14 DAY TRIAL // As soon as the E3 was over, gaming sites all around the world posted news on Sony's upcoming PSP Slim (not the handheld's official name). The company has released the gaming platform's "manual" revealing details about its features and their functionality (some already known, some new). The manual however couldn't provide a release date for the product, as you can imagine, but Sony themselves could. Thus, as I found via Eurogamer.biz today, the company has plans of launching the system, on the 20th of September, this year, in Japan.
According to the mentioned gaming site, "the new slimline PSP" will be launching "in Japan on 20th September at a pre-tax price of 19,800 yen (GBP 79 / EUR 118)." OK then, that's enough to get every person on this planet excited, gamer or non gamer. 118 Euros. That's dirt cheap for a newer version of the already sexy PlayStation Portable.
The currently available model retails in America for $169, if I'm not mistaking, while the Europeans can't get it for less than 150 Euros anywhere, launching the slimmer PSP in Europe at an even smaller price will create a PSP frenzy. Of course, Sony has a different pricing in mind for the PAL territory, but it can't be much higher than the Japanese pricing, as you can imagine. So at least we have good news on the platform's price.
And, as the PSP Slim sports those already much-talked-about TV out capabilities... "The announcement also prices the individual video-out cables you'll need to buy to hook it up to your TV," Eurogamer.biz reports. "Even the old PSP was hardly big enough to fit a bunch of AV outs, so in Japan at least you'll have to pay 2,200 yen (GBP 9 / EUR 13) for composite or S-video cables and 2,800 yen (GBP 11 / EUR 17) if you want D-terminal or component.
There's also a fancy little TV tuner, due out on the same day, which goes for 6,980 yen (GBP 28 / EUR 42) and plugs into the USB port."
Really now, why all the dropping jaws, it's a handheld. It's meant to keep you AWAY from the TV set. If you want to play games on your TV, you have the PS2, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360 and so on, which provide an even better experience. The TV tuner... yes, that one's a winner. OK, I can see that nobody's listening so I'll end now. Just thought you should know they've dated the PSP Slim for Japan and priced it too.