Giant Bomb News

Sony Busts Out A Gang Of Digital PSP Games For PSPgo Launch

by Jeff Gerstmann on September 30, 2009
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Some hot deals and lots of new games for you PSP-type people out there.

Worth owning, especially for five bucks.

It wasn't until my PSP-2000 vanished off the face of the Earth that I suddenly started thinking about getting a PSPgo. I mean, the old PSP's screen is bigger. It's got a drive slot, and it can still do all those digital download things that the PSPgo can, provided you're willing to spring for a big enough Memory Stick.

Oh, it's also way cheaper than the $249.99 PSPgo. If you just want a regular, non-bundled PSP-3000, that thing's only $169.99. Of course, to fully match functionality, you'd need to go out and get a 16GB Memory Stick Duo to jam into that 3000. Those seem to be running somewhere in the $50-60 range, provided you don't pay retail prices at a chain store. At least that's what Amazon is charging at the moment. You could probably find them for less if you really started digging.

The weird thing about all this is that the PSP has been coming on sort of strong lately, and it's felt like it's coming out of nowhere. Stuff like Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble, Beaterator (quick look coming soon), Persona, the eventual localization and release of Persona 3 Portable, Gran Turismo, Half-Minute Hero, and the constant threat that the sealed copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on my desk has been making for the past few months has resulted in the best stretch for Sony's handheld since the Japanese launch, where we all got enamored with Ridge Racer and Darkstalkers, even though the load times and battery life were insane.

Anyway, the point is that I've got a tough decision to make. While the right move is to go with the more versatile 3000 (especially since I'm only going to be using it as a game machine, not some portable audio/video device), the PSPgo is tempting with its newness and its promise that, even if I wanted to, I'd never have to look at or carry a UMD ever again. It's like I'm voting for an all-digital future or something, even if this shelf full of PSP games I've got at home would become almost instantly useless in the process.

Well, Sony's certainly doing its part to turn up the heat on the PSP this week. The official blog has posted a list of this week's store updates, and it's huge. As you'd imagine, it's crazy thick with PSP releases. There are also some hot price cuts on some weird little PSP-only games, in case you're not the big-budget handheld game type.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords PSP Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
Cube Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Dead Head Fred Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
WTF: Work Time Fun Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
TV Show King Permanent Price Drop (now $7.99)

For $25 you could get Work Time Fun, Prinny, and Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!. You can pretty much forget that other stuff (though Dead Head Fred is not entirely without merit, in case you're wondering). I already have two copies of Work Time Fun on UMD (in case one spontaneously bursts into flames), but those other two are on my short list.

Of course, there's also a huge flood of new and old PSP stuff up today, too. Check it out.

SCEA

Gran Turismo PSP ($39.99)
God of War Chains of Olympus ($15.99)
Secret Agent Clank ($31.99)
LocoRoco 2 ($15.99)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe ($19.99)
Daxter ($15.99)
Resistance Retribution ($31.99)
MLB 09 The Show ($31.99)
MotorStorm Arctic Edge ($39.99)

505 Games

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey ($29.99)

ACTIVISION

Cabela’s African Safari ($14.99)
Rapala Trophies ($14.99)
Gun Showdown ($14.99)
SWAT: Target Liberty ($19.99)
Crash Tag Team Racing ($14.99)
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts: Ultimate Challenge ($14.99)
Crash: Mind Over Mutant ($29.99)
Crash of the Titans ($19.99)
Activision Hits Remixed ($14.99)

Aksys Games

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus ($24.99)

Atari

Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai ($14.99)
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai Another Road ($14.99)

Atlus

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona ($39.99)

Capcom

Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded ($19.99)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite ($29.99)

Codemasters

Dirt 2 ($29.99)

Crave Entertainment

Pinball Hall of Fame ($9.99)
Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords and More! ($4.99)
Brunswick Pro Bowling ($9.99)

EA

The Sims 2 ($14.99)
The Sims 2 Castaway ($9.99)
The Sims 2 Pets ($9.99)
Need For Speed Underground Rivals ($14.99)
Need For Speed Most Wanted ($19.99)
Need for Speed SHIFT ($39.99)
Need For Speed ProStreet ($19.99)
Need for Speed Carbon ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes ($19.99)
Fight Night Round 3 ($19.99)
G.I.JOE The Rise of Cobra ($39.99)
Madden NFL 10 ($39.99)
Scrabble ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 ($19.99)
Burnout Legends ($19.99)
Burnout Dominator ($14.99)
Lord of the Rings: Tactics ($9.99)
Def Jam Fight For New York: The Takeover ($9.99)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 ($39.99)
NCAA Football 10 ($39.99)

