Gamescom '11: Sony announces value-priced PSP for €99, but no wi-fi included

For the PSP's final swan song - before being dethroned by a stronger, younger, more 3G-capable model - Sony will introduce a new, cut-price edition.

It's the fourth reinvention of the console, but instead of adding any new features, Sony will remove one: wi-fi connectivity.

This dirt-cheap PSP model won't, therefore, be able to get online to play games like Monster Hunter and SOCOM, and users won't be able to buy things from Sony's virtual shop unless they have a spare PS3 lying about.

By removing that chip, though, this value-priced handheld will come in at a pocket money €99, or about £86.

Otherwise, the console looks pretty much identical to the PSP-3000 unit, with the classic wide-boy design and, of course, a UMD slot. From the image presented at Sony's Gamescom conference, it looks like the console will come in gunmetal grey, and the buttons under the screen will be touchpads.

We'll let you know when the device will go on sale as soon as we find out.