Sony has remodeled the PlayStation Portable handheld games player, making it lighter and slimmer – having already made it cheaper – in a bid to take on Nintendo's dominant DS.

The new model weighs about a third less, at 190 grams, than the current PSP and is about 20 per cent thinner, at 18.6mm. It will go on sale in the US, Europe and Japan in September, Sony said at the E3 computer games event in Santa Monica.

Sony's machine, which can play films as well as movies, has lost out to Nintendo's cheaper DS, which features a touch screen and voice activated controls and has sold more than 40 million units since its launch in 2005.

The PSP has only sold about half that amount over its lifespan and last year lost out badly to the DS. Sony shipped 8.4 million PSPs in the year to March, compared with Nintendo's 23.6 million DSs.

Sony says sales in the US recently increased 90 per cent after it cut the price of the current PSP to $169 (£84), from $199 (£99). The new model is also expected to go on sale for $169 in the US. A UK price has not been confirmed.

Nintendo's latest rival, the DS Lite costs about $130 (£64) in the US.

In a further bid to stoke demand, the new PSP also includes a a video-out port that means films bought on Sony's proprietary UMD Videoformat can now be viewed on TVs.

Standard versions in "Piano Pink, Ceramic White and Ice Silver" and three pearl-effect colours, "Felicia Blue, Lavender Purple and Rose Pink" will be joined by two special editions, one including Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, the game, and the other a DVD of episodes from Family Guy, the television series. Each special edition will sell for $200 (£99) in the US.

Author: Rhys Blakely, Santa Monica
Source: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/

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