Don't have a PSP but that recent $30 price cut just put it within your financial grasp? Then we'll not only advise that you look for additional employment, but we'll direct you towards this handy article at Curmudgeon Gamer that addresses some of the tired, specious arguments you may have seen propagated on this here internet. Namely, that the PSP has no games and, what games it does have, require a second mortgage to finance.

Some observations: the $50 PSP game is gone (the vaporous Oblivion for PSP notwithstanding), replaced by the much more amenable $40 game; EB Games lists 102 new games for the DS and 94 for the PSP; the average cost of a game on each platform is only off by $2.54; and the median price for each system is a common $29.99. With Sony telling teens to "get their own," convincing the chronically underemployed that PSP games are affordable is more important than ever.

The data is available on Curmudgeon Gamer in a variety of formats if anyone cares to remix it ... or make us a more attractive 425 pixel wide chart! Update: Thanks for the chart, Steve!

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Despite entering the charts at number three last week, Lego Star Wars II has proved a popular favourite with the British public, rising to snatch the top spot from Dead Rising this week. The rest of the chart follows in similar vein, demonstrating only a slight shuffle from last week's positions. Several Xbox 360 titles are selling well, but the multiformat nature of Lego Star Wars may have tipped it to the top -- that, and it's Lego, man.

1. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
2. Dead Rising
3. Saints Row
4. Cars
5. Test Drive Unlimited
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
7. New Super Mario Bros.
8. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
9. Lego Star Wars
10. The Sims 2

The UK's fastest-selling Xbox 360 game yet, Dead Rising has rushed straight to the top of the all-format charts this week. Beating popular newcomers Lego Star Wars II and Test Drive Unlimited to number one, Dead Rising's debut means a drop in position for last week's high-rankers Cars and Saints Row. A recent expansion pack means The Sims 2 is unfortunately still glued to the top-ten list.

1. Dead Rising
2. Saints Row
3. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
4. Test Drive Unlimited
5. Cars
6. The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff
7. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
8. New Super Mario Bros.
9. The Sims 2
10. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training

Football fanaticism? It must be that time of year. Yes, FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 is back on top -- undoubtedly influenced by the big kick-off. New titles Brain Training, Moto GP 06 and Sensible Soccer 2006 debut in the top ten -- and people are still buying Tomb Raider.

1. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006
2. Hitman: Blood Money
3. Tomb Raider: Legend
4. Moto GP 06
5.  Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
7. Sensible Soccer 2006
8. Half-Life 2: Episode One
9. Animal Crossing: Wild World
10. X-Men: The Official Game

New Super Mario Bros is still going strong at the top of the Japanese sales charts this week. With over 330,000 sales -- well over a million, cumulatively -- the title's dominance has well and truly whipped the rest of the charts into submission, with only a small amount of reshuffling since last week:

1. New Super Mario Bros. [DS]
2. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
3. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
4. Metroid Prime Hunters [DS]
5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
6. Tetris DS [DS]
7. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]
10. Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable [PSP]

This week's UK charts look suspiciously similar to last week's, despite the impending World Cup. Since we English can't walk down a street without seeing at least five St George's Crosses, perhaps all those who would buy football games are already playing them. Noticeable changes this week are merely the slight ascension of The Sims 2 and the new arrival of Half-Life 2: Episode One at number eight.

Last week we saw the .hack franchise dominating the Japanese charts, but it's all change this week as newcomer New Super Mario Bros. flattens all competition. Just shy of 900,000 sales, it's exceeded the sales of the rest of the top ten combined -- and probably the rest of the top forty.

1. New Super Mario Bros. [DS]
2. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
3. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
4. Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable [PSP]
5. Tetris DS [DS]
6. KimiKiss [PS2]
7. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
10. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]

With the World Cup due to kick off in under a fortnight, UK consumers are doing the obvious thing -- and buying Hitman: Blood Money. The football-themed titles are still strong in the charts, but Eidos' Agent 47 has overtaken them in its first week of release. The recent Sims 2 expansion keeps the original fresh, too.

