Sony to slap flash memory into new PSP this year?

We've heard rumblings of Sony plans to add storage to a new (possibly smaller) version of their PSP, starting with 50GB HDD rumors a year ago, but now we're hearing of a possible deal between Sony and Samsung to add 8GB of flash memory to the portable. According to "market sources," Sony has been pressuring Samsung to lower NAND flash prices by toying around with microdrives, but they're really digging on those low-power flash chips and hope to cram 8GBs worth into a new PSP due the second half of this year -- if all this is to be believed, of course. It all sounds rather similar to some Sony/Samsung 8GB dealings that went down last year that we assumed were linked to an iPod competitor in the works, which maybe is still a fair assumption. We sure wouldn't mind a bit of built-in storage in the already media-centric PSP, especially since UMDs are sort of drying up, let's just hope they can get over this Memory Stick addiction and do it on the cheap -- and soon.

[PodMonkeys @ Feb 21st 2006 11:49AM]

That sure would be nice if sony did something right for a change, huh? :P

8gb in a PSP would be a really nice move.

[Tim Buckingham @ Feb 21st 2006 11:50AM]

They won't do it. Why would they want to cut into their Memory Stick sales?

[Ne @ Feb 21st 2006 11:53AM]

Except for the people who have a current gen psp :(

who already bought memory cards

[dukrous @ Feb 21st 2006 11:57AM]

The industry is moving toward static flash ram inside devices. While small, lower power devices are still going to need memory sticks of all shapes and sizes (think cellphones and cameras), these kind of USB enabled media players need to move away from the perceived additional expense of a memory stick and go with a heftier price tag for built in storage.

The PSP needs to make inroads into the iPod market...and this year we could finally see some heavyweights battle it out in the portable media device field.

The winner, hopefully, will be the consumer.

[Sockatume @ Feb 21st 2006 12:04PM]

If they move the analogue stick and sort out the d-pad while they're at it, maybe make it a clamshell for screen protection and easier movie watching, I'll buy three.

Or seven.

[RP @ Feb 21st 2006 12:07PM]

Yeah it seems completely against Sony's normal attitude to memory (they just LOVE their proprietary formats), but considering the, no doubt unanticipated, competition the DS is creating, i wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Not 8GB worth though (divide that by 8, then maybe). One because how many PSP users would ever then need to buy a memory stick, and two, surely that's going to add a completely unnecessary additional cost to the system (no matter who is made to pick up the tab).

[Jamesology @ Feb 21st 2006 12:19PM]

to #4:

HELL NAH, make PSP into a clamshell! That would be soo annoying. I love the way I can just take it out of the pouch, the puch is soo versitile.

[soupbun @ Feb 21st 2006 12:20PM]

This blog entry is almost too silly.

This flash ram deal is like 10x more likely related to mobile phones and MP3 players than to the PSP. And it's only 1 year into next-gen handheld gaming. It's way too soon to redesign to this scale, especially for such an expensive game device. I really doubt sony is so suicidal.

[Simon @ Feb 21st 2006 12:24PM]

You guys sure have a hate on for memory sticks. I use one MS interchangeably between my laptop, clie, and digicam. The iLemming in the cubicle beside me does the same with a combination of Compact Flash, SD, and multicard readers. I guess I'm the doofus.

Last time I checked at Futureshop the MS, CF, and SD were all within $5 of each other for 512 MB.

[LoganT @ Feb 21st 2006 12:24PM]

Sony should do this. Not only would they get people who want to play games but people who want to watch videos and listen to music. And The memory sticks aren't only used for the Sony PSP. Sony still has their digital cameras and other products to back them up.

[dave @ Feb 21st 2006 12:28PM]

8gb would be very cool, heck even 1gb would be a start for built in space. I know i have a 1gb card for video and a 512mb for music, its a bit of pain to have to switch them over.

we know its a wonderful media player, shame the great games are a little few and far between :)

oh, and OGG support and 25fps video playback please sony ;)

http://www.bontragerphotography.com/psp/

[cji @ Feb 21st 2006 12:39PM]

Ugh. All steps in the WRONG direction. What Sony needs to do is pony up on the GAMES for this thing. The selection is horrific, and makes me regret owning a PSP. I had a DS and sold it for the same reason, only to regret it 6 months later when good games actually started coming out.

[JK @ Feb 21st 2006 12:45PM]

Could you OGG idiots do me a favor and shut up? Nobody, least of all mass market electronics companies, gives a crap.
That is all. Thank you for your consideration.

[xlinze @ Feb 21st 2006 12:51PM]

They'll probably going to use it for the Walkman phones...notice how they were just bumped up to 4GB?

[Kamalot @ Feb 21st 2006 12:54PM]

I wouldn't mind some announcements of killer GAMES!

Oh yeah! The PSP plays GAMES too?

The PSP will never compete with the iPod as a music device. The PSP will never compete with the video Ipod as a video device.
Unless the PSP gets some killer software, the PSP will never compete with the Nintendo DS as a game device.

