The PlayStation Portable has had an up-and-down kind of life ever since it released half a decade ago. Sony, however, is not a company to let PR setbacks, a lack of third party support, or crap reiterations of the same system keep a brand down, and that's why the PSP2 is all but certain. It also sounds like the next generation of the PSP will kick arse, if the gossip's to be believed.
According to reports, the PSP2 will feature a touch screen, which won't be a surprise given Microsoft and Sony's tendency to copy everything Nintendo does. It will, however, keep its traditional buttons, and it'll also feature both a front-facing and back-facing camera. Some sources also claim they'll be shocked if the PSP2 supports any physical media, with speculation that it may also be 3G enabled.
As if that wasn't enough, it's being said UK developers already have their hands on the system and are making games as we speak. Although E3 may be too early to reveal it, Gamescom or TGS seem like possible stages for the system, which is allegedly planned for a 2011 release. Finally, as source is quoted as saying that the PSP2 is "f*cking powerful" with a four-core Cell CPU. Basically half as powerful as a PS3.
Exciting stuff, but how true is it? We don't know, and Sony won't say. Typical.
PSP2: Touch-screen, two cameras, games for “end 2010, beginning 2011″ [VG247]
Contest:
2:40 PM on 05.17.2010 | 
Hope you can use it without that.
No sale.
Typical.
Anyway, this thing will probably "only cost $800". What? A system this powerful and awesome is well worth the horrendously large price.
Haven't been there for a while
Are you spending time with gay men in my country?
Would be genious.
Also, if this iteration fails, how many weeks before the next one comes out?
I like the idea of a touch screen to supplement the buttons, but what I'd REALLY like to see is another fucking nub. Really. I hate playing shooters with the goddamn face buttons for aiming.
Wow. Sony, I rooted for you this handheld, but this is not sitting well in my stomach.
I can't imagine it'd be any more than $250 since a PS3 is only $300 now. Frankly, I think they should shoot for $200 if they know whhat's good for them.
And I don't really have any problem with it being digital only for games/media etc. So long as they don't repeat the mistakes of the PSPgo (Only wireless-b?! Full priced games NOT released on time?!), I'm totally on board with never having to carry around physical games on a portable system again.
And this is what kills my interest. I don't like the idea of slapping down hundreds of dollars for bits and bytes I'll never physically own. My system fails or I forget a password, and everything's gone forever.
There's also the fact Sony will keep the prices raised on everythingr. It kills me to know there are people with PSP Gos paying $20 for some old game you can get on UMD from Amazon for $5.
Now Steam's a much better service: regular sales and you can play your games from anywhere. Sad that Sony will never do this.
enabled unless it's also a phone.
Maybe that'll be their E3 showstopper, the Playstation Phone.
I totally understand what you're saying, but it's honestly a temporary problem. One day soon Amazon will be digitally distributing games as well. The PSP Go was the first all-digital platform, and it failed miserably. That's not to say that someone else (Or Sony themselves) won't get it right soon.
Frankly I would argue that as much as I love having physical copies of my CONSOLE games, I hate lugging around games for my DSi or PSP. Imagine if you had to lug around cartridges to play games on your iPhone. I guarantee over half the people that play games on their iPhones would stop playing because of the inconvenience. Digital distribution IS the future of portable gaming, but we need companies like Sony to keep trying new things.
Also, I would live to see Jim's Google image search history. Somebody should archive that shit and sell it in print form.
Being a collector, the whole concept of download-only games disturbs me.
If there's anything I'd like, it'd be an option to buy the physical game with the manual and everything, but also bind it to some online account that lets you download the game anywhere.
In fact, Valve already lets you do this. I have The Orange Box sitting up on my shelf and it's also bound to my Steam account. If other companies would pick up on a system similar to this, it'd be perfect.
Come to think of it it's like a story in my paper of choice The Sun (for the sport) where a 'source' says this and 'reports' say this.
Gotta love a bit of gossip though eh ;)
As a consumer the concept of download-only games should disturb you. Unless they're allowing more than one place to buy them and not monopolizing them. Which we all know they are totally doing assuming the rumors are true. >.>