What's new with PSP Go's firmware 5.70?

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 14th 2009 at 9:30AM }

What firmware is your PSP running? 5.51? Lame! If you go into the future and snag a PSP Go, you'll be able to use firmware 5.70. But, what's new about the upcoming PSP software revision? Good question. Digital Foundry got their hands on an early version of the system and discovered that not much has changed. In fact, due to the PSP Go's lack of a UMD drive, many options appear to be missing in the firmware.

For example (and obviously), all settings related to UMD Video are missing on the PSP Go's firmware. More bizarrely, "Battery Information," which displays how much battery life is remaining, appears to be gone. Additionally, "Backlight Auto-Adjust" seems to be missing from the Power Save Settings menu. We're not entirely sure why these options are gone. Could it simply be because it's an early version of the firmware?

Obviously, some time remains before Sony officially releases the Go and firmware 5.70 to the world. It'll be interesting to see if any of these changes affect the older UMD-equipped versions of the PSP. Considering firmware works slightly differently on each of the 1000, 2000 and 3000 models, we're sure to see differences evolve across the platforms over time.

Tags: 5.70, firmware, psp, psp-go

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Muhammad-Oli @ Aug 14th 2009 9:49AM

Should the title not be "What's missing with PSP Go's firmware 5.70?"?

Anyway, all I want to know is how Sony are going to go about transferring my UMD collection over to a format the PSP Go understands. Why can't they just let me know so I know whether it's worth saving my money for or not?

hfm @ Aug 14th 2009 4:34PM

"What's Missing" doesn't drive as much clicks.

PN04 @ Aug 15th 2009 11:39AM

The answer is it's NOT worth switching over, if you already have a 2000 or 3000 the only thing you gain here is a loss. Smaller screen, no extra battery life, loss of UMD, and a loss of a lot of money. Just use the PSP you have an invest in larger Memory sticks.

If sony DID institute some sort of trade in program you're going to see all sorts of hang ups that might eventually rob you of your games through the quirk of some unclear rights agreement.

libertine @ Aug 14th 2009 9:50AM

thrilling news story

Rumors48 @ Aug 14th 2009 10:15AM

I don't get all this download stuff man what if you psp go breaks and is unfixable Lets just say it got run over by a steam train how would you regain all your game titles you got? you have to pay again ?

Jack_Jackington @ Aug 14th 2009 10:23AM

you can re-download games up to 5 times i think. How would it get run over by a steam train? A freakin steam train?

Zoidberg! @ Aug 14th 2009 10:28AM

hey dude i don't think you should be driving a steam train while you play your psp...

wii60dsgamer @ Aug 14th 2009 10:42AM

It's the same as all other download services. Once you buy something on a system, it's yours. Wii's VC and XBLA allows you to redownload games and content. XBLA is the best though, since it's all tied to you gamertag. I'm sure everything will be tied to your PSN ID.

I'm personally not interested in the Go, however. I'm one who likes physical media way to much to want to download everything.

Rumors48 @ Aug 14th 2009 11:06AM

Ok so its all tied to you account o ok that makes sense, but still it don't see the psp go selling like mad, hopefully the psp goes down in price when the go comes out so i can snag my self a psp and fianlly play games while outside

PN04 @ Aug 15th 2009 11:44AM

They;re trying to tap the Ipod market, people who download 5 dollar apps, casual games and other junk like that, who dont like dealing with carts or disks (if you just take two games a long with you its far more rewarding). If you like games and collection them or even having the ability to trade them later for credit on new games then the Go is not for you and it's not worth buying but if you want something that competes with the ipod and has better games, THAT'S who they're trying to grab.

Paul @ Aug 14th 2009 10:18AM

I don't get all the pspgo hate from so many sites. The PSP3000 still exists, infact it's available now! If somebody wants more features at smaller price. STOP WHINGING and go buy one!

skryteks @ Aug 14th 2009 11:48AM

too right paul.

Roto13 @ Aug 14th 2009 12:12PM

I did go buy one shortly after the Go was announced.

And the Go is still stupidly overpriced.

luigivincent @ Aug 21st 2009 4:30PM

You can download limitlessly. You can activate up to 5 psps, so if something should happen to one and you don't get to deactivate it you should still have 4 activations left.

Sony should really consider raising the alloted amount though. It's fine for the PS3, but with the portability of a PSP the risk factor is much more prevalent. PSPs before the GO were already infamous for their fragile nature, and let's face it this thing doesn't look like it will hold up much. So much so that I sometimes think that Sony is purposely making these iterations fragile, but I digress.

I'm already down to just 3, and that's including the times I got the chance to deactivate. If I never did I would have lost all my purchases by now. I'm all for the download movement, so much so that I stopped buying UMD games (MHFU being an exception) but when you have such common mishaps e.g. theft, accident, lost, and even repair services that simply replace your psp it seems that increasing the limit even marginally would be of huge aid. It'd ease my state of mind anyway.