PSPgone

Again, I can see the counter-argument to that point - that including those devices (tiny, inexpensive hardware, to the extent that even Apple's low-priced and diminutive iPod Nano now sports a camera) would have pushed the cost of the system up. Perhaps that's the case - it certainly brings us neatly to the question of cost, at least.

The PSPgo is too expensive. Vastly too expensive, for what the system is - nothing more than an existing PSP in a nice case, with the UMD drive removed and a bit of cheap flash memory slapped on in its place. There's precious little extra functionality, no new headline feature to shout about - no camera, no touch-screen, no GPS, no 3G connectivity. It's just a PSP with a big memory card and a nice bit of industrial design. In itself, that's not a terrible thing - but what I've just described should be positioned at the same price point as the previous PSP models, which should then receive a price drop to open up a new market segment. Instead, PSPgo is being positioned in a "premium" segment of the handheld market - a segment of which, to be blunt, I'm not convinced of the existence, at least not in any great scale.

The irony is that the question marks and uncertainty around PSPgo contrast most strongly with another recent Sony hardware release - the universally acclaimed PS3 Slim. This was exactly how hardware redesigns and relaunches should be handled. Announced only weeks before hitting retail, the PS3 Slim created huge excitement in a short space of time. Recognising that it brought with it a smaller form factor and minor benefits rather than revolutionary change, Sony positioned it alongside a price drop for the whole console range - and reaped the reward in the form of vast, vast sales. Along with fantastic software like Uncharted 2, it has set the PS3 up for a fantastic winter season - probably its healthiest quarter in the market so far.

The PS3 Slim launch showed Sony firing on all cylinders, understanding its market and its competencies and creating a product, business model and marketing drive that drove the PlayStation - temporarily, at least - right back to the top spot in this business. The fire and intelligence that drove Sony through the PS1 and PS2 eras is still there - but on PSPgo, it seems to be utterly lacking.

Upstream consumers don't like it, because it offers them no upgrade path. It's too overpriced for downstream consumers. It desperately wants to compete with iPhone, yet balks at emulating any of the functionality that would allow it to do so. It feels like a solid concept that was tugged in every direction by competing needs and ideas within Sony, and has ended up unloved and directionless. The market may well judge otherwise - for Sony's sake, I hope it does - but from where I'm standing, PSPgo looks like an extremely weak launch. This was an opportunity to redefine the PSP and bring the fight to the doorstep of the firm's rivals in handheld gaming - but that opportunity, sadly, has sailed right past.