Sony officially confirms PSP Go
Latest handheld iteration to feature sliding screen, no UMD and a $249 price point
Sony has officially confirmed the existence of the latest version of the PlayStation Portable: The PSP Go.
The existence of the new handheld was leaked over the weekend, so details of the hardware will come as a surprise to few, but confirmation of the sliding screen, lack of UMD port and focus on wireless connectivity was given at Sony's E3 press conference in the Shrine Auditorium in LA.
The unit has 16GB of internal Flash memory for storage and built-in WiFi, integrated Bluetooth technology and a memory expansion port.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the presentation - possibly because it was the one detail not yet leaked - was the unit's price point at the same level as the original PSP launch. Specifically that makes it USD 249 or EUR 249 (GBP 215), with a release date set for October 1.
Sony Computer Entertainment president, Kaz Hirai, introduced the new console alongside a new application called Media Go, software that purports to make it easier for users to download and transfer music and videos.
Hirai also announced that Sony was cutting the cost of development kits for the platform by 80 per cent to encourage more companies to develop content.