Sony PSP2 rumors debunked, probably not for the last time

OK, guys and gals, we hate to break it to you -- John Koller, Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing has said it in plain English: "no plans for a PSP2 are underway." Apparently, the company is pushing developers towards the PlayStation store for their primary point of sale, a move that some people have taken to mean that the companies have been secretly developing games for some sort of new platform. Of course, in the light of some similarly "cryptic" statements we reported yesterday, some folks might continue to be gullible skeptical. Which is fine, as long as nobody asks us when the device pictured above will be released. 'Cos it won't be. Evar.

[Shunnabunich @ Dec 17th 2008 5:14PM]

After which he immediately thought to himself, "Whew! Dodged a bullet there. At least they don't suspect anything about the upcoming PS2P!"

[Flashpoint @ Dec 17th 2008 5:48PM]

Dual Analog Sticks
SSD rather than UMD
Games sold on 4GB memory sticks - uploadable to the SSD drive
Games sold online - downloadable to the SSD (redownloadable with proof of original purchase)
PSP SDK for downloadable APPS on PSP website, digitaly certified by SONY after testing (think App Store)
Bluetooth w/ A2DP and OBEX
SKYPE
Opera web browser
Touchscreen with hideaway touch keyboard

FTFW !!!

[Christian Walters @ Dec 17th 2008 6:11PM]

@ flashpoint....go ahead and hold your breath until ANY of that happens. PSP=MASSIVE PHAILURE, no need to try again.

[Poom @ Dec 17th 2008 6:37PM]

All I want:
- Touch Screen
- 2 Analog sticks
- motion sensors like SIXAXIS

[Will H. @ Dec 17th 2008 9:55PM]

You forgot WiFi Flashpoint :Oo !!

All I want is a awesome screen and great battery life for travelling.

Obviously they're going to make a PSP2. Otherwise Apple will keep getting away with calling the iPhone a gaming platform.

[DBrim @ Dec 18th 2008 4:52AM]

No interlacing problems...

[Hackettman @ Dec 18th 2008 11:28AM]

I think if it had A2DP Id do bad bad things to get my hands on one immediately......

[superhobo @ Dec 19th 2008 5:20AM]

If they made it like in that pic, I would buy it.

[Johan S @ Dec 17th 2008 5:15PM]

The actual PSP2 better have widescreen dual touchscreens and swappable gamepads.

[matthewlikestoburn @ Dec 17th 2008 5:22PM]

or, at least that's what you want it to have

[Phoenix @ Dec 17th 2008 5:37PM]

Sounds more like what the DS2 would have to me...

[D.S = digtal shit @ Dec 18th 2008 6:57AM]

Look at my user name ^

[Kris120890 @ Dec 17th 2008 5:19PM]

The PS3 and the PSP looked to have failed miserably this year. I was kind of hoping that because of that they would try and make a major comeback with the PSP. So many ideas for the PSP but sony don't seem to care. The PSP is a great device but lacked Quality games so I ditched it bought a DS and don't like that either.

We are lacking a solid Handheld gaming device. Hopefully there is a PSP on the way. Cause lets face it the DS Isn't that much better.

[gonintendo @ Dec 17th 2008 5:22PM]

Exactly! My DS is just a really expensive alarm clock right now.

[Oli D @ Dec 17th 2008 5:33PM]

and weirdly, my alarm clock now plays dual screen mario games...

[Oli D @ Dec 17th 2008 5:33PM]

and oddly, my alarm clock now plays dual screen mario games

[Dez @ Dec 17th 2008 5:40PM]

Kris,

I gotta agree with you there. The PSP could have been great if they actually listened to users (2nd analog stick, anyone?)
It did have a couple decent games. I had fun with crisis core and God of War, and I picked up Mortal Kombat on the cheap just because I've always loved MK. Other than that, I used it for music for a while before i picked up a sandisk player. Now, All I really use the PSP for is MAYBE some web browsing from the couch, but most of all, i use the visualizer while me and my friends smoke hookah. Expensive visualizer is just about as bad as expensive alarm clock, and seeing as the PSP doesn't even have a damn alarm clock, I feel a bit shortchanged.

[Levi @ Dec 17th 2008 5:54PM]

I'll admit the PSP has a fairly bad selection, but I highly disagree with your comment on the PS3. Just because the system didn't match the 360 in sales does not mean it failed at all. It has plenty of good games on it now and more coming. So I really have to disagree there.

But as for the PSP, I still have it, dunno why. I had both PSP and DS Lite, got rid of the DS towards Rock Band, never looked back. I might look to get rid of my PSP too if I ever get Killzone back and finish it. KZ is by far my favorite PSP game.

[slycooper_rocker (lorddshadow the amazing) [anti-panda death squadron force five] @ Dec 17th 2008 6:02PM]

failed? not really. ps3 dominated in software but lacked in hardware, and psp dominated in hardware but lacked in software.

[Massmass @ Dec 17th 2008 6:07PM]

Yeah, I agree.

