Giant Bomb News

RSS

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

Some hot deals and lots of new games for you PSP-type people out there.

By Jeff Gerstmann  |  Sept. 30, 2009

Worth owning, especially for five bucks. 
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.
Filed under: PSP
73 Comments
Tirrandiron Sept. 30, 2009 at 10:51 p.m.
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. 
Akeldamaon Sept. 30, 2009 at 10:53 p.m.
Gran Turismo and Persona 
AuthenticMon Sept. 30, 2009 at 10:57 p.m.
Awesome
Scooperon Sept. 30, 2009 at 10:57 p.m.
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!
Tirrandiron Sept. 30, 2009 at 11 p.m.
@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.
TheHT is online on Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:03 p.m.
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.
Jiggahon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:04 p.m.
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%.
SoothsayerGBon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:04 p.m.
Yeah that is a list
Scooperon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:07 p.m.
@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).
Tirrandiron Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:11 p.m.
@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. 
TheHBKon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:13 p.m.
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.
i69edUrGpaon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:16 p.m.
This is kinda making me want to dust off the ol' psp and start grinding again
animateriaon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:18 p.m.
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.
Dan_CiTion Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:19 p.m.
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.
rargyon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:19 p.m.
ugh, digital downloads make it so easy to throw away money.  Must.. resist..
peeweehon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:20 p.m.
no patapon?
hyperslugon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:21 p.m.
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
juice8367on Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:24 p.m.
I'm trying so hard to not be a  day one buyer but the bug keeps on biting.
animateriaon Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:28 p.m.
@peeweeh said:
" no patapon? "
Patapon has already been released on PSN, hell, Patapon 2 was a PSN only title.
Roddykaton Sept. 30, 2009 at 11:34 p.m.
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.

Dig Deeper into PSP

PlayStation Portable (PSP) is Sony's first entry into the handheld gaming market. Several newer revisions have been released; the PSP-2000, 3000, PSPgo and the PSP-E1000. The system also sports multimedia features including an online store, music and video playback, photo viewer, and comics reader.

Edit/View the Wiki
Hit the Forums (293 Posts)
Add/View Images (89 Images)
Watch Some Videos (1 Video)
Popular News
Diablo III Sells 3.5 Million Copies In its First Day Alone

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is now the fastest-selling PC game of all time.
38 Studios Unveils its First Look at Project Copernicus

In the wake of the studio's recent financial drama, the studio finally opens the door on its long-awaited MMO.
Wii U’s Controller May Have Seen Some Changes

No more Circle Pad-style analog sticks, and some swapped button placement.
Johann Sebastian Joust Is Latest iOS Cloning Victim

Studio behind awfully similar game for iOS claims an agreement was in place.
And Now Aliens: Colonial Marines Won't Be Coming Out This Year, Either

Gearbox's Aliens side-story slips to February.
38 Studios Pays its $1.125 Million Debt, Will Receive No Additional Funds from State

Oh, and the governor of Rhode Island just tossed out a release date for "Copernicus."
Activision Lawsuit Has Details on Bungie’s Next Game

First game scheduled for Xbox 360, sequels on unannounced platforms.
Worth Reading: 05/18/2012

You have 20 seconds to click on this article and discover what games you might have missed and what stories passed you by.
Diablo III Sells 3.5 Million Copies In its First Day Alone

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is now the fastest-selling PC game of all time.
38 Studios Unveils its First Look at Project Copernicus

In the wake of the studio's recent financial drama, the studio finally opens the door on its long-awaited MMO.
Wii U’s Controller May Have Seen Some Changes

No more Circle Pad-style analog sticks, and some swapped button placement.
Johann Sebastian Joust Is Latest iOS Cloning Victim

Studio behind awfully similar game for iOS claims an agreement was in place.
38 Studios Pays its $1.125 Million Debt, Will Receive No Additional Funds from State

Oh, and the governor of Rhode Island just tossed out a release date for "Copernicus."
And Now Aliens: Colonial Marines Won't Be Coming Out This Year, Either

Gearbox's Aliens side-story slips to February.
Activision Lawsuit Has Details on Bungie’s Next Game

First game scheduled for Xbox 360, sequels on unannounced platforms.
Worth Reading: 05/18/2012

You have 20 seconds to click on this article and discover what games you might have missed and what stories passed you by.

Submissions can take several hours to be approved.

Save ChangesCancel