Rumor: PSP2 Equal to PS3, Launching Q4 2011

MCVUK cites those ever-prescient “sources” in revealing a ton of info about Sony’s rumored PSP2. According to the reports, Sony is telling its licensees that the PSP2 is technically on par with a PlayStation 3.

Before you flip your keyboard and call bullshit, bear in mind this comparison is scaled. It’s much easier to generate a PS3-quality image on a lower resolution screen. Also, it has been four years and change since the PlayStation 3 released.

Rumors also indicate that Sony is planning a grand reveal of their portable on January 27. This is about one week after the 3DS reveal planned by Nintendo on January 19. The timing of this makes a lot of sense – enough time for journos to make it to both events, but close enough to be a complete thunder-steal. Sony is like the stupid kid that bragged about having two clowns and a bounce house at his birthday party, while all you have is your dad in a Donatello costume.

The PSP2 is also gunning for a Q4 2011 release, apparently aiming to be the 2011 Holiday item to have. The handheld will have the same “brick” form factor (i.e. no sliding screens), will use physical media, and could even function as a phone via applications downloaded from the PSN, though that functionality is not primary. Awesomest of all, the PSP2 will have dual analogue sticks.

From a business perspective, Sony is pushing developers to make big, high-quality experiences to differentiate the handheld from Android an iOS games. This approach makes sense, but developers generally go handheld to escape the higher costs of entry on consoles. Now that cell phones have taken the bottom-rung point of entry for game development, the PSP2 may become a new mid-tier platform.

Lots of neat info here, but bear in mind that it’s all 100% unconfirmed. That said, nothing here sounds unfeasible. We’ll have to wait until January 27 to see what the deal is.

[via MCVUK]