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Released next month, and they all look lovely.

Sony will release a “Cinnabar Red” PlayStation 2, two “Metallic Blue” PSP packs and a PlayStation Eye bundle next month in Japan.

The platform holder will launch the limited edition red PS2 on July 3 at a recommended retail price of 16,000 yen. The light-weight system will feature an in-built AC adapter. In Japan the PS2 is still performing well sales wise - now in its ninth year on the market it regularly runs its successor close in the weekly hardware chart. More than 130 million PS2 units have been snapped up to date worldwide.

Following on July 17, SCEJ will release a “PSP Metallic Blue Value Pack” and a “PSP Metallic Blue 1 Seg Pack.” The limited edition handhelds will retail for 23,800 yen and 29,800 yen respectively. The former is billed as a starter pack, and will come with a pouch, hand strap, cloth, a 32MB memory stick and a D Terminal AV cable so users can watch content on their TVs. The latter pack will ship with the same accessories plus a 1 Seg TV tuner and a larger memory stick. In Japan the PSP has regularly dominated the hardware chart over the last few months. The blue PSPs are the same in color as the Madden PSP pack set to debut in the US in August.

On July 24 SCEJ will also release a PlayStation Eye bundle for PS3. Featuring a PS Eye camera and Memoushon, a software pack containing an image and sound editor and a range of casual games, it will retail for 5,000 yen.

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There’s no doubt that Japan is big on the Monster Hunter games, so it comes as no surprise that Monster Hunter Fiesta 08 has been drawing in huge crowds all month. The Fiesta, however, is now over with the finals of the nation-wide tournament having just been wrapped up this past weekend. So what’s the good news here? Well, you can see some footage from the show over at Famitsu, as well as witness the skills of this year’s two top teams. Let the experts show you how to hunt some beasties.

Do you like The Con? Ever heard of it? You will after reading this post, there’s just no escaping it.

Apart from the two Hot Shots demos and the super creepy Siren trailer, it’s all about The Con. as well as the game itself, there are several videos available and even a wallpaper. Almost makes you want to buy it, doesn’t it? Almost. Here’s the full release list:

Playable content:

• The Con UMD “classic” ($19.99)
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 Beginner demo
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 Intermediate demo

Videos:

• Siren: Blood Curse Debut Trailer
• The Con: Trailer 1
• The Con: Music Video
• The Con: - I Declare
• The Con: - The Champ
• The Con: - Swing First
• The Con: - Boneyard

Wallpapers

• The Con Wallpaper

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Speaking today in New York, SCEA senior marketing manager John Koller described the PSP as a gateway drug to the world of harder console narcotics like crystal PS3. He explained that the PSP has changed the way people look upon handheld gaming and that “the PSP is a very high growth, high margin business and something that is a very good product for [Sony].”

Koller said that the PSP “parlays well into our broader hardware business” as Sony has noticed an emerging trend with PSP consumers who’ve never bought a console before. They’re suddenly opting for PS3s as they move along the adoption curve. Analyst Michael Pachter, who was also in NYC, compares the PSP’s successes to that of the uber-successful GBA: “If you look at sell-through for PSP, at a much higher price point, it is about six months behind the adoption curve of the Game Boy Advance which averaged about US$80 cheaper. That’s … the original Game Boy Advance that had no competition. So, people ‘dis’ the PSP, but the business is pretty solid.”