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One of the highlights of Sony's press conference at E3 was the upcoming PSP Go. Even though news of the device was leaked on Qore days before the official presentation, the pint-sized PSP still managed to steal the early part of the show with its svelte design and impressive features. The PSP Go is confirmed to include 16 GB of on-board flash storage for games and media, Bluetooth support to sync with headsets, and support for Memory Stick Micro (M2) in the unlikely event that customers ever run out of storage space. It will also be accompanied by a more intuitive media manager for the PC called Media Go. This software is said to make dragging and dropping media into the PSP more user-friendly, which is definitely a good thing if the company wants to compete with other manufacturers like Apple and Microsoft.

If there is a cloud beneath all of this silver lining, it is undoubtedly the price. Sony revealed that the PSP Go will cost 9 USD and 249 Euros when it lands in shops this October 1st. Many had been expecting Sony to come closer to the current PSP model pricing with this unit, but evidently the smaller form factor and on-board memory comes at a cost premium (even with the subtraction of the UMD drive).

Will consumers rush out to buy the PSP Go? Our gut reaction is that this expensive piece of gear will be a success with hardcore technophiles only, until the price finds its way below 0. Since all future game releases will arrive on both UMD and the Playstation Store simultaneously, there is simply not enough reason for existing PSP owners to upgrade. We, of course, will be there on day one.

Official picture of Sony's new PSP Go.

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