E3: PSPgo to get UMD-to-digital solution

By Robert Purchese Published 5 June, 2009

Sony promises one before launch.

Sony is working on a solution for PSPgo owners who want to turn their UMD games into digital versions.

"We're in the midst of putting together a goodwill program," Sony America's hardware marketeer John Koller told Gizmodo. "We'll be unveiling that soon [because] we actually think there's a significant group that will be upgrading from the [PSP] 1000... In the past we've seen a 20-25 per cent trade-up factor, and I assume that's going to be the case here.

Sony America spokesperson Brian Keltner added to Kotaku that he hopes a solution will be found by PSPgo launch on 1st October (Europe, US).

The PSPgo was unveiled proper at Sony's E3 conference. The smaller and lighter machine with fancy sliding screen will only play digital content and costs EUR 250.

Sony plans to launch all future PSP games on the PlayStation Network and in shops, simultaneously.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BadBoyBonner #1 3 years ago

    Many psp owner's seemed to have "solved" this problem long ago.

  • LiveForever #2 3 years ago

    yep 2 years

  • myiagros #3 3 years ago

    The idea is nice, but presumably for those of us who have imported games from the US and Japan will be left out in the cold.

    I can't see Sony europe taking in my US or Japanese games and giving me downloads for those regions versions of those games.

  • Toothball #4 3 years ago

    Still, it's better than no solution at all. Still, I don't think I'll be buying many more PSP games on disc. Maybe Rock Band Unplugged though, as I'm quite keen for that.

  • SeesThroughAll #5 3 years ago

    I would do this, even if I won't buy a PSP Go.

  • bad09 #6 3 years ago

    Good for them, although I doubt it will apply to people like me who dump their UMDs and sell on the UMDs, I can't see 'em letting you do anything without the original.

    Still nice of them to think of users of their old tech for once. *cough* PS2 B/C for PS3 *cough*

  • DFawkes #7 3 years ago

    Now that raises a good point. Will it be available to everyone? Or will it somehow be restricted to PSPgo owners? I can't see how, but it could happen.

    I have no idea how this'll work though. The machines solution that east your games and return download codes seem a bit pricey, and getting retailers to trade them and give codes out would need a lot of goodwill from retailers, in return for cutting down a source of sales for those same retailers. Unless they give retailers a way to print game codes, so if you buy a game on disc you'll get a code too, but then you could trade the disc in.

    Whatever they do, at least they aren't abandoning old PSP users entirely.

  • Redeye #8 3 years ago

    Happy with my PSP Phat, so this is one old boy who won't be looking at a trade-up; hell, I'm even happy with UMDs, but fair play to Sony for actually using a leeetle bit of grey matter - for once.

  • MaxiSleep #9 3 years ago

    The smaller and lighter machine with fancy sliding screen will only play digital content

    Yes changing the needle on the old psp when it got worn was a real pain.

    In other words

    ITS ALL BLOODY DIGITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Les #10 3 years ago

    Good news, as I had expected nothing TBH :)

  • peterfll #11 3 years ago

    Oh, OK, I really didn't expect them to give a toss. So. All they now need to do is change the price of it. Basically I ain't prepared to pay over 200 knicker for it. How could it be so expensive, it actually contains less tech (i.e. no UMD drive) than the current mode. A 16gb flash drive is hardly expensive....and the PSP 3000 already has some flash in it?

  • BBIAJ #12 3 years ago

    Great, now I have to decide whether to go with a PSP Go! and this solution to my existing UMD problems, or the oh-so appealing upgrade to the lilac Hannah Montana PSP-3000.

    And it was all so clear cut before this announcement, Hannah Montana all the way, but only for the colour, and the fact that it's limited edition, of course!

  • gpats #13 3 years ago

    I can't imagine why anyone would want this 'upgrade'. The smaller screen is a shame when the one thing universally admired about PSPs is the large screen. But the main problem is that UMDs are dirt cheap right now - goodish games on UMD are available for about a fiver and of course you can sell on UMDs and buy used ones. Upgrading to a machine that only offers digital distribution means no secondhand sales and no bargains. Good for Sony, not so good for us. I predict this will bomb.
    Edited by 1 at 05/06/09 @ 15:02

  • malexous #14 3 years ago

    @bad09

    Why don't you just pirate the games instead?

  • callum9999 #15 3 years ago

    I good solution, in my opinion, is for you to send your discs into Sony and then they credit a voucher for that game onto your PSN account (with a limited timeframe of course, otherwise people would go out, buy the cheaper UMD then send it in for the download). They could also team up with somewhere like Game so you could take it in there and swap for a download voucher. Don't know how practical this would be though.

