PSP price drop: Core pack down to $169.99 tomorrow

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 2nd 2007 at 5:05PM }

Were you planning on picking up a Sony PSP tomorrow from your local Gamestop or EB Games? Excellent. Were you planning on paying for it? Super excellent. As a reward for your unquestionable moral values, you'll be given a $30 discount on that purchase of "the past". You see, as of April 3, the PSP Core Pack is being marked down from $199.99 to $169.99.

Gamestop and EB Games have already received the promotional materials (as depicted above) and instructions (shown after the break) for the long overdue price drop and will no doubt have it ready to greet you within the next 24 hours. For those still wary of the giggling miasma of April Fool's still lingering in the air, rest assured that we've verified this information with Gamestop. Happy PSP... ing.

[Thanks, Adam]

Tags: April Fools, AprilFools, Gamestop, Price drop, PriceDrop, PSP, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Kizzle @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:09PM

Still not interested, but if we get a redesign later this year I may pick one up. Hopefully this is a sign that it's going to happen.

Patrick @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:14PM

why do people say psp needs a redesign?, the second nub is the only missing part! although i may be a ds fanboy, ill give sony this, they actually designed it well the first time unlike nintendo. umds didnt work out, but aside from that the platform has really found its niche

izzy @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:14PM

the price drops way overdue but it won't save the psp now

ISH

Kendrick @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:15PM

Is this a universal price drop? I'd rather not give my money to EB or Gamestop if I can help it, so shopping at their competitors is the preferred option here.

sheppy @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:15PM

Hmmm, how many posts until the three most overused PSP rips are posted?

JodyAnthony @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:15PM

damnit, I just finally bought one in late Feb.

Cee @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:22PM

How can you dis the PSP? If someone is speaking ill of the PSP then they clearly don't own one, or if they own one, they are not taking full advantage of it.

GoonieGooGoo @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:22PM

Best Buy better price match this mother....I just bought my replacement PSP (thanks to 3yr. PRP Plan) on March 11th.

dark @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:22PM

WOW.............I'm soooooooooo not buying one.

Mr Khan @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:26PM

Well, it saves the PSP from its worst disgrace, being priced the same as a 7th gen home console (Wii)

But remember, it's only been about a year since things really started to get bad for PSP, it could turn around (unlikely but possible, it was only around this time last year that the DS really started to go above and beyond)

Kizzle @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:27PM

"why do people say psp needs a redesign?"

Because I don't like the current one?

This isn't rocket science.

"How can you dis the PSP?"

Easily - there aren't enough decent games out to make it worth buying. Emulation isn't reason enough for me to spend that much money.

Raynre @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:27PM

Still not worth it. Bring it down to $149.99 and I'll start to think about it.

Sensai @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:32PM

I was hoping they'd bring it to about 150...but this is close enough, I guess.

I just need one for that homebrew MMO game concerning FF8's cards. That, the new FF Tactics, and all the sweet homebrew EVAR. It might just be worth 170...

Derbeste @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:32PM

"Hmmm, how many posts until the three most overused PSP rips are posted?"

Hmmmm, how many threads until you realize they are the most used PSP rips for a FUCKING REASON??

Blue @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:32PM

@2:

"umds didnt work out, but aside from that the platform has really found its niche"

So....your argument for the PSP is the homebrew scene? Congratulations Sony, you made a system so good you don't even play the games meant for it?

Lewis @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:32PM

Wicked, I'll pick one up never.

Cutriss @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:33PM

"How can you dis the PSP? If someone is speaking ill of the PSP then they clearly don't own one, or if they own one, they are not taking full advantage of it."

I'll speak ill of it right now, and I own two.

The analog nub SUCKS.

It's a great invention, to be sure, but it needs some serious refinement. It works okay in racing games, but in any sort of game where you actually need precision movement off of more than just left or right, then it blows. It's really easy for your thumb to slip just a little too far and go from the "walk" sensitivity to the "run" sensitivity. Try walking on the docks in Liberty City Stories and see how many times you fall in the water.

We don't need another analog nub until the first one gets fixed.

Also, the Square button issue is not much fun either, and my X button even sticks from time to time. I have never had this problem on my Game Boy, GBA, or DS. The "style" of the PSP gets in the way of its functionality.

Do I still play it? Hell yes, especially with 3.10 OE-A. Is it perfect? Hell no, and don't try to be a fanboy and claim it is.

