PSP Go

The PSP Go (stylized PSPgo or PSP go, model PSP-N1000) was released on October 1, 2009 in North American and European territories, and on November 1 in Japan. Although its design is significantly different from other PSPs, it was not intended to replace the PSP 3000, which Sony continued to manufacture, sell, and support.

Because it has no UMD drive and isn't supported by the modern PlayStation Network (only being compatible with the discontinued PlayStation Store), a PSP Go is now effectively useless unless it either has games already installed, or the user installs custom firmware to allow it to run ISO copies of UMDs from a memory stick.

Why It Flopped

 * 1) A crippling flaw of the console is its lack of a UMD drive. Instead, you needed to download games from PlayStation Store.
 * 2) It was expensive, costing $249 at launch.
 * 3) Awkward control scheme redesign, notably the D-Pad placed next to the analog stick. It's also hard to get a grip on the shoulder buttons.
 * 4) Many game critics recommend the PSP 3000 model, which is cheaper, resulting in poor sales.
 * 5) The console's design looks like a PSP slapped into a horizontal slider phone. The wriststrap attachment can dig deep into your hand when you play games, which is very uncomfortable.
 * 6) The Memory Stick Duo slot was replaced by a Memory Stick Micro M2 slot, which was announced by Sony as a dead format before the PSP Go's release.
 * 7) The console's battery 5V input was replaced by a proprietary battery input, and the battery itself is no longer removable by the user.
 * 8) The console has wireless B internet, at a time when most mobile phones supported wireless G internet, as a result, the downloads were very slow.
 * 9) The console's battery life hasn't improved from the past models, with only about 4 hours of game time. Downloading a game also eats up from 20% to 30% of the battery.
 * 10) Since the PlayStation Store officially shut down for the PSP on July 2, 2021, this console is completely useless without homebrewing it.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Some weeks after the launch, the price was reduced to $199 to get more sales.
 * 2) It has 16GB of internal storage; a feature absent in previous PSP models, which required using Memory Sticks for storage.
 * 3) It's somewhat less heavy than previous PSP models, weighting 158 grams.
 * 4) It can be hacked to run custom software and firmware like all other PSP models.
 * 5) The console's design is small, which is great even for its time, the design is cool as well.
 * 6) * The button and stick placements are much more comfortable than the other psp models.
 * 7) Unless you're a collector and prefer your games to be physical, the PSP Go can help you with that, specially since the games are discontinued, making the console ahead of its time in a way.

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