Slide-screen PSP 'confirmed' for Xmas 2009
by Stevie Smith - Feb 23 2009, 17:00
Is this old PSP concept image a surprisingly accurate depiction of the rumoured PSP-4000?
The much talked about arrival of an advanced PlayStation Portable console is one of the gaming industry’s more recurrent rumours, so it’s with our bestist forced sincerity (and interest) that we pass on news of yet another round of unsubstantiated speculation and suggest you read on while armed with a liberal pinch of salt.
More pointedly, popular gaming publication 1UP has this week said Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is in the process of bolstering its testing staff with regard to an un-divulged piece of fresh-faced videogame hardware.
This claim originally emanates from a somewhat tenuous Google-translated job advert that’s reportedly seeking evaluation experts for a new system being developed beneath the PlayStation branding umbrella.
With a recruitment drive for PlayStation 4 testers highly unlikely given the relative youth of Sony’s latest generation of home console hardware, that leaves the PlayStation Portable as the only realistic candidate when it comes to evolutionary worth (the PlayStation 2’s advanced age all-but cancels it out of the equation) – if the job ad is genuine of course.
Looking to bolster the credibility of said job posting (despite its highly dubious translation from Japanese), videogame blog VG247 is claiming that an unnamed inside source has confirmed the upcoming arrival of the PSP-4000, which will differ radically from the current PSP design by sporting a more generous slide-out display.
According to the blog’s apparently reliable source, the new PSP overhaul will be officially unveiled later this year at either the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco (Mar 24-27) or the E3 Expo in Los Angeles (Jun 02-04) and will be unleashed to retail in time for Christmas.
Although rumours are rampant and dedicated Sony fans are probably at risk of drowning in drool at the prospect of a brand new take on the PlayStation Portable, Sony is remaining adamant that no such PSP-4000 or a PSP2 is in the works.
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