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PSP US Launch Date and Price Revealed

Manksgloob   on 03 February 2005 - 23:49 · 74 comments & 13077 views

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Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced the North American launch date and pricing structure for its anticipated PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld. The device, which launched in Japan last year, is set to debut in the US and Canada on March 24 for suggested retail prices of $249 USD and $299.99 CND respectively.

News source: IGN PSP


Unlike the Japanese launch, which offered a base PSP package for approximately $185 USD, North American buyers will only be able to get one bundle, the pricier PSP Value Pack. The good news is that the Pack comes standard with a good number of extras that help make the purchase worthwhile, including a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case, and cleaning cloth. In addition, the bundle boasts a movie/music/game sampler UMD disc with non-interactive demos. On top of everything else, the first one million people to purchase a PSP in the US will receive a bonus UMD featuring the full feature film Spider-Man 2.

"PSP will evolve and elevate portable entertainment, giving users the freedom to play full 3D games, watch movies, listen to music and connect wirelessly on their terms, their time and their place," said Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "More than ever, today's consumer demands access to entertainment outside the home without compromising quality. With more than 100 PSP game titles currently in development worldwide, and the ability to download and listen to digital music and view feature films with breathtaking screen quality, PSP lets users control their entertainment options, all in one package."

A preliminary list of launch titles to be released simultaneously with the handheld is available at the source webpage.

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#1 Jasco on 03 Feb 2005 - 23:52
#2 HellBender on 03 Feb 2005 - 23:54
$249... Ouch, that's expensive.
#3 ANova on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:01
I'd be interested for $200. I mean, it's not like it's something I need.
(1 reply) #4 TGD on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:03
$250? Wow. I was worried for Nintendo for a bit. What are they thinking? It costs less than $200 in Japan. Those extras aren't really worth the additional price. 32MB of memory is worthless for anything other than saves.

Last edited by 28670 on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:20
#4.1 Liquid on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:52
picutres too...
(2 replies) #5 vetcashman on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:18
Hmm, that is a shame. It probably means they are gearing up for a £200 launch in the UK
#5.1 w00t on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:21
bollocks to that
#5.2 astralwerks on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:28
buy the canadian one it will save you 10 bucks with exchange rate.
(1 reply) #6 i like chips on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:33
eh.....i was gonna buy one....but damn $300 bucks? wowsers. imma wait till price drop
#6.1 Stijn on 04 Feb 2005 - 21:22
that would take a year or 2-3 i think
(1 reply) #7 sparkyx on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:58
I could see them using this price at first, but 3 months later theres gonna be a giant price drop and then i'll get one.
#7.1 ABC½ on 11 Feb 2005 - 14:50
Yeah, I bet the price will drop of 30 or maybe 50 bucks for xmax 2005,...

ABC and a half!
(3 replies) #8 Dale on 04 Feb 2005 - 00:58
229.92 Canadian dollars after the conversion

probably going to be rounded up to $250.. that always happens. then you add tax (GST & PST). and you almost pay $300 :|
#8.1 i like chips on 04 Feb 2005 - 01:04
......what are u talking about?
#8.2 MaRRo on 04 Feb 2005 - 01:31
QUOTE
$249 USD and $299.99 CND respectively


Check your math there dude.
#8.3 Dale on 04 Feb 2005 - 04:30
oops.. sorry, i skimmed through it and read this
QUOTE
PSP package for approximately $185 USD
never realized that was japanese
#9 LCPLSkyeHack on 04 Feb 2005 - 01:20
i wonder what accessories i should get
#10 Panorama on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:10
Damn. $300 Canadian? Looks like I got some more saving up to do.
#11 ienhz on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:10
Man that's expensive. It's $100 more than a Nintedo DS (in Canada).
#12 LCPLSkyeHack on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:19
Should I buy this?

PSP Accessory Suite

$54.99

The Mad Catz Accessory Suite holds all essential accessories that will enhance your PSP experience. Durable aluminum case has specific slots for each product and complete with a see through window. Mad Catz promises you high quality, innovative products for all your gaming needs.

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/255788.asp
(2 replies) #13 -ben on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:21
I know why it's so pricey.
because you can rip music and video on it and everything, the psp is almost like a media center!
#13.1 ^_^ Silly Willy on 04 Feb 2005 - 02:34
true dat
#13.2 Liquid on 04 Feb 2005 - 07:40
Its more than a media center - the harddrive.
#14 SilentMage on 04 Feb 2005 - 03:03
For a portable gaming system, that really is expensive. I'd much rather spend $250 for a console system than that much for a portable. I don't see why Sony doesn't pull a Microsoft and keep the starting price low (losing money on every PSP sale in the process), but pulling in a lot more buyers in the process.