KOEI

Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce ($29.99)
Warriors Orochi 2 ($29.99)

LucasArts

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings ($19.99)
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure ($19.99)
Thrillville: Off the Rails ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront Renegade Squadron ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront II ($19.99)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($19.99)

Midway

Mortal Kombat: Unchained ($19.99)
Hot Brain ($14.99)

Namco Bandai

SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny ($39.99)

NIS America

Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light ($4.99)
Mana Khemia: Student Alliance ($14.99)
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness ($14.99)
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days ($29.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? ($9.99)
Dragoneer’s Aria ($14.99)

Playlogic

Obscure: The Aftermath ($29.99)

Rockstar Games

Beaterator ($39.99)

SEGA

Alien Syndrome ($15.99)
Super Monkey Ball Adventure ($15.99)
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars ($15.99)
Iron Man ($19.99)
Sonic Rivals ($15.99)
Sonic Rivals 2 ($29.99)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines ($15.99)
Sega Genesis Collection ($15.99)
Crush ($15.99)

SNK PLAYMORE

The King of Fighters Collection ($19.99)
Metal Slug Anthology ($19.99)
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 ($19.99)
Samurai Showdown Anthology ($19.99)

SQUARE ENIX

THEXDER NEO ($9.99)

THQ

Avatar: The Last Airbender ($19.99)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights ($19.99)
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger ($19.99)
MX vs ATV Untamed ($19.99)
WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2009 ($19.99)

Ubisoft

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s EndWar ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas ($19.99)
Prince of Persia Revelations ($9.99)
Prince of Persia Rival Swords ($14.99)

Warner Bros. Interactive

300: March To Glory ($14.99)
Justice League Heroes ($14.99)
Lego Batman The Video Game ($19.99)

PSP minis (also available from PS3 storefront)

Alien Havoc ($4.99)
Tetris ($9.99)
Hero of Sparta ($6.99)
Brainpipe ($4.99)
Fieldrunners ($6.99)
Sudoku ($4.99)
Funky Punch ($4.99)

So yeah, it's a pretty hefty list. Obviously, not all of them are winners, so do your research before you start going crazy. I'll probably grab Thexder Neo, since I vaguely remember enjoying the original Thexder at some point.

...of course, I still need to get a new-and-functioning PSP if I'm going to do that. Grrr. Maybe I'll just confiscate the office PSP-3000 and see how it goes.

74 Comments

aurahack

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Edited By aurahack

Just got Persona and I am enjoying that like a mofo. ... on my PSP 2000. Fuck owning the right to download the game and not actually, you know, owning the game.

14 years ago

cartoons4andy

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Edited By cartoons4andy

Probably want to see how the PSPgo feels before you buy. Quite a few people have said the thing is just too dang small for them to hold.

14 years ago

Red

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Edited By Red

Dang. I think I'm gonna get a PSP Go. I like my current PSP, but the PSP Go! is a sexy beast, that's a lot more durable and lighter than the PSP 2000 I have. Also, my Memory Stick Duo has a micro stick in it as well, which means transferring over all my digital stuff would be painless. All the games that I would want to play on the PSP Go! would eventually go on the store, and I could sell my old 2000 and all my games for enough of a pretty penny to make the price not nearly as bad as it looks.

Man, I'm brainwashed.

14 years ago

Roddykat

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Edited By Roddykat

Aww, where's B-Boy?? That's a....gem that needs to be Holy Hell! Nuclear Strike!! Yes! Strike series remake not at all confirmed!

@peeweeh Patapon is already on PSN. It came out a couple of weeks ago.

14 years ago

animateria

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Edited By animateria

@peeweeh said:

" no patapon? "

Patapon has already been released on PSN, hell, Patapon 2 was a PSN only title.

14 years ago

juice8367

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Edited By juice8367

I'm trying so hard to not be a day one buyer but the bug keeps on biting.

14 years ago

thomasmolby

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Edited By thomasmolby

Man psp games are CHEAP in the us!

we pay 60 dollar for new psp games in denmark (300kr ca) and at least 40 for older ones... fucking insane

14 years ago

peeweeh

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Edited By peeweeh

no patapon?

14 years ago

rargy

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Edited By rargy

ugh, digital downloads make it so easy to throw away money. Must.. resist..

14 years ago

Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

It all depends on how much you care about those existing games you have on UMDs and how much you care about owning new physical media in the future. It would suck if Atlus had this fuck awesome P3 Portable bundle and you didn't have a way to get it on a PSPgo w/o buying it again. But hey, maybe they can do that digital copy thing that DVDs/Blu-rays have been doing.

