When I first heard about this story on IGN questioning whether or not the PSP has had a lukewarm launch, I had high hopes that those stupid console bundles that all the major retailers force people into buying had finally backfired. But no, that doesn’t seem to be the case. A quick survey on IGN’s forums (see here and here) shows pretty conclusively that the major gaming retailers have managed to unload their PSP shipments despite the irritating bundles. It seems that if you want a PSP, the place to get one is in more mainstream stores, like Wal-Mart or Target, provided you’re somewhere in middle America, and not on one of the coasts.


I hate (read: hate) bundles. I never considered buying a PSP because I don’t have the money (hey, we just bought an apartment!), but even if I did have the money, I wouldn’t have been able to get one because of those damn bundles. Amazon’s the worst offender here. If you want a PSP from Amazon, you have to buy the system (naturally), but also NBA, Gretzkey NHL, Twisted Metal, Ape Escape and Wipeout Pure. Total price? $450. At least those are all games (even if there’s only one I would actually ever want to play). The cheapest bundle at EB forces you to buy the system, Lumines, Untold Legends, Twisted Metal and the “Pro Gamer’s Kit”, that includes a ton of crap (including extra headphones on top of the ones Sony already gives you with the console) most people don’t want. Oh, and “cheapest” is still expensive at just under $400.


If you want one and your local retailers are all out, my advice is to go to eBay. A quick check over there shows most of them available for slight markups, but there are some that are around retail price. Just be careful! Make sure you’re getting the US version (assuming that’s what you want), and that you’re getting the complete contents of the “Value Pack” if you’re paying full price. I spotted a couple of nasty people selling just the console, minus the Spider-Man 2 UMD and memory stick (those people are probably selling them in separate auctions).


Considering how successful (apparently) these stupid bundles have been, chances are that this same thing will be repeated again and again for each new console launch. I think it’s a damn shame. The next time a console comes out that I want at launch, I’m pre-ordering in-store someplace where there isn’t a minimum purchase requirement. I was forced to do bundles for my PS2 and Xbox (one required me to get Tekken Tag Tournament, the other Star Wars: Obi Wan — both sucked big time), and I ain’t doing it again.