PSP2 "Cobalt" to feature dual analog, UMD, 8GB of flash? Don't count on it.

We're pretty sure PSP2 rumors won't die out until the last PSP fanboy utters his final gasp, "UMD rulez!" on his death bead, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun poking fun at them in the in-between time. From the outset, we're kind of liking the look here, and there seems to be plenty of room for that dual analog setup everyone's been clamoring for. Plus the metal and ruggedized rubber build seems likable enough. Unfortunately, the inclusion of UMD, Memory Stick and 8GB of flash seems pretty far fetched -- either Sony loses the UMD and goes for all-downloadable games, or it sticks with its tried and true method of milking consumers on Memory Stick purchases, it's hard to imagine an all-in approach. Other dubious specs include a "200% Brighter Screen," and the more likely a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and visual battery display. We're not banking on this one, and Sony's been pretty down on the topic in general, but hopefully these guys do actually pull something out before too terribly long.

[Thanks, Dondy]

[tyler @ Jan 18th 2007 3:21PM]

psp trapizod, haha

[BAMF @ Jan 18th 2007 3:21PM]

This looks fake as hell. Besides, look at the PSP and the PS3, Sony obviously puts alot of effort into making sexy-ass hardware, this thing looks fugly.

[afg @ Jun 16th 2007 9:18AM]

Did u say this thing is fugly well dont take it so serious coz even if this was real how often would a company show its product be4 releasing any factual info about it. Like the ps3 had like 3 lookalikes butthe final design was never seen. "ps3 is fugly" dude obviously uv been lookin at it only online and in pictures coz u cant get ur level 64 paladin fat Asz up to go to a shop and see it first hand. Its visually stunning and is down rite awesome even if it wasn't btw Sega VP sayes PS3 will win in the end. dont say sega how good to there predicaments go coz its not one person its a company

[mr_who? @ Jan 18th 2007 3:23PM]

Man that thing is dead ugly...

[Yaya @ Jan 18th 2007 3:29PM]

This is globviously a photoshopped iphone turned on its side, but notice it becomes "ugly" as soon as it loses the apple logo. Hmmmm....

[riggs @ Jan 18th 2007 6:38PM]

how is that a iPhone flipped on its side? because it has a screen? please dont tell me the iPhone is going to become the marker in which all big screen gadgets are compared to from now on. jeez.

[bud @ Jan 19th 2007 10:49PM]

No actually, its because it IS an iphone tilted on its side. Pretend the buttons and 'normal' screen aren't there and you'll see the sillouette of an iphone. WOW!

[patdabak @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:43PM]

Its legit guys. just bought a screen protector for my current psp from japan and it shows that it fits the PSP version AND THIS UPCOMING VERSION. Not sure on the specs but this is the working design atleast. Might not be the prettiest thing but many people like myself are excited with the dual analog. Button setup looks pretty practical. Should be interesting.

[v_dogg @ Jan 18th 2007 3:41PM]

ahahaha. this sucks

[What the... @ Jan 18th 2007 3:41PM]

LOL, "death bead" ... nice.

And yeah... it looks like the iPhone photoshopped... good call on everyone calling it ugly too haha

[Loban @ Jan 18th 2007 3:46PM]

The PSP2 will come out just in time for the DS2 to come out and kicks it's ass all over the place. My guess is that the PSP2 will try to ride the success of the DS by including a touchscreen, but of course Nintendo will up the ante by including motion sensing in the DS2.

[Joseph @ Jan 18th 2007 4:38PM]

Loban-
just like the wii...oh wait, the wii outsold the ps3, 3 to 1.

I think Sony is going to sell these for $700 and it will have a blueray UMD player. they will lose 100 dollars on each one they sell, and it will follow in it's big brothers footsteps.

[macstibs @ Jan 18th 2007 4:30PM]

What's really sad is that the PSP should have been Sony's iPod. They exist at roughly the same price point. If Sony weren't so keen on stuffing proprietary standards down everyone's throats maybe more people would buy their tech. As it is they make what has become marginal gear with incompatible technologies. Not all that alluring in my book.

[Cowboy Bob @ Jan 18th 2007 6:58PM]

the Nintendo DS 2: Nintendo TS, Three Screens, 1.5 times the fun...

