PSP-3000 will have less battery life

1 September 2008 16:02 GMT / By Verity Burns

As we may have expected after pictures showed us just how much brighter the PSP-3000 would be compared to the PSP-2000, Sony US marketeer John Koller has confirmed that the newer model will use up more energy and have a lesser battery life than its predecessor.

"Battery life will decrease by a small amount; it's material, but it's about 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes. And that's because there's a little bit of a larger power draw with the brighter screen," Koller said.

"That's going to be offset because we're going to have the extended life battery that's still available for consumers, so we're still going to get the eight-to-ten hours out of that battery. The battery that comes with the PSP will now be right around three-and-a-half to four hours."

The PSP-3000 has five times more screen contrast than the previous model, not to mantion a wider array of colours. It also adds on a built-in microphone for multiplayer games and Skype.

Koller has said all accessories bar the AC adaptor should function with no compatibility issues, and that manufacture of the existing PSP would cease come the end of September.

The first PSP-3000 bundle released in Europe on 15th October will be the earliest you can get your hands on the new handheld, which will come in silver with the game Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters.

After this, the black version and 4GB memory entertainment pack bundle will be available in "early November" .

Both bundles are expected to come in at €199 (around £160).

Full tags

Gaming, PSP, PlayStation, Sony