Filed under: Gaming

Hope all you would-be PSP buyers out there are into that PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack that just went on sale a couple weeks ago, because it’s going to be the only bundle available from here on out. That’s the word straight from Sony, which says that “ongoing discussions” with retailers have led it to kill the previously-announced $169 4GB Memory PSP-3000 bundle in favor of offering a single SKU — although the company helpfully points out that you can still score a 4B PSP Memory Stick PRO Duo for an additional $45. Yeah, thanks for the tip, guys. The current Mystic Silver bundle will be joined by a Piano Black version sometime in December, so you’re not totally limited option-wise, but we’re not exactly pumped about throwing extra money at a game we don’t necessarily want — we’d happily drop the extra cash on a non-interlaced screen, however.

Sony simplifies PSP-3000 lineup, only offering one SKU originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

We first caught wind of a slightly revamped PSP months ago, and the long-awaited handheld — complete with a new, fancier and in some cases more dreadful display — finally hit US shelves this month. For those that picked one of these up and have spent some quality time digging into the latest firmware, how are you liking things? Particularly for those that upgraded, are you pleased with the new build? Are you being plagued with those mysterious screen problems features? Could you stand to see a few more things tweaked for the PSP-4000? We suspect there will be quite a few mixed messages flying in this one, so let’s get those comments rolling.

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/playstation/PSP_3000_unboxing_and_hands_on’; We know they’re hitting the streets, and we’ve already seen some unboxing pics and a nasty gutting, but we felt we needed to give Sony’s new PSP-3000 the proper Engadget treatment. As you can tell by the photos, there’s not much new here, though as you should know, the guts are where it’s all going down (new screen, built-in microphone). Still it never hurts to take a close look at a shiny new toy… so enjoy yourselves in the gallery.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Now that the PSP-3000 (or PSP Brite, as our Joystiq friends like to call it) has hit the streets, it was only natural for its innards to be splayed for all the world to see — it’s all part of the circle of life, or some similarly cliche lyric. We wouldn’t really know where to begin running through these parts and figuring out what’s new, but Impress Watch says it’s pretty much the LCD getting all the love here, and that otherwise they’re seeing way fewer internal changes than they saw when Sony released the PSP-2000. Sounds about right to us, but we’re really just in it for the senseless violence of it all.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Given that a PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack managed to sneak out a few days back (and, you know, being that today’s the official launch day and all), you shouldn’t be too floored to hear that the altogether brighter PlayStation Portable is now available across North America. ‘Course, you’ll have to fork over $199.99 for the aforementioned bundle if you want it today — the less-frills black PSP-3000 kit (with just a 4GB Memory Stick) should be around next month.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Due to be launched next Tuesday, the PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack has managed to slip into at least one Best Buy a few days early, where it was quickly snatched up by friendly tipster Aaron G. He sent us a few unboxing shots out of the kindness of his heart, and now he’s undoubtedly too engrossed in National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets and that ultra-bright screen to pay us much heed. Oh Nicolas Cage, what a charmer you are.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

We’re not sure which part of “you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time” John Koller didn’t mean, but evidently we (read: the world) had it all wrong. In a recent posting from the Director, he “clarifies” things by asserting that “the new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP, about 4 to 6 hours for games and about 4 to 5 hours for UMD videos.” He continues on to affirm that the new, brighter and altogether lovelier display does suck down more power, but Sony’s dutiful engineers apparently managed to “reduce the power consumption of the overall system” in order to counteract that. At this point, we’ll just wait for real world battery tests before believing anything.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Gaming

According to a GameSpot interview with Sony’s US director of hardware marketing John Koller, that new PSP-3000 screen may look a bit better… but it’s going to cost you about 20 minutes of battery life. Luckily for you gamers with endless pockets out there, Koller assures that minor wrinkle be offset because, “We’re going to have the extended life battery that’s still available for consumers, so we’re still going to get the eight-to-ten hours out of that battery.” So just to make that clear, the regular battery life will be diminished, but you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time. Got that? Good. Watch him say it for real in the video after the break.

[Via T3]

Continue reading PSP-3000 battery life diminished by new screen, Sony suggests buying a bigger battery

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Filed under: Gaming

Looks like Sony wasn’t foolin’ when it said that the new PSP-3000 has a noticeably improved screen from the PSP-2000 — check out this comparison shot of the new rig vs. the old. Man, our first-gen unit is starting to look like a real clunker — anyone else feeling the need to upgrade?

[Via PSP Fanboy ]

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Filed under: Displays, Gaming

Don’t want to blow any minds here, but Sony’s new and improved PSP-3000 LCD happens to actually be new and improved. According to our bestest pals over at Engadget Japan, the new screen has double the color gamut, about five times the contrast ratio and double the response time. PSP-3000… will you marry us?

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

It’s not like Sony could really keep this thing under wraps for much longer, but the company finally did the deed by announcing the PSP-3000 at the Leipzig Games Convention. The unit itself will look exactly like the PSP-2000, though it will feature an “improved screen that’s better outside with no glare and a built-in mic.” The juicy tidbits have yet to surface, but we are told to expect the new handheld in Europe for €199 ($291) on October 15th.

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Filed under: Gaming

Continue reading Sony said to be prepping PSP-3000 with built-in mic

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Filed under: Gaming

It’s only just turned three, but it looks like the PlayStation Portable is now at the center of new rumor mill concerning yet another possible revision, with this one sparked by Sony itself, no less. It doesn’t come from an over-talkative exec or anything, however, but rather a curious placeholder image that was turned up on Sony’s online instruction manual site. As PSP Fanboy reports, not only are there the expected images for the original PSP-1000 series and the slimmer PSP-2000 series, but there is one for a hereto unheard of 3000 series as well (no 4000 series, though). Of course, it’s entirely possible that the image is nothing more than a mistake or the work of someone trying to be a little too prepared, but we have a sneaking suspicion that won’t stop the speculation from spinning out of control.

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