PSP Redesign: Truth or Dare?

With Sony suffering from bad headlines (for example, slipped PS3 to Europe; Lik-Sang fallout) an improvement to its handheld system could see some reinvigoration to the company’s profile in Europe.

However, this could equally serve to confuse a mass of consumers, already on the offensive in relation to the PS3’s no-show for the European festive season.

So, where is the truth?

Our calls to Sony’s European press office this morning have, so far, been met with voicemail. Given today’s financial news from the parent company, this is to be expected. However, SPOnG will, as ever, stay on the case.

However, as the scuttlebutt has been attracting credence, here’s the analysis of the current state of posited play:

The possibility of a new PSP hardware iteration, such as the ( version with a folding screen), has been kicked around forever by games industry conspiracy theorists the safe money is still on the current PSP lasting well into 2008 at least.

The bald fact is that no one has concrete details that they are prepared to share. No surprises there, major platform revisions in all industries remain closely guarded. However, one PSP-focused publisher-owned senior development source told us under terms of the strictest anonymity,
"Of course there's going to be a re-design before next summer, more than likely before GDC (Game Developers Conference). I'd put money on it. Only no one, especially not people at Sony, are going to confirm this, because of the potential damage it could inflict on PSP sales in the run up to Christmas."

So, what about some detail? We are hearing is a 'Lite' PSP will be offered. This would include a smaller screen but one that retains the native resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. A reduction of core screen size would save on power usage, something Sony is likely to focus on with any new hardware. Indeed, a rework of the PSP's core innards, centred on a new lithium-ion power cell would be the major selling point of a smaller portable with a greatly extended life between charges.

A new screen would also give SCE the option to address some of the complaints that the PSP can be difficult to use in anything other than optimum lighting conditions. SPOnG staff never really had much cause for complaint, TFT will always be a difficult viewing experience unless it's very brightly lit. That said, the recently-released DS Lite has illustrated that a balance between visibility and power-consumption can be found. The Nintendo machine has also raised consumer expectations for portable gaming hardware screens, something else likely to be addressed by Sony.

Bringing the weight of the unit down from the somewhat portly 265g point at which it currently stands would be seen as a benefit

Others speculate that the analogue nub, something that has proven unpopular with many PSP users, might be ditched in favour of a new analogue control solution or significantly reworked.

"I think they will have one in the not to distant future because:
a) the Ds Lite (and all previous Nintendo handhelds for that matter) have proven that it's a viable option to increase system sales.
b) Sony has two major peripherals coming out: the camera and the GPS add-on, both of which can be used for games," noted Joseph Chagan, videogames production manager at emerging publisher MediaBlasters. "Historically peripherals for systems have never been huge sellers or game movers so I think a new PSP with them incorporated would fall in line with what Sony and Nintendo are doing with the motion control.”