North Americans won't be the only ones enjoying more affordable PlayStation Portables. Sony has announced that a price drop is on the way for Europe, too.

According to Gamasutra, the price drop will be on par with the $30 drop Sony recently announced for North America. That means the price of the core bundle will fall from €199.99/£149.99 ($271) to €169.99/£129.99 ($230).

It also sounds like gamers will be able to pick up some great titles for less, too. The Platinum titles will drop from £19.99 to £14.99 ($40 to $30). Upcoming titles in this range include Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Killzon: Liberation and Ridge Racer 2.

“PSP is unique and is constantly evolving. It offers the widest palette of mobile entertainment, from gaming to video, music, photos and internet,” SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire has been quoted as saying. “But now the exciting possibility of connecting remotely to PS3 makes PSP more relevant than ever. So what better time to offer a brand new price point, and the launch of five new Platinum titles?”

It sounds like Sony has a winning idea here. But, will it be enough to knock Nintendo out of the lead spot?

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Labels: playstation portable, psp, ridge racers, sony

To celebrate the second birthday of the PlayStation Portable, Sony has announced a sizeable price cut for the handheld console.

The new sticker shouldn’t cause too much shock at a cool $169.99.

Sony’s Jack Tretton has been quoted as saying, “We have seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price to accelerate that trend.”

With the new pricing, it’s possible this will accelerate the trend, but it will be hard to beat the Ninteno DS, which remains the most popular of gaming machines.

However, with the recent firmware update that gives users an online ability for six months at T-Mobile hotspots and lots of new download possibilities, the PSP is looking more attractive, even if UMDs are questionable.

Still, appealing to the teen market is perhaps the best way to knock Nintendo out of its No. 1 perch. With tons of young kids in love with the DS, Sony could easily market its PSP as the “hipper” handheld and get some serious notice.

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Labels: handheld games, nintendo ds, ninteno, psp, psp lite, sony

Sony’s added some neat perks for PlayStation Portable owners with its announcement of the 3.30 firmware upgrade.

The latest upgrade allows PSP users to play compatible games online, do a bit of web surfing, download podcasts and more. The podcasts will be available at more than 7,000 T-Mobile HotSpot locations, which include some Starbucks, Borders, Hyatt hotels and about 70 U.S. airports.

The promotional offer also includes six months of Wi-Fi access at the T-Mobile spots. When the six-month trial is over, PSP owners will have to pay for the service. To get the deal, PSP owners have to login to the network by March 28, 2008.

“ This new offer enables SCEA to take portable gaming and entertainment to a new level of mobility and convenience for PSP owners,” said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a media release. “With T-Mobile’s service, we’re making it possible for the PSP community to connect in new ways and access the online content they want in more places than ever before. More and more PSP users are going online to challenge each other in multi-player games, and we can now make it more convenient to access online gaming as well as the Internet, showcasing the rich feature set that PSP has to offer.”

The first game on the online list is Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. More titles are expected soon.

The upgrade sounds like a good one that puts the PSP to greater use.

For a full list of 3.30 details, click here.

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Labels: playstation portable, psp, sony, starbucks, t-mobile

Sony is the latest game console maker that thinks portable systems need to go on a diet. Rumors that the PlayStation Portable would soon have a lighter look have been confirmed.

The confirmation comes from Sony’s UK managing director Ray Maguire, as confirmed by Games Industry.biz. According to Maguire, the system will get an updated design that is smaller, but that will also retain the screen size of the PSP.

While there’s no date on when the shrunken console will arrive, it is my hope the PSP’s lighter version will take advantage of the same accessories the original PSP uses.

Making handheld consoles smaller and more portable isn’t uncommon. Nintendo’s done it successfully with its DS Lite. The only problem is not all accessories translate and the older versions are sometimes hard to come by.

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Labels: playstation portable, psp, psp lite, sony