I'm sure the PSP will make a lot of money, but with that hefty price tag (for a portable game system), I don't think it'll sell enough to compete with the DS, at least not until the price comes down.

#15 deiong15 on 04 Feb 2005 - 03:10
who gives a crude about spiderman
they should throw in a full game.
#16 ghos on 04 Feb 2005 - 03:22
Originally it sounded like they were going to introduce it at a price that would be competitive with the DS. At $249 they will find a lot less buyers than at $199. I really doubt most people want such a bundle. Sure some of it you'll get anyway, but to me it isn't the way to bring out a new product.
Strange that Sony would do it this way. Nintendo has shown that a product with less power, etc can beat better systems simply because of price.
I suppose only time will tell, but I think Sony is sinking the PSP ship even before it has sailed.
(6 replies) #17 SecretAgentMan on 04 Feb 2005 - 03:36
$249 for Sony junk, no thanks. Sony makes a killing off of stupid people, don't be a part of that club.
#17.1 nookadum on 05 Feb 2005 - 09:27
Same thing with the other companies. Microsoft has stupid people. Pioneer has stupid people. Kenwood (ugh) has even more stupid people. So on, and so on.
#17.2 SecretAgentMan on 06 Feb 2005 - 01:37
Give it up dum, Sony is in a class of their own when it comes to selling junk products to stupid people.
#17.3 nookadum on 06 Feb 2005 - 07:30
Give what up? The other companies that I stated have the same amount of stupid people as Sony. Hell, I can even add Philips's junk, HP's junk, Nintendo's junk, etc.
#17.4 SecretAgentMan on 07 Feb 2005 - 06:34
Yawn, you still don't have much of a clue dum. Sony is in a class of their own when it comes to making money off of stupid people who purchase their junk products.

Nintendo and Microsoft sell excellent products but I don't care for HP or Phillips either.
#17.5 nookadum on 07 Feb 2005 - 07:33
I do have a clue. Apparently you still don't get what I'm trying to say. OTHER COMPANIES, just like SONY, have the SAME AMOUNT of STUPID PEOPLE who purchase their OWN junk PRODUCTS.

Nintendo has their own fair share of stupid people. Like you.

Microsoft also has their own share of stupid people. Like you, again.

Thinking otherwise just makes you an idiotic PS2 troll.
#17.6 SecretAgentMan on 07 Feb 2005 - 15:28
Wrong again dum, troll somewhere else.

Last edited by 21440 on 07 Feb 2005 - 18:54
#18 cesardrgn on 04 Feb 2005 - 03:45
i think EB games is asking $400 for the psp...
(2 replies) #19 Aaron660R on 04 Feb 2005 - 04:07
w00t! PSP rules! I can't wait! w00t!
#19.1 Wiser87 on 05 Feb 2005 - 03:38
And how would you know? Have you even played it yet?
#19.2 Nodiaque on 06 Feb 2005 - 14:10
Yes I did play and I must admit it's wort that price... But hey guys, do you remember de starting price of ps2? 600 CAD, or start price of xbox that was approximatly the same... As for the Nintendo DS, there's no good game on it. A launch so lame that nothing worth it, I bought it and I play Gameboy Advance Games on it. All I'm waiting is for a mario kart and metroid (maybe a link to) but past that, there's no good game... have you seen ridge racer on it? Come on, it's juste junk. OMG I can see my driving wheel in the bottom screen!!! Look at the graph, even gamecube can do better...

Now look at psp, everything is there, lighting reflection, high texture, real time cell shading, everything. The graph are just like a PS2. For anyone who love good game (so PS2), they should buy that...

And BTW, don't call me a sony boy or whatever. In fact, I'm sure I do have more console then anybody here since it's a collection here. I even got my hand on a zodiac (in canada, nearly impossible.... and the console is low grade though lol) but I must admit that there's many more good games on PS2 then any other console (exclusive Title I'm talking)
#20 skybl4ck on 04 Feb 2005 - 04:09
I think I'll wait and see if this is worth selling my iPod for. Looks nice - just hope it performs that way too. The PSP has some really KICKA** games coming out so I hope its good.
#21 jpcahn on 04 Feb 2005 - 05:12
The fact that it comes with a nonplayable UMD full of videos seems like another mistake to me. It says to the hardcore person willing to pay that much that games may not be that much of a priority for the system. Which might be reasonable if it had a 4 GB HDD or something in it. 32 MB makes it a pretty worthless media player.

