PSP World

Will Free Gran Turismo Offer be Available in America?

In a bold move, Sony announced last week that customers who purchase the PSP Go in Europe will recieve a code to download the full retail version of Gran Turismo PSP for free. Basically, this is the 21st Century equivalent of the bundled game. Old-school psp owners might be feeling a little bit snubbed by this offer, but don't worry: you'll also be able to grab a free copy of GT PSP just for pre-ordering Gran Turismo 5. This is a brilliant move by Sony and will undoubtedly result in a lot more PSP Go sales than they ordinarily could have expected.

This news left us shocked and awed here in North America: how could Sony offer such an incredible and popular game for free to fans? And will they extend the same offer to North American gamers? Right now it seems like your guess is as good as ours. Sony has confirmed that the Gran Turismo offer is intended for Europe only, but the company has not said if a different game might be made available to PSP owners outside of Europe. The reason why Sony is almost certain to bundle a digital game with every PSP Go sold is because they have an interest in getting signups for the PSN download service and showing customers how easy it is to pay for and grab future games digitally.

There are several other massively popular title launching around the same time as the PSP Go, including Motorstorm: Arctic Edge and LittleBigPlanet PSP. However, the most recognizable franchise release would probably be Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, which is a good candidate for such an offer. It appeals to a large group of gamers, it involves shooting things (and we Americans love that), and the franchise has literally been around for ages.

If we had to place bets, we would say that Sony will soon announce a similar free download of Jak and Daxter for PSP Go customers in North America. We would rather have the Gran Turismo deal, of course, but a free game is better than nothing. It's the least the company can do if the PSP Go really does ship with the recommended retail price of $250.

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is a good candidate for a PSP Go bundle.