It’s finally here! Well, OK, not here here. But sort of.
The Sony PSP 2000 “Slim & Lite” was released in September 07, and has already sold more than a million units in Japan alone. It is available in Piano Black, Ceramic White, Rose Pink, Lavender Purple, Ice Silver, Felicia Blue, and even a limited edition white one with an image of Darth Vader in black on the back. Rose Pink is not the crappy Barbie pink color that was out last year, this is a pretty new pearly pink that makes my inner princess smile. The new 2000 model is purported to be a third lighter than the original PSP, have a new enamel finish, improved battery life, double the memory at 64 MB, and a new output directly to your TV or monitor. The IR port has been deleted (I can’t imagine many people ever used that anyway), and USB charging has been added. The core hardware is priced at $169 in the US, but is often bundled with games and accessories for about $199.
Of course, there’s a catch. Europe will receive black, pink, orange, and silver models (spring 2008), plus two special limited edition colors: a Simpsons-themed yellow bundle and a red and black Spider-Man bundle. Japan is due to get a Deep Red model this week. But the US? We get only the basic black, white, and silver. WTF, Sony? Why no pink North American version?
It isn’t that you can’t get pink ones in the US. I’ve seen them on eBay and from a handful of retailers, at only slightly more than they cost here — around $220 — although if you go to Amazon, you can get one for a whopping $285. The Slim & Lite will play PSP games from anywhere in the world; there is currently no territorial lockout on PSP consoles and games. However, UMD movies are region-coded for playback, so Asian PSPs will only play Asian movies. I don’t anticipate using it to play movies much anyway (it hardly seems worth buying separate UMD versions), but it would be nice if it were possible, in case I get stuck in an airport or something. I still think it would be a fun toy, the pretty pink color just tickles me, and I’m hoping Santa will bring me one, but it’s a little disappointing that Sony can’t be bothered with girl gamers in this country.
You must log in to post a comment.