After all the waiting, the day has finally come. (Or should I say the day is finally coming?) Atlus USA has announced on their forums and the US PlayStation Blog that Persona 3 Portable is coming stateside  for both PSP and PSPgo users. Here are a few details from the Atlus press release:

"Terrible creatures lurk in the dark, preying on those who wander into the hidden hour between one day and the next. As a member of a secret school club, you must wield your inner power—Persona—and protect humanity from impending doom. Will you live to see the light of day?"

Key Features

* Maximum Persona 3—The RPG that captured critics and fans alike achieves a new level of excellence. Built upon an enhanced version of the game, players will find numerous significant improvements, including the addition of Skill Cards, part-time jobs, a total of five difficulty settings (ranging from the newcomer-friendly "beginner" to the ultra-hardcore "maniac"), and most importantly, the ability to directly control your teammates in battle.
* Gain a whole new perspective—The choice of your protagonist's sex at the start of the game has a dramatic impact on the game's intricate social dynamics. Persona 3 veterans will get a kick out of playing through the story from a new female perspective, gaining new Social Links, special events, and unique romantic opportunities.
* Slick system enhancements—Improved playability permeates every aspect of the gameplay experience. One-button menu shortcuts, streamlined team equipment changes, incredibly short load times, and other tweaks and enhancements create an ideal pace for portable gaming.

Persona 3 Portable will be available for purchase on July 6th of this year.

According to SCEA hardware marketing director John Koller, PSPgo sales are still "over-forecast" from what the company thought they would be. While maintaining steady support in the retail sector, Sony plans to sharpen its focus towards digital distribution in 2010.  Sony acknowledges the fact that some publishers have been slow to make the jump to digital -- Square Enix anyone? -- and is in the process of laying down the groundwork to encourage third-parties to release simultaneously on both distribution fronts.

Speaking at this week’s Develop Jury Service, Traveler’s Tales founder Jon Burton expressed his disdain towards the pricing model of digital offerings for the PSPgo, going as far to say that the platform will die unless radical changes are made.

“I own a PSPgo but don’t want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20 per cent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I’m finished with it,” lamented Burton. He added, “But if I download it, I get no discount, and no chance to resell – how annoying is that?”

One of the reasons digital download services like Steam are so popular is because you can often nab games at a sale price below their retail counterpart. On the PSP, UMD efforts are priced exactly the same as retail, and to top it off sales are a dime a dozen. It’s a troubling trend, one that Sony needs to rectify, otherwise store sales will remain stagnant. Just having weekly sales would go a long way towards generating interest.

PSPgo ‘will die without software price cuts’, says Burton [Develop]

Traveler’s Tales Founder: PSPgo Will Die Unless Game Downloads Are Made Cheaper - [eXophase.com]

An inside source has told UK news site CVG that Logitech is working on an external UMD drive for the PSPgo, presumably allowing owners to playback of their games on the format. There’s word on hwo the attachment will work exactly, but CVG surmises that it could plug into left memory stick slot, much like Datel’s unofficial hard drive add-on for original PSP units did.

Sounds a little far-fetched to us, unless Sony plans on officially endorsing this peripheral. Logitech will need licensing on this item if it ever plans to see the light of day. Besides, with the push towards digital distribution on the go, it seems silly for Sony to backpedal like this. On the other hand, having more options is good for the consumer. However, we don’t see it happening. A revised PSP adopting the same sliding design as the go but with a built-in UMD slot sounds more likely. PSP-4000, anyone?

Rumor: Logitech Devising External UMD Drive for PSPgo - [eXophase.com]

Separate from the promotion it ran back during the PSPgo’s launch, SCEE is giving away even more free games to those investing in the platform, making the premium price not as hard to swallow. Product manager Adamn Grant breaks word on the official European PlayStation Blog that any PSPgo owner can now receive a voucher code to download one of three recent games free of charge. These includes hits like Gran Turismo, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge and Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines. In Germany Assassin’s Creed has been substituted for LittleBigPlanet.

To receive your voucher code, simply sign on the PlayStation Store in your local region and download a specially-marked PSPgo Promotion Theme. An email will be sent to the one on record with your PSN account afterwards. Unfortunately, this deal is a Europe only one, meaning those of us North America are out of luck.