[Jake @ Jan 18th 2007 4:41PM]

Verizon will probably call Sony and ask them to shrink the psp and make it Mac thin then add a cellular radio and your have the PSPhone. 2year exclusive.

[Jake @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:34PM]

that's a great idea!!

[crsh @ Jan 18th 2007 4:46PM]

"UMD rulez!" ?

I own a PSP and I like it a lot; but come on, UMD is a hassle and a terrible idea.

[Matt @ Jan 18th 2007 4:46PM]

Geometry class gone mad.

[Jeff @ Jan 18th 2007 4:50PM]

I'm not sure what a "Death Bead" is... does it go in a Death Bracelet or something?

[some person @ Jan 18th 2007 4:57PM]

ugh....i hate the look on that mock-up, if this were to happen, i hope it doesn't look like that

[Pat @ Jan 18th 2007 5:10PM]

Sony, I know your listening. If your going to promote from within; why not an MD version or a UMD/MD player? Put all of your proprietary media in one box.

[Zebulunite @ Jan 18th 2007 5:17PM]

Macstibs - “What's really sad is that the PSP should have been Sony's iPod. They exist at roughly the same price point. If Sony weren't so keen on stuffing proprietary standards down everyone's throats maybe more people would buy their tech. As it is they make what has become marginal gear with incompatible technologies. Not all that alluring in my book. “

Keen on stuffing proprietary standards down everyone's throats? While I certainly wouldn't argue with that for several other Sony products, I think your being unfair in regards to the PSP. The PSP supports the universal mini-USB standard, and can play audio/video files using the widespread MP3, AAC, MP4, and AVC codecs. It's not as though Sony forced people to buy proprietary cables to connect the PSP to computers, or forced everyone to use ATRAC crap files for music.

And while the Memory Stick Pro Duo was created by Sony, several other companies make the cards (such as SanDisk, who made my 1GB MS:PD), and thus I wouldn't consider that proprietary either (how can something be proprietary if several companies make it?).

Loban - “The PSP2 will come out just in time for the DS2 to come out and kicks it's ass all over the place.”

Uh...if that's in reference to the current PSP vs. DS battle, I certainly wouldn't say that the PSP is getting its ass kicked by the DS. Beaten? Sure, but the PSP having sold over half as many consoles as the DS certainly wouldn't place it as a failure in my book (or else by your standard the Gamecube and Xbox did far worse than the PSP, as Gamecube and Xbox sales COMBINED are less than half that of the PS2). I think the system has done pretty well when you consider Nintendo 15 year monopoly over the handheld market.

Crsh - “I own a PSP and I like it a lot; but come on, UMD is a hassle and a terrible idea. “

How are UMDs a hassle? You put the disk in the system, close the tray, and then launch the game. I've done it plenty of times and I've never found it bad (or at least nothing worse than GBA carts or DS cards).

I wouldn't say their a terrible idea either (as far as games). While they do, by definition, cause longer loading times, they enable game developers to have far more space for far cheaper than with flash memory. A game like GTA: Vice City Stories on a flash card would either be far worse (if the game was cut down to fit on a small, cheap flash cards), or significantly more expensive (if Rockstar had to factor in a $15 or more extra expense to pay for every game). Also, they enable games to drop in price quicker and by a greater amount (look at a launch title for the PSP like Wipeout Pure for $20 verses a launch title for the DS like Super Mario 64 DS still for $30).

As far as movies, obviously the UMD has been a big failure, although there the issue was far more price than anything else (who's going to buy a UMD for the same price as a DVD).

The ideal, of course, for either system would be downloadable games onto a large flash cards/microdrive, but certainly at least when the PSP and DS came out doing something like that wasn't feasible. Perhaps something like that could be implemented with the PSP2, but that would require Sony to drop backwards compatibility with the original PSP (they could allow people to download PSP games, but unless they gave them out for free you would have to pay money to play your PSP games on the PSP2).

[jeffrey Baxt @ Jan 18th 2007 6:34PM]

although i do like ur comments and ideas, why would they have to be backwards compatible. Can u play ps3 games on the ps2, so y is it necessary to play psp2 games on the psp. While from a consumer standpoint your idea makes perfect sense, however from a manufacturer's standpoint, there needs to be some type of value profits in return

[Martin @ Jan 18th 2007 5:33PM]

if i go, i'd like something more comfortable than a death bead....

