PSP Dates!

[SSJPabs]

Via (as usual) Kotaku:

PSP US and Canadian Date and Prices Set

Clear your calander and break open the piggy bank, the Playstation Portable is going up for sale on March 24 for $250 in the U.S. and $300 in Canada. The system will be sold in a value pack, which will come with a 32 MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, softcase, cleaning cloth, UMD disc music/movie/game sampler. The first one million units will also include a complete copy of Spider-Man 2, which just kicks ass.
Sony plans to manufacture a million PSPs for North America by March 31. The announcement also included a full break-down of the PSP’s specs.

Original Source: Yahoo Finanace

Note: I left the list of specs off it to make the post a decent size. Also, are you using Kotaku yet for news? They're great...

[Invader_Spooch]

OMG


A free copy of Spider-Man 2? Woah. Thank god I reserved my PSP already.

[ZeroFate]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Without all the extra stuff Sony could have easily priced a standalone @ $150. Plus, is this "free" copy of Spider-Man 2 the UMD game or movie? It's probably the movie now that I think about it, Sony's gonna try to market the UMD movie capability this way.

Ah well. I hope the general consumer realizes what a pretty good deal this is considering the PSP's capabilities...

[Invader_Spooch]

Plus, is this "free" copy of Spider-Man 2 the UMD game or movie? It's probably the movie now that I think about it, Sony's gonna try to market the UMD movie capability this way.

Yeah, it's the movie.

Either way, it's a good deal reguardless of it seeming a bit pricey.

[Matthew Williams]

it's a good deal - but I wish they'd have packed in a game, not a movie. (And this is setting adise my feelings for Spider-Man 2, which I completely and utterly loathe.)

Day after my birthday. so hmm.

[Yengwa]

Nintendo has some serious competition on their hands. Twenty-four launch titles? Wow. Sony is really playing agressive with the PSP. And they are trying to show off the DVD player functionality, which is going to bring in a lot of people. Even if they have to rebuy their entire collection over again.

[Swordfish_II]

Sony is really playing agressive with the PSP. And they are trying to show off the DVD player functionality, which is going to bring in a lot of people. Even if they have to rebuy their entire collection over again.

Feh. For $250 you could get a decent portable DVD player that would play your existing collection, and on a bigger screen, too.

[JohnCrichton]

To me it sounds like the perfect price to come out of the gates with. Sony game products seem to sell like hot cakes so they stand to make a ton of money on launch.

It's still cheaper than an iPod and people buy those like mad, so I don't see why the same gadget freaks wouldn't pick up one of these that can play music AND games.

In a couple months the price will've dropped and they can make even more money.

I also agree tho... it definately should've come with a game... not a movie.

[Killtacular]

Nintendo has some serious competition on their hands. Twenty-four launch titles? Wow. Sony is really playing agressive with the PSP.

Not like anyone's going to buy them, since they'll run out of money after buying the system. Kind of a waste for Sony. But I'm sure Blockbuster will get a lot of business.

[Tommy Lawson]

Okay, now we see what the consequences of what the weak dollar vs. the yen has done. It's quite a steep price, going for $100 over the slim PS2 console. Yes, it includes a lot of stuff, but I'm sure people would have preferred a very basic system like the original PS2 for a cheaper price and just the extra stuff on their own. Of course, it's likely Sony has a U.S. basic system in design, and probably will release that sometime before the holiday 2005 season. Still, the DS also needs to get in gear and start releasing better quality games, otherwise they too are going to suffer from the traditional lack of system sales after the holiday season ends.

[silverwings]

To me it sounds like the perfect price to come out of the gates with. Sony game products seem to sell like hot cakes so they stand to make a ton of money on launch.

It's still cheaper than an iPod and people buy those like mad, so I don't see why the same gadget freaks wouldn't pick up one of these that can play music AND games.

In a couple months the price will've dropped and they can make even more money.

I also agree tho... it definately should've come with a game... not a movie.

It's the same price as the mini (least it was when I bought it) and the iPod plays a format already available. The software to convert to readable software also comes free. Sony's charging $15 for it.

I agree that it should come with a game, not a movie. The PSP should be a game system first, IMO. Oh well..

And I'm not impressed with the number of launch titles. I mean, it's been out since December (or was it earlier?) in Japan. I would hope they had this many titles for release in the US by March.

[Beat]

This sounds good on paper, but I already have Spider-Man 2.

So, they're only selling the value pack, with a movie no less? No demo disc?