If Nintendo is smart they should either drop the DS price to 120 or keep it at 149 and throw in Mario or something. It might not be a bad idea for Nintendo to release a few more games beyond the launch titlles by then too lol. Actually I just looked it up and here is what comes out on DS in March:

Sonic DS, Bomberman DS, Dynasty Warriors DS, Rayman DS, Yoshi Touch and Go, Pokemon Dash, NFS Underground 2, Mobile Suit Gundam, Egg Monster Hero from SquareEnix, and 4 or 5 games that will probably suck. It looks like Nintendo is as smart as we think because a lot of those games come out on the first. This makes it look like there are a lot of DS games on the shelves when people go to compare the systems.
The only other big factor I see is that form looking at articles on the net it sounds like Sony might really try to get 49.95 for the games. I'd be freaked out if I was a parent and saw this. Many of the games are just protable versions of something you paid 49.99 already for. So as a parent maight as well assume I need to pay 100.00 for every big game that my kid wants. That's crazy the games should be cheaper to make then DS cartridges. Adn since many are ports the programming should not be that bad either.
(1 reply) #22 denzilla on 04 Feb 2005 - 05:22
But its got a CLEANING CLOTH!!! WTF is that about!
#22.1 kravex on 04 Feb 2005 - 17:42
About $50 by the look of things!!
#23 Rudy on 04 Feb 2005 - 05:23
thats a little bit too expensive for me
(3 replies) #24 Zlinko on 04 Feb 2005 - 05:40
What I dont understand is why ebgames.com is setting the PSP price to $399.99.

Check it out here: http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/520683.asp

" PSP Starter Bundle

After launch titles and accessories are confirmed by publishers, we will send you an email requesting your choice of three games available at launch ($39.99 - $49.99 each) and an accessory ($29.99-$149.99). The price of $399.95 assumes you choose three $39.99 games and one $29.99 accessory. Actual price of this bundle may be higher, depending on the games and accessory you choose.

Orders will be shipped on a first-come, first serve basis. We cannot guarantee availability at launch.

You may cancel your order at any time up until 10 days before the PSP launch. To expedite processing, your credit card will be charged 10 days before the PSP launch."

They dont even mention the regular bundle that is talked about in this news post. SO do u think that u have to buy ebgames.com PSP bundle at $399.99? That is if u decide to by it at EB.
#24.1 AndyD on 04 Feb 2005 - 06:19
you obviously failed to read what you pasted because you would see why it costs that much. this is typical video game store behavior when a new system comes out. they force you into buying other stuff because they know people wnat the system even if they have to buy stuff they may not want.
#24.2 Zlinko on 04 Feb 2005 - 15:10
I understand why it cost so much.. u get 2 games and an extra accessory for that price. What I ment is that the ONLY choice you have at EB if you want a PSP. Or do u think they will offer the other regular bundle without the games or the extra accessory for $250?
#24.3 zachman123 on 05 Feb 2005 - 00:44
Just called my local EB, and they said at the store they won't habve the big $400 bundle, so all is well. They said the preorders are for the $250 value pack and that's it.
#25 Jestermask on 04 Feb 2005 - 05:47
$249? Yyyyyyyyikes. No thanks, Sony. Your stuff isn't THAT good...
#26 EnIgMa-PenGuIn on 04 Feb 2005 - 06:02
Oh how I hope they ship the base sku to australia
#27 Joshie on 04 Feb 2005 - 07:17
*scratches head*

I'd complain, but I only play handheld games with emulators anyway.
#28 Narutorocker on 04 Feb 2005 - 08:23
People Just wait a year then til they They take $100 Off.
#29 smart001 on 04 Feb 2005 - 13:03
250, is not bad, I will be purchasing one as soon as I can!
(1 reply) #30 nic on 04 Feb 2005 - 20:43
considering I only like playing portable games when I'm sitting on the crapper, i'll stick to my Game Boy Color w/ Tetris for now
#30.1 hulibecker on 04 Feb 2005 - 23:03
ROFL

#31 eilegz on 04 Feb 2005 - 21:07
this its what i call strategy sony it increase the price because they know that people will still buy it. thats the point people are sony and playstation fans so that means more earning and it leaves with a lot of possibilities to reduce the price later and again they dont lost money with this.

Many will fail to this but wise persons would wait a little to get one. Personally i think that the DS its more affordable and it will bring very good games at cheaper price in contrast sony will bring us a very powerful nice all in one expensive machine that somehow the games will look like ps2 ports or a game that it was been released to ps2 but adapted to a psp.

