With the 'NGP' on the way later this year and the 3DS hitting shelves in just about a month, Sony has decided to squeeze out whatever's left to squeeze out of the PSP - it's set to drop the handheld's price to an impulse buy-worthy $130.
The PSP launched at $250 way back in March of 2005. The price was knocked down to $170 in 2007, but hasn't changed since. Until Sunday, that is. As of February 27, the PSP-3000's new suggested retail price will be $130.
Over the past several years, Sony has tried to encourage PSP sales with system bundles, usually with UMD games, movies, or download vouchers packed in. These bundles generally retail for $200, and it's unknown how this price drop will affect them.
To date, Sony has shipped 67.8 million PSP units. Its main competitor, the DS family, has sold about twice that many units since the original model came out in late 2004. Nevertheless, 67.8 million units is nothing to sneeze at, and Sony has said it is pleased with the performance of its handheld device.
But the state of the handheld market will change in a big way when the 3DS is released in the US on March 27. The timing of the PSP price drop is probably not a coincidence.
Meanwhile, Sony's PSP successor is set to be released late this year.
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Feb 25, 2011
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