PSP Unveiled: Japan Launch Details

A close-to-astonishing £100 equivalent price point for Japan, along with a December 12 release date.

Seventeen months after announcing the PSP, Sony has finally laid out plans for the launch of its new handheld console. The PSP will go on sale in Japan on 12 December for ¥19,800 (£101), excluding tax. This price comes in well below industry estimates, which in some quarters were as high as ¥39,800 (£203).

The basic package, which includes a PSP, a battery pack and a universal AC adapter, will be accompanied by a second package containing a variety of accessories. For ¥24,800 (£126), you'll get a PSP, a battery pack, a universal AC adapter, a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, earphones with remote and a soft carrying case.

The PSP sports a widescreen, high-contrast 4.3" LCD display that consumes a large amount of power. Some of the more serious concerns regarding the PSP have dealt with its battery pack. Sony has allayed these battery life fears.

The company has confirmed that the battery shipping with the PSP will allow for 4-6 hours of continuous game play, or 4-5 hours of movie watching. In addition, the battery has been designed along the lines of recent mobile phone batteries in Japan, which recharge much more quickly than conventional batteries.

The inclusion of a universal AC adapter also means that recharging the PSP is a simple affair no matter where in the world you are.

When the PSP hits Japan on 12 December, there will be 21 games to choose from. While it's not yet clear whether PSP games will be region-encoded, a Sony representative has recently confirmed that movies encoded on UMD discs from one region will not be playable on hardware from another.

The software launch line-up includes representatives from several of the industry's best-selling franchises, including Metal Gear, Hot Shots Golf (Everybody's Golf in the UK), Need For Speed and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

Sony has not yet announced release or pricing details for the PSP for territories outside Japan. A representative from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said that the official details for the European PSP launch will be announced shortly.

Here's the full range of Japanese PSP launch games:

• AI Go (Marvelous) - board game
• AI Mah-Jong (Marvelous) - board game
• AI Shogi (Marvelous) - board game
• Armored Core Formula Front (From) - mech simulation
• Dokodemo Issyo (Sony) - miscellaneous
• Dynasty Warriors (Koei) - action
• Hot Shots Golf (Sony) - golf
• Kollon (Cyberfront) - puzzle action
• Kotoba No Puzzle Mojipittan Daijiten (Namco) - puzzle
• Lumines (Bandai) - music action puzzle
• Mah-Jong (Koei) - board game
• Mah-Jong Fight Club (Konami) - board game
• Metal Gear Acid (Konami) - card-based action
• Need For Speed Underground Rivals (EA) - race
• Puyo Pop Fever (Sega) - puzzle
• Puzzle Bobble Pocket (Taito) - puzzle
• Rengoku: The Tower Of Purgatory (Hudson) - action RPG
• Ridge Racer (Namco) - racing
• The Legend Of Heroes: Gagharv Trilogy - White Witch (Bandai) - RPG
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour (EA) - golf
• Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (Capcom) - fighting

We'll bring you everything on the Japanese launch as it rapidly approaches.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games