Also, Sony needs to pull their heads out of their asses with regards to region exclusivity with downloadable content. This is not a Sony-specific problem, Nintendo and Microsoft are really bad about it too, but there's no reason I shouldn't be able to download the Lemmings Pack or the MMPU levels that Capcom released in Japan only.

Tanster @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:34PM

thats not a bad deal considering I already have a a 2 gig pro duo thing.

matthew @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:38PM

I have both a DS and a PSP, and while I think the DS is better, it doesn't make the PSP bad. And it is, in fact, NOT a failure by any reasonable definition.

No, it did not repeat Sony's success with the Playstation, where they muscled in and completely took over a business previously dominated by Nintendo. But that is a REALLY high bar. Worldwide (and in particular the US) the PSP is not that far behind the DS. Its certainly not in PS2-to-GameCube territory (which was about 4-to-1).

Anyway, there are lots of great games these days, including Pirates, Tekken, LocoRoco, Mega Man Powered Up, and more. Crush looks awesome.

As far as a redesign meme, its just one of those things that catches on on the internet and gets repeated without much thought. The only two things wrong with the PSP are its battery-sucking UMD drive and the absence of a 2nd analog stick.

Neither of those can be corrected with a 'redesign'. A redesign would be just slimmer with a brighter screen.

So yes, in my opinion the DS is clearly better, but the PSP is actually pretty awesome.

sheppy @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:42PM

"Hmmmm, how many threads until you realize they are the most used PSP rips for a FUCKING REASON??"

Because every single one of them hold about as much water as the "kiddy game" arguement? I shot em down once, I can shoot em down again. Incidently, still waiting on the third. It's been hinted towards but not actually posted.

jay @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:51PM

@ 17
It's weird that your buttons are sticking. I kinda had this problem when I first got the system near launch, but after a couple of weeks it loosened up to feel like any other controller.

I agree about the nub. It's definitely awesome in theory, but it could be refined a ton, although I haven't had too many issues with it playing games like syphon filter, killzone, ratchet, wipeout. The games were just designed really well. Rockstar really didn't think that mission through in Liberty City stories

Patrick @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:55PM

"@2:

"umds didnt work out, but aside from that the platform has really found its niche"

So....your argument for the PSP is the homebrew scene? Congratulations Sony, you made a system so good you don't even play the games meant for it?"

no, as i said its not for me, its just it seems everyone rags on the psp, but its a pretty nice piece o' hardware for those who want it.

NeverSage @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:57PM

This is good news. I just rediscovered the greatness that is PSP. I hadn't bought a psp game since coded arms launched (which was quickly traded in for something better, store credit). Now I'm into LocoRoco and Ace Combat X. I still think the PSP needs less portable console games and more handheld quickie games. But it's still a good system.

Diman @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:04PM

And people again go on how PSP has no games,take that wool of your eyes.

Agathos @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:06PM

Anyone who believes the PSP is "hurting" or in "danger" has unfortunately stepped out of opinion land and crossed into lying to themselves.

Sure it hasn’t sold as many units as the phenomenon that is the DS, but that doesn’t mean Sony isn’t banking well on it which it is and extremely well. A product does not have to outsell all known competitors to be a success.

So UMD didn’t catch on as a universal format for media, okay neither did the GBA cartridge! Big deal, so they don’t have that extra revenue stream they had hoped for, again this does not mean Sony is losing money on this product.

Games? You mean like the healthy supply of 9+ rated games like Syphon Filter, GTA’s, MGS POps, Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and a big supply of solid 8+ reviewed games and an even bigger list of soon to be released games like God of War PSP and Final Fantasy and Castlevania installments? BTW, the 2nd Monster Hunter sold 500k+ in it’s first month of release in Japan.

Can anyone post any actual fact of facts on how exactly the PSP isn’t doing well?

I have both the DS and PSP, and again all 3 next gen consoles, not one of which I have the least bit of negative comment for they’ve all been great enjoyment, but that’s my opinion not fact. As far as facts go some are doing better than others currently, but not a single one is a business failure.

Enjoy facing the facts fan-bitches!

Joshua @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:08PM

Hey, the PSP is only $30 more than the DS Lite now! Craziness.

But I still wouldn't buy one until the redesign is launched, just because I know that if I did buy one, the redesign would be announced the next day. >.>

HenryJonesJr @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:17PM

I, too, have both a DS and a PSP, and there is a clear winner. My DS collects dust, except for when my 6 year-old plays it, while the PSP has gotten consistent play since I bought it the first week it was released. I didn't even own a PS2 at that time so don't try and pass this off as a Sony fanboy rant. Stylus control wasn't a big deal to me, I'd already been doing that on my PDA. The games continue to be the same ones we played on every other Nintendo system since the dawn of NES. I find very few of the DS library of games appealing in any way, while there are too many games on the PSP than I have the time or money to play! AND I don't do the emulation thing, so I'm talking original PSP games here.