    @bad09 - Like someone else just said, why not just fully pirate it? You are already illegally making a copy of the disc then selling one of them - which is just as illegal as downloading it straight from the internet.
    Edited by 1 at 05/06/09 @ 15:49

  • JonFE #16 3 years ago

    Let me get this straight:
    Sony are working on a system where you can turn your UMD games into digital versions, which in turn could be transferred and played on the PSP Go, right?

    So what's stopping people borrow UMD games from their friends and making those available to themselves without actually paying for them?

  • HermitArcader #17 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Skinme #18 3 years ago

    How about a device that wipes the UMD clean once it's copied the game to the flash drive? That way you can't just rent-copy-return the game/movie. Not sure if UMD writers are freely available, but no reason to assume they don't exist. A specially created "burner" could quite easily strip the UMDs data, could also use a stain/burn mark so that retailers can easily see that the UMD has been wiped.

  • JonFE #19 3 years ago

    @Vertical Stand & Skinme:

    This way Sony will alienate existing PSP users who would like to have two versions of the PSP (and old one and the Go), unless they allow the digital files to be played to the original PSP as well. Seems to me that Sony has put itself in a tight spot here, because the presence of the UMD clearly was a drawback and now they have to make some kind of sacrifice to remove it without pissing off their customers.

    Kudos to them for trying though...

  • Skinme #20 3 years ago

    @JonFE

    Yeah was thinking once you've copied game to flash drive, could validate it on PSN, a bit like Steam. That way you can download & play on an older PSP.

    I agree that they're in a tight spot. I commented on a different thread that they would've been better off developing more software for PSP & concentrate hardware development on PSP2. All in all, I'm not gonna get this. My PSP2000 is fine for what I want it for.

  • Ryze #21 3 years ago

    Seems quite simple to me - UMD is given back to Sony (via mail, machine or retailers), and download code is given out in return.

    That's it! No?

  • bad09 #22 3 years ago

    @ malexous & callum9999

    Maybe I should have made it clearer that I gave up waiting for Sony to wake up to the awesome machine hackers had created for them years ago so I'm on CF. I've already got the games as ISOs (CF lets you dump your UMD as an ISO on your PC), but what I do is trade in the UMD as I have no use for it (or didn't until now!).

    It's no biggie really though, I don't see myself going for a smaller screen, that analogue, replacing my cards, loosing my emulators and loosing my own PS1. I'm just looking at the costs/problems involved with an upgrade if I did actually like the machine when I actually hold it.

    Although when I found out they stuffed us on formats YET AGAIN (new mini MS), any slight interest went out the window. Might change when I get hold of one though. Obviously not straight away with that silly, silly price....

    Edited by 1 at 05/06/09 @ 19:10

  • callum9999 #23 3 years ago

    Bad09 - We are aware what you are doing, just wondering why you choose to buy the game, copy then sell again when you might as well just download the ISO off the internet. Both methods are just as illegal as eachother so there is no benefit to buying then selling the UMD.

  • Machiavellian #24 3 years ago

    What I do not get is where does the PSP go fit.
    You have the PSP2000 and PSP 3000. Both will give you the same gaming experience and the majority of functionality the PSP go will at a much cheaper price. Then you also have the DSI/DS which still rules the gaming handheld devices. On the High end of the scale you have the Ipod Touch. Since the PSP go does not have the touch screen, it really will not cater to the gadget crowd.

    With the price of 250, unless you really want the features within the PSP go that are not in the older hardware, I really cannot see thing thing selling that well. It certainly will not sell like the DSI has over the DS

  • bad09 #25 3 years ago

    @ callum9999

    So backing up is the same as piracy now? Yeah right, I don't care what these industries wish for, I pay for the game/music/movie NOT the plastic or network they come it on, well except Metaboli. I'm not renting I'm buying that movie/game/music for life. Don't like it sell me something new. I'm 33 and fed up of paying over and over again for shit I already paid for. Back it up people IT'S YOURS!

    The moment one of these industries knock on my door telling me I can't back up my own media, that I paid for, is the moment I never spend another penny on their industry so let 'em do it.

  • HermitArcader #26 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • zedzee #27 3 years ago

    The "go" has about 16GB RAM, right?

    UMD games are a max 1.8GB, right?

    16 / 1.8 = about 9 games worth of space.

    Upload a few photos and music tracks on it and what does that leave you for games?!

    Then, try combining UMD and DLC from PSN and putting all that on the integrated memory...it's mad! Sony are nutters, let alone the copying, DRM, digital restrictions it would need to deal with as well.

