Sony: Budget PSP aimed at teens, kids

By Tom Phillips Published 6 September, 2011

"It will make a great Christmas gift."

Sony's new budget price PSP model is aimed at "teens and much younger", and it hopes parents will include one in children's stockings this Christmas.

The new-look matte model, unveiled at Gamescom last month, will sell for £89.

"You will see the audience skew younger," new SCEE chief Jim Ryan explained to MCV. "At €99/£89 it will make a great Christmas gift."

The device plays all existing PSP games but omits wi-fi and stereo sound capabilities to keep costs down.

"If we are going to take PSP very young - teens and much younger - they are happy to just play the game. If taking wi-fi out is the price to pay, we're happy to."

Despite PSP successor PlayStation Vita launching in Europe next year, Sony hopes the PSP still has legs left in it yet.

"The €89 price tag is a real barrier that we've got under which will help us lift off," Ryan concluded.

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About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (31) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • HyperTails #1 9 months ago

    There are some brilliant games on PSP that you can get for only a few quid each now. I get the feeling that the PSP's days are well and truly up in the West with Vita on the horizon and all, but this could help shift a few more PSP's which isn't a bad thing.

  • Scurrminator #2 9 months ago

    How the heck do you update it without wifi!? seems bizarre.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #3 9 months ago

    @Scurr

    By putting a game in it or copying it from a pc to memory stick. Its not difficult.

  • Eoin #4 9 months ago

    How the heck do you update it without wifi!? seems bizarre.

    It can be updated using a memory stick with firmware copied onto it.

    Alternatively it can be updated by UMD games that contain newer firmware.

    I believe it can also be updated using the Media Go application through a PC.

    So there's actually several ways to update - if, of course, anyone who has one of these actually feels the need to ever update their firmware. It's entirely possible that they won't ever have to, and I'm not sure whether there's ever going to be any compelling features added to the PSP now that Vita is just on the horizon.

  • telboy007 #5 9 months ago

    So... online multiplayer is out then. No monster hunter freedom online fun for you youngster!

  • FladgeMangle #6 9 months ago

    Sony budget PSP is aimed at ill-informed aunties and grandparents, causing unintentional disappointment.

    No Wifi = no point.

  • markyHD #7 9 months ago

    Just an additional thought Sony, but perhaps jazzing the case colours up a bit might help it further appeal to your chosen audience?

  • RodHull #8 9 months ago

    "It will make a great Christmas gift"

    Course it will, the kids will love it. Just like they'd love a Goodmans mp3 player instead of an iPod.

  • mr2ange #9 9 months ago

    I Agree with HyperTails,

    there are loads of very cheap great games on the platform, Removing Wi-Fi isn't really going to make a huge difference, after 6+ years of using my launch PSP1000 the only games i used wifi for were Monster Hunter and LittleBigPlanet - Both of which are still fantastic games even when used entirely as single player.

    And if you really wanted to share your levels on lbp you could simply swap memory sticks to allow you friend to play your level, not so difficult really!

  • callum9999 #10 9 months ago

    I never, ever use the wifi on the PSP - it's dreadful.

    Though I don't know why you'd want to update it? Back in it's hey-day it got frequent really good updates. I can't remember when the last update even worth loading came out. Any games that require new firmware already have it on the disc - there is no issue here at all.

    Though if you are really desperate for wifi, you could always just buy a wifi-enabled psp...

  • Chibi-Kibou #11 9 months ago

    Come to think, I've been wanting to hack a PSP to play Cave Story and so forth ..
    'Might be a decent chance to, though I suppose the second hand ones floating around are probably a better bet.

    That said, given what I'd use it for and that a matte finish would be nicer..

  • kingcrowbar #12 9 months ago

    It's a shame they didn't come up with a USB link up option to at least allow local multiplayer. Also it kind of removes the point of some of the kid friendly "play, create, share" titles like LBP or Modnation Racers.

  • Xboxfanuk #13 9 months ago

    Kids will hate it (unless they are japanese kids)

  • Dizzy #14 9 months ago

    All I want for XMas is a gimped PSP?

  • coastal #15 9 months ago

    How much does stereo cost?

    Never mind, all i hear is the click click click of FMH menus.

  • alcides #16 9 months ago

    This might also be an omen of SONY giving up support on its older online games. No more online play anyway, so...

    Still, there's a great app called "ad hoc party" on PS3 which lets you play local multiplayer... but online. The remote play features in PSP are to be reckoned with too, I find it mostly useless, except when I'd like to watch a show in the kitchen while peeling potatoes and the like.

    If you're a PS3 poweruser, remote play on PSP is great.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #17 9 months ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:18 09-05-2012

  • frunk #18 9 months ago

    Anybody actually thought that a model aimed at youngsters without wi-fi could be marketed as a good thing...

    Its an enclosed ecosystem - so those game ratings apply.

    For us "gamers" no wi-fi is a deal-breaker for a few (those playing MH, etc), slightly annoying for most of us (no seemless PSN store access) and probably not noticed by quite a lot (I use it to play UMD games).

    And this being aimed at kids probably means they fall mostly into the latter category. The rest of us can "man up" and pay the extra few quid for the proper one :) It is not as if it is actually being taken off the market.

    Not that I would with a Vita round the corner.

  • TheRealBadabing #19 9 months ago

    OK so no stereo speakers but you can still get stereo through the headphones, right?

    Will see how hackable this is, might make a nice emulator device.

  • anthonypappa #20 9 months ago

    i think i may get one of these. i want to play beaterator and chinatown wars.

    would you be able to play old mario games with an emulator?

  • Makeem95 #21 9 months ago

    What annoys me is I like the look of that model and the new placement of the power switch is a godsend. Too many times in the heat of a Monster Hunter multiplayer quest, I've accidentally slid the power switch into sleep mode, thereby getting disconnected from the quest.

    But being a Monster Hunter fan, no wi-fi = no sale for me.

  • MDL199 #22 9 months ago

    I think Sony deserve some praise for the huge time periods they support their hardware.

    The PS 1. 2 and almost certainly 3 received support for 10 years plus and the PSP will probably see the same.

    In contrast Nintendo and especially MS seem to pull the plug as soon as a platform becomes slightly less profitable.

  • bcxixa10 #23 9 months ago

    Scurrminator @ from a commercial point of view i assure you that this console will sell like popcorn. Why ? Times of crisis , 99€ console plus 9€ games. What else could a family ask for Cristmas. Imagine a familie with two kids , 220€ that they will spent on two consoles and two games. You have too admit thats very clever from Sony. And im not taking parts , im just happy to know that i will sell this baby a lot this final year

  • Ryze #24 9 months ago

    Told ya!

    edit@Scurrminator

    USB, UMD, MemoryStick.
    Edited by Ryze at 06/09/11 @ 13:38

  • H_D_Swagger #25 9 months ago

    Anyone else think part of the reason they're releasing this is to take Christmas sales away from the 3ds?

  • alcides #26 9 months ago

    "Anyone else think part of the reason they're releasing this is to take Christmas sales away from the 3ds?"

    duh. Actually, good point. If it's only meant as a cockblock, I can understand SONY's logic. My only hope is that 3000 won't be replaced, as I need a replacement myself, only not now.

  • Mr_Brown #27 9 months ago

    People have written of this system for years despite there still being some superb games to be released for it. I really would recommend people pick these up while games are cheap and available. Especially if you are into JRPG's. Cannot wait for Legend of Heroes to be released and Final Fantasy Zero.

  • natureboy #28 9 months ago

    So that excludes me a 32yr old dude then:)

  • DrStrangelove #29 9 months ago

    Sony: Budget PSP aimed at teens, kids

    This is a great surprise, good that Sony revealed their secret strategy now.

  • jonsaan #30 9 months ago

    My youngest wants a psp for his birthday. Primarily to play games like fat princess with me and his brother. If I got him one of these there would be a serious sulkathon.

  • Turfschipper #31 8 months ago

    My plan was to give myself a Vita as a christmas gift. I hate kids and i hate this region crap.