PSPgo, Goes. I’m Sad :(

The Guardian are reporting the end of production of the PSPgo:

Sony Computer Entertainment has seemingly ceased production of the PSPgo, a smaller, lighter version of its PSPhandheld console, which did away with providing games on physical media, requiring players to download titles from the PlayStation Store. The manufacturer has yet to confirm speculation, but according to VG247, a message on the company’s Japanese home page yesterday simply read “shipment ended”.

I’m sad about this.  The PSPgo was a great games platform.  It had lots of pros – good controls, clear large screen, good battery life, powerful graphics processing (relative to its size).  I’m biased here because I worked on a game on it I’m really proud of (Savage Moon: The Hera Campaign).  But the device had potential that was never fully exploited for various reasons.  Here’s why according to the Guardian:

The main problem was price. The device retailed at £220, putting it just shy of PS3, while game downloads were in the region of £20-£25, which angered gamers used to paying a fiver or less for smartphone digital apps. Meanwhile, retailers weren’t happy that they’d be stocking a piece of hardware with no means of generating revenue from software sales.

And of course, technology just overtook the machine. The irresistible rise of Android and iOS handsets tempted potential buyers away to where games were cheaper and much more plentiful.