That sounded like a "true" to me.

Confirmed!

Yeah, theres no doubt there already working on a new handheld and trying to incorperate digital media.

I hope there is a new one. I would love two analog sticks.

Downloadable games CONFIRMED

This is funny considering the whole "it will travel through time and work on the horns of rhinoceros" thing.

As expected from sony, a resoundingly clear answer, that leaves no questions to be asked.

...!

I can neither confirm nor deny my confirmations or declinations!  But I can say that games running on our platforms are important to us!

rumors in the gaming industry tend to wind up being true.  i'm going with a "confirmed" on this one.

sony's been churning out  re-hash after re-hash...eventually they'll need to come up with a totally new thing to appease the user base, even if that may mean pissing off the current generation of PSP1 owners =\

I'm going to say CONFIRMED! But that I really don't care unless the PSP 2 has TWO ANALOG STICKS!

great now i have to resell another psp for the new psp

I have to agree with the general opinion that just about everything 'rumoured' in the gaming world is immediately true.

Sony, the PSP is a flop pile of shit. Just give us great games to play before you re-design your grand folly.

Confirmed much?

@Cashbailey - A flop that has sold 50 million?  Give me a break.  I don't know what your issues are but it's a great device and games are just a part of its success

Hmmmm....*scratches beard that i dont have*

coacaine? if they itterate drugs into the new system then i would be in. How about you guys? oh and im not drunk at all...lols

I guess they just confirmed it.

Maybe it just means they plan on expanding the playstation store content. Or maybe there's some new plan to distribute digital content. You never know      (until E3). That PSP 2 concept looks kinda cool, a little bulky though.

I doubt we'll see a PSP2 without a drive of any sort.  More likely there will be some internal storage in the PSP-4000.  There's no way we're going to see a new platform now that the PSP is finally entering its stride.

My speculation/analysis/prediction is that it's most likely a PSP-4K model rather than a PSP2 (it's pretty much given in the response i.e. "no new hardware"):

1. Sony already has their own ISO loader on their firmware.  It's been known for a long time.  Meaning digital distribution has been something they've probably been aiming for for a long time.  With the iPhone pimping it's App Store and the DSi going DSiWare, Sony is going to have to make a move.  Sony will probably also try to bring new developers into the fold to develop smaller games ala WiiWare, DSiWare, X360 Arcade, PSN downloadable content on the PSP.

2. If people don't want to settle for having to download games, simply buy an older PSP model.  All models of the current PSP (1K to 3K) are able to play downloadable game content thanks to Sony's implementation of the ISO loader.  Those older models are not going to be left out in the cold.  This allows Sony and game developers to save money, physical games that are on the shelf that aren't selling cost them money.  The negative to this is that if Sony had outsourced the pressing of UMDs, those manufacturers are going to be pretty pissed off.  In addition, without proper protection this could facilitate a huge increase in piracy on the handheld, which is already a major problem.

3. Sony game kiosks.  Sony will most likely be distributing kiosks to stores/malls to allow for those people without any internet service to load games onto their memory stick.  With the ability to log into your PSN account to see a list of downloaded games allowing users to maintain their games and redownload any game they've purchased, something already established on the console market.  This also allows Sony and game developers to cripple trade-in stores like GameStop.

4. Sony will lower the price of memory sticks.  The trend is already going that way.  Lowering the cost or even including a sizable MS (let's say 4 gb) to the SKU of the UMD-less PSP would facilitate a smoother transistion to digital distribution.

If it's just a new PSP, I'll pass. But if it's a new PLATFORM, one that's more focused on hardcore than the iPhone, well no shit I'll get one.

 'Cept if it's over $300, I'll draw the line there, that's where it hurts most.

going non-disc seems impractical

PSP without UMD. CONFIRMED.

That is stupid. CONFIRMED.

Translation - "Yes, we are getting rid of that crap format called UMD and not carrying that dead horse any further"

I still think its on.

What are the news? You can already download games for psp on psn? I don't get what the biggie is...

The hardware they use already supports no disk use.

PercyChuggs.

Name FIVE PSP games that you have bought and still play.

     I love my PSP.  Post-modulation it is definitely the best system ever.  Can't wait to buy a PSP2!

It just occured to me right now that they could do an iTunes-like thing where you download the games onto your PC and sync them with your PSP. There would be some sort of internal hard drive for the games to run off, the games would have to be re-downloadable and the licence would be tied to the user's account - just like with Steam.

@SunKing

I think that is a way of confirming it..

So.. not backwards compatable?  Seems like you should keep the old library of games, since lack of games is a major criticism of the PSP to begin with.  I also think they ought to "redesign" rather than make PSP2 with no UMD.  This is not the market to release more expensive gadgets.  Maybe just a PSP with some internal memory to compete with the download service on DSi.   Everyone loves internal memory, and companies make a killing on marketing inadequate storage space.

Its a redesign not PSP 2 unless Sony wants to fail by putting out an expensive portable in this "economic downturn."

Perhaps they will include a device that allows you to rip your UMD's to the new PSP.

