Sony Quiet as PSP Is Trimmed in the US

Europeans forced to overpay for a while longer.

Americans are waking up to cheaper PSPs on Wednesday, but Sony is keeping quiet on when the portable's price will be cut elsewhere around the world.

Sony confirmed on Tuesday that the price of the core PSP system has been lowered from $200 to $170 in the US. The company also made it clear that those outside the country eyeing the portable shouldn't look for the same favour.

"We have no announcements to make about PSP in the European market at this time," said Sony's Jonathan Fargher.

With the price drop, Americans are now paying substantially less for the PSP than their British counterparts.

The new $170 price point equates to around £86, which is nearly 45 per cent lower than the £150 standard British retail price. Even without an official price drop, several online retailers are already selling the PSP for less than Sony's recommended price.

March saw the end of a troubled second year for the PSP in the US, which is falling further behind the DS by the month. In February the PSP sold 176,000 units compared to 485,000 units for the DS.

By catering to hardcore gamers with titles such as New Super Mario Bros and expanding into the mainstream with Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and others, Nintendo is consistently trouncing the PSP at the tills.

Sony is trying to rejuvenate the PSP by associating it more with its new PlayStation 3 console. Recently Sony started to let PS3 owners download PSone games for use on their PSPs - something the underground homebrew community has been doing for months.

There are also persistent rumours - which Sony has denied - that the company is planning to overhaul the PSP, possibly adding more internal storage that would make it easier to download content directly.

A price cut for the PSP outside of the US is certain. The only question is when.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo