PSP gets price cut, PSone emulator, videophone functions

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 March, 2006

199 Euro from next week.

PSP will see a worldwide price cut this month. From March 22nd, European gamers will be able to buy a "base unit" (presumably devoid of stuff like the headphones) for 199 Euro (about £140).

US gamers will pay $199 from the end of the month, and the Japanese will pay 19,800 yen for a white unit from April 15th.

During a press conference in Tokyo today, Sony boss Ken Kutaragi also talked about the company's plans to add a PSone emulator to PSP, with "selected games" available through digital distribution to be stored on the Memory Stick. (Cynics amongst you might question the use of the word "add", but there you go.)

Although timing on that has yet to be confirmed, Kutaragi was more specific about other new services - including an EyeToy camera peripheral to attach to the USB port, which launches in September, and video voice-over-IP (in other words, video-telephony), which will be available in October. Pricing on all of that's yet to be announced.

Kutaragi also discussed some of Sony's plans for updating PSP software this year, starting with network update to add Macromedia Flash support this, er, spring (touch wood, eh?), with extended RSS channel support also on the way to allow users to save radio content (podcasts, presumably) and movies.

There was no word on previously rumoured services and hardware iterations - for example, we know no more about "Sony Mail" or the rumoured PSP with built-in hard disk - but there was news on the GPS receiver mentioned at E3 last year. It will launch this autumn and have a role in games, starting with Hot Shots Golf.

An interesting year in prospect for PSP hardware, then, although - as with PS3 - there are still plenty of gaps to be filled in, presumably at this year's E3.

Sources - IGN, Reuters

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

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

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Comments (65) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tejstar #1 6 years ago

    It's all out today!

  • Blerk #2 6 years ago

    Much better price, and very interesting news about the PSOne emulator! Shame there probably won't be any (official!) way to get your old games onto it. I might be more tempted to buy one if there was.

  • erp #3 6 years ago

    1xEUR != 1xUSD
    argh!!
    Edited by 3 at 15/03/06 @ 08:46

  • MaxiSleep #4 6 years ago

    erp said


    "1xEUR != 1xUSD
    argh!!"


    Value added tax is the diff. Remember that in eu you must quote price including sales tax (vat) whereas that is not the case in US (where sales tax is lower as well)




  • Cosmopolitan #5 6 years ago

    Playing the old Final Fantasies (7-9) on the PSP?

    /is tempted

    Still, 199 euros is too much for me now.

    /waits for another price drop

  • towser #6 6 years ago

    I'm still not going to buy this heap of shit.

    ...unless they drop it to under a ton maybe.

  • #7 6 years ago

    From March 22nd, European gamers will be able to buy a "base unit" (presumably devoid of stuff like the headphones) for 199 Euro (about £140).

    Those be quite expensive "headphones"!

    :-o

  • Ainudil #8 6 years ago

    Nah, it's not only the headphones.

    The analog nub will also be removed. As well as the triangle-button.

  • speedjack #9 6 years ago

    Love to know more about the Hot Shots Golf integration...

  • smoison #10 6 years ago

    Its funny this is announced not too long after the Homebrew scene is starting to get PS1 emulators to work on PSP....

  • tentonipete #11 6 years ago

    yeah i'm not paying to download a game to memory card that i already own... FFVII for example.

  • KTroopA #12 6 years ago

    PSone emulation.

    mmmkay

    becoz the PSP aint got enuff good games.

    do
    u
    c

    ...thud

  • Tyronne #13 6 years ago

    Might get one when it gets to the 50 quid mark.

  • tonynibbles #14 6 years ago

    Fucking hell
    Adding flash player is fucking uber. Opens up a world of applications. And if the player can access hardware such as eyetoy, microphone etc - which it probably will be able to do, so that software devlopers can use flash to build the voip stuff etc (like EyeToy chat) that is fucking class.

  • tonynibbles #15 6 years ago

    yeah i'm not paying to download a game to memory card that i already own... FFVII for example.

    Why the hell not?

    We'll all be going mad for Rev downloads when they come out. I think with the PSone back catalogue of games, this is a good move for Sony... Ok, so long as they are a few quid and they dont take the piss with procing, it should be class.

  • drumbaby #16 6 years ago

    Funnily enough I took my PSP online for the first time a couple of days ago. What, with this download service and a steady stream of cool games due VERY soon, now I'm actually EXCITED about my PSP again :)

  • MyPointIs #17 6 years ago

    It's a simple strategy. Keep releasing increasingly hotter games, and keep lowering the price. So you always sell as many as you are making.

    I would prefer a SNES emulator, but I doubt they'll be up to it.

    :-)

    Now, if they allow me to copy movies to it without giving them secret passwords as names, I'll be a happy bunny.

  • York #18 6 years ago

    What can Hot Shots Golf do with a GPS?

    I'm not doubting it'll do something good; just wondering.

  • Carlo #19 6 years ago

    Might be worth buying for Wipeout Pure now...

  • tiddles #20 6 years ago

    Looking forward to Eyetoy on PSP - finger-puppet Tekken ftw!

  • --Ad-- #21 6 years ago

    / Imagines playing Time Crisis with Lightgun on PSP :-P

  • oreillymj #22 6 years ago

    @ tonynibbles "Adding flash player is fucking uber. Opens up a world of applications."

    Name 1 useful app developed in Flash.

    Pray to God you can disable that useless piece of crap. 100% eye candy, 0% functionality.

  • drumbaby #23 6 years ago

    / Imagines playing Time Crisis with Lightgun on PSP :-P

    Or a real one -- PULL!

    :)

  • Tonka #24 6 years ago

    Name 1 useful app developed in Flash.

    eurogamer tv

  • oreillymj #25 6 years ago

    90% of Eurogamer TV is regular HTML with the exception of Flash video playback. The PSP may or may not play this format.

    Anyway, I said useful, as in "Penalty points remover", "Winning Lotto number generator" ;-)

  • Furbs #26 6 years ago

    Flash TelNet?
    FlashMP3 Player?

  • smoison #27 6 years ago

    Not to forget the thousand of Flash games, that you have to pay for on Xbox Arcade...

  • Furbs #28 6 years ago

    Yeah, I couldnt believe it when Microsoft held a gun to my head and forced me to hand over my credit card details for Bankshot Billiards.

  • Perry #29 6 years ago

    Towser: "I'm still not going to buy this heap of shit."

    Why is it a heap of sh!t? May not have the best selection of games at the moment, but heap of sh!t it is not. I marvel every day at the graphics in my hand. Playing Pro Evo on the way to work, or whilst on the loo is absolutely amazing

  • SeesThroughAll #30 6 years ago

    So, taking a Nintendo approach towards emulation, heh?

    Let's see... a PSOne emulator UMD, a few games taking roughly 500Mb (those that used most of the CD), bought separately, so I would end up:

    - buying another 50 euro emulation UMD which will probably not even bring any games to boot.
    - paying for the downloads (even though they're old games, it could be as expensive as 20 euro depending on the game).
    - buying a larger Memory Stick.

    All this just to play a few games I liked all over again... no thanks.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/06 @ 11:17

  • SeesThroughAll #31 6 years ago

    ...extended RSS channel support also on the way to allow users to save radio content (podcasts, presumably) and movies.

    Wake up Sony! WiFi is the only advantage the PSP has over the iPod as a media device. Use it wisely!

  • EraSerX #32 6 years ago

    GTA and GPS sounds like an interesting combo

  • HarryB #33 6 years ago

    so does sex and a nice steak pie but you can't put the two together and expect something better than either

  • PinkSpider #34 6 years ago

    yeah i'm not paying to download a game to memory card that i already own... FFVII for example

    Hell, being able to play FF7 whilst watching TV would be ace and well worth upto £20 in my opinion. Saying that I'd rather pay less for digitally distributed products (unless say buying FF7 on PSP would allow you to download it for whatever future consoles support digital distribution AND wouldnt have to pay for it again, like Steam).

    The PSP is looking better to me now, I'm going to have to buy one (soon). - Before today it was pretty much only games like Lumines which where tempting me.

    Also games on the PS1 I would love to play: Wipeout 2097, All the FF's, Xenogears/ Chrono Cross (maybe we could see these without modding/ importing!) also stuff like Future Cop LAPD... etc. The PS1 really did have an ace catalogue of games.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/06 @ 12:18

  • cartman #35 6 years ago

    Hardware updates and price cuts are always welcome but game releases would be a lot more exciting

  • smelly #36 6 years ago

    Hmm... But as the entire catalog of good psp games are psone ports anyhow, i fail to see the logic? :-)

  • tonynibbles #37 6 years ago

    @ oreillymj Name 1 useful app developed in Flash.

    Dude, what are you talking about? THis is a really good development.

    Flash isnt all about crappy marketting flashy banners.

    With Flash on PSP you can develop chat rooms, video and voice communication apps, mail applications, calendars, word pads, spreadsheets, database admin interfaces, image editors, ftp applications, rss aggregators, video and audio streaming applications, Map application such as GOogle maps (available in flash on some sites), awesome GAMES like that one

    The list is almost endless! True flash development almost guarantees an application built in flash to work on any platform with flash player at the same version as it.

    If they get Flash 8 on PSP it will open up a world of homebrew developers. Its A GOOD THING...

  • gamingdave #38 6 years ago

    oreillymj - Name 1 useful app developed in Flash.

    Stop trolling. Thers a wealth of usefull apps built in Flash. Yeah its overused for advertising and can be anoying, but products such as ladbrokes live betting app and betandwins are great examples of live web applications.

    The question is, what version of the flash player will this be? 6, 7, 8, Lite1.1, Lite2? And will be able to launch swfs directly from the memory stick, and full screen, or will it only be for content embedded within web pages?

    As for eyetoy, not really sure who that will work?!?! and the fact that they are launching a camera and a VOIP service doesnt suggest video-telephony.

    Not really bothered about a PS1 emulator, but I suppose it would give me something to fill the memory stick with.

  • bunglebonce #39 6 years ago

    Forget apps, I want to take badgerbadgerbadger.com wherever I go :)

    PSone emulation sounds fantastic to me. How shall it be distributed? My guess is that it would be through the PS3's online system and memory stick pro duo slot.

    FFVII, Wipeout 3, Tenchu: if I got all those games in the compatibility list, I think I'd die of happiness. I'd even upgrade my virgin 1.5!

  • tonynibbles #40 6 years ago

    sounds like mobile skype - pretty sweet if you ask me.

    I seriously hope its not Flash Lite, though Im guessing it will be.

  • Daikon #41 6 years ago

    19,800 yen = 140 Euro. So why does it have to cost 199 Euro in Europe? It's cheaper to import from directly from Japan at price differences like this.

  • oreillymj #42 6 years ago

    gamingdave , I 'm not trolling. I asked for useful uses of Flash. I got a list of apps with no actual links to working examples. I checked out the link to a telent client, but it's for an unrleased version of Flash and currently doesn't work.

    BTW - I think the version for PSP is 6, so it looks links there'll be less SQL editors and relational databases and more spinning banner ads.

    Anyone who has used the PSP's browser will tell you that a mini-usb keyboard would be a higher priority than Flash in terms of usability.

  • gamingdave #43 6 years ago

    Click on the "bet in play" button on the top right hand corner here. Thats Ladbrokes' live betting app, which provides constantly changing odds and markets during sporting events. Its Flash 6, 30k, and has a low processor hit.

    Id also say have a look at orisinal. I know its not apps, but an example of lovely simple Flash games, so if the PSP can run 6 or above, or Lite2 and can accept joystick input we could see some lovely stuff coming out.
    Edited by 1 at 15/03/06 @ 15:33

  • coderkind #44 6 years ago

    You can still get a lot of stuff done in Flash 6. 7 and 8 are much better regarding coding syntax and video support (among other things), but Flash 6 was essentially when the application got interesting for coders.

