Sony has announced that all future first-party PSP games will be available through download in Japan, beginning later this year via the Wi-Fi Store. The store is scheduled to open in Japan on October 15th with the firmware v5.00 update. Games to be sold by direct download include Secret Agent Clank (11/20), Patapon 2 (11/27), and LocoRoco 2 (12/4) (these titles will also be available on UMD).

There is currently no date for the release of the store in North America or Europe. We're also wondering how downloadable games' pricing will compare to standard UMD retail prices (considering that direct downloads save on packaging, shipping and a slew of other costs). We'll update as soon as we hear anything.

One of the most popular and best-reviewed PSP cases is the Playgear Pocket by Logitech. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit the PSP Slim & Lite. Logitech is about to change that with the launch of the PlayGear Pocket Slim next month. It seems to be the same exact case, except sized to fit the PSP-2000. It comes with a skin template that allows you to create your own custom skin. It is still made out of polycarbonate and you still don't have to take it out of the case to use the PSP. It even fits the larger 2200 mAH extended-life battery.

It might a little less sturdy though, according to the Logitech site, the original case came with a 2 year warranty; this new one comes with only a 1 year warranty. Will you be picking this up when it launches in August for $14.99?

Original PSP owners can frequently be seen with a hard case, such as the ones made by Logitech. However, the slimmer PSP-2000 series do not fit in those cases. What's a PSP-2000 user supposed to do, then?

They can pick up the Traveler Case, a hard PSP case which will store the system, Memory Sticks and UMDs -- all for $20. We spotted them on sale (with discount) at both amazon.com and buy.com. The case will be available at the end of the month.

[Via PSP GadgetZ]

And it would have outsold all of the competition combined if it weren't for that pesky Xbox 360 contributing 1,547 units to the tally. The number the other systems had to defeat was 129,986, the number of PSPs sold in Japan last week according to the compulsive counters at Media Create. Nintendo's DS occupied the second place in the chart with 58,916 sold -- less than half of that managed by the PSP.

The system's monster success arrives hand-in-hand with Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom 2 G, which sold 880,468 copies in its first week. Capcom revealed earlier this week that it had already shipped over a million units of the PSP expansion in an attempt to satiate the demand for "epic battles with giant monsters."

Today marks the third birthday of Sony's PlayStation Portable. Our sister site PSP Fanboy takes a look back at the 50 biggest moments in the platform's history. From the worst marketing disaster to what sold 77,777 copies on its first day, everything is covered.

As tempting as it'll be to import Japan's latest PSP-2000 when it releases on April 24th (for a limited time), we simply won't stand for Bronze triumphing over brains. Debuting in a new Matte Bronze Value Pack priced at ¥23,800 ($228) , the third-place color will finish in matte "for the first time for PSP." The bundle will include an AC adaptor, battery, pouch, handstrap, cloth, D-Terminal AV cable and a why-even-bother 32MB Memory Stick.

Expected to launch on the same day: A ¥4,800 ($46) cradle and charger for the PSP-2000. It's the ideal device for those 1Seg watchers and mediaphiles who would prefer to interact via the included remote whenever the PSP's hooked up to a relatively distant television. The cradle will also be available in bundled form, with a ¥6,500 ($62) package tossing in a D-Terminal AV cable.

Read -- Matte Bronze Value Pack
Read -- Cradle

Sony subsidiary SN Systems has cut the cost of the PlayStation Portable dev tools in half, effective today. The announced price reduction, in conjunction with a new Tuner performance optimizer, is hoped to increase the appeal of developing for the PSP. Support fees for current licensees will also enjoy a 50% reduction.

Sony made a similar move last November when they halved the price of its PS3 dev kit to a reported $10,250. Sales of the PSP, while still trailing the DS, have received a sales boost in recent months thanks to the handheld's redesign.

[Via Gamasutra]

On the eve of its January 24 debut in Japan, Sony's PSP Skype service and microphones have been delayed. According to the press release, "it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification." Doesn't that seem like a problem that should have been dealt with before launch week, possibly before a release date was even announced?