14 years ago

animateria

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Edited By animateria

Near 300 hours on Monster Hunter Freedom Unite!

Honestly, I didn't think I'd play for this long. But it's pretty much on par with WoW.

Too bad I don't have friends that even own a PSP... let alone have the patience to learn how to play MH.

One thing though, I'd buy a lot of PSP games on PSN if I can play it on my PS3.

14 years ago

i69edUrGpa

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Edited By i69edUrGpa

This is kinda making me want to dust off the ol' psp and start grinding again

14 years ago

TheHBK

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Edited By TheHBK

fuck
i gave my bro my PSP and am now seriously thinking about jumping back in. I wish some DS games were this cheap. Cheapest i can find is 20 bucks, even for games that suck ass. BUt I am still debating which I should get. THe PSP 3000 has the ghosting problem. The GO doesnt but it is super expensive. Maybe if it goes down in price later, because i dont think sales can be sustained with the PS3 being only 50 bucks more.

14 years ago

Tirrandir

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Edited By Tirrandir

@Scooper: That's understandable. What portables provide certainly isn't for everyone. I'm a big RPG person, but by and large RPGs on consoles this generation have been terrible. The portables are where that's all moved to, really, due to the expectation of smaller production costs. Also, I've never really been a big FPS, sports, or racing kinda guy. That seems to be the big money on consoles these days.

I didn't mean to sound overly aggressive, I just think that the blanket dismissal a lot of gamers give to portable devices as 'the kid versions' is somewhat misplaced. Yeah, sure, there are plenty of garbage PS2 ports on the PSP, but there's also some shining gems. Though, y'know, as for Jeff, I'd agree that an older model PSP might be the way to go.

Though, he seems pretty aggressively anti UMD.

14 years ago

Scooper

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Edited By Scooper

@Tirrandir: I guess I'm just a different type of gamer. I used to have a DS and played alot on it but once it wore off on me not many games made me want to purchase them over a game on the PC or console. When I go to sleep I just put in some music and that's it so I've never used it there. My generalization of handheld consoles is wrong though, I didn't mean to say there are no games worth playing as just decent games but I know Jeff was torn on the bombcast wether to get one and I'm trying to persuade him not to blow $250 on it because he'll use it as much as he did his old PSP which is to say not much (I obviously don't know how much he's played it).

14 years ago

SoothsayerGB

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Edited By SoothsayerGB

Yeah that is a list

14 years ago

Jiggah

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Edited By Jiggah

I think you're seeing a bunch of stuff coming on strong from the PSP because they priced dropped the PSP devkit by like 80%.

14 years ago

TheHT

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Edited By TheHT

hm, i don't think you (Jeff) should get the GO. if you're just gonna be gaming and already have a substantial amount (4+ maybe?) of umds then you're better off getting the 3000 (or 2000 if you're so inclined). there's no need to get a huge memory card as well since you'll just be using it for saves. sony's said they're gonna be continuing umd releases so unless they've changed their mind and i missed it you really won't need lotsa memory stick space.

@Tirrandir said:

" Tonight just sealed my love for what the PSPGo is doing to distribution, even if I'll never pick one up. "

totally. the screen is smaller, you've got to flip it out, you can't use umds, but it's revitalized the PSP section at the PSS for me.

14 years ago

Tirrandir

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Edited By Tirrandir

@Scooper: That's not necessarily true. There are a lot of 2D games and quirkier stuff that only come out on portables. Ideas that would never exist on a console, things like Wario Ware (or WTF) or Layton or Half Minute Hero or Badman are more than enough justification for a portable system as a viable gaming platform. I don't take mine around. I'm an adult, I drive where I want to go. But when I'm just relaxing before sleep, my PSP or my DS is my go to device for some wind-down gaming.

And as time goes on, these portables are proving that they're just as versatile and long-lasting as the consoles. I'd have a very hard time deciding between my PSP and DS or my 360 and my Wii, if I was put to choosing which I preferred more.

14 years ago

Scooper

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Edited By Scooper

Don't buy it Jeff. When will you ever use it. I mean, really? These things are for kids sitting in the back of cars on long journeys or people commuting on the train. If I want to play a game I'll sit down and play a console or a PC. If I'm outside I don't really want to be playing games. I do enough of that inside!

14 years ago

AuthenticM

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Edited By AuthenticM

Awesome

14 years ago

Akeldama

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Edited By Akeldama

Gran Turismo and Persona

14 years ago

Tirrandir

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Grabbed Prinny and Um Jammer Lammy. Now have both Lammy and Parappa on my PSP, and Persona in the UMD drive. I might never need another system again. <_<

In the past month or so I've become insanely glad I own a PSP. Tonight just sealed my love for what the PSPGo is doing to distribution, even if I'll never pick one up.