Blah-blah-blah...No two analog sticks, no care.  On the other hand, it seems that Sony has failed to widely market yet another media format.  Betamax, minidisc, Sony memory stick, and now UMD.  I hope they have more luck with the long-term life of Blu-ray.  I think they will, considering Hollywood is onboard, but you never know. 

I wonder what colors the new PSP2 will debut in.  Black, for certain, but something more imaginative would be nice, too.  I also wonder if any of the other rumors I've heard are true, like the possible touch screen and the slide out QWERTY keyboard.

So he confirmed that they plan to continue digitally distributing games...psp2 confirmeded

@Tebbit

Essentially, it is. The difference is that the version in my head has a much better PSN ;)

Just give me 2 analog sticks and it's an insta-buy.  That's all I want!

Nice! It's definitely true. I know how to understand politician speak, and he was definitely using it there.

I hate waiting

How about exploiting the install base of the current PSP before trying to build a new handheld platform? Maybe it's way behind the DS but it still has its strong points and CAPCOM proved (at least in Japan) that you can have insane success with proper support for the system.

Other than a slightly enhanced control scheme, what new things would a new Sony handheld bring? A focus on digital distribution? That's what the memory sticks are for, the current store interface built into the latest firmware works like a charm, just add more than a meager 10 PlayStation Originals titles to it and expand the PSP specific library to include all the latest releases, not just a handful of them, if that. Also, more demos please.

Also, stop trying to make games that control like their dual analogue stick cousins on the home platforms. The PSP lacks a damn stick so revert to PlayStation style controls. Any genre worked fine on that machine, they can work just as well on the PSP with some proper thinking. For example, MGS: Portable Ops was the last game I played, when it was first out, and while it was pretty damn great the controls were horrid. They attempted to have the MGS3 camera (?!). What was so bad about reverting to the MGS style system, with a top down camera that automaticaly looks around corners when you're sneaking? MGS still plays great, as opposed to Portable Ops where the controls are an obstacle you overcome to enjoy the good game beneath it.

I haven't used my PSP in ages but after getting it online today and updating the firmware I was surprised with how slick and functional the store interface is, testing it with the purchase of Guilty Gear and some demo downloads. It's definitely changed my opinion about the system's potential. If only Sony believed in it a little more. It seems I'm unlucky and my first (well, okay, I had a PlayStation also but only for a while, after the Saturn and before the Dreamcast) Sony system is the one with the least support.

Oh well, I might as well get a Monster Hunter title to make good use of it for at least a few hundred hours, while waiting for 3 to hit the Wii.

Holy fuck, its true!
But as a business person, why would you not dispel rumors?  well, I suppose the reason is that if you put down rumors, those that you don't are those that they are assumed to be true and it affects your stock price.

methinks that's a yes.

"That sounded like a "true" to me"
Ehhh.. No... Don't get yourself all worked up JUST yet. It could be that they are trying to see if the DDistribution method will work, and if its not going to, then its simply not going to happen. As for a new handheld console, that would seem to e more plausible. I know A LOT of people who would be very VERY angry with Sony for making a piece of hardware that essentially required a subscrption, ie internet. Also, this would require a lot of space on the hardware itself, and it doesn't seem like making that much more space a priority would be wise. Why? Because people don't want the same thing the had with the PSP upon its launch (just getting a couple gigs of flash memory at the time was pretty high up there at the time, especially when you were using the PSP to supplement your gaming, not using it as your primary gaming device. If they go DDistribution ONLY, and I want to make this clear, ONLY, as is wih no option for disk driven games, they are going to alienate a lot of people who don't want to have to download their games, or even worse, cannot download their games. I think at this point in time, and for quite a few years to come, there needs to be a better base for that kind of a plan, and making a dual catalog, of both disk driven and downloadable game be made available. Perhaps make several different models. If you can use DDistribution and its all you want, then you get a PSP2 with lots of memory for that, and no disk drive so you don't pay for something you aren't using. Or if you can sometimes use DDistribution, but would like to use a few disk driven games (especially for backwards compatability), you get a model with some memory, and a disk drive, or if you could care less about DDistribution for whatever reason, you get enough storage for saves and a disc drive. And of course the key here would be to allow for things like external drives one can purchase for use, in case the situation changes and they want or need a disk drive, and make ALL memory units upgradable, for the same reason.

"rumors in the gaming industry tend to wind up being true.  i'm going with a "confirmed" on this one."
People keep saying that
I'm not getting taht so much. Maybe you only HEAR good rumors, but there are so many rumors out there, ones that usually look a lot like this one, that are just completely stupid. I am willing to bet that this rumor started as "PSP2 is in the works" and just gradually picked up new features as it was passed from person to person.

Theirs not gonna be a PSP2 anytime soon. Over on Gaf someone said that he was working on the Rock Band: Unplugged manual, last time I checked digital distributed games didn't have a manual. (granted Nobi Nobi Boy does but that game just defies logic)

I'm sure they have no choice but to change their format for psp2