[William C. Maune]

I don't doubt that this will still sell well, but I wonder how much of a "value" this value pack really is. Headphones, a battery pack and an AC adaptor have generally been fairly standard out of the box with handhelds and gamers were going to have to guy a memory stick regardless if they ever wanted to save game data. The softcase, cleaning cloth and sampler disc sound like nice extras, but a remote control for a handheld seems rather trivial.

As for comparisons to the price of an iPod, once you buy the iPod that's it (assuming most folks get music for virtually free). Once you buy the PSP you still have to buy movies and games to play on it.

[Dr Crocodile]

The really should have included a game. The UMD movie format is just dumb. IN MY OPINION of course. I heard IGN didn't think too favorably about the Japanese value pack so I'm a bit curious about how the general populous will feel. Glad that a memory stick will be coming with all PSPs though. That was a MUST. Overall a little pricey but I think this will be a succesful launch.

[Chad Bonin]

Meh, I am now not expecting to buy one any sooner.

What'd be interesting is to see Nintendo's reaction to this. I can see them dropping the Metroid Prime: Hunters First Hunt demo, dropping the price to $124.99, and advertise it as "Half the price, twice the picture" or something.

And... umm... wow, Spider-Man 2 on UMD. Considering much of their target audience probably has this on DVD, it's not really that big of a "bonus inclusion", but a "Hey, you have this already, but now you can watch it on a tiny screen".

[Mog]

Well, it's great that a release date is finally set, though the price is a killer. Frankly, I don't want a 32 mb drive because I was going to get a larger one like a 512 mb. The headphones are a waste since I have so many right now and the rest is junk in my opinion.

How durable is the soft case? I don't want to damage my PSP in any way and I want a durable case. I would like to know If I need to buy one along with a screen guard.

[ZeroFate]

And... umm... wow, Spider-Man 2 on UMD. Considering much of their target audience probably has this on DVD, it's not really that big of a "bonus inclusion", but a "Hey, you have this already, but now you can watch it on a tiny screen".

Actually, it's very much a big bonus inclusion. I really don't see how anyone can dismiss it as anything other than that. Even if people already have the DVD, they now have it on the go. It's a great business move by Sony because it introduces the public to UMD movies. Also, the PSP's screen is hardly tiny. I've watched plenty of things on it and have not been bothered by the screen's size, which is the biggest of any handheld anyway.

How durable is the soft case? I don't want to damage my PSP in any way and I want a durable case. I would like to know If I need to buy one along with a screen guard.

The soft case is crap. The only thing it can possibly protect a PSP from is scratches. If you drop your PSP while it's in the soft case you better start praying before you pick it back up. I really wish I got that new airform case they're selling now instead. It holds two UMDs & memory sticks and is hard cased. I also got a screen protector for my PSP and it's great. I've never noticed any screen distortion or glare problems. It's scratch resistant too...

[Chad Bonin]

Also, the PSP's screen is hardly tiny.

By "tiny", I mean comparitively. Half the size of the average portable DVD player, miniscule compared to a normal TV for watching movies, and freaking atomic compared to... well... a movie theater.

I see this as Wal-Mart giving you a free DVD when you buy a DVD player. I don't buy the player for a free copy of Remember The Titans or The Mask.

But, hey, we all know a demo disc wouldn't be a LOGICAL inclusion. Hell, they could throw an episode of a Sony show or something on there...

[Peter Paltridge]

I don't see this as good at all. Some of the things are necessary (we'll all need a memory stick) but others are totally useless. Normally, this kind of bundle garbage is only pulled with preorders. So much for being competitive...Sony really IS aiming for a different (richer) crowd.

I wouldn't be buying it on launch anyway. I'm going to wait until a few more models come out and the bugs are fixed from it. It's a Sony thing, there will be bugs in the first batch.

[Strollymonster]

Yikes...250? They're launching the handheld at a higher price than Nintendo's console launches...no way am I going to get one, not unless they put a freaking FFVII or Chrono Chross remake on it...(don't accuse me of bias, I'm not touching the DS either until I see something worth getting it for)

I'm sure they'll sell out, being that the gadget freaks will rush out and pick it up, as will the diehard Sony fans...I'm 100% sure it will sell out in it's first week. But I see it having a hard time appealing to the target consumer group when it's costlier than a PS2, has a limited game selection (as compared to DS), and is also from a company that's notorious for glitches in their early batches of hardware.

I'll just stand back and see what happens.