14 years ago

jeff

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Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords PSP Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
Cube Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Dead Head Fred Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
WTF: Work Time Fun Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
TV Show King Permanent Price Drop (now $7.99)

SCEA

Gran Turismo PSP ($39.99)
God of War Chains of Olympus ($15.99)
Secret Agent Clank ($31.99)
LocoRoco 2 ($15.99)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe ($19.99)
Daxter ($15.99)
Resistance Retribution ($31.99)
MLB 09 The Show ($31.99)
MotorStorm Arctic Edge ($39.99)

505 Games

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey ($29.99)

ACTIVISION

Cabela’s African Safari ($14.99)
Rapala Trophies ($14.99)
Gun Showdown ($14.99)
SWAT: Target Liberty ($19.99)
Crash Tag Team Racing ($14.99)
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts: Ultimate Challenge ($14.99)
Crash: Mind Over Mutant ($29.99)
Crash of the Titans ($19.99)
Activision Hits Remixed ($14.99)

Aksys Games

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus ($24.99)

Atari

Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai ($14.99)
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai Another Road ($14.99)

Atlus

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona ($39.99)

Capcom

Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded ($19.99)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite ($29.99)

Codemasters

Dirt 2 ($29.99)

Crave Entertainment

Pinball Hall of Fame ($9.99)
Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords and More! ($4.99)
Brunswick Pro Bowling ($9.99)

EA

The Sims 2 ($14.99)
The Sims 2 Castaway ($9.99)
The Sims 2 Pets ($9.99)
Need For Speed Underground Rivals ($14.99)
Need For Speed Most Wanted ($19.99)
Need for Speed SHIFT ($39.99)
Need For Speed ProStreet ($19.99)
Need for Speed Carbon ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes ($19.99)
Fight Night Round 3 ($19.99)
G.I.JOE The Rise of Cobra ($39.99)
Madden NFL 10 ($39.99)
Scrabble ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 ($19.99)
Burnout Legends ($19.99)
Burnout Dominator ($14.99)
Lord of the Rings: Tactics ($9.99)
Def Jam Fight For New York: The Takeover ($9.99)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 ($39.99)
NCAA Football 10 ($39.99)

KOEI

Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce ($29.99)
Warriors Orochi 2 ($29.99)

LucasArts

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings ($19.99)
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure ($19.99)
Thrillville: Off the Rails ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront Renegade Squadron ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront II ($19.99)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($19.99)

Midway

Mortal Kombat: Unchained ($19.99)
Hot Brain ($14.99)

Namco Bandai

SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny ($39.99)

NIS America

Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light ($4.99)
Mana Khemia: Student Alliance ($14.99)
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness ($14.99)
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days ($29.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? ($9.99)
Dragoneer’s Aria ($14.99)

Playlogic

Obscure: The Aftermath ($29.99)

Rockstar Games

Beaterator ($39.99)

SEGA

Alien Syndrome ($15.99)
Super Monkey Ball Adventure ($15.99)
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars ($15.99)
Iron Man ($19.99)
Sonic Rivals ($15.99)
Sonic Rivals 2 ($29.99)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines ($15.99)
Sega Genesis Collection ($15.99)
Crush ($15.99)

SNK PLAYMORE

The King of Fighters Collection ($19.99)
Metal Slug Anthology ($19.99)
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 ($19.99)
Samurai Showdown Anthology ($19.99)

SQUARE ENIX

THEXDER NEO ($9.99)

THQ

Avatar: The Last Airbender ($19.99)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights ($19.99)
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger ($19.99)
MX vs ATV Untamed ($19.99)
WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2009 ($19.99)

Ubisoft

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s EndWar ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas ($19.99)
Prince of Persia Revelations ($9.99)
Prince of Persia Rival Swords ($14.99)

Warner Bros. Interactive

300: March To Glory ($14.99)
Justice League Heroes ($14.99)
Lego Batman The Video Game ($19.99)

PSP minis (also available from PS3 storefront)

Alien Havoc ($4.99)
Tetris ($9.99)
Hero of Sparta ($6.99)
Brainpipe ($4.99)
Fieldrunners ($6.99)
Sudoku ($4.99)
Funky Punch ($4.99)

14 years ago

Giant Bomb News

Sony Busts Out A Gang Of Digital PSP Games For PSPgo Launch

by Jeff Gerstmann on September 30, 2009Share:TwitterFacebookReddit

74 Comments

by Jeff Gerstmann on September 30, 2009
Share:Twitter Facebook Reddit