PSP camera and GPS get Japanese dates

Tuesday 5 September 2006
A Japanese release date, and pricing, has been announced for PSP's long-promised camera and GPS receiver add-ons. Both will go on sale in Sony's home country on 7 December, with the Quick Shot Camera retailing for approximately £22 and the GPS Receiver for around £27.

Both accessories clip on to the top of the handheld and, in addition to their obvious uses, will be supported by upcoming PSP software - both in serious applications, such as the Homestar Portable astronomy program, and in games, including Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

Above: Trust Hideo Kojima - the man behind light-sensitive Boktai and the memory-card reading, controller-swapping Metal Gear titles - to make use of PSP's GPS Receiver

Portable Ops' GPS support will, of course, only be an optional extra, and it remains to be seen whether Sony will release games built specifically to use either the camera or GPS Receiver functionality - much like several of the doomed Gizmondo console's more interesting titles were intended to do.