Why does Sony INSIST on having their machine fight on multiple fronts instead of focusing on something and doing it well?

[Tim Buckingham @ Feb 21st 2006 12:54PM]

JK,

The reason nobody cares about Ogg is because no one knows about it. It's a superior format, people SHOULD care about it.

The problem, of course, is that the market isn't moving to superior formats, but rather to DRM formats. They're concerned with control, not quality...

Granted, at least AAC is a little better than mp3...

[Kamalot @ Feb 21st 2006 12:58PM]

For video/music playback, I'd rather have this device...http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/21/viliv-p1-pmp-coming-to-us/

For gaming, the Nintendo DS wins.

[dave @ Feb 21st 2006 1:05PM]

JK,

lordy, if you dont like OGG, dont use it, but dont suggest its not a good thing to support as many formats as possible...

personally, I use OGG on my PC and media player, so it would be very handy not to have several versions of the same files.

and yep, the addition of AAC was a nice feature, its the format I use for all my PSP music now :)

Kamalot, the PSP is a far better video device than the ipod. the massive 16:9 screen makes it the much better choice for movies and modern TV shows. As for the DS, well its still a little too early to say which has the best games, I think both are a little lacking to be honest.

[nailerr @ Feb 21st 2006 1:17PM]

As long as Sony do not drop us actual PSP owners in the cold I'll support whatever they wish to do. If they start making the current PSP a "low end" option so soon however I'll never buy Sony again. I intend to buy a PS3 but trust is a big issue.

[n8 @ Feb 21st 2006 1:32PM]

Kam; can we stop making this argument every time a PSP article gets posted? Not only do I have to read it here, but when the same thing gets posted on Gizmodo or Kotaku, there you are making exactly the same comment. It's repetitively redundant, at this point.

8 gigs in a PSP would be pretty great. It would provide the baseline memory necessary for the multimedia features that Sony's been touting since it debuted, but which failed to really take hold because the PSP is pretty worthless as an MP3 player or video player without a $100 memory card. Would it 'kill' the iPod Nano for audio playback? No. Would it 'kill' the iPod for video playback? No. But it would finally be a real competitor in both areas for those who were also interested in games.

If Sony's smart, they'll throw in the 8 gigs at the same price as the PSP sells for now, then lower the price of the non-8 gb version to compete with the DS more directly at $150 or so.

[Mike Waczkowski @ Feb 21st 2006 1:34PM]

"Why does Sony INSIST on having their machine fight on multiple fronts instead of focusing on something and doing it well?"

i dont think its sony "fighting multiple fronts" its the people and fan boys compairing it to everything. we dont need to hear that its the best on the planet just simply state that you like it and why. and we dont need to hear why the ds is so much better than the psp this comment section is about people who are interested in the article and the psp not for people who have too much time on their hands to say "ds still owns the psp"

[C FALC0N @ Feb 21st 2006 2:00PM]

Will the Games come out in Flash memory?

[MrFloppy @ Feb 21st 2006 2:03PM]

And video out, please!
And PSP TVStore, with 480x272 episodes for 0.50$ :p

[Skan @ Feb 21st 2006 2:49PM]

All this does is pi$$ people off that already have a current gen PSP. I have a 2GB Pro Duo stick in my PSP now and it's great but why can't they just make the memory sticks cheaper instead of making everybody have to buy the newer 8GB version?......Oh thats right its so Sony can make more $$$$$$ All I have to say is that your gonna see a lot of PSP's on Ebay right before this newer one comes out =O)

[Ian @ Feb 21st 2006 4:06PM]

This pisses current-gen owners like me off :( Hopefully, if this was true, they would allow users to upgrade by sending their PSPs in. Of course then they would upgrade your PSP so you can't use homebrew.

[Willy Wonka @ Feb 21st 2006 4:13PM]

Dudes & Dudettes;
2 months ago, I got a 2gb Sony MS Pro Duo High Speed delivered to my house from ebay for $125. 6 months ago I did the same thing for the same price for a 1gb Sony high speed pro duo. Today there are 4 and 8 gb versions available. So I would think that within the next 2 to 6 months we will continue to see the prices of all MS's, including 4&8gb, falling, or at least their actual going rates on eBay will be. Then, yeah an 8gb internal drive would be nice, but not nice enough to make me sell my psp for a new one if you can purchase 8gb sticks for just $125. Especially if the price of the loaded psp gets significanlty raised and the only diff is the memory.
Make it faster/stronger/better, then yes, but just more memory? Phhh. I'll go eBay on your ass.

[Baxter Madu @ Feb 21st 2006 4:17PM]

"If Sony's smart, they'll throw in the 8 gigs at the same price as the PSP sells for now"

lol... if Sony's smart, they should try to make a huge loss on the PSP! Then they could sell the games and make money off of them.. oh right, the games...

[Domo @ Feb 21st 2006 5:11PM]

oh...should I be happy to hear this or not?

