When Sony first released the PSP, I really had no interest in handheld gaming. What really gave got me excited about that particular handheld device was Chris Pirillo going on and on about how great it was in one of his podcast. I bought one and yea it is a great little device, has a really impressive screen and PS2 quality games. I found myself playing Midnight club 3 all the time.

The only problem is the button layout on the thing really put a hurting on my hands, so much so that I eventually gave it up and sold it. Too bad cause I really had fun with it. Sony just announces the successor to the PSP

The PSP GO.

PSP GO

As you can tell by the picture there are some immediate differences. First the control portion of this console slides from under the screen. Will that help with the problems I had with the original? I don’t know but maybe it will be a step in the right direction. The screen itself is a little bigger than the old PSP but the overall size of the PSP GO is a little smaller. (correction: the PSP Go screen is a little smaller than the original PSP screen)

The UMD drive, which was Sony’s proprietary disc drive has been axed and now there is a larger 16gb built in flash memory that will hold all of your info and games (there is also a memory stick Micro slot for additional storage). As far as what the PSP Go can do, its still pretty much the same handheld system. Now games are delivered electronically only through Sony’s new (revamped) media/game store. You can purchase games on your PC or via your PS3 console and download them to your PSP GO via WiFi.

Same PSP, with a new design and game delivery system. looks pretty good but the $250 price tag is a tad much.  The PSP Go is set to release in fall 2009.