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Sony Portables (Games)

PSP Price Drop Official 91

Posted by Zonk from the now-more-reasonably-out-of-reach dept.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that Sony has officially dropped the PSP price here in the US. Other markets will have to wait and see about a reduction in cost, but stores are already selling the portable console for $169.99, down from $199.99. "When asked if Sony has any plans to cut the price in Europe the spokesperson replied, 'We have no announcements to make about the PSP in the European market at this time.' The PSP competes in the handheld market with the Nintendo DS Lite, which has a lower price point of USD 129.99 / GBP 99.99. Last month Nintendo announced that more than 3 million DS units have now been sold in the UK, securing Nintendo a 68 per cent share of the market. "
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PSP Price Drop Official More

PSP Price Drop Official

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  • Lower price, but... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by EggyToast ( 858951 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @12:06PM (#18590069) Homepage
    So have they added a touchscreen or games that aren't just ports?

    Metal Gear Ac!ds and LocoRoco are cool, but aren't system sellers. I am amazed how much of a life WipeOut has in the UK, though...

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by coop247 ( 974899 )
      I'm sick of people bitching about the PSP being just ports. There are quite a few very good games that are not ports, off the top of my head

      Ratchet & Clank
      2 GTA stories
      Pursuit Force - The best game you've never heard of
      Call Of Duty
      Metal Gear
      SOCOM
      KillZone Liberation

      I'm not saying there aren't awful games (some of which are ports), because I've played some really bad PSP games. But at the same time, there are quite a few "great" games and tons of "decent" games. Try actually playing a PSP before trolli
      • I don't even care that I'm playing ports. It's a portable gaming system. Sure, I can play Pirates! on my desktop, but when I plan on taking a nice long dump, I want it to be portable. When I'm on the subway, I don't really care that I'm playing a port of Phantasy Star II, I'm just happy I have a game to play. I don't really have that much free time to sit in my living room pounding videogames like I used to. The PSP is really good for filling the gaps in time when I wouldn't be able to do anything wor

        • Sure, I can play Pirates! on my desktop, but when I plan on taking a nice long dump, I want it to be portable.
          You want to carry your shit around? Eeewwwwww....

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        BTW, did Nintendo add the ability to listen to music or watch movies when I'm not in the mood to play games...

        Yep but AFAIK it's not sold in the US yet. You can get a flash cart (some are just holders for SD cards AFAIK, flash storage doesn't get much cheaper than SD) for homebrew which includes movies and music, though.

        By the way, the best game you've never heard of is The Chikyuu Boueigun 2 (Global Defense Force in the UK).

    • Puzzle Quest! (Score:4, Informative)

      by CaseM ( 746707 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @03:12PM (#18593391)
      Pardon my enthusiasm for this title, but Puzzle Quest [infinite-interactive.com] is everything it was hyped [penny-arcade.com] to be and then some. It's currently my favorite game on the PSP, and I don't see it getting dethroned any time soon.

      Give it a try for some seriously fun and addictive hand-held gaming goodness. There's even a PC demo [gamedaily.com] if you want to try before you buy.

      • Puzzle Quest is everything it was hyped to be and then some. It's currently my favorite game on the PSP, and I don't see it getting dethroned any time soon.

        But wasn't it released for the Nintendo DS [amazon.com], too? Is the PSP version *that* much better?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by CaseM ( 746707 )
          Yep, it was released for the DS, too. I was just addressing the OP's complaint about the PSP getting too many console ports. If you've got a PSP and love the idea of a puzzle/rpg hybrid, you owe it to yourself to check out PQ. I've heard the DS version has worse graphics (of course) but that the experience is just as good as the other platforms.

  • Wow. Just.. wow... (Score:5, Funny)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @12:12PM (#18590163)
    The Core pack includes a PSP, battery and adaptor, and retails for GBP 150 in the UK.

    150.00 GBP = 296.374 USD

    Jesus Christ, you must all be walking permanently bowlegged over there from such a pounding.
    • Those who have modded this flamebait haven't figured out how insightful it is. You guys in the UK are getting boned right up the ass on the price of all things Sony. I know part of it is the VAT (you poor bastards) but part of the pricing is truly inexplicable. You're literally paying half again on basically all of this stuff. If you get a cheap flight it's almost cheaper to come here and buy a PS3...

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )
        Half again? Not hardly: 1 U.S. dollars = 0.507047967 British pounds

        So the actual cost is closer to 4 times as much than twice, VAT excluded.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Quasicorps ( 897116 )
      I buy almost all of my electrical goods in America. Or Japan. I know enough people from around the world who come over here and are willing to bring me things.

      A couple of years ago I spent about $1200 on computer components, and my wily friend managed to avoid all customs charges.

      England has to wait months to get anything released here, and when they are, they tend to be about twice the price. Even when you take into account how the economies differ, and how we earn more, it's still an unreasonable ma

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        Computer parts aren't the biggest issue really. Here in Germany I see some parts going for the exact same price as they do in the US despite tax. Others have the tax as the price difference. Consoles however have a markup that vastly exceeds the difference tax makes, especially games are priced as if their price got fixed back when the Euro was 0.8$ and never adjusted.