It would be wise for Sony to ditch the "Playstation" moniker after this generation. They seemed to have destroyed its image (I'm not saying they suck, I'm just saying consumers aren't grabbing them up just because it's "Playstation"). It's for good reason why Nintendo doesn't stick to one name outside of "Nintendo - whatever" They even changed their red logo to gray to make it more attractive to casual and older gamers.

So while I fully expect that Sony will release a portable gaming platform in the next year or two; I highly doubt it'll be anything named "PSP" or the like. They've spent too much money and resources to ditch everything altogether. They'll just, hopefully, learn from their mistakes and over-ambition.

[Ashwin @ Dec 17th 2008 8:27PM]

There is a solid portable gaming device. It's called the iPhone and iPod touch. Sure, hardcore gamers might regret the lack of physical buttons, but its not hardcore gamers that pad the profits of console makers, its the casual gamer. Why do you think the Wii far outsells both the PS3 and Xbox 360, and Nintendo makes a real profit. For the casual gamer, the iPhone and iPod touch are perfect.

[SABRAGE @ Dec 17th 2008 8:48PM]

Aww damn it. I voted Ashwin up, and then I realized he wasn't being sarcastic!

[Frogboy @ Dec 18th 2008 11:16AM]

Unfortunately, hindsight is 20-20. Making a powerful handheld gaming device is a great concept and you’d think it would be wildly successful but it comes with some inherent problems. The hardware is highly coveted because it is so powerful and multifunctional. Unfortunately the development cost and time to make quality games is too high and the return is just not worth it from a business standpoint. A lot of the good developers have abandoned it in favor of the more powerful home consoles. When it comes to mass market appeal, what sells is top of the line games for home consoles and quick, easy and simple games for the portable consoles. Until the development time for games can be cut down to a couple of months, the PSP is going to have trouble getting a lot of quality games. A brand new, even more powerful PSP would likely have the same exact problems that the original had at its launch. The hacker community would love it for sure but it wouldn’t have the commercial success that Sony is looking for. They’d be better off just slapping an extra analog nub and a touch-screen on the current PSP just to make people happy. You can’t continue to lose money on hardware sales that aren’t being made up by software sales. Sony is in a good place right now since they aren’t losing money on PSP sales anymore. I doubt that they want to go down that road again anytime soon.

[TareX @ Dec 17th 2008 5:20PM]

Shocker.

I totally expected Sony to confirm they are planning a PSP2 right before Christmas week. D-UH.

[matthewlikestoburn @ Dec 17th 2008 5:26PM]

that's a good plan for them though, seeing as everything else they try (not much) fails. do something really dumb and get lucky ;)

[Steve Childs @ Dec 18th 2008 10:55AM]

I think you'll find he was being sarcastic, they're not going to announce a new PTP just before one of their, if not their busiest time for sales! It would be a commercial blunder of epic proportions.

I don't doubt a PSP2 is in development, given the lead time on this products, if we want to see one before 2012, it should be in development!

[KAIKAI @ Dec 17th 2008 5:20PM]

maybe its gonna be a new mylo ......

[Rob @ Dec 17th 2008 5:41PM]

or maybe not...

[KAIKAI @ Dec 17th 2008 5:44PM]

well i hope its a hybrid mylo/ psp
.....MSP :D :D

[Josh @ Dec 17th 2008 5:22PM]

i pretty much just want the one in the picture...sorry sony, but the bar is set high

[Peter @ Dec 17th 2008 5:30PM]

I think Sony's R&D team should hire whoever made that mockup.

[rufusryker @ Dec 17th 2008 9:01PM]

Levi,
Are you Levi Buchanan? The same Levi from IGN who wrote possibly the ONLY negative review for the iPhone version of Brothers In Arms: Hour of Heroes? The vast majority of reviewers and users love the game and find it incredibly impressive and fun to play. The vast majority of people also find the touch screen controls very usable after bit of practice. You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but since your opinion of this particular game happens to conflict with almost everybody else's, you should contemplate the discrepancy. Your employers at IGN should also note that they are paying a reviewer who is either too uncoordinated or too lazy to master the controls of a game that most casual users have had no problems with.

Then again, maybe you are different Levi. It is, after all, the 135th most popular boys name in the U.S. (as of 2006)

[Ross @ Dec 17th 2008 9:27PM]

@rufusryker

Dude, wrong thread.

[Levi @ Dec 17th 2008 10:10PM]

Ash, good sales don't make a gaming platform the best. The Wii outsells the 360 and the PS3 because it appeals to people who aren't gamers. Nintendo said it themselves... in fact, it was the core subject of pretty much every keynote from the first 2 years of the console's life.

The App Store is filled with crap. The ratio of crap to good is so incredibly small compared to even the Wii, that it would just completely fail if it were on the shelves of EB. If it was JUST a gaming system, the DS would completely destroy its sales. If it was PRIMARILY a gaming device, with secondary features allowing the playback of some music and meticulously formatted video and the worst web browser in history, the PSP would destroy it as well.

