14 DAY TRIAL // Lately we've heard quite a lot of rumors regarding Sony's PlayStation Portable, with the center of all speculations being the next version of the handheld console. From a visually revamped PSP-4000 to a completely new PSP2, there has been a huge number of rumors.
But one big issue that was present in almost each and every one of them was that the future PSP wouldn't bear the UMD drive, which not only drains a lot of the device's battery, but also forces a lot of game developers to release a retail version of their titles, instead of focusing on a less pricey digital release.
Ready at Dawn, the company behind the very successful God of War: Chains of Olympus game for the PSP, and which is rumored nowadays to be working on a sequel to that game, would love to see the UMD drive taken out of the device. Its CEO, Didier Malenfant, has also stated to Edge that the used game sector is a big disadvantage to the PSP and any other console for that matter.
“You know, the way these things work is that, ironically, even if there was a new PSP in the works we would probably be the last people to find out about it,” said Malenfant. “I really have no clue what Sony's plans are. As far as what my personal wishes are, I'd love to see anything that can help distribution move quicker toward a 100 percent online model. It's not piracy but used games that are killing us.”
Nobody really knows what the Sony engineers are brewing at their research and development offices, but if a lot of sources are to be believed, we might see some official details in the near future, perhaps at the June E3 conference, where quite a few developers will be waiting to see what the Japanese company has in store for its portable device. Until then, we can only wait.