The Slim Was The Biggest Deal In 2009 To Japanese Famitsu Readers.

According to retailer and reader votes in Japan’s super-gaming Bible, Famitsu, the relaunch of the Playstation 3 in September was the biggest gaming story of 2009, with Final Fantasy XIII’s release date and PSP Go’s announcement all filling out spots in the top five.

We can’t disagree with the PS3 Slim’s announcement; Sony’s effective platform relaunch has propelled the Playstation into a much more viable system, something we hope Sony continue to push hard through 2010 with the launch of Playstation Motion Controller and a huge line-up of exclusives.

The PSPgo's So Adorable Though. How Could You Ever Let It Die?

According to Traveler’s Tales founder John Burton, Sony’s new PSPgo could die if the content does not get cheaper. “I own a PSP Go but don’t want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20-percent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I’m finished with it,” Burton explained. “But if I download it, I get no discount, and no chance to resell — how annoying is that?”

While he describes it as annoying, Burton actually think the problem flows much deeper. He added, “I’m betting on Sony making PSP Go games much cheaper than the UMD versions, or the PSP Go will die.”

The problem is, at what point do retailers start burying Sony’s stock when the Playstation Store undercuts them? It just highlights the problem of switching to a download model while retailers still possess a lot of power.

Logitech May Have Your Back If Your Still Pining For These.

According to CVG, third-party peripheral manufacturer Logitech are working on a UMD add-on for the PSPgo. No release information was given, but apparently the device plugs into the PSPgo, allowing users to play UMDs on the UMD-less portable. Apparently the device will make the handheld a little more “bulky”, but works fine.

Logitech’s UK office claimed to know nothing of the device, suggesting it may be something the companies US-arm are working on.

It all sounds a bit self-defeating to us.

This Dude's Claiming His Free PSP Game. Word.

If you were quick enough to pick up that £150 PSPgo from HMV yesterday, you should consider yourself happy as Larry [who is Larry? - ed]. Sony just announced via the Playstation Blog that Europeans who own a PSPgo can pick up a free game as a Holiday present from Sony. All you need to do is jump onto the Playstation Store through your PSP, download a theme, and voila, a download code will be sent magically to your inbox.

The games on offer include: Gran Turismo (good), MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (also good) and Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (we don’t know about that one yet). There’ll be no Assassin’s Creed for you Germans though, instead you’ll get the absolutely amazing LittleBigPlanet PSP.

Did we mention this is totally free? Fucking boo-yeah! See, we told you being a PSPgo owner had its perks. We’re just going to claim our free game y’all. Entertain yourselves.

The PSPgo Saw Decent First Day Sales In Japan.

The PSPgo has finally launched in Japan, and has managed to shift a respectable 28,275 units according to Andriasang.com. The unit was supported by a ton of Playstation Network releases including Persona 3, Dissidia Final Fantasy and LocoRoco Midnight Carnival.

Domestic lifetime sales for the PSP pre-Go stand at 12,797,180. It’ll be a pleasing first day for Sony regarding the PSPgo, but the figures still pale in comparison to the Nintendo DSi’s whopping 170,000 launch units.

Publishers Don't Have To Release Content On The Playstation Store.

This is bemusing. We’d assumed post the release of the PSPgo, on October 1st, all companies would have to ready a Playstation Store compatible version of any PSP game they launch. Not so according to Sony’s Eric Lempel, in an interview with Joystiq. Apparently it’s up to each publishers discrestion.

“It’s up to individual third parties to decide if and when to publish their UMD releases on PSN. Most, if not all, are on board, as this is a revenue opportunity for them,” said Eric Lempel, SCEA’s director of PlayStation Network operations.

It’s kind of frightening to think that Sony have a SKU on the market that might never have games released for it. We’re sure Sony are still ironing out the kinks, but surely it makes sense as a publisher to put your game out to both markets, regardless of which is more profitable.

Oh Wow Look, It's A Big PSPgo!

Sony used to have a massive PSP billboard in New York’s SoHo that got taken down. They’ve now replaced it with a slightly smaller PSPgo, which is totally cool because, well, the PSPgo is smaller than the original PSP.