Rumor: PSP2 Rocking Hands By Holiday 2011

[Tom Goldman]

Rumor: PSP2 Rocking Hands By Holiday 2011

Even though Sony hasn't said a single official word about the PSP2, it could be released next year.

The PSP2 has only been spoken about in rumors for the past year, aside from acknowledging that it has one [http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-Xbox-360/dp/B002I0J998/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286296696&sr=8-2] . Sony is keeping information about the system relatively close, though another reported leak is putting the system on retail shelves by the end of next year.

A British source close to VG247 says: "We've been told it's coming in late 2011." Once again, this is an unconfirmed tidbit of information, but it's still all we have to go on thanks to the lack of any official words from Sony. However, it's yet another recent indication that Sony is lining the PSP2 up for a 2011 reveal.

This would mean that Sony is likely to announce the PSP2 and its line-up of games at E3 so it can make a big splash. An E3 2011 announcement would also make sense due to rumors that PSP2 development kits are all over the industry [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103829-Rumor-Sony-Gearing-Up-for-PSP2-Launch].

Could 2011 finally be the year that Sony gets its head back into the handheld game? I hope so, because the PSP2 is rumored to be quite a powerful machine, and might even feature unique control methods like a touchscreen on the back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102892-Rumor-PSP-2-Features-Reverse-Touch-Screen-Controls]. Sony needs to tell us something about it already, though the secrecy is certainly building up anticipation.

Source: VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2010/10/05/source-psp2-to-release-holiday-2011/]

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[VanityGirl]

Wow, we don't even know anything about it. I mean the 3DS has been all over the place, the only thing we know about the PSP2 is that it exists. There's nothing confirmed about it.

 

[mjc0961]

If I was Sony, I think I'd want to announce it in January or something. Sometime before the 3DS comes out, you know? Maybe get people excited over it, and if some those people don't think they can get enough money together for both a 3DS and a PSP2 and would really really really like a PSP2 after Sony shows it, they might say "Hmm, maybe I should save this 3DS money for a PSP2 instead."

Is there really any point in waiting until E3? The only thing it will really help is that they can "win" E3 if they get it, and bottom line, that doesn't actually mean anything. Plus, it'll just get leaked before then anyway. See everything but the new Twisted Metal which people actually got butthurt at Jaffe for because he tried to keep it a surprise.

 

[Vaccine]

If there's Monster Hunter on it, I want one. I burned multiple thumbsticks out on my PSP from overuse because of those damn games. :s

 

[DragonChi]

TBH, I don't think sony can do enough to overpower the 3DS. Sony is done in the handheld department in my opinion.they are bringing it out far too late. even IF it comes with a touch screen and dual analaog sticks..You can't beat 3D (WITHOUT GLASSES!!) not to mention that the PSP2 will probably cost an arm and a leg. Sony has never made their hardware cheap. Nintendo is very understanding of peoples wallets. So I'm quite sure the PSP2 will crash from being to late and too expensive.

 

[icyneesan]

Wow, we don't even know anything about it. I mean the 3DS has been all over the place, the only thing we know about the PSP2 is that it exists. There's nothing confirmed about it.

Are we even sure it 'exists'? Maybe this is all some elaborate joke by the video game industry

 

[8bitmaster]

I am looking forward to this. Sony is not out of this by a long shot, due to nintendo's 3rd party support of every single company under the sun, there is maybe 1 in 20 decent games that have come out for the ds. Yes, the 3ds is nice hardware, but I will still think that it needs good games to succeed and 3-5 good games and 300-500 horrible games won't cut it. That is why I stick with sony.


Also, because of this I haven't touched my ds in several months. I haven't found a single interesting game since pokemon heart gold which I only played since the original gold was good.

 

[Wintermoot]

20$ says its cracked in the first week after release

 

[-Seraph-]

Well I certainly look forward to any announcements, and E3 does seem to be a decent time announce it. At that point, the 3DS would have been out and perhaps some of the craze has died down which would give Sony the opportunity to showcase their hardware without it being overshadowed by the hype of the 3DS, but that's jsut me.

