolutely zero good reasons as to why you should spend more than the PSP costs now to buy the PSPGo.

It's been said a billion times before, the PSPGo isn't aimed at existing PSP owners.

Personally, I do plan to buy it, maybe when it drops down in price a dozen dollars or so. I've never owned a PSP but I've been meaning to get one for a while. If you already have a PSP, then sure, there's not much reason to get a Go. For everyone else, there's plenty reason to buy one.

Yeah but if the 3000 is still on shelves, which it most likely will be, then it's hard to take a look at the two side by side and say "oh I want the one that costs more"

Though I guess this explains why they have a pretty paltry upgrade incentive [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.145543]

It's a pretty damn good incentive for me, I can steal my friend's PSP for a bit and get 3 free games

 

[AceDiamond]

It's a pretty damn good incentive for me, I can steal my friend's PSP for a bit and get 3 free games

I was hoping I could find some way that would backfire on you but then again it probably wouldn't.

But this still doesn't address my original point: why do people want to play old games on their new system? It's not like your existing PSP disappears the moment you buy the Go. You'll still have your old PSP and all your existing games.

Cause nobody who owns a previous PSP will buy a Go, it's not geared towards previous owners, apparently (honestly I had no idea)

And as for my serious answer: it's because of convenience. I didn't keep my old Gameboys lying about when I had a Gameboy Advance that could play older games just fine. I didn't have to power up a different console depending on what half of a generation a game came out in.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Its the same system though, just getting the games differently.

Debatable. Newer PSP games are unplayable on UMD on 1000s for example. I agree that the change isn't as substantial as, say, PS2 to PS3, but it's definitely more than a minor upgrade. Comparable to Gameboy to Gameboy Colour imo.

But this still doesn't address my original point: why do people want to play old games on their new system? It's not like your existing PSP disappears the moment you buy the Go. You'll still have your old PSP and all your existing games.

Most people trade in older systems for the newer one that comes out, especially if the change which is arguably as minor as this. You don't see the DS saying "Hey, we added a camera in our new system, all those old ones that don't use the camera? Yeah, screw those. You can't play them anymore." The DSi plays games that are only playable on it if they use a camera, everything else is relatively the same. I still have the first DS because I don't see a point to the newer ones, just like how I have the original PSP still.

The PSPGo is for a different audience now. It really alienates whatever crowd it had before. And lets be honest...there still aren't two sticks on the damn thing? ;D

 

[randomrob]

I don't have an original PSP or any UMD's so it doesn't matter to me.

 

[Jumplion]

Heh.

Sony: Current PS3 units will not be able to play PS2 games "at this time"

Sounds familiar?

Just face it, sony is not going to brink back the ability to play old PSP games.

Hey, that's what they said about Rumble feature, Motion control, UMDless PSP, and many many MANY times against price drops.

They could be, ya know, lying

 

[GonzoGamer]

So I guess they're Just trying to snag new psp users.
This PSPgo deal keeps getting worse and worse, especially for anyone who already owns a psp.

I was planning on getting one at first but every update they have on it keeps turning me off.

 

[Simalacrum]

hmmmmm... not good news at all... fortunately for me I only have a handful of PSP games that I never play on UMD, so that shoulnd't deter me too much (if I bother getting a Go), but I know that isn't the case for everyone...

I'm gona be honest, the Go is, unlike the Slim, shaping up (oh god, the pun) to become a complete flop.

 

[Megacherv]

WHAT THE FUCK SONY?! I THOUGHT YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR MISTAKES! The 3 games system isn't enough. You piss me off sometimes Sony, you really do.