Yet Another PSP Re-Design?

It seems as if this is the third time, but SCEE has announced a new PSP design with eight different bundles being offered. This fall we should see the PSP-3000, which sounds much like a fake Acme cartoon toy, but it’s for reals.

This version will have a built-in microphone, a redesigned (brighter) LCD screen with out-of-the-box Skype abilities. The Swiss Army knife of hand-helds will keep the current outward design with inner tweaks and each bundle will cause 199 Euro.

Is the market really looking for a re-design with these features or is this Sony’s way of competing with “color DS lite” designs. Nintendo re-releases the same product with brighter colors a few years after its release while Sony seems to push a few new hardware features or enhancements.

The end result, DS still beats all expectations in unit sales month after month.

(Thanks, Kotaku)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 482: NaptimeEpisode 482: Naptime

This particular episode becomes a little sleepy as one host actually falls asleep during recording. Guess which one. After last week’s episode only partially uploaded, the Gaming Flashback for Okami is actually an insert, too.

The news items include:

  • It’s a big week for new game releases on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC
  • Lego Dimensions comes to an early end after two years
  • Why Xbox One backward compatibility took so long
  • Ex-BioWare says Anthem is an example of EA’s monetization plans

Let us know what you think — without falling asleep first.

Episode 666: Nintendo Hentai BanEpisode 666: Nintendo Hentai Ban

This week is plagued by the Mark of the Beast, but next week’s will be a giant landmark, too. No Gaming Flashback, but a lot of legal happenings in the past week.

The news includes:

  • USB-C charging ports will be required by law in the EU for most portable tech from 2024
  • NetherRealm’s next game won’t be revealed during Mortal Kombat anniversary events
  • Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is why there’s only one expansion, says dev
  • Nintendo has updated eShop rules on adult content, publisher says

Let us know what you think.

Xbox 360 Silver Accounts, Free XBL Cross-Platform GamingXbox 360 Silver Accounts, Free XBL Cross-Platform Gaming

Microsoft has announced they’ll be giving Xbox Live silver accounts access to play some multi-player cross-platform games for free until the fall update. Recently, Microsoft announced free online play with Games for Windows titles, effectively giving PC gamers “gold accounts” to play online.

Most people agree the move to give gold subscriptions to PC gamers was done because PC gamers don’t care to play Games for Windows games online if they have to pay for it. The culture of PC gaming is much different than console gaming on XBL, gamers expect the online experience at no cost; they’re already paying an ISP for network access, paying for a match-making system with a yearly subscription is not desired.

Console gamers don’t have a choice, buying the 360 experience arrives with simple to play games (no drivers, no installs) but limited online choices: pay or go away. Now, silver members will get a little taste of network play, along side PC gamers in the cross-platform Games for Windows titles.

“Supported cross-platform titles include Universe at War, Shadowrun, and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition.” (gamespot)

We question the intention here… is this as a good faith move or are they wetting people’s appitite for XBL so they’ll want to upgrade to gold in the fall? Or, maybe there are some logistical reasons to doing this in the Xbox Live infrastructure to prepare for upgrades where making it free solves a few of their internal upgrade paths and, as a side effect, gives gamers some games to play.

Of course, we’ve seen few people playing Shadowrun or Lost Planet lately. Maybe this will re-popularize a few older titles as well.