It seems that the head honcho of independent game retailer Chips isn’t too confident in the future of the PSP Go in fact, he thinks its going to hit rock bottom faster than Sony expects.

During an interview with GI.biz Don McCabe went on record as saying:

I’m 99.9 percent sure it’s going to fail miserably, in which case it’s going to put back other potential people coming into the digital space

Well, if we’ve learned anything from Sony’s past hardware (PS3) we know that they sometimes have some pretty slow launches. Perhaps the PSP Go will defy the odds and come out on top? Only time will tell.

Today, Sony has announced that version 6.10 of the PSP firmware is now ready to be installed on hand held consoles everywhere. This update includes several big features such as SensMe which chooses songs stored on your PSP based on different moods you select.

Another interesting feature of 6.10 is the ability to tether a PSP Go with a Bluetooth capable cellphone for internet connectivity anywhere you can go.

That’s about it in terms of exciting features so get downloading!

hile the PSP Go isn’t officially set to go on sale until October 1st it seems that some Target locations have broken the street date, as you can see above.

This picture was taken by an Engadget reader who spotted the PSP Go in stock and on sale at a Target around Atlanta. We’re not sure exactly how many more Targets (if any) are selling the hardware but if you’re feeling lucky head over to your local store. What do you have to lose?

Sony has recently sent a memo to IGN that has effecitvely let the entire internet know that come October 1st the Playstation Store will have 16,000 peices of DLC for use with the brand new PSP Go.

If you’re scratching your head at this number, Sony breaks it down into several catagories: they will have 225 full downloadable games (PSP Minis, full PSP titles, PSN titles etc.) in addition to 2,300 movies and 13,300 TV episodes.

Sure, the number got a bit of a boost from the TV episodes but it is in fact 16,000 pieces of DLC which is all that matters. Now we’ll just have to see if another actually wants the PSP Go, right?

Now, with PSP Go rumors circulating I had my fingers crossed that perhaps Sony would finally add that much sought after stick. Then came the pictures, and nope, no stick. However, according to a recent Game Informer, the control scheme was considered.

Below is a quote from Sony Worldwide Studios’ President, Shuheu Yoshida:

We also felt — like many users — that we wish we had a second analog on the PSP. But we are talking about the mid-life cycle of this platform, and the PSPgo is designed to be perfectly compatible with the PSP-3000 and all the games that released before that. So we had a very serious discussion about this particular subject, but we decided not to add a second analog, and some of the developers are doing quite a nice job translating the second analog functionality to different buttons. We didn’t want to divert their efforts either.

Does this mean we can expect 2 analog sticks on the PSP 2/PSP Go 2/whatever they decide to call it? Let’s hope so.

via Kotaku

If you’ve been dying to see what the PSP versions of Gran Turismo and LittleBigPlanet will look like, your’e in luck. What you see above is a video demonstration of Gran Turismo being played on a PSP Go.

The video was reportedly taken at Fase Extra where attendees got a chance to place both LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo.

From the brief glimpse the videos provide, these games look to have none-too-bad graphics and stay true to their console counterparts. On a side note, the PSP Go looks a bit awkward to hold, don’t you think?

Video of LittleBigPlanet included after the break.

via Joystiq

This bundle will go on sale in November for $199.99 and include:

• White PSP-3000
• Assasin’s Creed: Bloodlines
• Currently unannounced UMD movie
• 2GB Memory card

So, it looks like despite the impending release of the PSP Go, Sony is staying true to their previous hardware and UMD format.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines will be out for the PSP on November 10th, 2009.

Last week a leaked FCC document showed that the PSP Go would have a beefed up, yet underclocked, 480MHz processor, or so we thought.

Today, Sony has released a statement detailing the fact that the 480Mhz will actually be used to clock the USB transfer rather than a CPU.

Total bummer, looks like we won’t be seeing any beefed up PSP graphics thanks to an updated processor. Oh well, maybe next time.

Read (Engadget)

It’s no secret that the PSP’s UMD format was nothing less than an utter failure, hell even its creator Sony decided to ultimately give it the boot. But wait, was it declining UMD sales or an evil plot by Sony that caused UMD’s death. According to Naoya Matsui, a Sony exec, it was an evil plot:

“We’d planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning. But if we’d simply released the hardware, there wouldn’t have been much for everyone to enjoy. We needed to prepare the right environment for it first – things like the transferral of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as Media Go.”

Do you believe him? I mean, I guess it does make sense that they needed time to prepare their Playstation Network for total digital delivery but would they really put all the time and money into developing the UMD format if they were just going to kill it off?

