Sony has contended there is no PSP2 and they are telling the cold hard truth. There won’t be a PSP2 coming for at least a couple more years. That doesn’t mean that some new PSP hardware isn’t headed our way soon enough. Think more aesthetic changes, more along the lines of DS > DSLite but more substantial of a change. We here at PlayStation LifeStyle are ready to “debunk” or “confirm” some of the rumors that are floating around the net.

We are not at liberty to divulge our sources. Rest assured all will be revealed during E3.

Some of the details I cannot divulge, but we will try our best to let you know what it is, and what it isn’t. We recently noticed PSPWorld’s attempt at “Separating Fact and Fiction” regarding the PSP2, we call it an attempt because it’s pretty much all wrong.

Let’s take a look at what PSPWorld calls “Fact”

UMD is dead. Sorry folks, UMD IS dead, they got this one right…

Touch Screen. PSPWorld states that this is a given as this seems to be the trend the industry is heading towards. Well Sony boasts it’s “Like No Other” and that is the truth, Sony doesn’t follow trends, it sets them. There will be NO touchscreen in the next PSP.

“Monstrous Hardware Specs” If that were the case, it WOULD be the PSP2, and the next PSP is NOT the PSP2, it’s not the PSP-4000 either. In fact it’s something entirely unique.

Now let’s move onto their “Fiction”:

Release before Christmas 2009. We don’t know an exact release date, but it’s much sooner than anyone is expecting. One thing we are sure of is that it’s definitely going to be before Holiday 2009.

Internal HDD. If UMD is dead, how exactly does PSPWorld think we are going to get our games on the new PSP? Sure Sony could pack in some form of memory stick with the new PSP, but that isn’t practical. As Dave Perry has mentioned in the past, look for some type of solid state memory on board. It will also take some form of removable flash memory.

Phone included. They got this one right also, but it wasn’t a hard guess. There will be no built in phone in the next PSP, however you can always use Skype.

Here is a few more things we would like to touch on.

Sliding Screen. They call this fiction, and unfortunately we cannot comment on this. We have to leave it at that.

Dual Analog Sticks. Nope, not happening, at least not until the PSP2 which this isn’t. Adding a second analog stick would alienate the current PSP lineup, which is going to get much more robust later this year. A lineup, that will play just fine on this new PSP, which is based on current PSP tech.

Last thing we would like to leave you off with is…

We all know E3 is GOing to be filled with HEAVY announcements, potentially COLOSSAL even if we’re lucky. Don’t let all the MASSIVE amounts of rumors RAIN on your parade. It’s a great TIME to be living the PlayStation LifeStyle, so TUNE in as we bring all the news, LITTLE and BIG to you as things are set in MOTION every step of the way.

[Update] As reported by other flattering media outlets and we ELUDED to here, the new PSP is called PSP Go.

Related:

1Up & Kotaku Confirm Next PSP Story, 1 Week Later

