The big reveal
If the rumours are to be believed, the newest PSP will break cover at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, only a few short weeks away. As far as rumours go, this one makes sense. It's time for the big reveal and you want to make the biggest splash in the biggest pool. When Elvis and Osama come out of hiding and when Jesus and the extra terrestrials return to earth, they'll be showing up at the Super Bowl, the Olympic Games opening ceremony, the Boxing Day Test at the MCG or possibly all three. So too with Sony's PSP announcement. E3's still the biggest video game circus in town and Sony will be keen to make the biggest noise. The chatter about the new PSP has been growing louder every week as E3 approaches. If we were the NSA, we'd be on high alert. An E3 announcement is also consistent with the speculation that the new PSP will launch around October-November. Will Sony make the big announcement at E3? The Wrap'o'meter says 'Highly Probable'.
The new form factor
Forget whatever you may have seen. Unless you've got your own personal source on the inside at Sony, the only images you've seen up to now are mock-ups. One thing most of the mock-ups share has been a sliding form factor, where the D pad and analogue nub, together with the face buttons on the right hand side of the current PSP, move to a point below the screen. That alone reduces the width of the handheld by seven centimetres and puts it very much in the same physical territory as Apple's iPhone (115mm x 61mm), or the Blackberry Bold (114mm x 66mm). If the UMD drive is no longer (see below) then you could expect the PSP's current 18.6mm thickness to be reduced considerably as well. As it currently stands, the PSP isn't truly pocketable, and it needs to be. Sony doesn't have to throw in 3G capabilities to ensure that the new PSP becomes a device we always carry with us. Simply make a device small enough to slip into our pockets. The Wrap'o'meter says 'Highly Probable'.
Two scoops or one?
Two scoops of ice cream...better than one. Two episodes of The Office...clearly better than one. The Olsen twins...okay, so it's not true in every case. In the case of first person shooters, there's no argument; you need one for movement and one for aiming. For many, it is the PSP's Achilles heel. The PSP's non-politically correct detractors whisper that the PSP is a little 'handicapped', having, as it does, only one analogue nub. It's not an argument you often hear levelled at Nintendo's DS, which is kind of odd. Perhaps it's just too unkind to point and stare at the poor handheld that doesn't have a single nub to its name. If there is to be a true successor to the PSP, its army of loyal supporters as well as the aforementioned detractors would like to see a second analogue nub. You'd think if Sony can manage to design a sliding screen, the company can manage to incorporate a second analogue nub. In terms of engineering, it's surely only a day's work. You've already got the part; you just bung another one on the other side.
Trouble is, and I'm no engineer, but there are already a good many PSP titles that only know a 'one nub' world. Those titles get by using the face buttons (triangle, circle, Square and x) in lieu of a second analogue nub. And in fairness it's worth mentioning that in titles such as Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, and more recently, Resistance Retribution, that control scheme performs admirably. Of course you could always provide software updates for all those older titles, and, in the case that those titles are re-released on the PSN (see below) it may even be financially viable to do so.
In terms of engineering cost, I can't imagine there are any prohibitive costs involved in adding a second analogue nub, and even if it would only work with new games, it's still a worthwhile hardware addition, and one that the fans have spent the last three years clamouring for. With the new sliding form factor, there's plenty of real estate going begging. It's not like there's simply no where to put the analogue nub. While the swirling rumours say 'one nub', we're going to go out on a (second) limb. Two analogue nubs? The Wrap'o'meter says 'Probable'.
Get tethered
The new PSP will have Bluetooth connectivity. That's my guess, and here's why. The new PSP won't have 3G connectivity. Much as I'd love to see it, it's not going to happen this year, although as reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, Mr Komiyama, president of Sony Ericsson is quoted as saying a PlayStation mobile "could hapen". Until it does, Bluetooth connectivity is the next best thing. Now you're no longer tied to your Wi-Fi hotspot. Connect your PSP to your Bluetooth mobile phone of choice and access the PlayStation Store anywhere you happen to be. Sony may have been slow to the 'Bluetooth party', but Sony's Walkman range does include Bluetooth on some models, and don't forget, The PS3 has Bluetooth as well, offering another mode of communicating with a 'Bluetooth equipped' PSP. There's also the freedom from wires. With Bluetooth in our PSP we can all wear funky Bluetooth stereo headsets, or stream our PSP music collection to our Bluetooth equipped car stereos. It's not as if cost is a factor. I can source one hundred Bluetooth modules for AUD $18 each from a factory in China, so I'm guessing Sony can probably manage a better deal than that. If Sony doesn't include Bluetooth connectivity this time around I'll eat my PALGN baseball cap. Bluetooth has been on mobile phones since 2000, digital cameras since 2002, and stereo headphones since 2004. Bluetooth Connectivity? The Wrap'o'meter says 'Why wouldn't they?'.