Read (Edge)

Koei has announced that they’re bringing a new version of the cult favorite to the PSP. It’s not the first title to be made portably in the series, but it’s certainly one of the most exciting since it’s being based off the PS2 version of Dynasty Warriors 6, the most recent title to be released. There’ll be twenty four battlefields and twenty-three generals with story modes to play through including Moukaku (Meng Huo to western gamers) who was included in the PS3 and Xbox 360-only Empires update.  As with other PSP titles there’ll be wireless co-op play included so you can team up with a friend. It’s set for release in Japan on September 3rd, with no word yet of a release date elsewhere.

GTA: Chinatown Wars had somewhat of a lackluster launch when it was released exclusively for the Nintendo DS on March 17th of this year. To make up for a poor performance Rockstar will turn to the PSP hoping that those who bought titles like GTA: Liberty City Stories will find Chinatown Wars a good experience.

However, the PSP version of Chinatown Wars won’t be a direct port as new story missions along with enhanced graphics will be featured.

There’s no telling when the Rockstar Leeds developed PSP version of GTA: Chinatown Wars will hit shelves but according to Yahoo! News it will be released in both a physical UMD form and over the PlayStation Network for PSP Go users.

According to Sony, the battery life will remain the same as in the current PSP (PSP 3000), which offers 3 to 6 hours of gaming and 3 to 5 hours of video playback. Furthermore, the PSP Go will ditch the Memory Stick card in favor of the much smaller M2 card. Sony is also considering an attachment which will make it possible to use original PSP accessories with the PSP Go.

The PSP Go will launch this September for $250 in the US and 250 Euro in Europe.

Since Sony’s upcoming PSP Go has 16 GB of built in memory, the possibility is certainly there of downloading smaller games that are made by indie developers and not published the regular way.

According to recent rumors, Sony is readying such a store, where indie developer will be able to publish their games (up to 100 MB), and either selling them or publishing them for free. It will also be possible to publish non-game applications.

If you’re an avid PSP user, when Sony announced the PSP Go you probably thought to yourself, “how am I going to play my old games on this new console?”

Well, Gizmodo recently caught up with Sony’s John Koller who explained that they will offer some sort of service that will allow gamers to obtain digitized versions of their old UMD games. Exactly how much this service will cost (if anything) and when it will go live, we don’t know, but we’ll keep you updated.

The PSP Go is set to drop on October 1st of this year for $249

Despite having everything from hardware specs to official press images leaked a few days ago, Sony has come forth at their E3 conference and taken the veil that was never really their off of the PSP Go.

Just like stated in the leaked specs, the PSP Go will include 16GB of internal storage, no UMD slot and a slideout control panel. Of course, no UMD slot means a 100% digital library of games which is certainly a step towards the future.

Something we didn’t know from the leaked documents was the price and relesae date which were also revealed during the E3 conference. The PSP Go will sell for $249 and hit store shelves in the United States this October.

Read (Yahoo!)

Sony PR representative Jake Osuwah is assuring both E3 attendees and the general public that their bag of tricks is far from empty. After the pictures and details of the new device were leaked onto the internet Osuwah twittered: “Pre-E3 announcements or not! There’s still lots of shockers planned for you guys @ E3, stay tuned…”

Of course the real question is how many of these pre-E3 leaks are actually leaks and how many are deliberate releases masquerading as slip-ups in confidentiality.

A video for the new PSP Go! has surfaced, showcasing some of the new handheld system’s features. In case you’ve been itching to see how the slider-system works, this is definitely the video you want to check out. The PSP Go! will be out sometime in the Fall.

Seemingly out of no where Sony’s upcoming PSP Go has been leaked prior to its E3 revealing. What you see above is said device and you’ll notice it looks almost exactly how the community thought it would;slide out controls, no UMD, the works.

Anyways, onto the specs courtesy of Engadget:

• 3.8-inch display (resolution is undisclosed)
• 43 percent lighter than the PSP-3000
• 16GB of Flash storage
• Bluetooth built-in; supports handset tethering and BT headsets
• No UMD drive
• Memory Stick Micro slot
• New Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet and new Metal Gear Solid (!) on the way
• Full PlayStation Network support (movie and TV rentals / purchases)
• Integration with PlayStation 3 (works the same as the PSP-3000 does)
• Sony views each of its products as “10-year lifecycle products,” so the PSP “needs to live on.”

That’s all we have for now, expect to see the PSP Go heavily on display during E3 which is right around the corner.

1Up is coming forward with information from sources directly working on the project. According to their report the new PSP is set to be revealed to the public this year at E3 in June. Several of the rumors about its redesign features are said to be correct, including a sliding screen that slides up to reveal the face buttons and a lack of a UMD slot, but no second analog nubbin. The sources claim that the new PSP will have a subtitle rather than a numerical designation and the existence of ‘Go!’ branded peripherals suggest it might be called the PSP Go!.

The new PSP will be launching in September in Japan, October or November in the USA. Over a hundred PSP titles are planned to be available for download at launch, with two SKU’s available, one with eight gigabytes of flash memory and the other with sixteen.  (Note: the picture above is not an actual image of it, simply a mock-up from 1Up)