Sony has confirmed that the new slimline PSP will launch in Europe before it arrives in Japan and will be priced at €169, as announced by David Reeves at E3 last week.
Speaking at SCEE's special E3 event Reeves told the audience, "It will come out at 169 Euros in all the PAL territories at the beginning of September." The new PSP is due to launch in Japan on September 20.
A spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has confirmed to GI.biz, "As David said in his speech last week, the new PSP will launch in early September and will be the same price as the existing one."
The original PSP currently retails in the UK for GBP 129.99.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26915
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It sounds as if the new PSP will be selling for a higher price than what it has been lately. I would expect that this would dampen sales initially, even given a better product. I mean, when you redesign a product and get thigns going, the factory just won't run as smoothly as it has been until it gets used to making a new product. Also, the more units made, the less each will cost to be made, so again, it will cost a little more initially.
The upside is that because of the new PSP's smaller size and screen, that it will likely cost Sony a lot less to make once the factories get up and running, and therefore I would expect that after a few months, we would see some price cuts and possibly, the PSP being priced more cheaply than even the current price after a year or so.
