At its presentation at this week’s E3 Expo in Santa Monica, Sony took the wraps off a redesigned PlayStation Portable (PSP) which is 33 percent lighter, 19 percent thinner, and sports a high quality video output so users can hook the unit to an external monitor or display to view photos, videos, or movies.
On the surface, the new PSP doesn’t look dramatically different from its current incarnation, and in some ways the redesign fails to meet some gamers’ hopes for a "PSP 2" with dramatically enhanced capabilities. Nonetheless, the new PSP will offer a 4.3-inch screen and support for UMD discs, front-facing speakers, faster load times, and improved battery life.
Sony plans to bring the new PSP to retailers in black, while, and a new silver edition beginning in September; although official pricing hasn’t been announced, the units are expected to retail for $199. Sony also plans to offer a special Star Wars: Battlefront edition. Although Sony has sold over 25 million PSPs, Nintendo’s DS handheld continues to dominate the portable gaming market, which has shipped more than 40 million units worldwide.
