PSP Go Launches in Japan

Kris Erickson • Nov 2, 2009 • Comments (0)

A full month after its release in North America and Europe, the sliding screen PSP Go has landed in shops in Japan. The device failed to make a huge impact in Western markets following its launch on October 1st. Australian retail outlets report that the PSP Go sold only 1000 units in that country during its first week on sale. Sony has said that it did not expect Earth-shattering sales numbers on launch, and that everything is going according to projections. Still, a strong showing in Japan would certainly help the fortunes of Sony's new hardware revision. Acceptance in the Japanese market is almost assured, considering how well the PSP has sold there in the past. Unfortunately, there was no major marketing push on the retail front to accompany the launch: Like North America, there were no launch parties in Japan, and retailers did not open their doors at special hours to celebrate the event.

One of the things consumers are going to be looking for when shopping for a a PSP Go is the availability of games. The PSN Store has a good number of new and classic PSP games for Japanese gamers to download to their machines. Strangely absent is the Monster Hunter franchise, which one would expect to see as a launch title given the popularity o the series in Japan. What on Earth do you think Capcom has up their sleeves by not offering a downloadable Monster Hunter from day one? The full list of downloadable launch titles and prices are as follows:

Downloadable PSP Games:

Armored Core Formula Front International PSP the Best (¥2300)
Carnage Heart Portable (¥3800)
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles Konami the Best (¥2300)
Disgaea Infinite (¥2500)
Dissidia Final Fantasy Universal Tuning (¥4000)
echochrono (¥2800)
Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan Daijiten PSP the Best (¥2800)
King's Field Additional I (¥1200)
King's Field Additional II (¥1200)
Koei the Best Uncharted Waters Iv: Rota Nova (¥1200)
Koei the Best Dynasty Warriors Mahjong (¥1200)
Koei the Best Kin'iro no Corda (¥1200)
LocoRoco Midnight Carnival (¥2000)
Metal Gear Solid Bande Dessinee (¥1000)
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops (¥1500)
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops+ (¥1000)
MotorStorm Artic Edge (¥3800)
Namco Museum PSP the Best (¥2800)
Numpla & Oekaki Puzzle (¥980)
Persona 3 Portable (¥5040)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe (¥2000)
Ridge Racers PSP the Best (¥2800)
Soul Calibur Broken Destiny (¥6280)
Shadow of Memories (¥3200)
Tekken Dark Resurrection PSP the Best (¥2800)
Tenchu: Time of the Assassins PSP the Best (¥2300)
Tetris (¥900)
Warriors Orochi Orochi PSP the Best (¥2400)
Zero-Shiki Kanjou Sentouki 2 (¥3150)