Ben-DutkaWith the Next Generation Portable (NGP) on the way, perhaps it was inevitable.
Today, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced that the retail cost of the PSP will drop to $129.99. As of February 27, the popular gaming portable will be available at retailers in North America at its accessible and agreeable new price. Since launching back in 2005, more than 23 million PSP units have been sold in North America (67.8 million worldwide), and there are nearly 600 software titles to go along with it. In addition to the price drop, no less than 13 games will be added to the PSP Greatest Hits lineup and the $9.99 "Favorites" software collections. Said SCEA Senior Vice President of Sales, Tim Bender:
"The PSP system set the standard for complete portable entertainment and continues to be the premiere destination for gamers on-the-go. Nearly six years after its initial launch, demand for the PSP remains strong. This new price point enables us to broaden the PSP platform to a larger group of consumers who are looking for best-in-class handheld entertainment."
There are 70 total Greatest Hits titles for the PSP and a few of the latest additions include Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines , Dissidia: Final Fantasy , Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker , Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters , and Resistance: Retribution . If you can't find a title on there worth playing, you're officially nuts. No, seriously, get yourself checked.
As for the new PSP Favorites: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII , Daxter , Monster Hunter Freedom Unite , Killzone: Liberation , SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo , and Tomb Raider Anniversary . All this entertainment now for only $129.99…sort of reminds us of when the PS2 fell to that price.
Price drop doesn't really help as I already own mine, but the greatest hits sounds good to me. I have not purchased many of them and now might be the time.
Woah woah woah…Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops not on the greatest hits list? C'mon now…that was one hell of a game! The controls sucked to an extent, but it was still the best thing available before Peace Walker.
$129.99
Man, that's a good deal. Considering that the PSP already outclasses the 3DS with the exception of 3D support, and has an awesome library of games, this is a great move, and a great deal.
I still have to ask all those who decry the PSP as a failure. 67.8 million units globally and 23 million in the US alone in just 6 years is not a failure. The PSP entered a hanf held gaming market that had been utterly dominated by Nintendo for years and years. Nintedo had the Game Boy series and the DS which was backwards compatible with previous cartridges – thus roping in a huge potential upgrade market. When you consider that, selling nearly 68 million units globally in 6 years is actually very good, 23 million in the US alone, again awesome, in the context the PSP entered the market with. Sounds more like a huge success, and a success to build on with the NGP when it arrives.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 2/25/2011 11:35:10 AM
Yeah i dont understand these failure claims either, Sega said they've made a nice profit off their psp games and i'm sure they aren't alone. I dunno how much Sony has made, but I'm certain it isn't fail numbers. I think the sony haters who don't have a portable option just say these things.
I agree with you 100%, but (to play devil's advocate) software sales have been weaker than for the DS.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 2/25/2011 6:26:50 PM
Highlander…
Yes, 67 million odd is not bad really, however, I would go as far as to say that at least a 1/3rd or more of those units were modded to some extent. Again trawling the inter-webs and just seeing the huge amounts of PSP hack sites that are available is proof of how many young-lings and teenagers modded their PSP, almost as if it were a hobby to do so…
So whilst a fair few were sold – no one can dispute that – I think Sony never made the money it should have from the PSP. PSP Go was a dismal failure in terms of sales numbers.
I think the 3DS is going to do just fine, and the NGP will be in a class of its own when in comes out spec wise. In the end though the numbers tell all, so we will see where we are by the holidays with regards to total units sold. It will be interesting.
I want to see how flush with cash people are to be spending on so much entertainment and equipment. When tracking it day to day it is quite relentless, and I am sure it will not be easy on the wallets. Nonetheless, those all important numbers will tell us just how much appetite there is to spend spend spend…
The lower priced PSP is definitely something worth looking at for a lot of people who want to have a machine with a lot of quality software available. Barrier to entry has been lowered, realistically though many getting in – or have waited on the side lines for a price drop – will probably see if they can mod their units as well. I see it in Asia. If I go anywhere in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines etc and request a PSP they always asked if I would like a modded one. So they are actually selling modded already, and they just dump 15 or so games on the memory stick you purchase… this shows the scale of the problem. It is incredible.
