NEW SONY PSP GO! COMING IN 2009

Many rumors have circulated around Sony's next iteration of its handheld gaming device, the PSP. First, it was to lose its UMD drive; then get a cosmetic overhaul; then a Christmas release date forecast. Today, we find cohesion among the gabbing masses. 1Up cited "inside sources" at Sony have played with the newest PSP, supposedly named the PSP Go! This moniker was derived from Sony's recent usage of Go! on its European PSP peripherals, like Go!View and Go!Cam. Following the thread of previous rumors, the PSP Go! will likely ditch the UMD drive in favor of digital downloads that plant directly on the new internal flash memory unit. PSP Go! may be available in two storage models: 8GB and 16GB. This rumor makes perfect sense due to Sony's digital download-only release of Patapon 2. Concurrent with the device's launch, Sony may to release 100 downloadable games in its store, ranging from the PSP's old disc catalog to new titles. Those left holding UMD discs are out of luck. One rumor has it that Sony will supply in-store kiosks to allow gamers to dump UMD data onto their PSP Go!, avoiding the pain of repurchasing a game. Still, abandoning the UMD is likely to anger earlier adopters of the PSP, and may even cause Sony to lose new customers. Also out of luck are those waiting for dual analog nubs -- according to rumors, the PSP Go! will feature slide-out controls beneath the screen, but will maintain the control scheme of the current PSP model. If true, this is a major missed ...