Gamertell

Let’s face it, the North American PSPs are fairly bland. Sure, we’ll get “special” colors or designs on some systems with bundles. I guess that’s okay. But wouldn’t you rather have a champagne gold unit rather than a solid red one with Kratos’ face emblazoned on the back? You probably would.

The sad truth is, North America’s PSP is fairly neglected. Its kind of like an evil twin, locked in your family’s attic and raised on fish heads. Japan, on the other hand, treats the PSP with some dignity. There are actual game releases almost every week and quite a wide variety when it comes to model styles.

So, think of this week’s Important Importables as a bit of a tease. We’re going to look back at some of the really cool Japanese model PSPs that have been released over the past few years. If you really want one of these PSPs, you could always import it. The PSP games aren’t region protected. The UMD movies do have region protection though, so keep that in mind if you decide to import a system.

Japan only PSP-1000 models

The original PSPs in Japan differed from the US PSPs in mainly one area - color. If you lived in Japan, you could have picked up a PSP-1000 unit in some more unique colors, without having to worry about Darth Vader’s head lurking on the back of the unit. Some of these unique colors, like metallic blue or ceramic white, were available outside of Japan in special bundles. For example, aside from the standard piano black system, there were also ceramic white, silver, pink, metallic blue and champagne gold.

There were also a handful of special edition systems, specially made only for Japan. One of the highlights here was a limited edition PSP bundle that included Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, a special case, a PSP strap, three pins and a camouflage colored PSP. The Sony online Japanese Signature store also carried two limited edition, incredibly stylish PSPs which were referred to as Tsukimi and Kachofugetsu. Tsukimi was a piano black PSP with bronze details and accents on the case, while Kachofugetsu was a ceramic white PSP with black accents and designs on the case.

Japan only PSP-2000 models

The Japan only PSP-2000 excelled in one area - color. There was a pastel explosion, with a wide variety of model colors available. There were mint green, felicia blue, rose pink and lavender purple models released, and none of them ever made it outside Japan. Plain mat bronze and deep red PSP models were also released, though the deep red PSP appeared outside Japan with Kratos christening it. Of course, silver, black, white and blue PSPs also were released in Japan.

There were also quite a few beautiful and enviable limited edition PSPs. For example, the Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII silver PSP with Final Fantasy VII 10h Anniversary and images of Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth on the back, is a very in demand model. There was also a Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G Hunter PSP in a beautiful bronze color, with Monster Hunter glyphs on the back and front. There was also a felicia blue Star Ocean: First Departure PSP that had dark blue accents on the back, and an incredibly cool Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui PSP that had a red face with black buttons and a black back with Gundam insignia and the words “Principality of Zeon” emblazoned on the back.

Japan only PSP-3000 models

There aren’t many really cool, Japan exclusive PSP-3000 models yet, but that’s only because that version of the system is fairly new. So far, there are mystic silver, pearl white and piano black varieties in Japan. The silver and black colors are also available in North America (the silver with the Ratchet and Clank bundle, so the only color North American PSP owners have to oogle is the pearl white design.

Of course, this week marks the release of a new, limited edition PSP. The special Dissidia: Final Fantasy bundle with the game and a ceramic white PSP came out December 18, 2008 in Japan. The back of the PSP-3000 has silver images of Cosmos and Chaos on the back.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Portables looks at some incredibly amazing games coming out in Japan in 2009.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables named five Hello Kitty games that aren’t a total waste of time.

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