No new date has been given for either the microphone or Skype service. Our sister site Engadget had a chance to check out the new service earlier this month at CES 2008.

[Via Engadget]

It wasn't too long ago when Sony and Capcom partnered together to release a limited edition Monster Hunter 2nd Summer PSP bundle. Well, it looks like they're at it again with Monster Hunter Portable 2G. Called the Hunter's G Pack, the limited edition bundle will hit retail shelves on March 27 in Japan for 25,800 yen and will include the PSP, Monster Hunter Portable 2G, a carrying case and limited edition wrist strap, as well as the AC adapter and battery.

The system's model number is PSP-2000 ZN, so don't worry, you will be able to Skype with it. Admittedly, the new bundle looks a lot like something from Zelda, but we're not complaining because it looks darn sweet!

[Via Official PlayStation forums]

On February 28th, the Japanese PSP-2000 is set to arrive in yet another fresh new color: Mint Green. This subtle and unnervingly attractive addition to the rainbow riot going on over there will cost ¥19,800, or roughly $181. Its qualities can likely be analyzed for several more sentences, but we don't want to make it too obvious that this simple news story is in desperate need of filler text. Best we end it off quickly with another play on the "Mint Green" name.

Will this PSP color become available in America? Don't hold your breath.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Following the news of impending Skype support on Slim PSPs, some were left wondering why the plumper PlayStation Portable failed to answer the voice over IP call. Speaking to SCEE's director of corporate communications Nick Sharples, Pocket Gamer has ascertained the simple answer. It has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with the older PSP's waning memory and inability to remember long strings of numbers (just like grandpa).

"We had studied the possibility of supporting Skype with PSP-1000 but had to give it up because of the smaller size of main memory on PSP-1000 series," said Sharples. If you recall, the PSP-2000 benefits from 64MB of internal memory (as opposed to 32MB in the older model) which is used for UMD caching and the reduction of game loading times. The same enhancement also enables Skype to run and thus excludes the original PSP from online chatting. We certainly hope early adopters don't get too hung up on the disappointment [Goodbye! - Ed].

[Via PSP Fanboy]

As reported earlier, Skype will be available exclusively on PSP-2000 systems only. The revised handheld features additional RAM, previously used for UMD caching. According to Nick Sharples from SCEE, the additional memory onboard the new PSP is crucial for running the VoIP application. He told Pocket Gamer: "We had studied the possibility of supporting Skype with PSP-1000 but had to give it up because of the smaller size of main memory on PSP-1000 series."

Skype is coming before month's end. For more images of the application, visit GPara. For those with homebrew-capable PSP-1000 systems, new homebrew VoIP applications may be worthwhile to you.

The rumors of Skype support coming to the PSP have now been confirmed by Japan's Nikkei Net news organization. Unfortunately for most PSP users, however, the news service stated that Skype support will be limited to the PSP-2000, but that it may come as soon as this month.

Skype service will be free for PSP-to-PSP and PSP-to-PC calls and vice versa. Additionally, users can register for a dedicated number for around $20 every three months for what should provide support for landline and cellphone calls. The software will more than likely be part of a future firmware update, and users will use an external microphone for communication.

At this point, we're not entirely sure why service is limited to the PSP-2000. Could there be some other hardware addition to the updated handheld that we didn't previously know about, or could this be a diabolical scheme to get us to upgrade our PSPs? Whatever the case may be, we know we certainly want to use this new technology that more or less answers the question whether Sony is interested in a PSPhone.

[Via Gamespot, Thanks for the tip, Jay!]

Official PSP-2000 headphones are now available on amazon.com, and they're just $20! It's a pretty good deal, so we'd definitely recommend getting a piece of this action while it lasts.

Unfortunately, the headphones that came with PSP-1000 are not compatible with the newer models. Without a compatible remote, PSP users will find themselves unable to use other accessories, like the PSP headset.

[Via CAG]