I was about to buy PSP in next month...but now...I don't know whether I want to spend that much of money and see the next version of PSP coming out in few months later, maybe.

[mcd @ Feb 21st 2006 5:11PM]

Ideally you want 2-8gig on a

[mcd @ Feb 21st 2006 5:25PM]

Ideally you want 2-8gig on a 2.0 firmware, best of both worlds, with the multimedia, improving and functional eboot loader and option to downgrade etc etc.

Sony brining out a "new" psp with 8gig of onboard memory would piss me off no end, especially as it would be running on a much higher firmware (2.00 possibly?) but I cant see that happening.

Firstly this would increase the cost of the unit, a unit they are already selling at a loss. Secondly this would shoot themselves in the foot with the new 4gig and 8gig pro duos being released. And thirdly there would be a massive outcry from current psp owners who have bought expensive memory sticks.

Ps the Nintendo fanboy's old and flawed argument of "jack of all trades, master of none" with regards to the psp no longer holds any water, as their "pure gaming machine" seems to have been bastardised by Nintendo's re-design, affiliation with the opera browser and introduction of tv tuner. Hopefully this should keep a few slovenly morons from typing before they think.

[jose @ Feb 21st 2006 7:34PM]

thats bull they should do it because I keep buying freaken memery sticks it outrageous

[shaun @ Feb 21st 2006 8:03PM]

What Sony really needs to do is to make and sell a UMD burner and then sell blank UMDs.
They should also port all the best selling PS1 and PS2 games.

[n8 @ Feb 21st 2006 9:51PM]

I really don't get what you're all whining about. I literally got a two gig card delivered _today_, and I couldn't care less about this speculation. First of all, it's not until next Thanskgiving at the earliest that this would come out. And it's not like your memory sticks (or your PSP) are suddenly going to become bricks after it does - they'll work just like they did when you bought them. One always has to make a choice about when to buy vs. future improvements - it's not as if you didn't know that products improve over time and what you buy today won't be as good as what you can get tomorrow.

[Spectral Flagellum @ Feb 22nd 2006 1:32PM]

^yeah what he said.
...and they're not even that overpriced anymore.

I'm satisfied with the low prices that Sony duo high speed's are going for on ebay.

Averaging $60-70 a gig ain't all that bad.

Space is a welcome improvement, just not enough to make us all flip our storage lacking current systems.

[Mat the great @ Mar 2nd 2006 3:11AM]

yea guys i am a gamer i have many games for the ps2,gc,and the 360...recently i have bought a PSP today ,lol,and i am hearing a lot of stuff although i cant seem 2 find what i am looking for i want 2 know some things and if u guys can please answer i will b greatly appreciatin ya'll,ok i bought a psp 2day for 250 on the dot well plus tax..shood i return it..???i dunno...b/c i am hearin new version,better version,white versions,are coming out soon,i want to have this 2 play w/o newer gen consoles debuting within the next at least bout half a year(6 months).well and also i havent opened it yet but i also dont know how 2 download music or videos or games or get crazy upgrades for free or low cost,could u guys tell me how do i say this,ur underground psp hardcore secrets in gettin the best out of this system and also tell me if i shood return it b/c newer 1s r coming out soon fr the saem price,thank u gamers and bye!!!!!!!!!please respond?>>>...

[jazzylawnservice @ Sep 1st 2007 6:59PM]

Yes, get a refund. Gamestop has reduced the price to $129.00. Used. Check it out at http://www.gamestop.com

[pedram @ Mar 9th 2006 11:25PM]

what can we product hardware by your lysence?

[Finn @ Sep 3rd 2006 3:36AM]

I laughed my @$$ off when Sony came out with the PSP. And I laugh at everyone I come across who complains about storage. You people should have known from the start that this was going to be nothing but a headache. If you want a portable movie player with plenty of storage go buy the archos players. There are so many to choose from and they offer a large variety of video formats you can play. And the same goes for you video IPOD owners. Why by a media player that restricts your choices. The Creative Zen M is the same size, same amount of storage, but plays a larger variety of different media formats. And the price is pretty much the same.Hell even the Zen M has a better picture quality than the iPOD. Stop Bit#%ing about your stupid purchases and sell them on ebay and get the better stuff. Do a lil research before you go off blowing daddies money.

[Do @ Nov 2nd 2006 1:02AM]

Personaly i dont think that sony will be changing to a new psp they allready have all there money put towards the ps3 and there making alot of money with these memory cards , plus more than half the people buying these memory cards are using them to put umd rips downloaded from torrents , witch alows them to play any psp game they want without downloading having to buy them , So why would sony support a concept that would make them loose money !

[jazzylawnservice @ Sep 1st 2007 2:00PM]

I think sony needs to incorporate internal memory because the 2mb flash is rediculous. It makes a great media player but won't play internet video. I was dissappointed to find this out since I love to surf the internet with it.

People get real. If we're going to be able to enjoy it, we've gotta have flash and better software.