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Many have argued that Sony’s upcoming PSP Go is more a shameless marketing and cash-grabbing exercise, lacking the segment-shift that a truly innovative device might deliver. We’re holding off from judging until the review units come in, but hearing the latest feedback from pre-launch prototype models isn’t exactly putting us in the most positive frame of mind. Eurogamer got their hands on the early PSP Go, and found that not only does the new handheld require all new video cables but little things like the AV port have changed, too.
Where the full-sized PSP has a headset port that accommodates a microphone headset, the PSP Go apparently has just a 3.5mm headphones jack. That means no microphone and no useful in-line controls for media playback. It’s also worth remembering that the PSP Go uses newer M2 Memory Sticks rather than the older format of the existing PSP, so they won’t be transferable either.

As for the latest firmware, version 5.70, that has added more comprehensive Bluetooth controls, but strangely done away with the auto-adjusting backlight control under power management. Eurogamer also found that the handheld’s 14.74GB of user-accessible storage is formated in FAT32, meaning there’ll be a 4GB file size limit. It’s unclear if this is the version that will ship on the PSP Go when it launches in the US and Europe on October 1st.

The PSP Go! is shaping up to be great, but it doesn’t have a full QWERTY keyboard, does it. Acidmods forum member folklord36’s PSP Laptop does, though, courtesy of an Xbox Chat Pad, together with relocated speakers, LED lighting and more.



The screen section is a customized Joytech visor, which conveniently has the same finish as the PSP, and here donates its super-sturdy hinge that can be positioned at anything up to 180-degrees. That takes the LCD and the PSP’s original speakers, which are repositioned to the large holes either side. Normal earphone fabric covers them up.

Meanwhile the rest of the PSP - now with the QWERTY keyboard - remains on the bottom, only with some new LED lighting. A custom flat cable extension connects the LCD ZIF port to the screen itself. No word on how long it took him, nor how much he spent, but this is certainly a unique PSP.

The internet proves to be a harsh mistress in keeping development secrets under wraps. The latest victim is Sony's new PSP Go, which was leaked in online images and video. Ironically, the leak comes from Sony's own monthly interactive video series Qore, which can be downloaded on the PlayStation Network. The new episode went live early and as the video below shows, someone captured it before it was taken down.

The video shows that the new PSP Go will have 16 GB of flash memory, as well as Bluetooth support, and will have a monitor that is 43% lighter than the original PSP, but will be a little bit smaller at 3.8 inches. John Koller, the man from Sony featured in the video also relates that UMDs will be a thing of the past as everything will be downloadable, something he says, "a lot of consumers are going to like."


The video is sure to be taken down at some point, so if you can't find it here, try Kotaku.

The video also notes that there is going to be a bigger emphasis on games for Sony, and such titles as Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter and a new Metal Gear Solid are all supposedly to be announced at E3. Could this be Kojima's big secret behind their "Next" website? I suppose that's still up for discussion.

Assuming this leak isn't an elaborate hoax, the PSP Go is a bit smaller than the UMD-equipped previous models. As Kotaku notes, the PSP Go is bigger than an iPhone but lighter. It's also slimmer than the original PSP, yet the new screen is smaller by half an inch to the original.

The new design looks pretty sleek and uses a slide-out function, possibly inspired by Sony's Mylo 2 device, and looks to remove some of the original buttons such as display, sound, and volume. The PSP Go will not replace the PSP-3000, which will be sold along the new model. According to the video, the PSP Go is set for release later this fall.

Sony is in preliminary talks with music publishers to offer song downloads to users on PlayStation Network (PSN). While this will be targeted majorly at PSP users, the probable and logical extension will be to offer the same to PS3 users as well. This move from Sony can be viewed as tit for tat to tackle Apple’s iPhone, which predominantly is known for music but offers decent gaming experience, in short barging in PSP’s territory.

As mentioned before, the talks are in preliminary stages so there’s nothing concrete but since Sony has its own music label, kickstarting the service alone and showing its true potential to others wouldn’t be a bad choice.

The service is expected to come along with the launch of next gen PSP that is rumored to ditch the UMD and adopt a digital way to download content.