No, the PSP isn't perfect. Ergonomically it sucks, my hands cramp like crazy. It desperately needs a second analog stick. UMD movies were over-priced and the media functions of the PSP are seriously under-developed. That said, I've been very happy with my PSP while I probably could have skipped purchasing a DS.

Then again, my 6 year-old does enjoy it, so it wasn't a total waste. I can see why he'd enjoy it, but I don't see how anyone over 14 would.

Derbeste @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:17PM

Sheepy...

You know I'm a Wii fan (for now...I'll admit even being the flaming fanboy that I am, I find myself......cooling)

But the "kiddie game" rip DOES hold water....at least it does to those people that don't like kiddy games. I have proof it holds water....many people that find it a problem aren't buying a Wii!

In the same fashion, the three rips you speak of hold water as well. You may think you can "shoot them down", but it is very unlike that will convince someone that finds the rips legit to get a PSP. That, my friend, is holding water.

It's much like how YOU find sub par graphics and imprecise/gimmicky motion control to be a rip worth not buying the Wii for. Yet other people don't find graphics to be important and our bored enough with buttons and dpads. So your rips on the Wii don't hold water to them.

So if you "shoot down" the three rips you speak of, it is only to make yourself feel better. They are obviously still enough of a reason for MANY people OTHER THAN YOU to not buy a PSP.....I'm one of them.

I just don't think MY kind of content is there. (upcoming FF ports and games will help.)

So as I said...they are the biggest three rips for a fucking reason! Enough people find them overting enough to buy a DS instead...or just stick with GBA.

Sony (and you) can either stick their heads in the sand and think that PSP is perfect, or they can fix those three gripes and probably get a bigger install base.

Make sense yet?

ackmondual @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:20PM

24.7mil PSPs sold worldwide vs 36.8mil according to Wiki (50% more DS out there). Word of mouth around here and there indicates DS outnumbers PSP 2:1.

Either way, those are pretty healthy #s for PSP. But in the regard where so many ppl, (including Sony, correct me if im wrong here) proclaim that the PSP will be a DS/GBA killer and even an ipod killer DOES make it an utter failure. They set a goal or premenition and they came VERY short of it, unless the whole idea was Sony didn't think Nin would sell sooo many DS, in which case Sony's still OK w/it since the PSP is out there.

ackmondual @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:23PM

more OT:
Price reduction is excellent. I'll pick up a PSP first thing next year when the next $30 price cut hits.

BTW, I'm guesssing the Giga and Value packs are still stuck at their same prices? I'm more indifferent either way, but bummer to Sony PSP fans.

Martez @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:26PM

This means used PSPs will drop price, too? Might pick one up, then. There are actually a decent number of games I want to play on it.

GJM @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:28PM

"the second nub is the only missing part!"

How about a screen with a decent response time. Unfortunately the PSP is unplayable to me (except static games like Lumines) due to the horrible screen smearing (which I know most people don't notice)

perfectchaos @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:29PM

#25 According to Wikipedia (probably not the best of sources, but bear with me), the PSP has sold around 24 million units worldwide while the nintendo ds has sold about 37 million units. that is one of the main reasons people see the ds as the success and sony as the failure. also, sony pretty much guaranteed they'd smite all comers with their uber portable system when it was first released only to not do as well as they hoped. they basically over promised and under delivered. you have to realize that even tho psps are selling respectably, sony isn't profitting off the sales of systems but rather the games. and even though games are being reviewed well enough, that doesn't translate to spectacular sales. a lot of people view psp games as gimped ps2 games you can play on the road, and who wants a gimped version of a game they c ould probably not get cheaper to play on a big screen tv at home? You might have noticed developers aren't exactly frothing at hte mouth to develop PSP games these days.

OGHowie @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:32PM

Redesign please! I pick my PSP over my DS Lite whenever I travel but it can definitely be improved on. I wouldn't even mind if the screen was just a wee smaller.

Nino @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:37PM

I'm guessing the third rip is either that the PSP games are more suited for a console than portable or that it only has racing/shooting games?

