Developers have been whispering for a while now about the “PSP2″, without anyone saying exactly WHAT it is, but Engadget claims to have that answer. They say they’ve gotten their hands on the “Playstation Phone” prototype.
However, NowGamer managed to get Playstation Europe to state that it was fake, but then later they reiterated to their normal stance of “we do not comment on rumours and speculations.” A very curious thing NowGamer pointed out: In the picture with the UI, it says “(A) Enter (B) Back”. I don’t think even the Swedish Ericsson engineers would make that mistake.
Here’s the rundown of what Engadget posted: The top looks pretty similar to the Xperia X10, but it has a slide-down part with a D-Pad, the PS buttons and shoulder buttons, just like the PSPGo. There’s no analog nipple, but instead there’s some kind of touchpad strip in the middle. It will apparently be running Android 3.0. Hit the jump for more pictures, and the technical specs Engadget posted.
Here’s what Engadget said about the device:
the device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top (and in our gallery below) is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches.
Again, might be shenanigans, but you never know.
If Sony would indeed make an Android PSPhone, I wonder if they would lock down the Android system to only allow Sony-approved games and apps. This seems the most likely, but imagine a very open PSPhone, that allowed you to run both “proper” PSP games, as well as letting you heavily customize it or download whatever you felt like from the Android marketplace. That could be the one thing that would invigorate the PSP line, and set it apart from both the 3DS and the iPhone in one fell swoop.
It’s fake.
That “clock” is a goddamn Android app, for crying out loud. I should know, I have it on my phone.
All the rumours stats and the sensor bar are likely real, but this visual mock-up? Not a chance.
, @Michael O’Connor, Yeah, I mostly posted it because an open, Android-driven “proper” gaming handheld is an exciting prospect to me.
@Herman S. Lilleng, I don’t blame you for being excited, for Android phones, while usually fucking awesome in their own right, could do with a touch of Sony’s gaming prowess.
Just like people got their hands on the new iPhone ‘prototype’?
Like anyone really deals with PSP games anymore, anyway. They tried Nintendo in the handheld market and lost.
I somewhat wish it was real, but this has to be a fake. The A and B in the display are dead give aways.
Engadget replies: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/the-playstation-phone-is-still-real/