PSP Go getting $50 price drop on Friday?

Source: Gaming blog Joystiq.

What we heard: After being unveiled with great fanfare--and a colossal leak--at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the PSP Go has not been the runaway hit Sony hoped it would be. Though US sales figures for the handheld have never been released by the NPD Group, Japanese retail-tracking firm Media Create breaks out sales of the handheld each week. In almost every instance, the portable finishes dead last on the hardware chart, selling just 754 units in the island nation during the week of September 27-October 3.

Other than its lack of a UMD drive, the PSP Go's biggest hurdle to mass adoption has been its price--$250 in the US, or $80 more than the PSP-3000. However, that may soon change, if Joystiq's sources are to be believed. The gaming blog was sent a photo purporting to be of an Army and Air Force Exchange Service retailer directive. The document flatly states that starting Friday, October 15, the PSP Go will cost only $200 for consumers and $180 for retailers.

The official story: Sony had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Too little to go on, but a price cut would certainly make the PSP Go more attractive this holiday season.

[UPDATE] On October 25, Sony announced it would cut the price of the PSP Go from $249 to $199 in the States, from 26,800 yen to 16,800 yen ($207) in Japan, and from £225 to £160 ($252) in the UK, with the price drops taking effect in November.