SCEA Cutting PSP Go Price To $149.99

A week after discounting its older PSP-3000 models to $129.99, Sony has cut the MSRP for its UMD-less, digital download-focused PSP Go by $50 to $149.99 in North America. Major retailers haven't yet updated their listings to reflect the new price, notes consumer site Joystiq, which first reported the markdown, but Sony Computer Entertainment America has updated its official PSP site to read, "Now you can enjoy the sleek, totally-digital PSP Go system for $149.99 MSRP and the unsurpassed PSP-3000 system for $129.99 MSRP." Last week, the company marked down its PSP-3000 hardware, which originally launched in October 2008, to $129.99, matching the price of Nintendo's almost five-year-old DS Lite models. With the pricecut, SCEA also added 13 titles to its reduced-price "Greatest Hits" and $9.99 "Favorites" library. The company released the PSP Go in October 2009 for $249, then dropped the price to $199 a year later. These new discounts come as Sony prepares to launch its successor to the PSP, the Next Generation Portable (NGP), which features a 5-inch OLED touchscreen, 3G, a rear touchpad, motion sensing, and more. Since the PSP's debut in late 2004, the handheld has gone on to move 67.8 million units around the world, 23 million of which were sold in North America. "Nearly six years after its initial launch, demand for the PSP remains strong," said SCEA's sales VP Tim Bender last week. "This new price point enables us to broaden the PSP platform to a larger group of consumers who are looking for best-in-class handheld entertainment."