Patapon 2 to be download-only?

Source: Tech and gaming news site Ars Technica. What we heard: While Sony has yet to officially confirm its existence, the PSP2 has been the subject of much speculation in recent months. One rumor has the fourth iteration of the handheld sporting an iPhone-like touchscreen and two thumbsticks...

Source: Tech and gaming news site Ars Technica.

What we heard: While Sony has yet to officially confirm its existence, the PSP2 has been the subject of much speculation in recent months. One rumor has the fourth iteration of the handheld sporting an iPhone-like touchscreen and two thumbsticks. Another, propagated by Acclaim chief creative officer David Perry, says it will ship without "the stupid battery-sucking UMD disc drive." Both rumors have the new PSP as launching towards the end of 2009.

Assuming Perry's sources are sound, Sony may soon begin acclimating PSP gamers to the idea of digital-only media with the release of Sony Japan's Patapon 2. According to Ars Technica's source, when the rhythm action title ships in the US on May 5, it will not be available on the UMD format. Instead, gamers will be able to pick up the title for $15 through the PlayStation Network. Alternatively, retailers will carry a boxed copy for $19.99 which contains only a download code, and no UMD.

Bolstering the veracity of its claim, Ars notes that the same source successfully augured a number of other industry secrets, including the Xbox 360's price cut in September 2008. It's also worth noting that Sony has already taken steps toward an all-digital platform, with its Japanese arm announcing as part of the 2008 Tokyo Game Show that all new PSP games in Japan would be released as downloadable media in addition to on the UMD format.

In the short term, however, Sony's official stance on the matter has been pro-UMD. At the time of Perry's comments, a Sony representative flatly stated to GameSpot that "UMD isn't going anywhere." Of course, John Koller, Sony's director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, also told GameSpot recently that "there's a lot of [PSP] announcements coming up to E3 and particularly at E3," ones that will augment the string of high-profile games revealed earlier this year.

The official story: Sony had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Ars Technica's source has proven reliable in the past, and the incessant rumbling of a UMD-less PSP2 seems to portend a transition of this sort. Tentative not bogus.

[UPDATE] Sony has since confirmed to GameSpot that Patapon 2 will indeed be UMD-free. "This is a test case scenario for this type of model, and is a one-time thing," a rep told GameSpot. "We continue to work closely with our retail partners, and UMD is not going away."


141 Comments

  • dobermuffn

    Posted May 9, 2009 7:27 pm PT

    By the way, @joeroe85: NEVER mention that sort of stuff again. No gamer will likely care how you get your games, but if the administration catches you discussing or even mentioning stuff like that, they'll ban you before you can say "sorry." Seriously, whatever floats your boat is fine with me, just don't talk about it on public websites, or anywhere where someone could care. You could be arrested. No joke.

  • dobermuffn

    Posted May 9, 2009 7:22 pm PT

    Just got this game on thursday. I downloaded it without going to the physical store. They charged me $19.99, not $14.99. It also took over half an hour to download and install, with cox high speed internet and a good router.

    I hate sony. With a passion.

    Love the game though. Highly recommended for all PSP owners. Don't believe what people are saying about more of the same, or about it being repetitive. This is a full sequel with TONS of new content, and one of the best experiences available on a portable system. It just has a terrible distribution system. Please, have the UMD in the PSP2 sony. I might go insane if you don't.

  • Catastrophic_7

    Posted May 6, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    Wow this is really fricken gay The first Patapon was an awesome game and I'd love to get Patapon 2 but thats kind of impossible cuz I don't have internet through my PSP or whatever it takes to download this. If I can't just buy the UMD then I can't get the game, what a serious bummer, I want it so bad.

  • StumpyTrash

    Posted Apr 26, 2009 6:31 pm PT

    The day they (or any other company for that matter) go to all digital media is the day I quit gaming. I'd rather sacrifice the battery life and juggle the discs. I don't mind an occasional download for $5, or even $10, but if they go entirely digital, they sure as hell won't be passing any savings on to us. This $15 Patapon is just a gimmick to try to ease us into it.