    [Left a bit of my comment out, for some reason!]
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/09 @ 15:39

  • bad09 #28 3 years ago

    @ Vertical Stand

    Yeah I agree completely, my post was more about Callum999's post on "illegal" backing up for your own use as bad as piracy anyway. Like everyone else I'm really pleased/surprised Sony are doing this, even if I won't be able to use it myself for current games if I did upgrade (well I assume not owning the physical format anymore).


  • redcrayon #29 3 years ago

    I'm not sure it's aimed at gamers like us- they make the profit on flogging the back catalogue of PSone stuff to newbies. 16GB is fine for that, and the pricing is impulse-buy territory, rather the £30+20 mins download for new stuff.

    Seeing as half my UMDs are obscure US imports, I'm stuffed anyway, but then the slim is still a good piece of kit.

  • elephant_stone #30 3 years ago

    Good news but the PSPgo is still overpriced!

  • Ryze #31 3 years ago

    @zedzee

    Nah, PSPgo has 16GB flash memory (storage) & 64MB RAM (working memory, if you like).

    UMDs can indeed hold 1.8GB, but most games are nowhere near that big.

    What you're assuming, is like saying that each PS3 game is 50GB in size, which is nonsense. For example, SF Alpha 3 and Outrun 2006 for the PSP are relatively tiny, just a couple of hundred MB, if that. Download games will contain less video footage, and will likely compress all game content much more heavily. They'll be much smaller than the UMD game sizes, apart from the odd epic - depending on Sony's enforced size restrictions.

    It also has a memory stick slot for M2s, like my phone's. This could add several more GB as required.

    These aren't the problems with the PSPgo. The problems with the PSPgo are the same ones as the PSP had, minus the size, weight and UMD drawbacks. There's still a huge unresolved list.

    Let's see what Sony does next...

  • PodlingJuice #32 3 years ago

    This is awesome news. Why such negativity from you lot? I will quite happily swap all my UMDs for downloadable versions, even if I decide not to get a PSP Go. Not having to cart extra pieces of plastic around is a big bonus for the portability of the system, not to mention the faster loading times and better battery life you get from the flash based version.

    If Sony manage this I'll be extremely happy. :)

  • callum9999 #33 3 years ago

    Bad09 - You said you were copying the game then selling the UMD. That is certainly not backing it up - if you were storing the UMD or destroying them then yes, but otherwise that is blatant piracy.

    What you are doing is the same principle as renting a game and making a copy of it.

  • ISmoke #34 3 years ago

    I'm really tempted to buy one.
    - Surely though, the only person Bad09 is ripping off are the shops or who ever buys and sells used games? Seeing as shops gain all profit the profit and the original devs get nothing...

  • bad09 #35 3 years ago

    @ callum9999

    WHAT?? OK so buying a NEW game, GIVING MONEY to the industry but (regardless of whether I back it up for my own use or not) selling on the physical product to counter the EXPENSIVE cost of further new games (as anyone using the the second hand market LEGALLY would) is blatant piracy????? Let me guess, you work in the industry right? What a silly post, you make it sound like I'm uploading MY games or something.

    Sorry pal I'm amazed at your post and ,unless you work in industry (then I would understand at least), it's quite retarded TBH. If I keep the back up of MY game that I PAID for and sell on the plastic that's MY RIGHT, and it affects who exactly? I don't care what the law states it's mine I paid for the product I do what I want with the product, like I said, if the industries don't like that come and sue me and then I'll stop spending (a considerable amount of) MY money with them.


  • zedzee #36 3 years ago

    @ Ryze:

    You are assuming that people are not going to store anything on that measly 16GB other than games. Wrong. I'd want to use it to store photos, music and films. However, I don't think I will be able to squeeze in everything, especially if I continue buying more games for it (as if!)

    I think storage has always been a problem for the PSP platform, the hard (UMD) or soft kind (memory). I understand perfectly the difference between RAM ("working";) and NV ("storage";), I was just saving time on writing it all out in full. But no matter what, I don't think it will be enough.

    If they offered 24GB or 32GB...Now you're talking.

    Over & Out.

  • callum9999 #37 3 years ago

    @bad09

    No I don't work in the industry. I don't understand how you feel buying a game, ripping it, then selling the game on isn't piracy? So buying a DVD, ripping it to your computer, then selling the disc isn't piracy as well?

    It's not an issue about what format you are keeping it in, you are basically duplicating the game, then selling on one of the copies.
    Edited by 2 at 12/06/09 @ 10:46