PSP 2: The story so far

2011 will be an extremely interesting year for the old guard of pocket gaming.

Both Sony and Nintendo had their cool credentials knocked in 2010 by those snotty upstart kids, the smartphones. In particular, Apple’s iOS devices pose a huge threat that even the imperious Nintendo can’t ignore.

But what about Sony? Outside a few key markets (such as its homeland) the PSP has tailed off badly.

The chances are that PSP 2 will be released this year - the same year as the PSP Phone. Their comparative performances at retail could well determine Sony’s future plans with regard to dedicated gaming handhelds.

So what do we know about PSP 2? What don’t we know? We decided to sift through all the stories, rumours, and opinions floating about in the ether (well, on the internet) and roll them all up into one easy-to-digest bundle.

While the final hardware hasn’t been revealed (or, indeed, officially confirmed), we do have a pretty good idea that a PSPgo-style slider will be the chosen form factor for the PSP 2. That means a compact HD widescreen display (apparently ‘about an inch’ bigger than the PSP’s) with a slide-out set of controls.

Leaked spy pics of the PSP 2 dev kit suggests two analogue sticks, which would mark the most console-like set of controls on a handheld device yet. Finally, we’ll be able to play portable first and third-person shooters in the way they were intended.

The most intriguing rumour is that the PSP 2 will feature not a touch-enabled screen but a touchy-feely trackpad (like on your laptop) on the back of the device. This is corroborated by the aforementioned leaked spy pics and a patent filing from Sony for a “handheld device with two-finger touch triggered selection.”

In addition, Sony’s gaming head honcho Kaz Hirai has spoken about the ideal next-generation handheld in interviews, which should be read as a sneak peak into the PSP 2’s design.

“Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel,” he said, “but you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads.” Here comes the clincher: “I think there could be games where you’re able to use both in combination.”

The only way you could have your fingers and thumbs on all of the above control inputs simultaneously is with a rear-mounted touch-pad.

While we don’t have any cold hard specs, we do have a rough idea what the PSP 2’s capabilities will be.

To put it simply, it’s going to be damned powerful. We’d venture to suggest that it’ll be more capable at churning out detailed, smooth graphics than any handheld or mobile handset launched this year – and probably the next, to boot.

We’ve heard reports that pitch the PSP 2’s performance level anywhere between just over half the power of the PS3 and – most amazingly – roughly the same as Sony’s late-blooming powerhouse.

We’ve also heard that the new handheld will boast 1GB of RAM. To put that in context, that’s twice as much as the Xbox 360 and 16 times more than the PSPgo.

One of the biggest questions hanging over the PSP 2 is 'will it adopt a new form of physical media for its games, or will it go with a download-only method?' The PSP’s bulky, rattly UMD format can hardly be considered a success (too clumsy, too power-hungry), while the PSPgo’s experiment with download-only games has been disastrous.

All signs are pointing towards a shared physical and downloadable approach. There’ll be a new high-capacity form of physical media, which will be necessary given Sony’s intention to provide PS3-standard entertainment on the go.

Given that its home console runs on 50GB Bluray discs, that’d make for some mighty long download times (and a fair few irate broadband providers).

All reports suggest that Sony has indeed ditched the UMD format in favour of a Memory Stick approach. This would see games coming on small, solid-state chips a bit like the Nintendo DS (but with a far bigger capacity, naturally).

Alongside this, Sony will continue with its downloadable Minis scheme, although we wouldn’t be surprised if the service received a major overhaul to make it competitive with the App Store for accessible and affordable kicks.

Given PSP’s ongoing success in its native Japan, as well as Sony’s good name on its home front, you can count on the support of every major Nipponese developer.

Indeed, possibly the biggest of the lot – Square Enix – has already thrown its excessively buckled hat into the ring, albeit unofficially. Square producer Takamasa Shiba admitted recently that he was “excited for” the PSP 2.

The largest developer on the other side of the Pacific has also registered its intentions to support the PSP 2. Way back at the beginning of November, EA bigwig Patrick Soderlund revealed that his company had already been hands-on with the new device. "Well, obviously as a developer we have had that,” he said, “but I'm not allowed to talk about it."

One month on, Soderlund’s EA colleague John Riccitiello was a little less coy on the matter. "Having something as powerful as a PS3 in your pocket is a pretty compelling idea," he said, simultaneously confirming his company’s plans and confirming the device’s console-like grunt.

We also know that Mortal Kombat developer Netherrealm Studios has had its hands on PSP 2 hardware, and will be making games for the "pretty powerful" device. On this side of the pond, "Multiple British sources" claim to have had access to PSP 2 dev kits and even "finished [PSP 2] units" since early 2010.

Again, there’s been no specific date set, but we’ve been told to expect a release towards the end of the year. The latest rumour is that the device will be out for Christmas, possibly as early as October.

That would certainly seem to tally with the ‘fall 2011’ date we heard about back in October of last year.

We should have a better idea by the end of January. It’s believed that Sony will use a “business overview and strategy meeting” in Tokyo on the 27th January to reveal the PSP 2.

It's rumoured we'll get to see more of the device at both the Game Developers Conference and E3 2011.