Sony Won't Confirm Rumors of "PSP 2"

Via Gamepro

Rumors of a "PSP 2" sprung up last week on gaming blog ShackNews. Author Chris Remo claimed that a "reliable source" shared inside information with him on Sony's plans to design a successor to the PlayStation Portable.

Remo's report "definitely refers to a brand new system," and is probably not related to seperate rumors of a redesigned PSP model. Remo's piece suggests that the so-called "PSP 2" would skip the PSP's much-criticized UMD format in favor of an integrated hard drive. The hard drive support makes sense, Remo says, because "there is little reason for Sony to stick with [UMD]" given that format's poor sales.

The report concludes that the device "may" appear "in the next three years."

We contacted Sony Computer Entertainment in light of this story, and were informed by a representative that "to date we have made no announcements concerning a new PSP or a HDD." Remo's story had a reaction from Sony's Paul Murphy as well: "As you know, SCEA does not comment on rumors or speculation."

In other words, Sony's not saying.

There may be no way to confirm that Sony is working on a PSP 2, but two recent news stories lend weight to the notion that something is brewing behind closed doors at Sony:

PlayStation 4 Watch: Chipmaker nVidia Lands New Sony Design Deals

Sony, IBM, and Toshiba Working on PlayStation 4 Chip?

Up to this point, the popular theory concerning nVidia's new Sony design deal is that the company was starting work on the PlayStation 4. But it's also possible that nVidia is actually designing technology for a "PSP 2."

Likewise, the recent partnership extension between IBM, Sony, and Toshiba may be focused on shrinking the PS3's Cell chip down to portable size.

Of course, without official comment from Sony, these are little more than theories.