  • Zuiyo #45 6 years ago

    Will not buy a PSP until they're 90 quid.

  • Feanor #46 6 years ago

    "Value added tax is the diff. Remember that in eu you must quote price including sales tax (vat) whereas that is not the case in US (where sales tax is lower as well)"

    Lower as in zero in my state, and a few others. :)

  • MyPointIs #47 6 years ago

    > Will not buy a PSP until they're 90 quid.

    That's roughly the current price, if you buy in Japan :-)

  • Mugwum Verified Operations Director, Eurogamer Network #48 6 years ago

    For those who just noticed this fall off the frontpage, that's "Tom in rare 'breaking website' shocker".

  • Galvanizer #49 6 years ago

    Hmm...

    PSP is gonna be £140. DS Lite will launch for around £120.

    Which should I go for?

  • urban #50 6 years ago

    how cool is that :p

  • #51 6 years ago

    PSP is gonna be £140. DS Lite will launch for around £120.

    Which should I go for?

    Buy the PSP and when the DS lite officially comes out (prob. Aug/Sept judging by the manufacturing problems) sell your PSP to some sucker on eBay and use the proceeds towards getting the lite!

    Problem solved!

    :-0

  • tonynibbles #52 6 years ago

    Having Flash 6 is still awesome.

    Its XML functionality since version 5 is good enough to have websites in flash running using parsed XML data load in dynamic content to and from servers.

    I dont think we need to give out examples to anyone who isnt aware of Flash capabilities... If you didn't know, you got told. And if you still don't know then theres another great reason for Google.

  • Sorb #53 6 years ago

    The inclusion of Flash is reason enough to stay with version 1.50 (or the current version). I hate Flash ads and sites designed with Flash instead of HTML for no good reason at all (just to f*** up navigation).


  • ROCKSTORM #54 6 years ago

    I'm still gonna get the DS Lite instead.....

  • Furbs #55 6 years ago

    Sord, just like graphics, I'm sure you'll be able to switch off flash.

  • beep #56 6 years ago

    Price cut or no, DS still kicks the PSP in the gonads.

  • Gouki #57 6 years ago

    bought my white psp form japan (region free) for 140 with headphones, mem card etc. dont really see the price reduction myself.

  • dk_rare #58 6 years ago

    Sony must be scared, world wide price cut and talk of so many extras coming out suddenly?

  • Kiigan #59 6 years ago

    I got my PSP at launch in Japan for just over a hundred quid. So this "price cut" doesn't seem all that special to me.

  • smoison #60 6 years ago

    20 pounds differnce in price, for a power difference of N64 to Ps2.....

    Nintendo are makeing money....

  • old_skool #61 6 years ago

    You know , a funny thing just popped into my head . What if Sony plans to use your PS3 to rip those PS1 games to your PSP ?

    /Gawd , too many PP's there

  • IP #62 6 years ago

    :: Nintendo are makeing money....

    Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it (even though Microsoft and Sony appear to forget that at times)? It's a good move by Sony, although the NDS still has the important sub-£100 price point (at least for the standalone, although many bundles are also appearing for a smidge under £100, too).

  • drumbaby #63 6 years ago

    From Gamespot:

    Sony used the new price point announcement to proclaim that since the PSP's launch last March, it has shipped 15 million units worldwide. It boasted that, so far, the handheld has brought in "more than $1.6 billion as of calendar year 2005, more than both Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS combined."

    Don't shoot the messenger. :)

  • kangarootoo #64 6 years ago

    "Name 1 useful app developed in Flash"

    Thos are the words of someone who can't programn Flash and doesn't understand its potential. Its not just for cartoons you know.

  • #65 6 years ago

    has brought in "more than $1.6 billion as of calendar year 2005, more than both Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS combined."

    How much of that is profit?

    Of-course PSP will bring in more dough - it costs more!

  • Virgil #66 6 years ago

    if Mr T is wrong i dont want to be right