  • chappy_man

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 2:09 pm PT

    this is one great idea, and might help head the way towards a psp that truly is as portable as they come. without the hand of modding.

  • Malco_Vincenzo

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 8:46 am PT

    @ Mango Llamas
    "I saw a box preview in gamestop."
    read the article. you probably saw the preveiw that the in-store codes are gonna be in. They sold it that way for GTA:Lost and Damned.

  • Drkr_Zen

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 2:06 am PT

    Just saves me some gas money, I suppose... wanted to get into the Patapon series, anyway, so I'll definitely be picking it up off the PSN.

  • Gnesh500

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 8:31 am PT

    I love the dowload games at PSN, but I hate the lack of variety for PSP

  • joeroe85

    Posted Apr 20, 2009 9:34 am PT

    ill just download it at pspisoz.com or torrentz.com.

  • MangoLlamas

    Posted Apr 19, 2009 8:09 pm PT

    I doubt they will end up doing that. For one thing, assuming that half of the world's psp owners actually use the psn network, and of that half only a fourth of them have interest in the game, they will be losing some serious money. Not only that, but I saw a box preview in gamestop.

  • DasNicoMan

    Posted Apr 19, 2009 6:13 pm PT

    My friend beat patapon (the first one) and promised me he would give it to me, but he got he his brand new PSP for only $85 from this guy, he got it taken away with the patapon UMD!!!! so my friend's mom sold it back to the guy for $50!!!!!!!!!!! and i can't find the first patapon so im just gonna play the second

  • nini96

    Posted Apr 19, 2009 5:13 pm PT

    Wait, I reserved patapon 2 at gamestop. So, does that mean I still get the code there or buy it over playstation network?

  • UFO2012

    Posted Apr 19, 2009 2:13 pm PT

    For people that want the UMD, just import an european version on Ebay or Amazon.uk.

  • mininudu

    Posted Apr 18, 2009 11:23 pm PT

    I don't like to download games at the PSN. I preffer to buy a UMD disc because I collect games. I need the box, manual and UMD!

    Well, I have unlocked PSP (thanks dark alex) and I create backups by myself. I don't need to download a game to put various on MS. I don't have illegal games but i make my own isos.

    I would like to have patapon 2 because that's the top 5 PSP games for me. I think thal i will need to import this game from Europe.....

    S*it.

    ....Sorry for the english.

  • dobermuffn

    Posted Apr 18, 2009 9:40 pm PT

    Will the PSN at LEAST get rid of that STUPID wallet system?!? ESPECIALLY IF THE PSP 2 WILL BE DOWNLOAD ONLY!!! Like sony needs to charge more money! JUST CHARGE US WHAT THE GAME COSTS!!! NOTHING MORE!!! By the way, @ volney81, Patapon 2 will be $15.00 because the game was originally only going to be $20.00. If the PSP 2 goes all download, games will be a full $40.00, you can bet on it. Also, @ PhoenixDart1337, careful how you say you have games before their release date, unless you imported an expensive copy, that's completely illegal. Even if you paid for it, it's still illegal. I might have to consider importing this game to get a UMD copy. I HATE YOU SONY!!!!!!! RAARGH!!!!

  • dobermuffn

    Posted Apr 18, 2009 9:39 pm PT

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE DOWNLOADING GAMES!!!!! IT TAKES FOREVER, THE GAME COULD BE CORRUPTED, AND NO ONE REFUNDS ON A NOT WORKING DOWNLOADED GAME!!!!! THIS SUCKS BIG BEAR B*LLS!!!!!!!!!! It also does NOTHING but help pirates reproduce the game faster. SONY YOU FRIGGIN' IDIOTS!!!!! *sob* Why did it have to be Patapon 2? WHY!?!?!?!?

  • FAYOZ

    Posted Apr 17, 2009 3:14 am PT

    NICE GAME

  • volney81

    Posted Apr 17, 2009 2:03 am PT

    The way that PSN tracks your downloads it's not anything to really worry about. And besides... you're going to be seriously opposed to $15 games!? =]

  • Decepticon_11

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 6:32 pm PT

    This is way better I love downloading the game instead cuz u can carry more to your psp like movies or other UMD games

  • PhoenixDart1337

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 4:13 pm PT

    Already have it.

