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New Hannah Montana PSP bundle includes Lilac PSP
SCEA is showing a new initiative to cater to young girls at its Destination Playstation event today. The company has announced a new PSP bundle to be released in July, containing a PSP system in a new Lilac color. The bundle comes with a Hannah Montana rhythm game, a UMD of episodes from the series, a 2 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, and some stickers!In addition, Ubisoft's Petz line is headed to PSP in North America later this year, allowing players to "create and care for cute, furry pets chosen from many different breeds of dogs, cats, horses, hamsters, dolphins, tigers and bunnies." The likely first release: GameStop shows Petz Saddle Club coming this September. This series may help enhance young players' impressions of the PSP, by reminding them of the Nintendo DS.
Warhawk game space hits Home this week
The "Warhawk Command Center" will be added to PlayStation Home this week, confirmed Sony during today's Destination PlayStation event. This new game space allows Warhawk fans to plan new strategies together. This is one of the first game spaces to have been revealed for Home -- we're glad to see it finally going live.%Gallery-28131%
MotorStorm Arctic Edge races onto PS2, PSP
If your one big complaint with the MotorStorm series is that your caveman brain is frightened by the nigh-photorealistic graphics, you're in luck. Sony just announced at Destination PlayStation that the franchise would be headed to the PS2 and PSP with MotorStorm Arctic Edge, which brings the series to the "breathtaking yet lethal and unpredictable setting of Alaska."Developed by Bigbig Studios (the house behind the perfectly entertaining Pursuit Force), look for Arctic Edge in fall of this year.[Update: We just added the above trailer but, lest you be confused, there's no way on Earth that's gameplay footage.]%Gallery-45751%
LittleBigPlanet gets littler on PSP this fall
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/LittleBigPlanet_gets_littler_on_PSP_this_fall'; The rumors were correct, LittleBigPlanet is heading to PSP and it'll be here before the end of the year. Announced at today's Destination PlayStation retailer event, the PSP version will be developed "in conjunction" with Media Molecule and will offer a similar experience to the PS3 version with players being able to play, create and share on the go. We're promised plenty of new content, such as levels, exclusive to the PSP version this fall.We'll be very surprised if we don't see any cross-platform interactivity, but details are very thin on the ground. We'll keep you updated as more information is revealed.
Assassin's Creed coming to PSP
Good news, the Internet! Your "bring Assassin's Creed to PSP" petitions totally worked. SCEA announced during Destination PlayStation today that the game will appear courtesy of Ubisoft on Sony's portable later this year. In fact, your efforts were so effective, Sony's releasing an Assassin's Creed-themed bundle, though the only component they're talking about now is a Piano Black PSP.SCEA stopped short of actually saying the move was thanks to the overwhelming, petition-generated e-pressure, but you'll always know the truth in your hearts.
Rock Band Unplugged announced for PSP
If you thought Guitar Hero on the DS was a weird idea, you'll love this: During today's Destination PlayStation event, Sony has announced a PSP-exclusive version of Rock Band, called Rock Band Unplugged. This will be the first Rock Band game ever for a portable console! Details about gameplay have yet to be released, although we don't expect to see a full suite of tiny plastic instruments to clip on to the PSP. What is known is that Unplugged will use the PSP's Wi-Fi connection to access an in-game music store. Update: Primotech has some possible gameplay details. According to the post, Unplugged will use the left, up, triangle, and circle buttons to control instruments, switching from instrument to instrument with the shoulder buttons, and playing "phrases" of each instrument to maintain a score multiplier. This sounds exactly like Harmonix's Frequency!
DualShock 3 to debut in April for $54.99
More news from the Destination PlayStation retailer conference: last-gen rumble is reportedly coming to North American PS3 controllers this April with the release of the DualShock 3. The unit should go on sale on April 15th for $54.99 (a $5 premium over the rumble-less Sixaxis), timed to coincide with the April 17th launch of rumble-capable GT5: Prologue. We've asked Sony to confirm this information.[Update: Press release just came over the wire confirming an April launch and the $54.99 price tag.]%Gallery-16981%
Metal Gear Solid 4 dated for 'late Q2 2008' [update]
As you've probably figured out by now, practically any release date you hear for Metal Gear Solid 4 should probably be punctuated by the word "Probably." We'll have to actually open our retail copy up and see that there's not just a note with the words "Coming Soon" written on it before we'll believe that it's actually out.That said, there's apparently a new "official" date coming out of retailers conference Destination PlayStation: June 12, 2008. Before you get out a calendar: Yes, that date falls on a Thursday. No, we don't get it either. We've emailed Konami for official word, but for now we feel pretty comfortable in reporting that June 12 is the new future former release date of Kojima's baby.Additionally, there's word that a new PS3 bundle featuring an 80GB system (apparently still in production), MGS4, and the DualShock 3 controller is in the works. We've reached out to Konami for confirmation.Update: An SCEA press release distances itself from the reported June 12 date, stating only a vague "late Q2 2008" release for MGS4. The statement does confirm the aforementioned bundle (more here), along with news of a Metal Gear Online beta test (details here).
Retailers tell Sony: change PSP, or else
According to 1UP, retailers have been telling Sony to change the PSP, or else they'll stop carrying the machine altogether. Shipments of the system plummeted about 72 percent from the year before, with a meager 10,000 machines shipped to retailers last Fall. (Of course, the system has gained much more momentum at the beginning of this year. Looking at hardware sales, one can see that the PSP is still doing well--just not as well as the DS.)Retailers have supposedly asked that Sony reduce the price of the PSP, but apparently, there's no plans for a price cut. At the Destination PlayStation event for retailers, Sony announced something else that got retailers excited: what it is is unclear at this point.The theories have ranged from new system colors, new bundles, to a new system redesign. Hopefully, we'll see more when the PSP's second anniversary comes up on March 24th.[Thanks, Aaron!]