[shaun @ Jan 18th 2007 5:40PM]

I keep seeing comments about Sony milking people or ripping them off by memory stick. I have bought memory sticks from Lexar and Sandisk. They probably pay a small license fee to Sony but then they probably pay some group for compact flash and secure digital licenses too.

Also, if you are paying a lot more for memory sticks than you do for other formats then you just aren't shopping hard enough.

Oh yeah, and I buy the erasable type of memory sticks so I can reuse them. In other words It's not like you need to buy them weekly or even monthly.

[Steve @ Jan 18th 2007 5:46PM]

I'm just curious as to how that mockup looks like an iphone. It's not even the same basic shape. It's black and has a screen, that's about it. To me it looks more like an updated Game Gear, but what do I know?

[Zebulunite @ Jan 18th 2007 6:00PM]

Shaun,

I agree with you completely. Certainly, during the first couple of months after the PSP's launch memory stick pro duo prices were significantly higher than Secure Digital or Compact Flash cards, but after that brief period the prices have reached basically a parity. Ultimately, all flash cards use the same flash memory, so beyond licensing fees (which are presumably similar), there is no real difference between SD and MS cards, beyond the interface and slight difference in physical size.

[PEZ @ Jan 18th 2007 6:07PM]

AhAhAhAH,... I heard that thing was made in MS Paint.

[JRA219psu @ Jan 18th 2007 6:11PM]

I want it...now
sick shit...

[Rob @ Jan 18th 2007 6:12PM]

this is obviously a fake picture, look at it real close.. someone put the analog in the top half where it would be horribly uncomfortable, and theres no dual analog in the pic.. its just some guy putting a picture of a non-existant PSP so people would say 'hey theres a new PSP' and read about it.

[Tony @ Jan 18th 2007 6:35PM]

True, the analog thumbsticks don't look good there, but the taper of the sides and placement of the pots make for good ergonomics. When I hold my hands like they would be on this mockup, it feels more natural to keep the thumbs higher, rather than down at the bottom of the console's case.

Details: If it's a flash drive built in, why does the indicator light say "HD"? The larger set of buttons across the bottom are most welcome. No matter how thin they'd like it to be, it would be best to make the UMD an *external* device, or it will never win many over.

Not the best of chops, real or fake, but it has some good ideas.

[David Chartier @ Jan 18th 2007 6:51PM]

"on his death bead"?

[SonyknowURAASS @ Jan 18th 2007 7:11PM]

This is OK.

[SonyknowURAASS @ Jan 18th 2007 8:27PM]

A true innovation Sony. PSP set the standard of design, we all know the iPhone are an inferior PSP wannabe. Not to mention 3 times the price and G2 Networks (lol), and can't even do price the thing the PSP DO.

[Jerome @ Jan 19th 2007 12:42AM]

hey someone out there is trying something! It is cool! I like to see stuff like that!

really cool!


I think a second analog won't work, the analog stick on the psp is not precise! They need a sort of touch pad like a laptop, ipod or a sort tiny trackball. Or use the real analog stick with potentiometer.

jerome

[Nick C. @ Jan 19th 2007 12:50AM]

I'd half to say this is a bad photoshop job...
not to mention the specs don't say anything about processor speed
battery time...20 minutes

[Xan @ Jan 20th 2007 5:53AM]

PSP is ugly PS3 is ugly, whatever this is supposed to be is ugly. A PSP mk. 2 is needed, I'm presuming this is a concept design, but the idea is good. Now, if only they could make good games for the system, they'd have one awesome portable games console.

[v-money @ Jan 27th 2007 11:28AM]

looks pretty cool

[Samuel Wat @ Feb 3rd 2007 11:04PM]

That looks like crap
look at where the joystick its placed wrong jeze

[patdabak @ May 30th 2008 8:56PM]

POSSIBLE PRODUCTION EVIDENCE!!!! Heres a shot of a PSP screen cover packaging i just bought from japan. I dont know japanese but that pic says it all. If anyone could translate this that would be great though. Took the pic with my cell phone so its not the best resolution but still very interesting.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2073/2308574201_9583e9bd26.jpg?v=0

[Patrick @ Jun 1st 2009 2:01AM]

that thing looks ugly