Slim Daxter PSP descends on retail

At this year's E3 Media and Business Summit, Sony unveiled its much-speculated PlayStation Portable Slim. According to SCEA president Kaz Hirai, the new device would be 33 percent lighter and 19 percent slimmer, and it would also pack a more efficient battery, be faster at loading games, and feature video-out capabilities. More importantly for many, the new PSP model would also come in a variety of colors, including ice silver and piano black. To help the new PSP model hit the ground running, Sony also announced two bundles for the handheld redux: a Star Wars Battlefront pack and "The PSP entertainment pack for North America."

As noted in GameSpot's recent hands-on with the redesigned handheld, the PSP Slim's release date was updated to a September window, as opposed to the projected October date announced during E3. Today, Sony announced that one of those bundles, the newly dubbed Daxter PSP Entertainment Pack, is now available for purchase at the promised price of $199.99. As advertised, the Daxter bundle includes a silver PSP Slim, a copy of Daxter game, a 1GB memory stick Duo, and Family Guy: The Freakin' Sweet Collection, which includes five "hand-picked" episodes of Fox's absurdist comedy.

While the Daxter bundle is now available, Sony mentioned that a stand-alone PSP Core Pack, which includes a piano black PSP Slim, an AC adaptor, and a battery pack, won't be available until later this month. When released, the core pack will retail for $169.99. The redesigned PSPs will also be outfitted with a number of new accessories, including 8-foot long AV cables for video-out that retail for $19.99 and headphones with a remote control for $29.99.

Sony also noted that the limited-edition Star Wars Battlefront pack, which includes a ceramic white PSP Slim with a silk-screened image of Darth Vader on the back and a copy of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, will be available October 9 for $199.99.