    Awesome game!

  • giggidy8008

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 2:54 pm PT

    this CANT happen!!!!!

  • giggidy8008

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 2:54 pm PT

    NOOOOOO!!!!!

  • jon181

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 3:37 am PT

    Downloading games is better, more than 1 game could be put on a memory stick, load times should be shorter and battery life longer. thats 3 positives that I see

  • wayens

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 1:19 am PT

    Considering Patapon 1 is UMD I was kind of expecting a matching UMD for my collection for 2. But as a trend of the future, I'm not too surprised. Though the update does make me think Sony America needs to be more decisive on its stance...

  • BlitzEX

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 12:10 am PT

    download?it would be alot more convenient...

  • hi-buzz

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 8:19 pm PT

    Downloading games will be the FUTURE of game purchases !!!! Very soon !!!

  • BeckMall

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 5:42 pm PT

    i like patapon to be with umd T_T i need a umd for my game collection

  • tweak_at_chu

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 4:33 pm PT

    a lot of people might think this is a stupid idea but its not when u actually try it. Memory sticks are almost dirt cheap now, i got an 8gb for less tahn 30 bucks on amazon. and with that, i used to HATE dloading over psn games. but when gamestop didnt have jean d'arc or WTF, i decided to give it a go. and what do u know, 80% of my psp games are on my memory stick without ever worrying about switching umds, and it efficiently saves battery life by at least an hour. i think eventually psp will evolve into digital distribution only, as its very conveniant. there are a lot of PROs to this also. i have two psps and 1 ps3 in my household. one psp for me and one psp for my brother, ps3 for the fam bam. well, we are all registered under the same user name, so taht equals us all downloading it for all systems for the cost of one. This is opposed to buying two umds for our psps to play a multiplayer game. Perfect example of this is Hot Shots Golf. paid only 10 bucks to have hot shots on both our psps and we enjoyed the multiplayer without buying a 2nd umd to play multiplayer together. Also, we are diehard castlevania SOTN fans. well, we got it on all 3 systems for the price of one, since we are quite territorial as brothers who owns what. Really though, u need to try it if u dont think this is a good idea. its very conveniant. the only thing i guess i COULD complain about is the download time, but that may just be a variable on my part.

  • LonePWNR

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 3:16 pm PT

    Downloading games on consoles awesome. But I don't like downloading games on the handheld.

  • pikastar

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 2:00 pm PT

    damn it couldnt they have done this to a game I didnt care about. Like Resistance: Retribution? I like physical copies of the games. I dont see why they couldnt have offered both versions and people just get whichever they wanted. I wont be getting this unless I import the UMD version or Sony realizes they are idiots for not offering both.

  • fester420

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 1:09 pm PT

    No matter what you do you should be able to afford internet and memory. By making games download only you are cutting out the middle-man and getting it straight from the source. This will make it cheaper to buy games in the long run. Who cares if a few businesses go under, we are entering a new age and things are going to change regardless. Faster loading times are a definite plus as well. You can either accept that a change is coming or stay set in your ways, I'm always open for change.

  • THORINATOR

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 12:57 pm PT

    @ Rottenwood
    Well said, you've hit the nail on the head with your comment! this is probably gonna be the future for most gaming platforms. Although, it's gonna be a long time before Sony, MS & Nintendo completely depend on their customers to purchase games via a download service!

  • AurusRegulus

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 12:53 pm PT

    this is awesome! especially since I can't access the PSN while I'm at college, unless I go into town and buy some food I don't want. Great move Sony! (note the sarcasm).

  • Rottenwood

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 10:28 am PT

    @gamehippieabc

    What is Sony thinking, you ask? They're thinking: man, we lose a lot of sales because of the used game market, of which we don't see a penny. Ditto for game-lending, or copied bootlegs. When they make a game, they want THEIR people to get the cash. Add in the benefit of not having to pay for packing and distro, and it's a no-brainer. As long as the games are cheaper (which they should be, because there's no box or middleman) to help defray the cost of a few extra memory sticks, it's win-win.

