Development community gives its verdict on the PSP Go

The development community has spoken.

Today Develop has published in full its panel discussion on Sony’s new handheld, the PSP Go, with eight leading developers offering their views and insight on the device.

Examining key aspects of the new handheld – from hardware design to its digital distribution plans – the panel’s response is largely positive.

Veteran game consultant David Perry claimed that digital distribution is “absolutely the way to go” and “opens up concepts like free-to-play and micro-transactions based on a single Sony currency.”

Meanwhile, Blitz Games’ CTO Andrew Oliver proclaimed that “the iPod has demonstrated that, given a nice small device and a good interface and easy buying process, people are happy to download content.”

The panel was unanimous in applauding the PSP’s redesign; Doublesix Studio Head James Brooksby said that “the [PSP Go’s] sliding movement that hides the controls is a great move and makes the whole package an object of desire”.

The panel was also largely encouraged that the new device can stimulate industry growth.

“The PSP Go can enable the industry to sell games cheaper – while not dropping quality,” said Andrew Oliver. “Publishers and developers can still make the same money per unit which is good for the industry and consumer. It’s said there will be a lot more casual games on the system because of the reduced cost, which makes sense for a portable console and hopefully we’ll see some great innovative titles. I certainly hope the strategy works.”

The full panel discussion can be found here.