14 DAY TRIAL // E3 is the biggest videogame-oriented trade show of the year and both hardware makers like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, and publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision are preparing big presentations designed to increase excitement for the hardware and titles they plan on putting out during the coming 12-month period. And it seems Sony might be ready to reveal a brand new and revolutionary PlayStation Portable 2.
United Kingdom publication MCV has head from a senior figure in the publishing industry that seems to think Sony is now prepared to make the next step in the handheld gaming market. His vision is based on the fact that a publisher is waiting on a move from Sony before announcing its plans for a PlayStation Portable game and on the fact that two are getting ready to increase their marketing spending related to the platform.
This might be pretty shaky ground to base a link to the PSP 2 but market realities make it clear Sony must be willing to make a move in the handheld field. The original PlayStation Portable has been on sale for about six years and is now lagging well behind the Nintendo DS family on the big North American market.
The device also faces a threat from the Apple made iPhone and the PSP Go version, launched last year, sporting a battery that cannot be removed and not featuring a UMD drive, is doing so poorly that the Japanese giant has refused to put out actual sales data for it.
A representative from Sony told MCV that the company had no plans to show off a new handheld at E3 and denied the existence of the PSP 2. But while looking at new PlayStation Move titles for the PS3 at its presentation, don't be surprised if a new handheld is brought to center stage.