Sony today announced that it's reducing the price of the PSP-3000 in Japan. The portable console will come down to 16,800 yen ($185) on October 1, 2009, the same day that the PSP Go will release. No mention was made about whether similar price cuts will take place in the U.S. and Europe.
Japan is one of the strongest markets for the PSP, where over 12 million hardware units have been sold since it launched in December 2004. Upcoming games on the system include Gran Turismo, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
This is something of a curious move on Sony's part considering how much it emphasizes the price differential with the PSP Go. Perhaps this price drop is a prelude to a gradual phase out of the PSP-3000 series, but Sony has always said that it continues to back the UMD format.