The first I agree with, the second is an over-generalization.

izzy @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:38PM

@ackmondual...wiki is wrong, go on vg charts... the numbers on
wiki
are the shipped figures for psp and the numbers for the ds are what
nintendo announced as of 31st december 2006, go on vg charts to see
the current figures.. However 1 problem with the vg charts figures
for psp, recently sony announced 5 million psp's had been shipped to
japan, however vg say psp has sold 5.5 million in japan, so u need to
take a bit off for that. anyway check vg charts, they say 40 million
ds and 21 million psp (rounded up).
ISH

Aleman @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:39PM

Unfortunately the new PSPs will probably have 3.10 or higher firmware installed on them and there's no downgrader yet. I wouldn't have bought my PSP if I couldn't run homebrew on it since I use it as a portable SNES.

slacker164 @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:39PM

About damn time.

Aex @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:40PM

@Derbeste

I have no idea what all the gripes are, but I know one untrue one is the PSP has no decent games. Which in fact does not hold water. The PSP has had a good amount of quality releases over the past few months, and It just gets better and better in the months to come. So, please explain how that gripe in particular holds water?

It'd be like someone saying the DS has no good games, because they don't like the DS. It is false, just because you hate a company or a system or console, does not make it true that it lacks quality games.

Sensai @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:40PM

The thing everyone forgets is that terms like 'well' and 'bad' are relative. In this respect, keeping that in mind, the PSP is not doing 'well' as it's facing the DS, which is doing 'excellently.'

To prove this point, I'll take a quote from Agathos -

'BTW, the 2nd Monster Hunter sold 500k+ in it’s first month of release in Japan.'

- and add to it. The two new Pokemon games sold 3 million in 46 days. No, the PSP isn't doing poorly compared to normal standards, but the DS has shattered those and replaced it with new ones.

And to HenryJonesJr and anyone else pushing the 'over this age you won't like it' argument: people have different tastes. I myself enjoy Phoenix Wright games a lot, and I'm 99% sure that there are VERY few kids who can muscle their way through that game.

Einhanderkiller @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:41PM

@#11, Kizzle

There are plenty of PSP games out worth buying.
http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp

silkylove @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:56PM

Meh. They should've done this a year ago. Also the price is still too high. The magic number is $149.99. I have a mental block to paying close to $200(before taxes) for a handheld. That's console type money.

Snap @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:59PM

Seriously, this is great news for the PSP. I too tire of hearing all the negative "facts" about the PSP. Fact is the PSP has outsold any other handheld to date except for the DS. I'm sure the billizon of other gaming portables that crashed and burned would love to be in that same position.

The PSP is a great portable gaming console and that is what I use it for. I recently sold my PS2 + a massive collection of games because I was no longer playing it due to the next gen systems and my PSP. The PSP has replaced my PS2.

I also own 4 DS Lites and none of them get as much play time as the one PSP does. Of course, the kids would play DS all day if I let them ;)

glitched @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:04PM

One thing that I wish my PSP had was a second slot for another memory stick so i could just add another stick isntead of replacing the one i have...

redspear @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:11PM

Snap the PSP has not outsold the GBA, GBC, or original Gameboy

Aex @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:29PM

@redspear

I'm going to reach a little here, but I'm sure he meant non-nintendo handheld. Unless he is playing that whole, "at this point in their lifetime" game

Johnny Lasley @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:33PM

I was one of the first few who bought the PSP, just a couple of weeks after launch. I was more critical of it then. I laughed at UMD movies. It is terrible for most first person shooters, and quality games were ghastly infrequent. Still, I am awed at Sony's engineering.

I am awed at the DS, and really wanted to get one. But I'm not a fan of Nintendo first-party games. Third party games aren't interesting. There more games I like for the PSP.

That being said, I don't think either handheld is better than the other. Most arguments you guy put forth are extremely weak, weaker than weak even.

Battery life for the PSP is solid. I played Killzone on the beta for nearly four hours before having to plug it back in. If I'm on the road, I can plug it in my car or carry a spare battery. No big deal.

The RIGHT UMD movies will find their RIGHT price point, as I expected when I bought my PSP. Wait till the format is dead, and buy 'em up. It should be for games only.

The analog does suck, but I have been able to live with it for the most part. It also has a tendency to wear out making my characters walk on their own. I have only minor problems moving with GTA:LCS or SW:Lethal Alliance. I found an easy solution, but a analog unit. You can find one for $20.

The same goes for buttons, which are even cheaper.

The best criticism for the PSP for me is the lack of a Playstation Store for games, being outperformed by homebrewers and the unfulfilled promises of GPS, cameras, etc. But as a consumer of Sony products, I've come to expect this.

Still...I love my PSP. And at least at this price point, it is a much better that the DS IMHO.