PSP Update: PSone downloads, new price, GPS @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on March 15, 2006

News: Sony's big PS3 conference also included mention of some of the PSP's new deal.

Sony's PS3 Business Briefing took place no less than a few hours ago in Japan and information is flying across the Pacific at a tremendous rate. But first things first, lets get the PSP update out of the way.

Sony has announced that starting in March it will begin offering the PSP Base Pack for $199.99. The Base Pack will only come with the PSP system, an AC adapter and a battery pack. This is compared to the currently available $249.99 Value Pack that comes with all that, a 32 MB Memory Stick, headphones, a soft case and cleaning cloth. I think I know what the real value is.

But the big news is that Sony will start a download service for PSone games sometime this year, probably in the Fall. There's no word on how much these titles will cost or which titles will be available initially. However, Sony did say they would be "selected popular PlayStation titles from the past". So I'm guessing only the biggest titles will get the download treatment.

This Fall will also see the introduction of a camera accessory and a GPS receiver for the PSP. The camera will add video chat options and EyeToy functionality. There is also talk of integrating the GPS locator features into new games.

Sony went on to say that they also have plans to extend the PSP's web browsing capabilities by including Macromedia Flash support and new RSS Channel functions in a future update. Why anyone would want Flash I don't know, but the RSS Channel support will "enable users to playback and save internet radio content and entertainment movies."

But with all this talk about new features and accessories and download services, what about the games? Well, Sony was kind enough to mention that Field Commander, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and The Godfather would be coming soon. We've known about those three titles for months.

So there you have it PSP fans, that's what you have to look forward to this year. Now, onto the big news of the day, the PS3.