Get A Free Game With PSPgo! Happy Holidays! [SCEE PS Blog]

SCEE Gets Generous, Hands Out Even More Free Games for PSPgo Owners - [eXophase.com]

Over this past weekend developer FreePlay released the save game exploit for the PSPgo he showcased last month. Based largely on code from team Prometheus, it is compatible with firmware 6.10 and takes advantage of a user mode vulnerability in Archer Maclean’s Mercury. We’ve tested it on our unit and it works exactly as you’d expect. However, Sony removed the offending game title mere minutes after this hack hit the web, in addition to patching this exploit at the firmware level in 6.20. As of writing, it is back, now swapped with a copy that requires firmware 6.20 instead of 6.10.

As Sony has full control over PSN, this was a move more or less expected by those in the homebrew community, leading to questions of why this was even released in the first place. At the very least, it’s proof that these types of exploits are not viable on the go. Chalk it up as a victory for Sony this time around, but if history is any indication, the tables could turn once again in the future.

For archival purposes, we’ve included a copy of the exploit below. However, remember that it is not usable unless you downloaded Mercury prior to it being patched.

Download Leaked PSPgo Save Game Exploit

PSPgo Save Game Exploit Released, Sony Swiftly Responds - [eXophase.com]

Neon of Team Typoon, the same team responsible for bringing homebrew to the masses on PSP-3000 has released a brief video that demonstrates the possibilities of HEN (short for Homebrew Enabler) on a PSPgo unit in a custom firmware esque environment.

Genesis emulator PicoDrive is shown running Sonic through the go’s savestate-like Resume Game feature, which can continue play sessions even after a full shutdown. While there are no immediate plans to release this Kernel-level exploit to the public, we’re told that more footage in better quality is coming soon.

Clip: PSPgo Fully Hacked, Running HEN - [eXophase.com]

According to market data provided by Famitsu parent Enterbrain, the PSPgo sold 28,275 units on its first day. A respectable figure despite the higher price tag, but looking back, both the DSi and PSP-3000 mustered up far more sales in the same timeframe. Then again, the go was released on a Sunday, which is considered extremely rare for a hardware launch in Japan. Before passing final judgment we’ll have to wait for first week sales to see how the go stacks up against its predecessors in terms of popularity.

Enterbrain Shares PSP go First Day Sales [Andriasang]

PSPgo First Day Sales Total 28k In Japan - [eXophase.com]

While Sony seems relatively pleased with the retail performance of PSPgo in Europe and the US, things seem to be moving at a snails pace in Australia. In a week following the handheld’s debut, industry sources say that slightly more than 1000 units were shifted. By contrast, the PS3 Slim moved more than 10,000 units in a week.

Sony is expecting things to pick up, however. SCE Australia manging director Michael Ephraim says a firmware update is due out “soon” that promises to enhance the media capabilities offered by the go, allowing end users to view e-books. Additionally, various comic books will be purchasable from the PlayStation Store. This initiative was already confirmed for Japan, but nice to have official word for other regions as well.

PSP Go a no-go as Sony struggles for sales [The Age]

PSPgo A No Go In Australia, Firmware Update Bringing E-Book Support ‘Soon’ - [eXophase.com]

Although the ultra portable PSPgo has received mixed reactions in the enthusiast press, it appears that the handheld is becoming a hot item at retail, if early launch sales are any indication. According to SCEA corporate communications director Patrick Seybold, the go has managed to spark interest in the platform as a whole, netting a 300 percent increase in overall sales within a span of three days.

The launch of PSP Go has generated strong consumer interest in the overall PSP platform and the PlayStation Network’s digital content offering.

Offering more insight on PSN momentum, Seybold noted that PSN transactions also saw a considerable boost during the same timeframe, with sales of digital offerings up 200 percent. While we’d still like to see hard sales figures, it sounds like the PSPgo is off to a steady start, which points towards a bright future for digital distribution in the portable space.

PSP Go Launch Boosts U.S. PSP Sales 300 Percent In First Three Days [Gamasutra]

SCEA: PSPgo Catapults Hardware Sales, PSN Transactions In US - [eXophase.com]