Entertainment Electronics Blog

The PlayStation Phone is coming to North America and Europe as early as Spring 2011 according to a report in today’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper. The device will be based on the design of the PSP Go and run on Google’s Android OS.

Today’s report did not mention the possibility of a touch screen, only that the new device would slide open and include buttons as the PSP Go does. Indeed, the picture that ran with the article was that of the Go.

Interestingly, the Asahi report was forthcoming about the device “starting out” in Western markets but only mentioned a Japanese release as an afterthought.

The PlayStation Phone’s existence has yet to be confirmed by Sony, but with each new report that surfaces, an announcement is now a matter of “when” not “if.”

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is set for release on PSP in the U.S. on September 7, but not on the PSP Go. Square Enix has confirmed the game will only receive a UMD release, meaning owners of the digital distribution-based Go won’t have any way to play it.

The confirmation came first by blogger and Arizona Daily Star writer Phil Villarreal, who contacted PR firm Ogilvy, which handles Square Enix releases. “Just found out that there unfortunately are no plans to release KHBBS on PSP Go. If that changes, I will certainly let you know!” a representative told him. Kotaku later contacted Square Enix for first-hand confirmation, and were also told there are “currently no plans” for a PSP Go release.

Besides a delay before the PSP version of Little Big Planet was released digitally, there hasn’t been a high profile game that wasn’t released both on UMD and through digital distribution since the Go came out last year, so Birth by Sleep will be the first spurn Go owners. For the sake of those Go owners, let’s hope this isn’t the beginning of a new trend.

Sony has managed to stir up quite a controversy with the release of the PSP Go. Whether it’s because of its omission of physical media, the lack of a UMD-to-digital conversion program, the crappy “bonus” that North Americans got for purchasing one… there’s more than a few reasons that have caused gamers to complain about the newest iteration of the PlayStation Portable. Now even Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, is questioning some of the choices that Sony has made.
Speaking with The Washington Post, Fils-Aime suggested the Go has a “fundamental concept problem in terms of ‘Who’s it for?’ and ‘What’s the benefit?’” And it’s difficult to provide solid answers to either of those questions. For current PSP owners, upgrading to the Go would leave their UMD collections worthless (and trust me, this is not a pleasant realization). Newcomers to the PSP are left to buy only games that are available on the PlayStation Store, and at the price that publishers set — no taking advantage of eBay, used games at GameStop, or a friend’s selection of games. And either way, $250 is awfully pricey.

Fils-Aime’s comments will ultimately only add fuel to the intense debate between the Goers and no-Goers out there. Don’t expect Sony to suddenly change directions because one its competitors doesn’t publicly agree with some of their decisions.