Sony shutting down PSP's Go!Messenger

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 February, 2009

Not enough users, apparently.

Sony has told the official PlayStation forums that the Go!Messenger service run in conjunction with BT will shut down at the end of March.

"The Go!Messenger service will be withdrawn by BT and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEE) from 31 March 2009," a statement read.

"Although Go!Messenger brought innovative communications features to the PSP community, the service has not developed the base of users that we were hoping for."

Introduced in the 3.90 firmware for PSP this time last year, Go!Messenger is a free instant messaging program compatible with the Go!Cam for video chat.

In a brief FAQ about the shutdown, Sony elaborated: "Although it proved a popular concept, achieving a significant number of registrations, it didn't gain the number of regular users that BT and SCEE were aiming for."

The platform holder also said that "future products" will be released to take advantage of the Go!Cam.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    No wonder, the registration process was a pain, and it didn't really offer all that much over Web Messenger. Video & Audio chat are nice, but I can live without.

    I hope they do a new firmware without that icon though. I'd hate an unusable icon sitting there, taunting me with it's unusableness. I know that's weird, but I like my XMB tidy and untainted with useless options.

  • BBIAJ #2 3 years ago

    Sony LOL!

  • Xerx3s #3 3 years ago

    They should have used MSN. Especially since the dev tools are up for grabs.

  • Rash' #4 3 years ago

    skype is a better solution. why they went for this when the rest of the world went with skype is beyond me.

  • Phily50 #5 3 years ago

    psplol

  • DFawkes #6 3 years ago

    Indeed, it already has Skype! The only extra GoMessenger gives is video chat. They'd have been better upgrading Skype to have video chat than developing a new tool entirely.

  • Widge #7 3 years ago

    Not enough places where you can get free wireless internet to use it more like...

  • zarglu #8 3 years ago

    Yeah, I hope they use the freed firmware space to beef up skype support.

  • LowEnergyCycle #9 3 years ago

    @Xerx3s
    "They should have used MSN. Especially since the dev tools are up for grabs.

    A Microsoft application on a Sony console? Can you imagine such a topsy-turvy world?
    Edited by 2 at 23/02/09 @ 15:50

  • miiiguel #10 3 years ago

    @ LowEnergyCycle:
    Sony recomends Windows Vista...

  • infoxicated #11 3 years ago

    Shame, really - the video chat was excellent - I used it to keep in touch with my girlfriend & little girl when I relocated for a job last year and it fit the bill perfectly.

  • Goffee #12 3 years ago

    How long will the Sky TV service last then, any idea on figures?

  • kangarootoo #13 3 years ago

    The article said there was plenty of registrations, so it sounds as though it wasn't really the service they went for that was the sticking point.

    Other have mentioned that finding wireless points could have been a problem, and it could have simply not been perceived as the best tool for the job (video chatting in public environments is possibly seen as a social barrier for many potential users). So I wonder if using MSN or Skype would have actually solved the main challenges facing this app.

  • LowEnergyCycle #14 3 years ago

    @miiiguel

    Apple recomends Zune...

  • Toothball #15 3 years ago

    Don't think I even thought about trying this out. Oh well.

  • sanctusmortis #16 3 years ago

    Basically: next to nobody bought the camera, and even the people who did didn't use this.

  • infoxicated #17 3 years ago

    That could be the problem - I was using mine at an event at the weekend and several folk said "WOW! A camera for the PSP!".

    Not really that surprising considering you'd be hard pressed to see any advertising for it, but that kind of applies to all things PSP.

  • Eraysor #18 3 years ago

    It's odd that the only reason I use my PSP anymore it to play Quake and Mega Drive games on it. God bless homebrew.

  • Retroid #19 3 years ago

    An IM service for a device without a keyboard was always a great idea.

    /Joey

  • miiiguel #20 3 years ago

    @ LowEnergyCycle:
    It wasn't a joke buddy. Vaios have a sticker which says "Sony recomends Windows Vista".

  • oreillymj #21 3 years ago

    The 30 second rule of the internet applied to both Go!messenger & TV.
    Signup for both was a right pain in the arse requiring sacrifice of first born child to complete the process. I personally have better things to be doing then telling marketing companies my life story, so I'm surprised registrations were considered to have been a success.

    Giving the customer what they want, i.e. Skype, is not the Sony way.

    Repeat 1000 times, you must not store your music by Artist/Album.

  • LowEnergyCycle #22 3 years ago

    @miiiguel

    Aaaaaaaaah. I was wondering where your comment came from.

    There's some irony in there, don't ya think?

  • DaDon123456 #23 3 years ago

    I think the problem is that there are so many ways of communicating across the world nowadays. A few years ago this would have been a must have, but today its just unneccasary.

  • bad09 #24 3 years ago

    I knew Go! Messenger was a waste of space the moment I heard of it.

    Still nice to see the money that could have gone on (quite badly needed) decent PSP games used so well Sony. Keep up the good work I'm sure Home will be the same roaring success.....

  • miiiguel #25 3 years ago

    "There's some irony in there, don't ya think? "
    Definetly ;)

  • Ryze #26 3 years ago

    Oh, quelle fucking surprise.

    How about an INTEGRATED messaging solution on the PSP, Sony? You know, one that works with that thing called PSN.

    You know, that online 'service' that's supposed to include messaging? How about if I was able to use my PS3 to video chat with my friends who could be using a bluetooth equipped PSP to connect to 3G from ANYWHERE in the UK at ANY TIME.

    HOW ABOUT... if I could pick up my PSP while in a wireless hotspot, check which of my PSN friends are on, and (photo) message, voice chat and video chat with them??? It's be nice if I could have a multiplayer game of Fl0w with them also, or one of many other PSN game.

    How about a bluetooth headset for a bluetooth enabled PSP, Sony? Hellllllloooooooooooooooooooooooo?????????????

    Totally fucking out of touch.

    /waits for God of War III, ICO 3

  • superjag86 #27 3 years ago

    Not surprising

  • HiddenAway #28 3 years ago

    I stopped using it after getting spammed with requests from people I didn't know.

    I do have the camera as well...

  • coolbritannia #29 3 years ago

    psplol. again.

  • Quak #30 3 years ago

    > Indeed, it already has Skype! The only extra GoMessenger gives is video chat. They'd have been better upgrading Skype to have video chat than developing a new tool entirely.

    Go!Messenger came first. It was a painful registration process that actually failed on my first attempt. Second attempt worked, then I realised that no-one I know uses it and I never logged in again.

    Skype on the other hand is full of contacts. Getting the cam to work with that would be a better idea.

  • zedzee #31 3 years ago

    I guess this could be the beginning of the end for the PSP?

    Or simply that Sony didn't appreciate that offering a service that relied upon an optional component (Go!Cam) is like taking a percentage out of a percentage, ie. the highest usage will always be significantly lower than something that utilises 'standard' features bundled with such a console.

    I don't know, these guys at Sony have continuously lately proved to me that IDIOTS can really be in charge of a corporation and, as expected, get EVERYTHING wrong!

    Was this Go!Messenger crap free? How did it work, anyway? Did you have to subscribe to something and pay money?

    Oh, who cares, it's dead...

  • firefly #32 3 years ago

    Got to say it's existence pretty much passed me by entirely until now.

    The idea in itself doesn't seem bad as part of a centralised online service revolving around games but as a separate function it seems redundant. At home you may as well use a PC and away from home people are already used to using mobile phones as their communication tool of choice (including all those people who don't own PSPs).