Japanese Release Date Confirmed For Slimline PSP

Sony has announced the final release date and pricing details for the new slimline PSP at a press conference in Japan, with the new version of the hardware going on sale for the same price as the existing version. Although a new iteration of the hardware had been rumored for some time, it was only officially unveiled at Sony’s pre-E3 media briefing last week, where it was given a vague “September” release date, alongside several new themed entertainment pack bundles. Each bundle was priced at $200, compared to the recently lowered stand alone price of $169, and it is unclear if the new version will be sold outside of a bundle this year. Although the new version of the console looks physically very similar to the old one it is 33 percent light, 19 percent slimmer, has a more efficient battery and twice the amount of memory to enable faster loading. The new hardware can also output its video signal to any standard television set. In Japan the new hardware iteration is also being launched alongside a new TV tuner compatible with the 1seg digital video service in Japan. The service is primarily intended for mobile phones but Nintendo has also announced its own receiver card for the Nintendo DS. Although a full translation of the Japanese press conference is not yet available, coverage on Japanese website AV Watch shows six separate colors for the new hardware, including the now traditional black and white colors. The price for the console will be ¥19,800 ($162) – the same as the current version – and it will be released on September 20th. A special edition console bundled with Square Enix game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII has also been announced.