One very interesting fact that I found out as well was that these "shops" have a back stock of PSP's like 2000's and 1000's. These have been kept back as they were the easiest to mod. Even though today the 3000 and Go have also been "hacked" to some extent. What is extra-ordinary is the 2000 and 1000 models cost more than the 3000 and Go models. So I could still request a modded 2000 model and get it, but at a higher price…
I don't know if the NGP will solve these security issues ("hackers" are already threatening to hack it as soon as it is released IMHO), nonetheless, Sony will have to "eek" out a profit however they can from the current PSP classics now and in the future. We'll see how NGP fairs upon its release.
One can't help but feel that a lot of people who can get a relatively cheap PSP classic now will probably look at modding it because of how much software is available – it is a free for all really… and a great shame.
Do you know if the PSP Go has had a price drop?
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 2/25/2011 9:57:54 PM
there's not even a metal gear peacewalker review on this site. i'm very interested in parasite eve 3rd birthday,,,i hope that's reviewed.
The PSP is a very under-appreciated system. If for some reason you don't have one yet now is your chance.
It might be a good chance for those with a library of UMB games and an older PSP to pick up a fresh system to use for their older games since NGP won't support UMDs.
Alternately, if you're new to PSP and get one of these, invest in a 16 or 32 GB memory stick for it, and try to buy all your games from PSN – the reason being, the NGP will play those, but nothing you buy on UMD will work on it…
good info Highlander.
Highlander… regarding the UMD debacle… I find this quite of odd of Sony. Why can't they simply create an encrypted ISO of the UMD disk which can be downloaded from the PSN Cloud straight onto NGP's game media storage.
Surely they should have done something to help owners here to be able to transfer their games across to the NGP. Sony could have created a special "signed" ISO of Peace Walker (for example), which would be downloadable from your PSN account – if you had purchased the UMD and had the product code/number for it. Once matched the item would be available to download straight to NGP.
You wouldn't be able manipulate the file in anyway as it comes straight down from the PSN Cloud and onto the NGP in encrypted format. You wouldn't even be able to view the directory structure or get to that file in any way, shape or form.
I think PSP users will really be frustrated they cannot play their UMD collection on the NGP. In an increasingly mobile world, especially younger corporate workers starting out in careers now, are more likely to travel, and people need convenience, they want one decent device that can do everything for them. To walk into your room and have device after device plugged in all charging up and having to use different devices to play different games is crazy today…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 2/25/2011 10:05:44 PM
LOL! Qubex, that might work, but I doubt that Sony, or any one else would entrust heavy encryption/decryption to a PSP. Especially now…
If my existing PSP-2000 ever dies it's good to know I can pick up a newer upgraded model for cheap.
PSX jRPG's are basically the life of the system for me.
I'm working on Suikoden and I have Xenogears waiting in the pipeline.
I got Xenogears already, but haven't had a chance to start it up yet…
But My PSP is home to numerous JRPGs. I actually need to get a bigger memory stick because 16GB is already running low. All these downloadable games take up room…
That's why it's nice to keep a stash on your PS3 Highlander.
I never got to play xenogears so ill get that at some point, as time allows.
Yep, same here, World. My PS3 is the mothership of my PSX-PSN games, too. I swap on and off my PSP as needed. Also, I back up my PSP save files to the PS3 as well.
The PS3 is indeed the Mothership, but even so, games like FFVIII take up a *lot* of space.
Neat. I'm playing Monster Hunter Freedom right now and, honestly, I don't get the fuss.
It's because you aren't Japanese. 😉
LOL!
So, we're saying that gaijin don't get the game?
Considering how many relatively hardcore JRPGs I've played – and enjoyed, I may have to check on my gaijin status and get monster hunter…
😉
Yeah that must be it, I'm into most Japanese entertainment but the phenomenon is beyond me based on this game. A shame too, a real RPG could be made with it as a base.
