ModNation Racers gets price cut on PS3, PSP

Sony hopes the user-created content focus of ModNation Racers will help fuel sales of the family-friendly racer for the long haul, but a new price cut for both the PSP and PlayStation 3 versions of the game could provide a bit of extra boost this week.

Sony today cut the price of United Front Games' ModNation Racers for the PS3 to $40, with SCEA San Diego's PSP version dropping to $20 (both in stores and through Sony's PlayStation Store). Previously, the console version's suggested retail price was $60, with the handheld ModNation Racers selling for $40.

As the second title in Sony's Play, Create, Share line, ModNation Racers combines kart racing with the customizable focus of Sony's Little Big Planet franchise. In addition to creating drivers and karts using a bevy of unlocked bits and pieces, players are able to create their own tracks from scratch. Users can also upload and share their customized content with the rest of the world.

Sony said that to date, 600,000 players have created and shared a total of 1.5 million customized tracks, karts, and drivers through ModNation Racers. The PS3 version alone has more than 300,000 available tracks, with 15,000 on the PSP. The publisher is also looking to boost those numbers further. When asked for downloadable content for the game's track creator, a Sony representative on the PlayStation Blog teased, "[United Front Games] is working on some cool stuff." The Canadian studio is also developing True Crime: Hong Kong for Activision.

For more on the games, check out GameSpot's PS3 and PSP reviews of ModNation Racers.