Artist's rendition of the PSP Go.
(Credit: 1Up.com)In advance of E3 next week, rumors continue to circulate around the possibility of a new PSP and a new, slimmer PS3. Here are the latest:
- Ars Technica is reporting that the next-gen, UMD-free PSP Go! is "indeed real," according to a "trusty inside source" and should be announced at E3.
- The same Sony "mole" claims that the new PSP will be "lighter than its UMD-sporting predecessor, along with lower power consumption and possibly a lower price."
- The new PSP will be sold alongside the older version of the PSP (PSP-3000), according to the Ars report.
- The alleged source says, "A good number of titles will be released with both retail releases and digital downloads, with some games like Unbound Saga forgoing a retail release altogether."
- As for the slimmed-down PS3, it, too, is real, according to the mole--but Sony won't begin selling the new PS3 until stock dwindles on the PS3 currently on store shelves. The source is targeting August or September for possible launch dates.
- There's no word on if Sony plans to strip any features out of the alleged PS3 Slim or if it will cost less than the current model.
- The mole claims that Sony isn't expected to announce a price cut on the current PS3 to clear inventory, "but the possibility is certainly there." (This obviously has the biggest no-duh quotient of any of the statements.)
As always, feel free to comment and make your own predictions.
(Source: Ars Technica via Gizmodo)
Artist's rendition of the PSP Go.
(Credit: 1Up.com)For the past couple months, we've been covering the ongoing rumors that Sony is prepping a new PlayStation Portable.
Well, more details are emerging, with game site 1Up.com reporting that Sony will trot out its new Universal Media Disc-less PSP at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, targeting it for a September release in Japan, followed by a U.S. launch in October or November. While the potential name for the new unit hasn't been confirmed, there are indications that it might called the PSP Go.
As previously reported, the new PSP will allegedly slide open to reveal its controls. But those hoping for dual analog sticks may be disappointed--word is the new PSP will retain the same control scheme, as depicted in the mock-up above. Whether or not it has a touch screen is still up in the air, as 1Up says (much as I had previously) that it wouldn't be shocked if Sony borrowed "many design features from their Mylo 2 handheld Internet device, which is seemingly dead in the water."
1Up claims that the new PSP will come in two configurations: one that features 8GB of internal memory and another that has 16GB. There will be a memory card expansion slot, but that old-school UMD drive will disappear, with Sony moving toward a digital-download delivery system for games. "Since the UMD is going away, Sony will have over 100 classic and new PSP titles available for download at launch (Gran Turismo Mobile is said to be one of the premier launch titles)," 1Up says.
Apparently, Sony is looking to E3 to reinvigorate the PSP platform, which has seen fairly strong hardware sales but has lagged in the software department and now must contend with Nintendo's DS refresh, the DSi, and iPhone gaming.
Recently, Sony announced that such titles as Rock Band, Soul Calibur, LittleBigPlanet, Tekken 6, and MotorStorm would hit the console, and earlier this month, Sony Computer Entertainment America's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, told GameSpot that more than 50 percent of the PSP's 2009 lineup had yet to be announced.
This all sounds good, but naturally, we'll wait until we see official specs and pricing for the next-generation PSP before we get too excited.
What do you guys think? If these rumors are true, should Nintendo be worried?
Thanks to a chatty developer, we recently heard and relayed rumors that the next-generation PSP will have a sliding screen. Well, a second mystery developer, who's allegedly "working with the new hardware," has upped the ante: he or she claims Sony's next-gen portable gaming console will actually have a sliding touch screen along with the much-requested, dual-analog thumbsticks.
This all comes from Pocket Gamer, which doesn't name its "insider" source but says, "The new handheld will arrive before Christmas and will be far more similar to the iPhone than the current device." It also claims the new PSP will be announced in June at E3.
Take the rumor for what it's worth, but all the chatter seems to suggest that a new PSP will be a true PSP 2 and not just another incremental upgrade. Pocket Gamer speculates that Sony accelerated development on the new device after the success of the iPhone and the arrival of the Nintendo DSi. There's also continued talk that the new PSP will forgo UMD and instead rely on an expanded PlayStation Store that rivals Apple's App Store (at least in terms of games).
If this all pans out the way the rumors are pointing, I don't think there's any doubt that the PSP will be a better gaming device than the iPhone. The question is, what else will it be capable of doing? As I've said before, if Sony can integrate some of the features found in its Mylo Communicator, things get very interesting. If not, Pocket Gamer probably won't be able to go around calling the new PSP an "iPhone beater."
What do you think?
Source: Pocket Gamer via Kotaku
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