hm, well at least they finally confirmed it. Wish they sent some pics though.

If they still haven't decided whether to include a camera (which they shouldn't) I'd be surprised if they commenced manufacturing in the next few weeks. Seems to me that while the rumor may be true, the timeline is implausible.

That said, a slimmer PSP with 8GB on board memory and the other minor tweaks mentioned sounds like it'd be a perfect device. I'd buy one at launch.

Im gonna flip out if it doenst have better buttons this time around, and an analog stick that doesnt feel like its going to snap off when I use it.

Better buttons, as the shoulder buttons seem to stick at times. Or at least on the one I bought does. The right side always gets stuck sometimes. Used to drive me insane in RR.

Lets pray for no dead pixels either.

I still love my original PSP though. Even if it is a bit heavy.

Those of you holding out for a touchscreen are, unfortunately, going to have to wait, though word has it that it will most like make an appearance in Sony's next portable gaming device.

Of course it will! If there's anything Sony has demonstrated they are incredibly good at, it is realizing what worked well for competitors, and copying it.

I swear, if they keep making the PSP thinner, it'll break by just holding it.

This actually intrigues me. If they can get it around $150 I might pick one up.

I've been holding out on a portable this generation, this might be just the thing for me. :) Let's hope it comes out in Australia within a reasonable time-frame.

Yay! There goes another 170 of my hard-earned dollars. Wait...Damn it I'm a whore for streaming content!

I've been waiting for this. If it's $170, I'll buy it. I'm looking forward to using it with the PS3.

I'll purchase whne the hackers do their thing and let me get my SNES and GENESIS on with it.

@Phenix:

Oh come on, 170 dollars is a cheap price for a PSP.

@gregly: Thats the key to being successful, combining the best technologies into one device. I can't understand why people think this is wrong.

If there's one thing Sony's done good in the past it's redesigns... that Slim PS2 is divine. I'm tempted... except there's still a games issue (for me).

Make the camera an add-on that you can buy if you want to.

No doubt they'll have some screen shots of the new PSP model up sometime very soon.I'm going to take a wait and see attitude.I've got instant misgivings about how sturdy it's going to be considering they are saying it will be much slimmer than the original.

Two things i hope they improve upon also is how easy it was to scratch the screen without a screen protector.Hopefully the new scren will be more scratch resistant than the original.Also, the analog stick needs major improvement.The flimsy feel and tiny size of the one on the current PSP doesn't cut it for people with medium to large hand size.

I shall give credit where credit is due. this seems actually somewhat decent.

My bloody hell... This made my day! In this heat I longed for a beer, but my imagination of a dripping cold bottle turned into a PSP instead.

Faster load times? Heck count me in. Now if only they'd do something about the PS3 (hint Sony, we need a good price drop + a coupon for a runble pad)

This is what I've been waiting for in a PSP: the inevitable redesign that all handhelds go through. And 4 time the battery life? It should last as long as my DS then. Sweet.

The fun part is, if they sell it for US$170, then it'll probably go for 1700SEK in Sweden, which is about US$240.

I say, good for you America... Good for you...

I AM interested in getting one though... And get me a copy of DJ Max Portable 1-2.

This sounds really sweet and if true it'll rock.
Just the LED alone would be reason enough for me to buy it.
I'm glad that I waited this long without buying a PSP, was really worried about when and if a new version would be released since a lot of great games are comming out to PSP later this year and/or next year.

170 dollars now seems cheap in comparison... Was that Sony's goal all along? OMGZOMG!

Sounds great.. but I had a PSP once and got bored with it. Been there, done that.

My money is on PSP-Lite or PSP-DS.

Either of those suffixes should cause a consumer frenzy in japan.

finally. glad i was able to pawn my original psp for 150 a while back.

*Waiting for hordes of fans to complain how sony is shafting them for having them buy an inferior system whne an upgrade with enhanced features was available this early in the machine's life.

*Remembers there is nothing wrong with anything as long as sony does it, stops waiting.

In all seriousness that does sound good. i'm so glad I didn't pay for my psp. I'm glad they fixed the battery life and size. Now maybe it can become a decent portable rather than a dreamcast you hold in your hands.

I just wonder if this will be enough.

The principle reason I don't play the PSP I own now is not the design, it's the lack of good games.

In other words, I'll give the PSP a second chance when good games are announced, not a system redesign.

@crecente: It's not so much that it's wrong, it's just that Sony doesn't try to innovate very much on their own. It's annoying to see Sony use the successes of their competitors and then speak as if they are revolutionizing the gaming industry.