I just prey that they don't fuck up on the design in any significant way, and PLEASE PUT BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY on it, whether it be a UMD drive attachment or something. Switch over to those pro duo sticks for your games Sony, faster load times, and 2 gig sticks cost nothing. Oh and put 2 thumb sticks on it to shut the whiners up, I'm fed up with hearing idiots ***** about it; unless that touch screen on the back is some sort of substitute...I dunno.

Anyways, holiday 2011 seems like a great time to release it too because all of the epic games coming to the PSP will have all been released by then. Announce Dissidia 3 as an upcoming title and I will pay any price for the damn thing.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

Could 2011 finally be the year that Sony gets its head back into the handheld game? I hope so, because the PSP2 is rumored to be quite a powerful machine, and might even feature unique control methods like a touchscreen on the back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102892-Rumor-PSP-2-Features-Reverse-Touch-Screen-Controls].

For Sony to become a legitimate competitor for the lead of the handheld market and not merely being a distant second (while the PSP is undoubtedly the best-selling non-Nintendo handheld of all time, the DS still has it outsold by more than a 2-to-1 ratio), they needed to have spent these last few years reexamining their values and taking a different approach towards the handheld market. They need something new and fresh, something that would disrupt the handheld market and change the values by which handhelds are judged. If they just stick to their traditional path of sustaining innovations (read: more and more better graphics), the PSP2 might very well end up being in the same situation as the PS3 (being a huge money sink for a very long time) or, worse, as the Sega Nomad (a disastrous failure that shoots the company out of the market).

The reason why the PSP managed to be a big success in spite of being trampled by the DS for most of it's lifecycle is the fact that the graphics it relied on were a significant leap ahead for the handheld market, especially when you consider that the Game Boy Advance generally roughly had SNES-level visuals. Overall, it was a very big and noticeable difference and that attracted at least some consumers. However, that won't work with the PSP2.

A big reason (although certainly not the only one) why the PS3 hasn't performed very well for most of it's lifecycle and required so long to gain any sort of momentum is that it's graphical prowess overshot most of the market. While there was a difference for hardcore enthusiasts, it wasn't a substantial enough difference to be of interest to the majority of consumers. A good indicator of this was the fact that the PS2 outsold (and later remained on par with) it's successor for a significant amount of time after the PS3 launched (dropping off NPD sales charts only this year) and still remains in retail sale (particularly in Japan). Nintendo cleverly made the 3DS roughly as powerful as the GameCube (along with some modern-day enhancements), thus maximising the graphical output without going overboard. As such, if the PSP2 tries to sell based on it's graphics, it will only end up overshooting the market just like the PS3 did.

So basically, in order to compete with the 3DS, the PSP2 needs something that would differentiate it and make consumers judge handhelds by a different standard. Unfortunately, if the rumour of "touchscreen on the back" is true and if that is the feature Sony is relying on to disrupt the market, I don't think that will have the impact Sony needs to vie for first place. In order to cause a disruption in the market, it's important to have something that suprises the consumer. Touchscreens are not suprising anymore, not even in gaming. The DS used it as one of it's main selling points back when it was still exotic technology and even the Pocket PC market has the touchscreen as a standard feature. I am not saying a touchscreen on the back isn't different (I mean, it is on the back rather than the front)....I just don't think it's different enough, especially since the 3DS inherited the touchscreen from the DS.

Sony is backed into a corner now. They relied mostly on high tier consumers to stay competitive in the handheld market, but Nintendo is now moving upstream and Sony has nowhere else to go. For their sake, I hope they have reconsidered their strategy. One thing is certain....if this rumour is true, a release almost a year after the 3DS isn't going to do them any favours.

Oh well, at the very least, they are talking with third-party developers early. We will see how this turns out.