#32 PT_KiD on 04 Feb 2005 - 23:00
the psp would really rock as a media center if you could buy empty umds and umd burners so you could put movies there and some other things that would rock!!
There is a small chance for that to happen.. cross your fingers

BTW i dont think its that expensive and i hope the price is the same, or lower in europe €194 is not that expensive

Ive been saving money since christmas to buy psp, come to me come to me!!!
(1 reply) #33 nic on 04 Feb 2005 - 23:16
I'm just curious: does anyone know how this PSP stacks up against the fastest PDAs now? No doubt which one will play games better. But if you consider that the fastest PDAs are in the $500 to $600 doesn't make the PSP price look so bad.
#33.1 DigitalDude on 04 Feb 2005 - 23:20
you know speaking of PDAs in relation to handhelds people are already working on PDA uses for the nintendo ds like Organizer Plus i think its called. Would be nice with that touchscreen
#34 Yazoo on 05 Feb 2005 - 00:02
UK price will be £199.99, not sure if thats the unit or the value pack.
(1 reply) #35 antsy on 05 Feb 2005 - 00:06
Is UMD writable?
#35.1 zachman123 on 05 Feb 2005 - 00:46
Nobut Sony has opened it up (I think) to allow other companies to press video umd's... Or something along the lines of that.
(1 reply) #36 woffel123 on 05 Feb 2005 - 00:46
What Price Does the "DS" Retail for??
#36.1 teste on 05 Feb 2005 - 02:56
Nintendo DS price @ NewEgg

$149.99

Only comes with a game demo...
(2 replies) #37 DirtyLarry on 05 Feb 2005 - 04:28
Well that does it.
I now know if I ever decided to get a handheld, it will definitely be a DS, and it definitely will not be a PSP.
#37.1 PT_KiD on 05 Feb 2005 - 18:05
psp pwnz ds in all terms....just compare the graphics and screen quality it can see movies expansible memory possiblity of installing new software...ds has what? ds is a zero
#37.2 TGD on 07 Feb 2005 - 00:07
Who cares about graphics? Gamecube has better graphics than PS2. I bet you don't buy a Gamecube over a PS2 just for that reason.
#38 jcgamer60 on 05 Feb 2005 - 04:56
cheapa$$
#39 NeoMasamune on 05 Feb 2005 - 07:44
Cool, it's coming out next month. I gotta start saving up!
#40 Gersson on 05 Feb 2005 - 15:11
I don' likes i-ther.

The DS is huge and heavy; the PSP is expensive, of poor construction.
The PSP does have 1 advantage: Game library (sans GBA games, of course).
#41 Amsterdam on 06 Feb 2005 - 05:13
249! geez I rather have an xbox
#42 )(RockerBoy on 06 Feb 2005 - 15:06
too expensive
#43 chris316 on 06 Feb 2005 - 16:41
Don't worry, in Japan they release a bundle unit and also offered the base unit for a reduced price, expect the same deal for North America in a few months after the release. Sony is doing this to recoop some losses from the Japan launch. Everyone knows that the tech heads will buy the PSP regardless of price anyway. The PSP will be sold out for a few months and then Sony will release a base model for $199.99.

But $250 for the PSP is a good deal considering the hardware. Remember Sony's main priority is to sell this to an untapped audience, adults. It's what they did with the playstation, if kids look around and see an adult playing a PSP the kid will think its cool, so they'll go cry to their mommy's and ask for a PSP, when that kid gets it he'll show his friends and then they'll go cry to there mother's. Its a trickle effect that works, as we've seen before.
#44 sin™ on 06 Feb 2005 - 16:50
Fux that.. $250... They're fuxing nuts!
#45 iconboy on 07 Feb 2005 - 16:48
im a big sony/psp supporter and i dont give a rats a$$ about this competing with the DS or the gba sp, And i think $250 might be a little too high... please sony bring down to $199 sooner rather than later- u also have to keep in mind that this uses mem cards that can hold mp3s and divx video! its like buying a multimedia machine for $250 (but id rather buy it at $199! )

#46 headkiss on 16 Feb 2005 - 23:20
i think the psps is an awesome machine, games look amazing and such but its too expensive...$300 with a game included and that does not include a 512 mem stick 4 games and music. i think i'll wit a few months till they drop this value pack nonsense. sad cos i really wanted one as soona s it came to the states and already have $250 on my eb edge card. well i'll have to wait.

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