What's this, then? MCV, a British games industry publication, has run an ad for Little Big Planet game accessories that boasts among its many compelling features compatibility with the PSP-4000. Of course, there is no PSP-4000, but you have to admit -- this is more than a simple typo. When asked what the dilly was, a rep from Accessories 4 Gamers told Negative Gamer that it was merely a simple "mistake." Sure, but the questions still remain: was it a mistake because the PSP-4000 doesn't yet exist? You see, we've definitely heard otherwise. Or was this a mistake because you accidentally spilled the beans on some top secret new handheld game console? If that's the case, you might want to contact us with the details. We won't tell anyone -- promise.

Not that we needed much more evidence that 2009 would be the year 'o PSP rumors, but Pocket Gamer is now reporting that it has heard from an "insider source" who says that the PSP2 will indeed be released before Christmas of this year. That source, who's supposedly a "developer working on the new hardware," also backs up some of the earlier rumors about the design of the device itself, saying that it will be more like the iPhone than the current PSP, and that it will boast a sliding touchscreen that conceals the buttons and dual analog controls when it's closed. Not much more than that, unfortunately, but who know's what next week's rumor will bring? We're personally hoping for a surprise Atari Lynx rebirth to really shake things up.

The PSP2 rumor mill has certainly been cranking overtime as of late, and it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down, even if it isn't exactly churning out many new rumors. This time, however, they're apparently be backed up by a developer source "close to Sony," who again says that the PSP2 (or PSP-4000, as it's also being called) will ditch the UMD drive and add a sliding screen that covers most of the controls when it's closed. According to the source, that would still let folks play games like LocoRoco that only use the shoulder buttons when it's closed, and Sony is reportedly keen to get developers to create more games that can be played in that state. No word on a release date from the latest source, unfortunately, although Eurogamer seems to be sticking to its earlier report that it'll launch by the end of the year.

[Via GameDaily]