Gasp! News and pics leaks of a new PSP. To be shown at E3.
Sidin Vadukut -
Sunday, May 31, 2009 2:49 AM
The Guardian, Ars Technica and Eurogamer are abuzz with news of the new PSP called the PSP GO. There are pictures galore and it appears that there was even a demo video on YouTube which was later taken down. This is, of course, great news for Sony fanboys. The PSP has been overdue an overhaul for a while now and this is could mean good things for both new and old PSP owners. If indeed the leaked PSP GO images are true, and Sony does unveil the machine at the E3 trade show then there are a few things to observe with the new design:
1. In closed form the GO looks designed more as a multi-function gaming plus media player machine than the old PSP. The screen looks bigger and that little key with the PlayStation logo is worth noting. What is that? A switch to jump to gaming mode from media mode?
2. I am not entirely convinced that this model will be as good for pure gaming as the previous one. The old PSP had an excellent form factor that really let you use all the face keys and shoulder buttons without undue strain. I'd like to see how the PSP GO matches up.
3. There isn't a disc drive in sight. It will surprise noone if the PSP goes the Nintendo DS way and makes the new version run games entirely off memory cards. Also this version will have sizeable onboard memories. A little bird says 16 GB...
4. For people who own legacy PSP systems this could mean a fresh pipeline of games. PSP releases had slowed down somewhat of late and we'd all love it if the PSP GO got fresh games compatible on the old PSP... (err... the PSP NO GO?)
5. And finally this should mean a further price drop for the old PSP. Sony has been extremely competitive on price in India of late. With the new PSP GO to market I will be surprised if this doesn't mean an automatic drop in price for both the old hardware and software.
6. And finally we have no idea what other goodies are built into the PSP GO. Motion sensors? Touch Screen? I'm thinking both! (Which would mean you could get a fair bit done without sliding down the controls. Super.)
Of course this is assuming that the PSP GO is, in fact, unveiled at all and not another wild duck hunt. Our interactions with Sony about a new PSP has always been of the "If you don't ask we don't have to lie" variety. So this E3 will be one to look out for.
P.S. Also there is chatter of a smaller PS3. More details on the Ars Technica link.
Picture as shown on Eurogamer.