Keeping a secret in the gaming industry is a lost art – you want to keep something juicy under wraps, you better have bombs implanted in your employees’s skulls – the ultimate NDA. Sony does not have a “boom goes the dynamite” policy apparently, as word has leaked out just before their E3 press conference that the PSP Go is real and it’s fantastic. The rumors about the system have been mostly true – the PSP Go packs a sliding screen that hides the buttons and no UMD drive. There is no second analog stick, but the system packs 16GB of internal memory along with a Memory Stick Micro slot. Wait, 16GB? That’s just sexy. Also, there’s now Bluetooth (we assume Bluetooth A2DP support to support stereo headphones) as well. It’ll be interesting to see how Sony handles releases for the PSP from now on – will all titles be digitally distributed, or will PSP Go owners miss out on some of them (I imagine not, losing a part of your audience due to being UMD-only is a great way to spur on digital distribution)? This could be a big move for Sony, giving the PSP (a system that’s pretty much still king of the handheld jungle in terms of power despite its relative age) a kick in the pants in the fight against the DS and iPhone juggernauts.
That wasn’t the end of the fun for the PSP Go, either, as there’s a new Metal Gear game coming for the PSP Go as well. Let me take the time to say, “Woo! Metal Gear!” and also to warn Kojima that hour-long cutscenes don’t really play on handhelds. Find an editor, and keep at it a reasonable length, son. And somehow, that mythical Gran Turismo for PSP that I’m pretty sure was announced back in the Old Testament? Still in development, and coming out for PSP Go. Exciting times for the PSP indeed. Peep the leaked Qore episode below (and laugh as Sony’s security measures have failed miserably) and just imagine – somewhere, a Sony exec is kicking themselves wondering what they did to deserve this leak. They better have a big surprise planned for E3, and we’re not talking about a PS3 Slim either.
Whatever the next model of the PSP is going to be, it’s already generated far more interest and news than the current PSP models have. At the forefront is Dave Perry, in what can be best called an attempt to remain relevant. Dave has been telling the world that the PSP2 is coming. Sony and SCEA marketeer John Koller have denied that report in a way only Sony can, saying they’re still behind the UMD format and they’re “just friends” with digital distribution. Now Dave Perry is striking back on that most esteemed of soapboxes – Twitter. Sayeth the man behind Cool Spot -
“John Koller is publicly questioning my post about PSP 2. So I confirmed with Top PSP 2 developers. John, they stated that PSP 2 WILL have UMD.”
This was immediately followed by a tweet about how Jack Bauer was so awesome when he Tasered that phone on 24 last night and posting a link to Jon Stewart’s Twitter segment on The Daily Show. Dave Perry seems sure that he’s seen a new PSP without a UMD drive, so unless his developer friends are playing a mean prank on him or he’s flat-out lying to us, it appears as if Sony is about to unleash a digital distribution-fueled PSP upon unsuspecting customers in 2009.
This raises two questions. One, were all of those game announcements last week secretly all PSP2 titles? Two, did Sony begin to heed my Second Commandment well before I wrote it? All I know is, I’m turning off my PSP’s WLAN switch in case Sony’s using it to read my mind.
It is strange how the PSP is suddenly making news for everything but currently existing – scouring most news sites as of late for PSP news has been a cavalcade of PSP-4000/PSP2 rumors, with only a post about upcoming PSP games to break the chain of future model PSP news.
And now, news has hit that Sony wants more PS1 classics available on PSN and is preparing to refocus on digital distribution as a delivery mechanism. Whatever the truth is, 2009 will be a very important year for the PSP platform, with a model that could be a gamechanger as to how major portable gaming is bought and consumed with no retail option. And it’s about time Sony showed some attention to the PSP platform, after a fairly disappointing last half of 2008.
