Sony's announcmenet of the PSPgo wasn't a surprise to anyone. Even before the leak that completely confirmed the handheld, the very fact that companies had started making PSP games again was a good indicator that Sony was finally planning on updating its handheld. At E3 I had a chance to get a hands-on with the UMDless machine, and left feeling more confident in Sony's handheld than I had in the past few years.

Everything is pushed together a bit more, closer mimicking the experience of holding a video game controller. Already, holding a PSPgo feels more natural, and shouldn't be a strain to play for extended periods of time. It's also a good deal smaller, with a slightly shrunken screen and buttons that have been scaled down a bit to fit the new layout. This isn't really an issue at all, since it's all for a greater good.




Another huge improvement, besides the obvious benefits to ditching the abominable UMD drive, is in the shoulder buttons. They never felt nearly as solid as they should have and were awkwardly placed, neither of which are the case any more. They feel incredibly durable and are larger, more substantial, and much easier to use. Holding the system, my fingers naturally sat on the buttons, and it wasn't a strain to use them.

There's no doubt in my mind that the PSPgo is a much better system than the PSP. The only issue, so far, comes at the price, since $250 is a bit high, placing it at double the price of the DS Lite, which packs more high-quality games to date.  With companies finally embracing the PSP this may yet change, however, and there's a very good chance the go is going to be something to pick up this fall.