The only reason games are selling well on it is because people bought the Touch or iPhone for other reasons, and they are very easy to buy. Hell, I've wasted a lot of money on the games there because I WANT to like them.

[Levi @ Dec 17th 2008 10:30PM]

dammit, wrong thread :( Damn you, Joystiq comment system!!

I meant to reply to this one too though. I'm not that reviewer. I also think you should reconsider your thoughts on reviews from paid sources. I think a good unbiased YouTube review is usually a pretty good place to get some feedback on a game you want to try out.

My thoughts on Brothers In Arms on the iPhone is that it is impressive, and a step in the right direction, but the game just isn't fun. It's a completely watered down game riddled with bad 3D collision and hit detection. It can be entertaining I suppose. Yeah, it's my opinion, and my opinion is often different from the norm. I don't like Halo, thought Mario Galaxy was not as good as Mario 64, and think the Zelda franchise went to crap after it turned 3D. I can come up with great reasoning behind all of that, but it is just a matter of opinion.

Lastly, I have to say that I meant to criticize the couple positive reviews of the game more than the game itself. The reviews I saw claimed that it was every bit as good as a full fledged game on the PSP or DS, which is just not true. BIA's graphics are very sub par, even by DS standards. The game's length is not sufficient. The movement engine is not nearly polished as comparable games on the other platforms. It offers far simpler gameplay. All of which are to be expected, as it is still technically a cellphone game, but don't compare BIA on the iPhone to games like Medal of Honor on the PSP or Metroid Prime on the DS. They are far better products.

That's all. :)

[Quantic @ Dec 18th 2008 6:24AM]

You do realise that any fool can make a mockup that doesnt account for real world restraints, and the reason why most faked mockups look better then the actual end products is because they couldn't actually be made.

[Mitch @ Dec 18th 2008 11:49AM]

I don't care what you all say. That mockup is an absolute thing of beauty.

[Big GIANT Balls @ Dec 17th 2008 5:23PM]

Who cares, the iPod touch/ iPhone is a better gaming device than the psp could ever be.

[brandon @ Dec 17th 2008 5:25PM]

Yes, a complete lack of physical gaming controls is definitely better......

[Brian @ Dec 17th 2008 5:32PM]

you, sir, are the new clak.

FUCK OFF

[matthewlikestoburn @ Dec 17th 2008 5:29PM]

you know he might have been being sarcastic there. (directed at the people who ranked him low)

[required @ Dec 17th 2008 5:30PM]

http://psp.ign.com/articles/698/698710p1.html

vs

http://wireless.ign.com/articles/938/938584p1.html

[Big GIANT Balls @ Dec 17th 2008 5:32PM]

THANK YOU!! I know! Right! Those buttons suck! They just get sticky, and stop working right. The fact that the ipod/ iPhone don't have buttons bake them WAY better. I can just wipe the screne/controls off, and keep going.

FINALLY, someone who reads engadget who has a head on their shoulders!

[Patriks7 @ Dec 17th 2008 5:33PM]

I think it's not a good idea to try to be sarcastic without /sarcasm these days.. People around here tend to be too offensive/defensive for some reason.. unless its really obvious that it's sarcasm, but looking at that guys posts, I highly doubt it..

[boutch55555 @ Dec 17th 2008 5:33PM]

@ giant balls
I own the psp , ds and ipod touch and each one has pros / cons for gaming (the ipod touch is the worst)
but give me that device with multi touch and 16/32gb (and maybe linux dual boot) included and it will replace them all...

[ai4281 @ Dec 17th 2008 5:34PM]

I still don't believe in iPod Touch / iPhone gaming. I own a iPod Touch, and most games on the device are fun for maybe a few days, but you can't really get into them. It might just be that there aren't that many good games on the iPod/iPhone platform, but I think touch screen acts as a huge limitation for games. Playing racing games, like MotoChaser, on the touch can be awkward at times, because when you kind of have to turn your head to follow the screen as you're turning the device to steer. And also, I can't imagine playing good FPS games on the touch, due to lack of physical buttons.

Now, if PSP2 ditched the UMD, thought of a way to sync games from your PS3 or PC to the PSP2, and get touch screen + accelometer - while keeping the physical buttons -, that would truly be the ruler of all handheld gaming devices.

I think Sony will try very hard to come up with something that will boost the sales of PlayStation platform, because PS3 is tanking right now.

[Peter @ Dec 17th 2008 5:36PM]

You have written 41 comments since you came to being on December 8th, not one of them useful in any way other then making yourself look like an idiot;is there something wrong with you or do you take pleasure in being low ranked?

[Levi @ Dec 17th 2008 5:57PM]

I hope you're joking

Brothers In Arms for the iPhone/Touch is the best example of how the platform will never compete with the PSP as far as quality games are concerned. Because people pirate the crap out of PSP games and developers have backed off, App Store games might sell better. But holy crap, the games suck so badly.

[required @ Dec 17th 2008 5:25PM]

So when exactly will the device pictured be released?

[htd @ Dec 17th 2008 5:31PM]

worldwide release on doomsday