Will Sony's new PSP be called the "PSP Go"?
That's the word from 1up.com's David Ellis, who did a lot of digging into the rumors and has emerged with a report that purports to detail the latest version of Sony's portable platform. Many of the details that 1up revealed Tuesday jibe with other rumors we've heard about a new PSP in the past. Here's what Ellis found:
- Screen that slides upwards to reveal buttons
- No UMD drive
- Two SKUs: 8 GB and 16 GB built-in flash memory
- Still just one analog stick
- Rumored names included "PSP Slide" and "PSP Flip," but final name is likely "PSP Go!"
- 100 downloadable games, from PSP's disc catalog as well as new ones, available at launch
- Launches in September 2009 in Japan, October/November in U.S.
- May borrow functions from Sony's "Mylo" like a touch screen and camera
While this still falls under the category of "rumor and speculation" -- which is what Sony called it when it told 1up.com it wouldn't be commenting on its story -- the rumors are just piling up now to the point that it is a near-certainty now that Sony will unveil this new PSP at E3 in June.
What's interesting about Ellis' 1up story is that it paints a picture of the PSP Go! as a reactionary product, put together in short order as a response to the launch of Nintendo DSi and the amazing success of iPhone as a games device.
Even if this is the case and it turns out to be a Game Boy Coloresque stopgap measure rather than a true leap forward for Sony's handheld game business, it seems very much like the radical change that the PSP platform needs to remain relevant with Nintendo and Apple gobbling up more portable play time every day.
Getting rid of UMD games and going totally downloadable, with a huge flood of content hitting the store and built-in flash memory, makes a lot of sense. Not to mention that, if it indeed has a touch screen as Ellis speculates, it puts PSP on much more even footing with iPhone in terms of the type of content it can deliver to casual gamers who just want to kill a few minutes with the device.
In short, the so-called PSP Go! could be just the total reboot that the brand needs. 1up seems quite confident in its reporting. But since this is all rumor for now, we'll very likely have to wait for E3 to find out the full details of Sony's plans for PSP in 2009 and beyond.
Image: Wired.com
New PSP Named and Coming This Fall [1up.com]
See Also:- Anonymous Sony Sources Bicker Over 'PSP 2'