What's Gaijin Highlander? Outsiders?
non-japanese, outsiders, aliens, etc.. In other words us…
😉
Im so glad to hear this, my 3000 broke a couple months back, and I've been wanting to pick another one up but I just couldn't afford it, maybe now I can revisit the wonderful world of PSP 🙂 Hopefully this one lasts longer than the last 3 :/
On a side note, I'll be sad to see the XMB interface go away in the NGP, I personally think it's the best UI out there.
Last edited by JMO_INDY on 2/25/2011 1:03:56 PM
What's breaking on them? I had a PSP-1000 with a broken thumb-stick and got it repaired, works just fine now, and has for over a year. There are some really good repair places around, but with this at $129.99, there are a lot of repairs that are more expensive than the new model….
How do you break your PSP? I've had mine since November of 2005, and never a fault. An amazing piece of hardware.
My PSP seems to have a sticky button and I don't know what to do with it. After a while if I go into the browser, it starts to repeat letters and numbers when I open up the input pad.
It seems to get stuck and I don't understand why. Also, sometimes, when I am playing a game, I can't get out of the game. I have to switch the PSP off – force a shut down – and then restart it to get it back to XMB.
Very weired… I will need to have it looked at…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 2/25/2011 10:09:39 PM
Well I mean yes the first one was solid, but I did have an incident in my school gym where I had it in that open ended cushy case from SONY, someone called my name and I turned away to look at them and it went literally flying out of the case and hit a brick wall, Im not even kidding, it was dead from then on.
On my 2nd 2000 (I bought it from a friend after the 3000 debacle. I was charging it and it just randomly fried, i have such bad luck with them, but I love my PSP's to death, and I'll keep supporting the PSP, even the NGP will be mine <3 So I've been SOL on 4 PSPs to be exact. The magnet one really got me PO'd, I had it in my pocket and I was taking it off of a table in shop class and it was tough to pull of so I yanked and it got stuck on my PSP in my pocket and cracked it :/ You cant make that stuff up…BTW, IM happy to be back on here, it just feels right 🙂
Last edited by JMO_INDY on 2/25/2011 10:54:08 PM
Qubex,
You can take the PSP apart, without too much danger to it, the keys are all available as replacement sets, there are numerous sites you can buy replacements from, I think the primary thing is you need a specific tool to open the PSP, but again, most of the same sites will sell you one of those too.
Well on my first 1000 usual wear and tear eventually led the screen to die, on the 2000 I had an incident with a magnetand the screen got cracked, and on the 3000 the Wi-Fi gave out so thats that :/ but I'll take care of this one haha
Still you only save $40 form the original.
I think sony should have put this thing down to $100 just for kicks.
wouldnt you rather sony pay you for getting one? i mean come on look at what the thing can do, now the nintendo dsixl should cost 100 bucks, besides if sony were to drop down the price too low we might not get 100 bucks trade in credit for an ngp
I would love for sony to pay me, but in reality it isn't like that. Unfortunatly, the psp is not easy as many think it is. I mean i use all of it's features even internet radio. I mean it's a great app the internet radio is a very good one and the only one I use. But consumers aren't bright sometimes and miss out just because it's not in front of you. On an ipod touch there always in front of you. That's one thing sony needs to promote more is thier software line up. Also, this thing is extemely out of date so $100 wouldn't be bad.
I love the Shoutcast Radio App, I used it all the time when I went to sleep, but since mine broke I'm using Pandora on my laptop for that now.
We now can expect the NGP to be some where around $250 because of the psp price drop from $200 to $130. It would only be logical to conclude this.
just trying to clear stock for when the NGP arrives.
this is not exactly giving me confidence on its price though.
the cheaper this is, the cheaper the NGP has to be.
PSP at a bargain price and games for cheap. All I can say is "It's about 'effen' time". Seriously.