Sony slashes price of handheld PSP Go

(AFP PHOTO / Mike CLARKE)

Price cuts are in order for the PSP Go handheld console in both North America and Japan, it emerged on Monday, and it is expected that European regions will follow suit as heavy end-of-year spending gets underway.

Falling by $49 and ¥10,000 to $199 and ¥16,800 respectively, the PSP Go will be taking advantage of a delay in Nintendo's smart, no-glasses 3D handheld, the Nintendo 3DS.

The PSP Go is a digital only device, meaning that there is no disc drive for games. Instead, games and media are downloaded from computers or direct from the internet onto memory sticks.

While that extends battery life, it means that owners are tied in to using the PlayStation Network Store - in the same way that the iPhone uses the App Store - but prevents PSP Go owners from picking up disc-based bargains elsewhere.

The Nintendo 3DS is due out on February 26 in Japan, priced at ¥25,000, and then during March in North America and Europe (price unconfirmed).