  • $170 could be a Great Deal (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lmnfrs ( 829146 ) <lmnfrs@@@gmail...com> on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @12:13PM (#18590169) Journal
    If the versions currently being sold run a BIOS version that's been dumped and hacked. If not, it will probably only take a few weeks. I don't care how great the DS is (I have one, it's pretty great) because a big shiny 16:9 handheld that plays PlayStation games is _sweet_. You don't have to be interested in any of the other stuff it can do (which is a lot) if you ever liked the PSX.. Pull out your old PSX discs and spend $50 on a big MSPD and you'll be the most badass kid on the bus.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Guspaz ( 556486 )
      You can even fit all the FFVII discs on a 4GB stick.

      Still, let's not undersell the DS as far as emulation goes. Anything of the SNES generation or older is fair game there, although I doubt there'd be any cost savings due to the cost of a homebrew cart like the MML combined with the cost of flash. Still, the Lite is more portable, and if I just really want to pay, say, Rock & Roll Racing on the go, then the DS is a bit more practical to shove in a pocket (and it's easier to get homebrew on it than the P
      • Note that there's a lot of redundant information on the FF7 discs. I highly suspect you could fit FF7 on a 2gb stick.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Guspaz ( 556486 )
          They also used compression not unlike the concepts behind animated GIF for the FMVs. You could probably fit the entire game on a single CD if ever FF7PC were opensourced and could be adapted to use more processor intensive (and more recent) compression. That's not the point, though, the point is you can just shove the discs onto a stick and go at it.
    • You don't have to be interested in any of the other stuff it can do (which is a lot) if you ever liked the PSX.

      I almost never play games on my PSP. I tried to get into GTA: Liberty City, but I'm too lazy watching videos. It is a beautiful 4GB Portable video player that cost me $250.00 (including the card) that I take on the treadmill. With the price drop that is now $200.00.
      • I'd hate my first post on slashdot to be a rehash of all the reasons ever listed about why a psp is great, how a ds doesn't do it for me, etc., etc. So, I'll skip over that....and just send my eternal gratitude to Sony for letting a 30-something new dad have the chance to have those 30 minutes each day on the subway to play console-quality games just like "before". And to come home and gaze upon my 2 children's faces in wonder, hoping and anticipating that moment in their lives when they will kick my a**

  • Will this... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by lanceleader ( 1050398 )
    Really have a dramatic effect on the PSP sales? Sure, it will spike for a while but, will it have a long term effect? Personally I see not enough good software to make it worth my money. Even if it is $40 less.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by sottitron ( 923868 )
      $199.99 - $169.99 = $30 less and not $40.
    • A lot of people have stayed away from Sony apparently because their products are so expensive. Now you're getting a $170 game player, web browser, music and movie player all in one. Combine that with upcoming Home (Sony said it would port it to PSP in some form) and the fact that 2GB memory sticks are getting really cheap (about $75 or so) and you have a $240 price point that really competes with a video iPod pretty well. If Sony really does go ahead and launch the music/movie store that's rumored (integ

  • Only two apps I want for it (Score:3, Funny)

    by Krishnoid ( 984597 ) on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @12:18PM (#18590267) Journal
    Plucker [plkr.org] and adobe reader [adobe.com]. If I could take the floorplan of my house in acrobat format, carry it in to the local hardware store, and zoom in to get the measurements of various areas, good enough for me.

    • Re:Only two apps I want for it (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03, 2007 @12:30PM (#18590445)

      If I could take the floorplan of my house in acrobat format, carry it in to the local hardware store, and zoom in to get the measurements of various areas, good enough for me.
      Sorry man, I'm not baiting...but...if I'd sat and thought for a week I could not possibly have come up with a duller use for a PSP...
      • I'd suggest having the floor plan printed out on a piece of paper, rolling it up, and taking that with you. You can read it, measure it, draw/write/make notes on it. A tiny screen is not a particularly useful tool for reading architectural drawings.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by dannycim ( 442761 )
      Just dump the pages as large JPG, view in the photo viewer, which does a mighty fine job of zooming in&out, rotating, etc...

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by _egg ( 86248 )
      People commonly export eBooks and similar stuff to images, and stick them in the images folder.

      The image viewer has pan and zoom, so you can pretty much do as you described, minus the PDF format.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ClamIAm ( 926466 )
      Couldn't you just buy a PDA or something? The fact that you can't do some obscure task on a gaming handheld doesn't really seem like a valid complaint to me...
  • Metal Gear Portable Ops is a likely candidate for a system seller. It's one of the good games on the PSP that isn't a port.

    If they gave us a Suikoden 1 and 2 remake like they did in Japan, I'm sure it'll sell a few systems here and there (and hopefully reduce the ps1 price of Suikoden 2 on ebay).

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Final Fantasy Tactics is coming to the PSP. Thats going to be a system seller.

    • If they gave us a Suikoden 1 and 2 remake like they did in Japan, I'm sure it'll sell a few systems here and there (and hopefully reduce the ps1 price of Suikoden 2 on ebay).
      Yeah, like the bargain basement prices Valkyrie Profile fetches on ebay since it came out on PSP. As of this writing, I still find it a better use of your gaming dollar to buy a PSP and VP:Lenneth than to buy a copy for playstation. At least you get another system out of the deal.

