Sony puts the PSPgo out of its misery

The sleekest yet also most misguided handheld system on the market is no more.

Sony has officially axed production of the PSPgo, the sexy miniature version of its PSP console that did away with a physical media slot and relied exclusively on digital distribution.

It was an ambitious idea that tested the waters on whether or not consumers were ready for a device that absolutely required a wireless Internet connection.

For many, though, the PSPgo was doomed from day one. First, it was tough to wrap your head around a PSP that didn’t have a UMD slot, leaving existing PSP owners with a large game library absolutely no incentive to buy the new model.

Second, it was priced at $250, and even as the price of the more standard PSP-3000 model dropped, the PSPgo remained at its unbelievably high MSRP. It was that mind-bending price point that was probably the biggest factor leading to the gadget’s demise.

The PSP-3000 will remain in production, and continues to be a strong seller for Sony.

The company is hoping for a more successful reception when it launches the NGP, the long-awaited successor to the PSP, later this year.