Only John Koller knows how serious John Koller, Sony's senior marketing manager for PSP, was when mentioning that GPS-enabled games could eventually hit the PSP, but he definitely threw it out there. Speaking about the forthcoming GPS add-on for the PlayStation Portable, Koller stated that said module "changes the dynamics of GPS but also changes the way developers think about games on PSP, because you can start integrating GPS into it." He continued on by mentioning that Sony's own first-party studios were "already looking at a number of things [involving GPS in games]," and concluded by asserting that a GPS game could land on the system as early as next year. Considering just how long we've been waiting for the add-on, we're not holding our breath on the titles.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Sony's official blog says PSP firmware 4.05, out now, contains "other features" in addition to a couple new music visualizers, but it's not clear what they are, apart from a slightly tweaked XMB animation if you've got a wallpaper set up. Go forth and download -- let us know if there's anything earth-shattering in there, won't you?

[Via Joystiq]

It's never clear how a company plans on implementing a given patent, but Sony's patent application for a haptic touchscreen composed of "tactile pixels" lists former Sony Computer Entertainment chief Phil Harrison as the inventor and makes several references to potential use in "a game device" and to "game events," so it's a safe bet that it was at least developed with the PSP in mind. The patent app describes a sophisticated haptic feedback system that goes well beyond the basic rumble of today's device -- the pixels themselves are able to move up and down between two positions, providing direct feedback to user actions. That's certainly an interesting idea, but like all patent news, we're not going to hold out hope for it to surface in a consumer device anytime soon -- but we're willing to be surprised, you know?

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Kaz Hirai took to a Tokyo stage today to give us a peek at the Playstation's future, and he let slip a couple of interesting tidbits. First, Sony will be launching a new program called "Life with Playstation" that will give users real time news and weather, using a globe metaphor reminiscent of the Wii's News Channel. Of course, since the PS3 has considerably more horsepower under the hood, the globe is a rendered weather satellite image showing cloud patterns, and it also supports geo-tagged photos and other content. Kaz also previewed the video-download service set to launch next month at E3, which will allow you to download or stream video to the PS3 and PSP. The store looks a lot like the current PlayStation Store, and it looks like HD rentals will run around $6 while SD purchases will clock in around $13 when it launches in the States this summer. We'll learn a lot more at E3, presumably, but for now we'll just settle for a decent screen shot of that globe interface.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Sony Europe president David Reeves has never been one to shy away from making bold statements in the past, and he's now come out and weighed in on another touchy subject, with him flatly telling attendees at the DevStation conference in London that "there is a piracy problem on the PSP." What's more, Reeves went so far as to admit that it "sometimes fuels the growth of hardware sales, but that "on balance", Sony is "not happy about it." To that end, Reeves says that Sony will soon be unveiling new ways to combat piracy on the handheld, although he unsurprisingly isn't getting a whole lot more specific than that at the moment.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

There's no indication of an exact release date just yet, but word just dropped on the official PlayStation blog that the PSP will be getting a boost to firmware version 4.00 "soon." That'll bring with it the addition of Google search directly form the XMB interface, which Sony says "replicates the Google Internet search experience." Apart from that somewhat notable upgrade, the only other new feature they're talking about at the moment is the ability to change the viewing speed during playback of videos stored on a Memory Stick. Not exactly the upgrade we would have guessed for a milestone like 4.00, but we can always hope Sony has a couple of surprises up its sleeve.

The last round of PSP firmware updates brought Skype support, but it looks like 3.95 isn't nearly as exciting: Sony's added in reconfigurable button mapping to PS1 emulation, and made it so that you can choose to either shut down your PS3 or leave it running when you're done with a remote play session. That's about it, but we know you're all compulsively checking for the update now anyway.

[Via Boy Genius]

It's only just turned three, but it looks like the PlayStation Portable is now at the center of new rumor mill concerning yet another possible revision, with this one sparked by Sony itself, no less. It doesn't come from an over-talkative exec or anything, however, but rather a curious placeholder image that was turned up on Sony's online instruction manual site. As PSP Fanboy reports, not only are there the expected images for the original PSP-1000 series and the slimmer PSP-2000 series, but there is one for a hereto unheard of 3000 series as well (no 4000 series, though). Of course, it's entirely possible that the image is nothing more than a mistake or the work of someone trying to be a little too prepared, but we have a sneaking suspicion that won't stop the speculation from spinning out of control.

We won't call it "official" just yet, but it looks all but certain that Sony will indeed bring Skype to its famed PlayStation Portable. According to Reuters, Sony is "planning to add an internet phone function" (that'd be Skype) to its PSP in order to "stir up demand," which wouldn't be a half bad idea considering how the DS seems to be hogging the limelight of late. Purportedly, the software could become available "as early as this month," and while Sony spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka declined to comment on the rumblings, he did note that the company was "studying ways to add value to the PSP." Are you thinking what we're thinking?

Guess what babies? All your wildest dreams are about to come true (provided they don't get too wild). That's right, according to new PR for Sony's upcoming CES showing, Skype is apparently coming to the PSP. Details are scarce at the moment (i.e., nonexistent), but the company makes clear mention of a Skype client for the handheld game system on its CES 2008 promo site, which is pretty official -- though we're gonna hold our breath a little till we see a press release. Obviously, we'll be hearing a lot more about this when the big show kicks off this month, but until then at least we can all sleep a little better at night knowing the PSP is about to get yet another succulent function. Just hit the read link and click on the controller icon, all you need to know is listed in the sidebar.

Update: Thanks to some sleuthing by the crew over at UberGizmo, a perverse and exciting little easter egg has been found in the PSP promo video which accompanies this new info. For literally one frame, Sony all but confirms Skype on the handheld with a nearly-subliminal image that reads "Make calls with Skype." Check the image after the break and see for yourself.

[Thanks, Jorge H]