What We Think We Know About The PSP2

Tomorrow, January 27, the world is expected to officially greet the PSP2 for the first time at a showcase event in Tokyo. With the real thing’s reveal on the horizon, let’s look back at what we know about the handheld.

Or, to be more precise, what we think we know.

The PSP2 is expected to be revealed as part of a Sony presentation being held at 3pm Japan time, January 27. We’ll be there live-blogging the entire event, so tune in and join us in putting these rumours to bed with some cold, hard facts.

For Americans, that’s 1am Eastern on January 27 or 10pm on January 26 Pacific Time. For Europeans, that’s 7am on January 27 in Berlin and 6am in London. For Australians, that’s 5pm AEDT.

Until then, here’s what we (think we) know from things we’ve been told directly by developers and/or other closely-involved personnel:

– The PSP2 has dual analogue sticks
– It features a touch-sensitive panel on the rear of the device
– It has a larger screen than the current PSP
– There were two models of the PSP2 in development at Sony, one “sliding” open like a phone and the other a “flat” device like the current PSP. It’s unknown which of the two will be unveiled later this week.

Here’s more stuff we’ve been told by people closely involved with the handheld:

– The UMD drive of the current PSP is gone.
– It’s a powerful device, one that in some ways rivals the capabilities of contemporary home consoles

Here’s what we’ve heard from Nikkei, a highly respected Japanese business source:

– The PSP2 has a fancy big OLED screen
– It features 3G connectivity, allowing it to connect to cellular data networks

Here are some supposed stealth shots of the PSP2, showing its dual thumbsticks and rear touch panel. Because those shots looked like hell with a hangover, an artist was commissioned by PSM3 magazine to turn them into something a little easier on the eyes (pictured up top).

Earlier this week, a shot turned up that was supposedly a promo pic of the PSP2’s final design. Some parts looked fake, other parts looked real. Guess we’ll find out which were which later this week!

In 2009, gaming site IGN claimed the PSP2 will feature a touchscreen input, something a Nikkei report from this month also states.

Back in 2008, Sony filed a patent application for a handheld device that had multiple touch inputs, and said the tech could have gaming applications.

In 2007, we were told a bunch of stuff about the PSP2, some of which has continued to be spoken of since (touchscreen, screen update) and some of which (an E3 2007 reveal) has… not.