1. Hitman: Blood Money
2. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 5
4. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
5. Tomb Raider: Legend
6. X-Men: The Official Game
7. Animal Crossing: Wild World
8. The Da Vinci Code
9. Championship Manager 2006
10. The Sims 2

This week a new release has sped straight to the top of the chart -- .hack//GU Vol 1: Saitan (Rebirth in the west) dominates the charts with over 90,000 sales. There are two forthcoming sequels in this branch of the popular .hack franchise, though we have to wonder if Bandai will release a corresponding tie-in MMO.

1. .hack//GU Vol 1: Saitan [PS2]
2. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
3. Tetris DS [DS]
4. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
6. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
7. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Pokémon Ranger [DS]
10. Mario Kart DS [DS]

Despite football fever hitting the UK hard, the only soccer title in last week's Japanese charts is lounging at number 4. Baseball's all the rage instead, with Jikkyou Powerful Major League taking the top spot. Tetris DS is still selling well, and the other titles in the top ten are all favourites making re-appearances in this slow week of sales.

1. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]
2. Tetris DS [DS]
3. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
4. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
5. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
6. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
7. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
8. Pokémon Ranger [DS]
9. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2]
10. Mother 3 [GBA]

World Cup fever is running high in the UK still, with FIFA World Cup holding on to its top spot for a second week. Metroid Prime: Hunters rushes straight into the top ten in its first week at number 6, and Crazy Frog Racer finally vanishes from the top 40, leaving us with nothing but a terrible memory.

1. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006
2. Tomb Raider Legend
3. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
4. The Godfather
5. Animal Crossing: Wild World
6. Metroid Prime: Hunters
7. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
8. FIFA Street 2
9. Buzz! The Big Quiz
10. Championship Manager 2006

With World Cup season kicking off, the UK charts have gone sports mad, with three football titles in the top ten. EA's ll-new FIFA World Cup rockets in at number one, knocking Tomb Raider from its three-week reign. Another new entry in the top ten is NCsoft's Guild Wars: Factions, a sequel-cum-expansion to the popular fee-free MMO. Elsewhere in the charts 24: The Game sneaks in at number 31, with Trauma Center going straight to number 40.

1. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006
2. Tomb Raider: Legend
3. Football Manager 2006
4. Animal Crossing: Wild World
5. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
6. The Godfather
7. Guild Wars: Factions
8. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
9. FIFA Street 2
10. Buzz! The Big Quiz

Several new releases are sitting pretty in the Japanese charts this week, with newcomers holding the top three spots. Mother 3, described by Famitsu as the "Most Wanted" game in Japan back in March, unsurprisingly rocketed to the top with over 200,000 sales; a spinoff from the popular Dragon Quest VIII is in at number two, after selling 127,500 copies.

The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 23:

1. Mother 3 [GBA]
2. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2]
3. Final Fantasy XI:  Aht Urhgan no Hihou [PS2]
4. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
5. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai [PSP]
6. Okami [PS2]
7. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
8. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
9. DS English Training [DS]
10. Pokémon Ranger [DS]

The corresponding hardware sales (cumulative sales for 2006 in brackets):

The sales figures are in, with last week's UK sales looking similar to the one before. Tomb Raider Legend is still number one, and Ice Age 2 is enjoying popularity both at the box office and in the games charts, though with 28,000 fewer sales. King Kong has dropped out of the top ten, with The Sims 2: Family Fun Pack jumping in to replace it, and the continued dominance of Crazy Frog Racer (29) over Guitar Hero (36) is depressing us.

The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 22:

1. Tomb Raider Legend
2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
3. Animal Crossing: Wild World
4. Fifa Street 2
5. The Godfather
6. The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff
7. Football Manager 2006
8. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
9. Buzz! The Big Quiz
10. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The sales figures are in for Japan, ranking games of all formats for the week ending April 16. It's a very different picture to charts elsewhere, with brain-training games dominating the top spots (as they have done for weeks), two baseball games at 9 and 10, and the PS2 and DS running rampant. In fact, for anyone out there hoping, there are no Xbox or Xbox 360 titles in the top 50 at all.

The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 16:

1. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
2. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
3. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
4. Legend of Starfy 4 [DS]
5. Guilty Gear XX Slash [PS2]
6. DS English Training [DS]
7. Pokémon Ranger [DS]
8. Final Fantasy XII [PS2]
9. Pro Yakyu Netsu Star 2006 [PS2]
10. Pro Yakyu Spirit 3 [PS2]