Gee, better Wi-Fi
If Sony is serious about refreshing the PSP, Sony needs to bring the handheld's Wi-Fi capability into the modern age. The current PSP sports 802.11b wireless which provides bandwidth up to 11 Mbps. The next step up, 802.11g, provides bandwidth up to 54 Mbps, a fourfold increase. 802.11g was introduced in 2002, it's older, slower brother landed in 1999. Surely the PSP can move to 802.11g, right? The iPhone and Blackberry Bold support 802.11g. There's no reason the PSP can't too. Seriously, what museum is Sony sourcing the 802.11b chips from in the first place? Switch to 802.11g, and web browsing might even be a pleasant experience on the PSP. More important than that, if the new PSP is indeed UMDless and we're getting our gaming content from the PlayStation Store, then surely that's all the more reason to go 802.11g. A 802.11g enabled PSP? The Wrap'o'meter says 'Surely Yes!'.
SKUed in our favour
When 1Up released its PSP scoop to the masses we were told to expect two different SKU's - 8GB, and 16GB. That approach is very much the Apple way - appropriate perhaps given how Apple is moving in on the handheld gaming market with its iPhone and iTouch. Here at PALGN we love different SKU's (Speak for yourself, Jeremy. - Ed). Who doesn't like choice? It's been great that in the past Sony and Nintendo have given us different coloured handhelds, but different memory capacity is obviously more significant. Perhaps, Sony will offer more significantly different SKU's going forward, adding in greater memory, or features (if Bluetooth doesn't make it out onto the new model, it can be offered in a more expensive variant a few months down the track, much as Sony do with its Walkman line). 1Up's claims about memory seem a little on the low side. If Sony really are serious about going to a UMDless model, 8 gigs isn't going to go very far. My guess? Three SKU's: 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB. The Wrap'o'meter says 'Highly Probable'.
It's enough to make a UMD spin in its grave.
Stick it to us
The latest rumour to hit the web, from the folks at PC World was that Sony won't be shipping the new PSP with dedicated flash memory, but rather that the new PSP will support a new memory card format - Memory Stick HG-Micro. On the one hand you have to concede that this is exactly the kind of stunt that Sony loves to pull. Sony love a good proprietary format, and with UMD gone what better way to stick it to 'Joe Public' than by introducing yet another memory card. Call me naive, but I don't think this rings true. Will the new model support a memory card? Most definitely, but I can't see the device shipping without dedicated flash memory as well. The Wrap'o'meter says 'Probably Bogus!'
Better video support
If Sony latest and greatest Walkman's are any indication, then Sony's not opening the video game Codec floodgates any time soon. The upcoming OLED Sony NWZ-X1050 16GB video Walkman supports only H.264, MPEG-4, and WMV formatted video. On the other hand, if Sony is truly serious about PS3/PSP synergy, it only makes sense that the PSP is able to play the same video files as the PS3, without resorting to streaming the files from the PS3 to the PSP. Unfortunately, the Wrap'o'meter says 'Don't hold your breath'
I can see clearly now
1Up's mock-up draws styling cues from Sony's Wi-Fi communicator device, Mylo 2, which boasted an 800 x 480 touch screen display. It begs the question, what if any of the Mylo 2 feature set will find its way onto the new PSP. The Mylo featured a touch screen and a camera, and Sony would be smart to add both to the PSP. You might love touch screen interfaces, you may not, but regardless of personal preference, touch screen interfaces are very much in vogue. Expect a new wave of tablet notebooks and netbooks and iPhone wannabes to hit the market in the next twelve months. Even if Sony doesn't incorporate the touch screen interface into game play immediately and use it only for the convenience of UI navigation, the inclusion of a touch screen might make good competitive business sense. So too does a camera, and with a higher resolution screen, Sony can justify the inclusion of a higher resolution camera than the DSi's meagre .3 megapixel offering. Sony's Mylo also had a fairly robust instant messaging client, as well as a dedicated Facebook application - features missing from the current PSP. Does Sony still have a few surprises? The Wrap'o'meter says 'Highly Likely'.