  • Because of a mislabeling in advertisement. The console itself was 250€, but according to the advertisement it came with three free games that were still sold 50€ a pop. By now those games are cheaper... Of course, that advertisement was gone next time I passed by that store ;-)

  • I'm not buying one until I get can both the PSP and Locoroco for 100$CAD. It may take another 2 or 3 years, but so far that seems to be the only original game not available on another platform.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by mu22le ( 766735 )
      Fool!
      you can get your psp for 170$ and Locoroco for free from the nearest bittorrent tracker NOW :)
  • I have a PSP. I've used it one time when I got it in another state, and used it during the flight.

    And that was when I wasn't using my IPOD. I have movies which I've watched already, and a few games that suck.

    What am I supposed to do with this thing? I don't really care to learn the ins and outs of firmware, but playing old PS games would be awesome. I might actually use it then, so how do I go about figuring that out?

    It just sits there. I have money to buy games, but nothing looks remotely good.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by nutshell42 ( 557890 )
      I have a PSP. I've used it one time when I got it in another state, and used it during the flight.

      And that was when I wasn't using my IPOD. I have movies which I've watched already, and a few games that suck.

      Lucky you! I have ten of them lying around. Never even booted them up, they just look so shitty!

      I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person who buys stuff he doesn't want and then keeps it just so he can troll about it on /.

      • Heh, bravo. I'm sitting here thinking at first, "Why did he buy 10 if he thinks they look shitty?" :)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by notque ( 636838 )
        I didn't buy it, it was a gift. But yeah, just trying to troll here, or something.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by benzapp ( 464105 )
      I have a PSP, and got several great games.

      1) Wipeout Pure
      2) GTA: Liberty City Stories
      3) GTA: Vice City Stories
      4) Air Combat X: Skies of Deception
      5) Lumines II
      6) Metal Gear Solid: Porable Ops (amazing game)
      7) Sid Miers Pirates! (such nastalgia)
      8) Sega Classics
      9) Mega Man Powered Up

      These are all excellent games and are well worth the money.
      • Syphon Filter
        Daxter (both of which had price drops to $20 this week as well)
        Pursuit Force
        Chili Con Carnage
        Ratchet & Clank
        Killzone

        The whole "the PSP has no games" meme may have been true at one time, but it just doesn't hold anymore. At this point I think it has nearly as strong of a library as the DS (the DS has more good games, but those games tend to have less lasting power). It might have a lot of ports as well, but I personally don't mind that - being a commuter, I like having the option of buying

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by benzapp ( 464105 )
          Same here. I ride the NYC subway for 90 minutes a day, and work 60 hours a week. I don't have time to play a home console. PSP ports are fine by me!

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by notque ( 636838 )
          I'm a sports game fan, and all of the sports games look pretty bad for it. I think Puzzle Quest will be the first game I go out and get, it looks fun.

          The only one on your list I might get otherwise is Ratchet and Clank, and that's solely because of the good rating from IGN. I've never played it before, and am generally not into those games, but it will be better than anything else i have on there.

          I just started adding RSS feeds, and videos, so I'll probably get much more use out of it now. Just needed a rea

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by notque ( 636838 )
        I have Pirates on pc. I looked at those games, and none of them seemed fun to me.

        Although I think I'm going to buy Puzzle Quest tonight. That looks awesome.

    • What am I supposed to do with this thing?

      Admit that you made a mistake, figure out how much you can sell it for, and if it's still worth more to you than the unit's entertainment value (in your personal opinion), take the money.

      Yeah, it probably sucks if you're taking a major loss over the original price, but if the alternative is that it gets shut away in a drawer and never used, you're effectively wasting the *whole* price anyway; it's just taking up space and its value will inevitably fall further.

  • GP2X (Score:1, Insightful)

    by flydpnkrtn ( 114575 )
    Or get a GP2X [gp2x.com] and have a handheld that's designed to be hacked, uses SD cards (SDHC support is being worked on...) and runs Linux!

    And a PSX emulator is being worked on right now. (See PSX4GP2X [google.com]
  • No good for me as im in the UK and they wont ship there but Play Asia are selling PSPs for 159.99 dollars at the moment http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-2pz-71-9e-49-e n-84-j-70-1p3t.html [play-asia.com]
  • The price of the basic PSP package dropped to C$200 ($170 US) at least two weeks ago. I guess the price reductions will hit other markets in due time.

    C$200 should be the sweet spot. C$300 was far too expensive and C$150 is just not realistic until the end of the product cycle. With new versions of the Prince of Persia and God of War coming for the system I am thinking very seriously of picking one up this summer. The Gameboy Advance was priced at C$150 for quite while before it dropped to C$129 and then C$9
  • What a great opportunity to lose the little life I have and buy a PSP AND Puzzle Quest !!

    JOY !!!
  • You can spend the same amount of money and get a DS Lite, a slot 1 dev card (R4, M3, SC DS One, etc), and a gig micro SD card for the same price.

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