Sony has revealed it will demand punters pay a penny under £150 for the basic PlayStation Portable package when it launches here on 22 March. Announced last week, the box contains just a PSP and a mains adaptor, unlike the bundle-heavy Value Pack that launched in September 2005.

A Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesman confirmed the £149.99 price and its Europe-wide debut this coming Wednesday. Eurozone consumers will pay €199 for the package - the equivalent of £138 based on today's exchange rate.

The company blamed the £12 price differential on local tax levels and a wide number of other factors that boost UK prices above their Continental equivalents.

Sony already offers the £180 Value Pack, which adds headphones, a case and a 32MB MemoryStick to the contents of the basic package, and a £210 Giga Pack, which drops the 32MB MemoryStick for a 1GB version. ®