We don't trust analysts ... their predictions are based on the same mindless fanboy drivel commonly found on the internet, and their reports often conflict with other analysts' opinions. According to GameDaily, Todd Greenwald from Nollenberger Capital believes that another PSP price cut is inevitable. Why? Two factors.

Firstly, if and when a redesigned PSP comes out, the original should drop in price (or, the new model could simply be more expensive, no?). Secondly, sales of the portable have doubled since the price drop, making a further price drop seem that much more lucrative. Of course, one must question the profitability of such a move, and that's where Greenwald's analysis starts to crumble. Even at $170, the PSP is an incredibly advanced piece of tech: it's unlikely that Sony would want to jeopardize their profits by subsidizing the cost of hardware even further (especially in lieu of the massive profit-drain that is the PS3). Sony should be content with the sales increase they've received since the price drop: certainly a doubling is nothing to scoff at.

As Pocket Gamer have said, this is good timing. We have some great games coming up (Crisis Core and Dissidia, to name just two), not to mention a back-catalogue of excellent titles. Such as the newly released (in Europe, at least) Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. Are you a new PSP owner who took advantage of the recent price cuts? Let us know.

[Via PS3 Forums]

Both Amazon.co.uk and Play.com have dropped the price of the PSP by an extra £10, even after the recent official price cut a couple of weeks ago. As it now stands the PSP is £119.99 from these two retailers. That's only £20 more than the Nintendo DS.

Amazon UK are also promising (if their e-mail today can be believed) to let you have a PSP, bundled with a game, for only £139.99. Checking the website, however, shows that this is either a typo on the mail-out, or they just haven't got around to updating the site itself yet. Either way, the site still shows bundles selling for £159.99. Which is not such a good deal, considering games are thirty quid each anyway. Where's the saving there?

If you see the site change to reflect the new deal, then let us know. Saving a potential £40 on last month's price is something I'm sure a lot of people won't want to miss.

Owen Bennallack over at PocketGamer.co.uk has posted a response to the PSP price cut that occurred in the UK last week. In it he debates whether the cut will have a positive affect on sales and what Sony needs to do in order to get people more excited about the PSP.

Bennallack puts the current sales figures for the PSP down to people buying into the potential. That it has sold on the virtue of its hardware, not its software library. The PS3 is very similar in that respect, though the PSP is much further along in its lifespan in comparison. Almost two and a half years further, to be precise. While some excellent games exist for the system, Bennallack argues that there are no iconic titles available. He has a point. A lot of the great games are sequels or ports. Games like Loco Roco and Crush have the potential to make the PSP a must-have gadget, as does some decent PSP to PS3 game connectivity. Acting as a rear view mirror for Ridge Racer doesn't count.

What we need most, Bennallack argues, is some sort of focus for our favourite handheld. At the moment it feels as if Sony have introduced as many innovations into the PSP as they could, without letting them communicate. As a result the console feels a bit like a jack-of-all-trades. He goes on to say that if Sony were to show us the 'Big Idea', then it would help increase sales and interest in Sony's tiniest member of the PLAYSTATION family. Exactly what the 'Big Idea' would be, I'm not sure. It could involve some sort of cross-utilisation of all of the PSP's features. Or it could just be an explanation from Sony of what the PSP will have available to it in terms of games, features and inter-connectivity. Either way it'd do a good job of making those of us who own one feel a little more secure in our PSP purchases. It could even inspire a few new people to do the same.

Analysts, for some reason or another, are important to the industry. Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets commented on Sony's recent price drop of the machine, saying it will give the platform an important "shot in the arm." As the first official price cut since the product's launch more than two years ago, marketing will be crucial. Thankfully, according to Sebastian, Sony has a plan: "Sony is planning to support the pricing move with a new print and online marketing campaign targeted at young adults and teens." Let's hope it's better than what we've seen so far.

Price is one of the sole detriments to PSP's performance. With a lower price, Sebastian notes, the system should sell much better: "We note that a Wal-Mart promotion on Black Friday last year generated significant sales volume for the PSP at a discounted price of $169, providing one indication of potential consumer demand. We also believe the potential release of Gran Turismo for the PSP in 2007 could further boost unit sales." Wait? Did he mention Gran Turismo? Isn't that game canceled? Or maybe it's not. Let's hope that he knows something we don't.

The battle's far from over, the analyst reminds us. "It is too early to conclude whether Sony's pricing action will cause game developers to increase the pipeline of new PSP titles." Certainly, the price drop is encouraging, but "at the new $169 price, we note that the PSP is still $40 higher than Nintendo's DS."

[Via GameDaily]