  • gamehippieabc

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 5:35 am PT

    download only? what is sony thinking? @k3nne3e get a memory stick on amazon

  • Tebbit

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 4:00 am PT

    In New Zealand you can buy Patapon 2 on a UMD as well as through PSN, why would they change it JUST for the American release? Patapon 3 maybe...

  • hameh93

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 8:08 pm PT

    Hell with downloading im buying the game like i usually do.

  • Megaric

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 4:33 pm PT

    This Sucks. I Freakin Spent $5 Preordering This Game Expecting a UMD.
    I Sure as Hell Hope I Get One.

  • Zidaneski

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 4:01 pm PT

    Hahah, I can already imagine people going to Gamestop to try and buy a used Patapon 2 game.

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 3:56 pm PT

    The report doesn't mention this but it's already out in several places in the UMD format.

    If anyone wants physical medium then they could import the (already released) EU or Australian version since the PSP is region free. Imports going from there to the US would be a novelty!

  • Nerissa

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 3:51 pm PT

    Another big-brother attempt to monitor how we choose to purchase and play games.

  • k3nne3e

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 3:06 pm PT

    that would really suck i would need to buy a new memory stick

  • tgr000

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 2:31 pm PT

    Just what I was thinking, puablo; bad choice on Sony's part to risk Patapon 2 sales by making it a download-only purchase.

    Some say that it's not a high-profile game for the PSP as a whole, but only to the rhythm-based genre fan, and that it's a good move on Sony's part to "test the waters" because fans of rhythm-based games would be more open to trying the new format (of digital distribution) than fans of action-based games. How they came to that conclusion, I would love to know.

    I've waited so long for Patapon 2 to hit the US (technically Canada) and I have no problems waiting a few more weeks, but now that I'm not going to be able to buy a hardcopy of the game and flip through the manual (I'm from the old school, apparently), what's stopping me from downloading it by less-than-reputable means especially as it's already released everywhere else??

    There were some good points for and against selling games as Downloadble Licensed Content, but I think that we as consumers haven't been able to reap the benefits of dl-only purchasing, i.e. much-reduced costs due to no packaging.
    It's true that Sony is totally eliminating the 2nd-hand market for games, and their reasoning is that they will be able to put money directly into the hands of the developers instead of retailers profiting too much on games. However, they may be shooting themselves in the foot; why would retailers sell game hardware when they no longer have software to sell (which makes up the bulk of their profit)?

    Meh.. in my opinion, it's too early to cast-off physical media for solely DLC.
    Hopefully, Sony USA is wise enough to follow their Japanese counterpart's choice to make everything available both ways. Remember that, as consumers, we have the power to hit companies where it hurts if we don't like the changes they make to how they want to market their goods, i.e. don't buy it.

    However, this isn't an excuse for piracy, cause then it's the developers that really suffer.

  • twodollarcuts

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    @fiskefyren: Downloadable contempt? That is awesome. @Templar: You're not paying $20 for a boxed copy. You're paying $20 for a code to download a copy which if you just download it only costs you $15. THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!! Am I missing something here?

  • puablo

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 1:31 pm PT

    Stupid idea. I like the idea of having all PSP games available for download, it is preferable as the UMD is, as they say, battery sucking. But to only release a high profile game (for the PSP at least) for download-only would be a stupid move on Sony's part. They should work towards dual-releases only.

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 1:23 pm PT

    I'd rather pay for a physical game.

  • jcasanova

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 1:15 pm PT

    I think I read in the Playstation Blog an official answer to a post asking if Patapon 2 was going to be released on PSN and the answer to that post was that there were no plans for a psn release yet. Maybe I read it wrong.

    I love my psp and my ps3 but stopped wishing for big announcements since everytime a great feature seems to be going to be added, sony came with minor features. I think the e3 psp news they are building mystery around is just the news that all new psp games will be available on psn. And if they announce a new psp it would be a psp with an improved screen and less weight but nothing great as a second stick, umdlessness or more processor power.

  • Templar_Bladema

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 1:14 pm PT

    why pay 19 for a boxed version when u can dl it for 15, lame marketing.

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