Sony Announces Cheap, €99 PSP Without Wi-Fi for Europe

Sony has said that it will soon release a cheaper, Europe-only, Wi-Fi-free version of the PSP.

At its Gamescom 2011 keynote, Sony announced that it would be cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 around the world. However, the company also made a splash with the revelation that it plans to ship a new "value priced" PSP this coming autumn. Set for release in only Europe, the new PSP, dubbed the PSP-E1000, does not have Wi-Fi and will be available in PAL regions with a €99 price tag.

"While PSP-E1000 does not include Wi-Fi, it will still provides access to the full catalogue of PSP games either on UMD or from PlayStation Store via Media Go," Sony said in a blog post on its European PlayStation blog. "The design is also slightly different, with a Charcoal Black finish – the same as on the slimmer PS3 model – to give more of a matte feel."

Sony said that the goal with this handset is value for money, but it doesn't look like U.S. gamers will get any of the action. This Is My Next cites a Sony representative that "explicitly" said it's not going to be coming to the U.S.

Would you buy a WiFi-free PSP if it were available to you? Let us know in the comments below!

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2 Ð

lassik , August 18, 2011 5:48 PM

I hear this also has a mono speaker instead of stereo...

Even so, the PSP has been out for what must be over 6 years, it's cheap enough as it is so we don't need a "value" version, losing WiFi is a huge downfall too.

Surely a price drop to the PSP 3000 would have been better than this...
2 Ð

anonymous@guest , August 18, 2011 6:52 PM

You know you can get PSP 2000 or 3000 series second hand for about 50 euro?
3 Ð

Userremoved , August 18, 2011 6:57 PM

Eh so what? A second hand PSP 3000 at Gamestop is like 30$.
0 Ð

mchuf , August 18, 2011 7:21 PM

Losing WiFi is a killer. This is a step backward for Sony.
1 Ð

hoofhearted , August 18, 2011 8:23 PM

What does Sony have against the USA?
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cognoscentiable , August 18, 2011 8:24 PM

It's not a step backward. It's just a cheaper version.
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razzb3d , August 18, 2011 8:31 PM

I've never used my PSP's wifi.
-6 Ð

Azn Cracker , August 18, 2011 9:43 PM

lol who plays this anymore?? thats like playing the gameboy
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wild9 , August 18, 2011 10:36 PM

In the days of large-scale intergration and mass manufacturing, I find it rather inconceivable that Sony would do this. This device has an excellent screen, some decent games and the WI-FI capability is for many people a prerequisite to modern living.

Does Sony want to extend the scope of it's products and services portfolio? This doesn't seem the best way of doing that. If anything it seems an antiquated approach to modern living.
1 Ð

NuclearShadow , August 18, 2011 11:54 PM

This is extremely late and the product doesn't even make sense to make as a better model isn't that much more expensive. Perhaps if European sales were doing extremely poor and the PSP was still a newer device this would make sense but that simply is not the case.
1 Ð

ricardok , August 19, 2011 12:59 AM

Next: PS2 gets a new release without the DVD Drive.
1 Ð

Vampyrbyte , August 19, 2011 2:33 AM

The only thing anyone uses Wi-Fi for on the PSP is to download porn while on the toilet.
For many PSP owners its a machine to play while on the Bus or train, typically these places don't have Wifi!
I'm tempted. its cheaper, its new and not used, its matte so wont pick up your fingerprints.
Soon the hackers will get to it, and you will even be able to play a shitload of emulated games on it. Sounds good to me!
1 Ð

kinggraves , August 19, 2011 2:45 AM

Or I could just wait until next year when the NGP comes out and buy a PSP for a cup of coffee when they're moving the inventory out.
0 Ð

Shodar , August 19, 2011 4:11 AM

Ok, what I dont get: You can buy a brand new PSP 3000 for $129.00 USD. This has wifi and all the normal bells and whistles.

They are charging 99EURO for a crippled PSP... 99EUR translates to about $142USD....

How is this a savings??
0 Ð

yggar , August 19, 2011 3:50 PM

I already have PSP-1000 and PSP-3000. Considerig even now Sony's browser is crappy and internet surfing is mostly impossible, I can't figure what's a point of Wi-Fi-less PSP. Removing mostly useless feature (seriously, who is listening online radio via PSP's WiFi?) with drastic price drop? Sounds mostly like a beginning of new console war.

Sony Announces Cheap, €99 PSP Without Wi-Fi for Europe

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