Rumor: PSP redesign detailed, unveiled at E3, coming this August?
- June 08, 2007 14:57 PM PST
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Speculation surrounding a complete redesign of the PSP have been circulating around the internet for months, but the first reports detailing specific features for the slimmed-down machine have recently surface.
By Eugene Huang
The wave of hype surrounding the rumored redesign of the PSP has been swelling recently, and will soon reach a fevered pitch, thanks to a new, but currently unconfirmed piece from Kotaku. According to the gaming blog, a totally revamped version of Sony's handheld system is in the works, and will feature a vast number of upgrades, making it a far more superior machine in comparison to its predecessor.
GamePro mentioned rumors of the machine's planned hardware overhaul last month, but the source in that piece comprised mostly of analyst speculation. As for today's Kotaku piece, unnamed sources close to the company have revealed specific details concerning precise features and specs. The report inicates that the primary change will come in the form of a new LED screen that, in addition to conserving battery life, will also slim the machine down in size to a considerable degree.
The internal hardware of the machine will still remain intact, but the UMD drive is reported to be much faster, greatly speeding up load times, one of the biggest complaints people have had of the original PSP. In addition, the sources report that this reworked machine will also feature 8 GB of internal flash memory, easily beating out most memory sticks on the market. Also, control is reported to be much more improved, with the D-Pad and buttons resembling more of those on a a standard PS3 Sixaxis controller.
If the rumors hold true, the finished product may make a debut at this year's E3, as the company looks for a possible release date of either August or September. By now, the hardware redesign would surely be entering its finishing stages, with production starting sometime in the next few weeks. The sources, however, claim that there are still a few question marks that remain unanswered. First is the decision of installing a built-in camera into the machine, and whether the added costs will benefit gamers in the long run. Second is the possibility that this new machine's price has not been established yet, but it looks as if the company is trying to set it at somewhere under approximately $170.
