Like many of you, we assumed the UMD-less PSPgo meant that popular new PSP titles would be released for download on the same day the retail version went on sale for older PSP systems. According to Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications and Social Media for SCEA, that is indeed the goal, but in this instance it wasn’t the case.

“The goal is to have the titles available on the same day, and that is usually the case. We’re aware LBP isn’t on the PlayStation Store just yet, and are working on solving that as we speak. We appreciate your patience.”

We recommend that PSPgo owners dejectedly slide their handheld open and closed until the situation is resolved.

Word in Kotaku Tower is that Assassin’s Creed 2 is a strong contender for game of the year. But what about the PlayStation Portable version?

I’ve been waiting for something to topple God of War: Chains of Olympus from the top of my list of favourite games to play on Sony’s portable. Could Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines be that game?

I still haven’t had a chance to spend any time with it, so I’ll reserve all judgement.

Don’t forget, you need to be 18 to watch this video… or your head will explode.

The above chart was apparently sent out to consumers by a market-research company in the UK. While it’s hardly an official statement from Sony, it does at least give us an idea of the shades they’re contemplating for the inevitable releases down the line of PSPgo consoles in more exciting colours than “white” or “black”.

I’m quite partial to the “Bright Yellow” one, myself.

Check out these proposed PSPgo colors [Destructoid]

While the PSPgo may not need a case, the slip on faux leather Traveler Case could still be worth the small investment.

Loved
Design: Constructed of stiff, faux leather, the Traveler case fits the PSPgo like a glove. A velcro latch hold the case tightly closed when not in use. The small footprint doesn’t get in the way of gameplay or movie watching and the relatively hard exterior certainly provides extra protection from accidental drops.
Look: The smooth, lightly textured case adds a bit of class to the already sexy looking PSPgo. Better still, it does so without adding pocket-bursting bulk to the svelte portable.

Hated
Not Always Convenient: For the most part, the PSPgo Traveler Case is the sort of thing you would never take your PSPgo out of. Unless you happen to pick up Sony’s power-charging, sync-supporting Cradle. Unfortunately, as tightly as the case wraps around the PSPgo, it still adds enough bulk to make it not fit in the cradle. I was also disappointed to find that claims that the case can double as a stand to watch movies were greatly exaggerated. Unless you flip open the case on carpet, the smooth finish can’t get enough grip to hold your PSPgo up at a good viewing angle.

I like my electronic cases to be a form-fitting as possible, which is why I’m so enamored with the Traveler Case. Unfortunately, my other big case pet peeve is that it has to work with whatever system I use to charge the device. I hate having to take an electronic out of its case to charge it. In the case of the PSPgo, it’s going to have to be the Cradle or the Traveler Case, but not both.

The Traveler Case was designed by Sony for the PSPgo. Retails for $US19.99 USD. A Traveler Case was given to us by Sony for reviewing purposes. Tried it out a week.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Yes, Nathan Drake will be swapping mountain passes and machine guns for glass tables and tilts, Sony filing with the ESRB for Pinball Heroes: Uncharted, a title described as:

This is a pinball game designed around the artwork and themes of the video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Players use flippers to hit the ball around a crashed aeroplane, into silhouetted character targets, and off bumpers shaped like gold coins to score points.

There are three other Pinball Heroes games listed, one each for PAIN, Hot Shots Golf and High Velocity Bowling. Because each game gets their own listing, they’re for the PSP and there doesn’t sound much to them, these are probably Minis games for the PSPgo.

Unless Sony are thinking of charging $US20-30 for a pinball game based on High Velocity Bowling? No, yeah, these have got to be Minis.

Uncharted, PAIN And More Get Pinball-ized on PSP [GamerBytes]

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger confused and delighted fighting fans when it was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, being a fighting game that you couldn’t simply pick up, perform Street Fighter-like moves and win. Now Arc System Works is bringing that delightful confusion to the PlayStation Portable with BlazBlue Portable. It features all 12 fighters from the console version of the game with Ad Hoc fighting for up to four players along with a new addition in the form of Legion Mode, a territory control game in which you move your character over a map taking over new areas via rounds of fighting.

BlazBlue Portable is making its way to Japan on February 25. No word on releases elsewhere, but as long as there’s a UMD and you haven’t upgraded to the PSPgo there’s always import shops.

BlazBlue Gets PSP Port [1UP]

Because of its unique plug, to do this you’ll have to buy a special set of component AV cables for your portable. Sony sent a set to me yesterday to check out, so I plugged it into our 42-inch high definition LCD in the living room to give it a spin.

The first thing I noticed is that the image typically takes up a relatively small portion of my screen, but thanks to the settings on my television I was able to zoom and stretch the picture to pretty much fill the TV without much resolution-loss.

Keep in mind, the resolution isn’t going to be so great on fast-moving games like Gran Turismo and MotorStorm, but for games like PixelJunk Monsters and Patapon it looks great.

The best part is that you can sync a PlayStation 3 controller to the PSPgo so after attaching your portable to the TV you can sit back on a couch and play games on it as if it were a console. All of the games we tested had zero lag for controls. The only real issue is that the games are created to be used with the PSPgo’s control layout, so some of the buttons don’t work on the PS3 controller.

It would be great if developers threw in a way to tweak controls for PS3 controller-use or added some sort of auto-detection for when you use a PS3 controller.

Check out the video to see what a collection of different games look like on the system. And, despite what I say on the video, they really are component AV cables.

That single day of sales doesn’t tell us too much about the PSPgo’s reception in Japan, considering Enterbrain only tracked one day, November 1, as part of its weekly sales monitoring window. As for how that compares to weekly figures, the most recent data we have is from sales tracker Media Create, which put non-go PSP sales at 32,865 for the week of October 19 to 25.

We’ll have to see how the rest of the week shakes down, but won’t have that info for a while, since Media Create’s window tracks the same period

Enterbrain did note that the PSP had sold 12,797,180 units in Japan since the console’s launch in December of 2004.

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival is the latest installment of the painfully adorable LocoRoco series, featuring 16 new stages, competitive and co-op multiplayer modes, mini-games and three bonus stages. The game also introduces the Boing! manoeuvre, which is a super-enhanced bounce that allows you to bounce off walls, opening up a new level of exploration for fans of those cute little bastards.

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival will be available for purchase on the PSN later today, with a demo also available for those of you less trusting of our spherical bouncing friends. Since the game only uses the shoulder buttons, it should make for the perfect showcase for your shiny new PSPgo.

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival Launches Today! [PlayStation Blog]

Famitsu’s report that a Valkyria Chronicles 2 demo will drop November 2, the day after the PSP Go hits Japanese shelves. Also — and way less important to me — Phantasy Star Portable 2 will have a demo up on launch day itself. Not bad, Sega, not bad at all.

If you really want to turn yourself green with envy, check out this list of stuff coming out on Japan’s PlayStation Store around the time of the PSP Go launch that fan site PSN Stores compiled:

* 10/29 Crystal Defenders PSP

* 11/1 Disgaea Infinite
* Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Universal Tuning
* Echochrono
* Elemental Monsters TD Portable
* LocoRoco Midnight Carnival
* Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Demo
* MotorStorm Arctic Edge
* Persona 3 Portable
* PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

* 11/2 Phantasy Star Portable 2 Demo
* Valkyria Chronicles Demo

Yep. Really wishing I’d stuck to my 8th grade master plan of moving to Japan right about now…

新作タイトルやキャンペーンも、PlayStation Store最新情報を公開 [Famitsu via Andriasang]