Go! get out of here
So, the rumour has it that the new PSP will be called the PSP Go! We've seen the Go! name before, which of course begs the question, why would Sony want to saddle the new PSP with a name taken from a line of failed and uninspired PSP accessories? If it wasn't for the fact that we already live in a world with a games console with a silly name, that just happens to be a runaway success, then I'd have to say this is absolutely unlikely. Personally I don't like it and nor do I really get it. What does the Go! imply; portability? Is our current PSP portable in name only? If it does imply portability, then is the Go! an admission that the previous incarnation just wasn't portable enough. Don't these product names get market tested anymore? It's the nissan Pulsar all over again. The Australian public and Nissan Australia were perfectly happy with the name 'Pulsar', before Nissan Japan foisted the Tiida upon us. By all accounts the Pulsar replacement is a better car, but it's not a better name. This is nothing but wishful thinking on my part, but when it comes to the name 'PSP Go!, the Wrap'o'meter says 'Please no Go!'.
UMDless
1Up is just the last in a long line of outlets claiming that the UMD is dead, certainly as far as it pertains to the new PSP. UMD, I'll miss you. You were a link to my past love - the humble minidisc - a constant reminder of days gone by as you spun relentlessly in my PSP. Of course, UMD won't disappear overnight and possibly not for a long time. There are, after all, fifty million UMD equipped PSP's out there in the world. Taking out the UMD drive is the big one however. Everything else flows from this. It's the first genuine exciting revision of the PSP. The 2000 and 3000 were just merely tinkering around the edges. With the UMD drive gone, the design can and will change dramatically. The new PSP will look like a cousin of the older models, not like a sibling. It will be smaller, lighter and thinner, and if just a few of my predictions come to pass, it will be a damn sight better as well. A UMDless PSP. The Wrap'o'meter says 'Absolutely'.
Sony sanctioned UMD ripping
If the next PSP is going to ship without a UMD drive, how does Sony expect us to get our already purchased UMD titles onto our own device? A mail-in scheme? Post your UMD to Sony and they'll send you a code for the digital download? Not likely. That would only work if every PSP title released to date was available for digital download. Certainly, the rumours are that Sony will be stepping up in that department, but every PSP title released to date? How about a PS3/PSP firmware upgrade that would allow you to rip the UMD from your old school PSP (1000/2000/3000) to your PS3 and then back to your new fangled UMDless PSP? Two problems. Firstly, what's to stop you renting and ripping, or even buying, ripping and then returning to the store, or even ripping your friend's titles? That's a big flaw right there, not that I'm complaining, but having introduced a new PSP that dispenses with the UMD drive in a move to promote digital distribution and lessen piracy, I can't see them creating a hole big enough to sail a pirate ship through. In addition, Sony may well figure 'hell, if you already have a PSP with UMD drive, then just suck it up and play your UMD discs on that PSP'. It's certainly in keeping with Sony's views on PS3 backward compatibility having removed that feature from subsequent PS3 models. You really want to play those PS2 games. Stop complaining, and put them in your PS2 and if you don't have one, go out and buy one. What about a dedicated UMD ripping device? I love shiny new gadgets and I'm just the sucker who'd be first in line to purchase it on day one , but as much as it appeals to me, it won't happen either and for the same reasons why ripping from PSP to PS3 just isn't a viable commercial solution. I've also heard talk of in-store vending machines in select video game retailers that would eat your UMD, keep the disc and spit the digital code back out. That solves the piracy problem, but I can't see the video game stores being so complicit in aiding and abetting the drive to digital distribution. What's in it for them? My prediction; a limited mail-in scheme on select PSP titles only. The Wrap'o'meter says 'Pretty Confident'.
There you have it. Bluetooth, 802.11g, dedicated flash memory, together with continued support for the memory stick pro duo format. A size more in keeping with the iPhone, just a tad thicker to accommodate the sliding form factor and two analogue nubs, three SKU's and pricing consistent with Apple's iTouch models.
Feel free to disagree, or heckle. Come the big reveal, you can hail me as PALGN's great Oracle, or remind me of just how wrong I was!
Until next weekend, that's The Wrap.
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