PSP World

Developers Already Have PSP 2 Test Units?

While Sony normally behaves like a giant, multinational soup strainer when it comes to preventing leaks, the PSP 2 must be the company's best kept secret to date. While rumors about about what the device's possible specs abound, we have yet to see a single shred of visual evidence that the system exists. Meanwhile, a number of press outlets are reporting that developers already have their curious little hands on test hardware for the platform, meaning many studios are already hard at work creating games for a machine that may not be real. Mortal Kombat developer Netherrealms was the first to break cover, with company executive letting slip at GDC that the studio was already developing a Mortal Kombat reboot for the PSP 2.

Since then, industry tracking publication Develop has claimed that many more first-party and third-party studios have also had hands on time with the machine. It seems that Sony wants to ensure that there is a strong launch lineup in place even before alerting consumers to the fact that new PSP hardware is on the way.

We should temper the rampant rumors with a bit of realism. It is unlikely that publishers or developers have got actual retail PSP 2 devices to play with. The actual hardware could still be in the prototype phase, while developers work with PC software emulation to design and test their games. This would also explain why no juicy prototype shots have yet surfaced. If we had to put a date on the future release of the machine, we'd say it is at least a year out in North America to allow for ample development time, with a possible Spring 2011 launch in Japan. Sony won't want to scuttle hardware or software sales this year by letting slip that a successor is on the way.

Our advice? Hunker down with some of the awesome current-gen PSP titles like Valkyria Chronicles 2 or Monster Hunter Portable 3, and wait it out. We know its hard.

This fan-made PSP 2 concept shows what might happen if Sony decided to compete in the smartphone market. Hey, that worked out really well for Nokia.