PSP Firmware 5.0 Coming, Adds New Features

Video game developers always get their hands on new firmware versions before the public, so that they can make sure their games support the newest features. A leak in an unnamed French development studio today has confirmed the existence of official firmware version 5.0 for the PSP. There was little doubt that such an update was coming, since Sony is constantly tweaking their firmware to help prevent piracy and add more features. Now we have a clearer picture of what will be included in the upcoming update:

-Support for the PSN store. We already knew that this was in the works, following an earlier announcement from Sony. However, French sources suggest that this feature will not necessarily include support for wireless connection to the Playstation Store. It may instead offer access to online friends lists from within certain games, as well as (*gasp*) trophy support.

-RSS improvements. Sony is planning to un-gimp the current RSS reader functionality to allow it to read text files.

-Integrated Screenshot Capture. This system will allow players to take screenshots from games and save them to memory stick.

Right now there is no official word on a release date. No doubt, Sony would like to have their latest firmware ready to ship with the upcoming PSP-3000 model, but it appears as if complexities related to the PSN functionality might delay its public release.

[Via: PSPGen]

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