Sony officially announces PSP Go

During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Sony officially introduced the PSP Go -- the newest, smallest version of the PlayStation Portable handheld gaming unit.  Details of the unit were mistakenly posted on the Sony web site in late April, but the product's web site was quickly removed.

The PSP Go is  half the size of the original PSP and almost 40 percent lighter, Sony executives proudly said during E3.  It has built-in Wi-Fi Internet, 16GB internal storage, two different sets of control buttons, and a 3.8-inch screen -- Bluetooth support is available, with Sony dropping the UMD drive in favor of going digital.

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Sony sold 14.1 million PSP units worldwide last year, and hopes to increase that number up to 15 million in 2009. The company launched the PSP while also announcing the Polyphony Digital Gran Turismo PSP video game, schedule for an Oct. 1 release.

The new PSP will officially go on sale in North America and Europe on Oct. 1 for $249, and will make its way to Japan on Nov. 1.

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Image courtesy of Bloomberg

Sony hopes the PSP Go is able to help the company better compete against Nintendo, which is known for its high-selling DS handheld.  Nintendo has continually dominated the sales charts both with its Wii and DS units, though Microsoft and Sony hope expanded video game catalogs will help them better compete.

It's good for Sony to finally announce the PSP Go, but the $249 price tag -- the same price as the original PSP released in 2005 -- makes me wonder if Sony should have also included a price cut in its E3 announcement.  Consumers are looking to save as much money as possible, and not dropping the price down to $229 or $219 could cost Sony later.

Will people be interested in purchasing the newest PSP even though it carries a retail price tag of $249? 

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