I was informed of this the other day by a guy in Tescos and me first instinct was to laugh in his face. Then I realised that PSP games are ONLY sold in exclusive game stores and the selection is just pathetic.

What happened to my PSP? I used to love it and it's shiny graphics and cool games but I've not picked up a game for it in over a year... this isn't due to a lack of interest, I'm always trying to find new games but I just dont find any I want.

Is it really dead tech? I need to know!

I would't write it off just let, after a bit of searching I found lots of gme for the little powerhouse. But you'll find not so many in the high streets stores and more online at places like, Play.coma and amazon

At the moment, I'm working in the games section of the local Currys in town, and I gotta say, the PSP section does seem to have been bullied out of it's corner by the masses of DS, DSi and DSiXL games and accessories we've had coming in.

The main problem is that non-game stores just aren't making money from PSP sales, as your more casual gamer tends to go more for the DS and a copy of Brain Training. XD

Still, I wouldn't rule out the PSP as dead and gone just yet though.
In Japan and the US, it's still selling really well, with MGS:Peace Walker just released, and the ever-growing catalogue of downloadable titles (especially some of the older PS1 classics like FFs 7 to 9).
Also, Japan loevs (yes, LOEVS) Monster Hunter, which is a big thing on the PSP over there, especially with it's online modes. XD

It just seems to be here in the UK it's doing a bit bollocks, but I guess it doesn't help that we get the butt of almost every other region's game selections.

Anyway, Sony are still going to be supporting the PSP for at least another five+ years or so, and I'm still planning on getting a 3000 model once I give Alex my older one, and I have a crap-ton of games I own that I still haven't got stuck into yet.

So, short answer is; Yes, the PSP is dead to anyone who isn't into games, and No, the PSP will still be around for years to come.
...And I just realised I really need to buy Peace Walker. :O

am i right in thinking that like the DS, the PSP is region free for games?

Yuppers. I've got a few American PSP titles myself thanks to cheap sellers on EBay. There's also a few Japanese games I've been eyeing up, like some of the Gundam games, but save that for a rainy day.

/me sits back in chair happily playing on his FOOTWIDE Atari Lynx.

"This mofos been dead for TWENNY years!"

As for the PSP, well. To me it didn't really live up to its expectations. I bought one on import on Jap launch day, cost me a freaking fortune but Ridge Racers was 100% awesome. I don't know exactly what happened tho but the games after that just didn't really have the same wow facteur. It lives on as a general purpose 8/16 bit console emulation device.

True, but then again you are comparing it to Ridge Racer.

don't ya mean RIIIIIIIIIIIDDGGGEEE RAAAAAACCCCEEEEEERRR!!!

I love Ridge Racer SO MUCH but... only upto R4. Rage Racer, R4 and the Ridge Racer TURBO MODE bonus disc that came with R4 are still in regular rotation on my Ps1.

and they didn't cost FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS either.

Ridge Racer DS (which is in turn, a handheld port of Ridge Racer 64, which is in turn, a collection of the best tracks from Ridge Racer 1 and 2) was my weapon of choice for a long time.

Ridge Racer DS and I had the worst love/hate relationship known to man. I hated the game, I couldn't stop playing it.
I needed to punch the announcer, but the music was so good.
I hated the enemy A.I., but I needed to unlock the Donkey Kong car! (yes, lots of unlockable cars included about five ULTRA Nintendo and Mario cameo vehicles)

Thankfully, a long car ride to Glasgow and back got me through this game.

...
Oh crap, this is off topic.

Okay, so talking about handheld Ridge Racer games, I'd still say the PSP version (and it's sequel) are the superior pocket racers.
For starters, the PSP versions are actually made in-house by Namco, wheras RR64 and DS were created by a different team in the US.
Although I don't know why I'm comparing the two games, one's a port, and one was made to show off what the PSP could really do.

I've also noticed the sudden boom of people using their PSPs to play Final Fantasy VIII and IX now that they've been made available on the Playstation Store (to download for PSP and PS3).
I'd personally love it if Sony hosted every PS1 game available as a download, there's a few rare titles I'd love to play (or even upgrade some of my old second hand disks that occasionally have the 'music jumps' XD).

Looking at the this of PSONE CLASSICS available to download to the psp tho, theres not a SINGLE Ridge Racer game available to download? What in the HEY are they playing at?

Thing is, I tried, OH I tried to get the POPS emulator working on my dodgy-firmwared psp for psone game joy, but the the jiggery-pokery involved in doing so cost me about 2 evenings at the end of which I conceded defeat. I obviously don't have enough Linux-flakes for breakfast in the morning and thusly lack the technical know-how.

I'll just have to go back to the intro gallery on psp Ridge Racers and watch the R4 intro on a loop for an hour, stopping occasionally to dry my eyes at the BEST game intro ever.

Infact, I'm just going to youtube it NOW.