Back on topic: The improved design and price point has me interested, but the games are still holding me back. I play my brother's PSP every once in a while and they games don't stay entertaining for long. Make some killer apps and I'm in.

Great updates all around. I love my PSP, but faster load times, 8GB of flash memory, and a better screen with 4x longer battery life...

I'm sold!!

Does it decrease on load times? I'm guessing that's a no.

Key thing about portables: Portables should never have load times. EVER.

@crecente:

It's because he's a Sony hater dude. It wouldnt have mattered what you posted, as long as it had Sony in there.

@EliasAlucard:
I know it's not that bad. Though if you've seen me talk about the PSP before, you'd know that my last PSP (bought at launch) was given away for free to a friend. Sony has officially gotten me to buy a 2nd one due mostly to the streaming content firmware upgrades.

I'm really more excited than anything else. Looks like there are some decent games out or upcoming (God of War!)

Sweet! It's the monthly PSP redesign rumor post®!

Seriously, guys. I'm glad this drums up some great discussion, but "sources close to Sony" may as well be my Aunt Mildred's maid's second cousin twice removed. Keep holding your breath!

Wow, that's super-hot. Go figure, I just got a PSP a couple months ago - but I love it enough that I will inevitably upgrade to the new and improved one when it comes out.

My only disappointment with the new one - no bluetooth. Wireless headphones are awesome, and the PSP would be the perfect application for them.

Oh Man, combine the 8gs with the ps3 and all the downloadable games and videos you could transfer, whole movies, games, ps1 games..now that's a handheld I could get behind, sounds like what it should have been all along..freakin sweet!

Hey, it worked for the DS :)

Are we still calling this a rumor? It sounds sweet but I don't want to get my hopes up and this post certainly gives the impression that all of this is 100% true.

If true, then it looks to solve almost all the problems with the PSP that have giving me pause on getting one.

So I am hoping it's true.

The price point doesn't sound realistic. Doesn't it sell for $170 now? I don't see how adding 8 gigs of flash memory will allow them to keep the same price. I'd bet it hits for $229.

I'd be tempted to get rid of my current PSP for one of these if I actually played the damn thing more. Sadly, I find the PSP's lack of games which I can have a quick blast on for 10-30 minutes on the bus an off-putting experience. In the end, 90% of my PSP playing has been in my living room with the system plugged into the wall and, to be honest, I didn't buy a HDTV, surround sound and next-gen systems only to play games that I'd traditionally play on a home setup on my PSP.

Polishing a turd. Or maybe a nice matte finish they haven't decided yet.

@Fuzz:

Newer hardware always has improvements to manufacturing that allow it to cost less.

Note how the PS2 currently costs $130 and isn't sold for a loss despite being smaller, more reliable, and having infrared and ethernet built in, while the original, lacking many of these features, was sold for a loss at $300.

@DefHamsterJam: It's not so much that it's wrong, it's just that Sony doesn't try to innovate very much on their own. It's annoying to see Sony use the successes of their competitors and then speak as if they are revolutionizing the gaming industry.

Everyone does that. Nintendo, Sony, Sega, MS - All of them.
-----------------------
This new PSP sounds pretty damn awesome. I love the design of the original PSP and it's big & beautiful screen, but it felt very fragile. Even though it's a portable machine, I was always afraid of taking it outside like it was a vase or something.

Ugh, now I'm going to have to buy one. The Final Fantasies coming out on it, and the nich games here and there, your Ghosts N Goblin, Castlevania collections, stuff like that, added together with the PSP redesign just puts it over the 'justifiable purchase' line with me :/ ... barely.

If you walk into my local gamestop, and the Portables case is filled to the brim with used PSPs, priced at ~$140 (new = $160). It's like a Roach motel for PSPs - they check in, but they don't check out.

It's funny to walk in there and here the other customers - "How much are used PSPs? Well gee, that's not much of a price difference, it'd be better just to get a new one.." . . . Customer leaves without making a purchase.

here's hoping it's also region free so I can get my Bboy the Game.

They wouldn't give us a pricecut to just release a new version months later and raise the price. They will make other sacrifices (no camera) in order to get the price at $170. They may also include the camera at a loss; it is starting to make sense why they haven't released the camera in the US yet. I think they'll end up adding the new PSP and PSP Store at E3. It'll also give you access to all your friends from your PS3 with builtin video/voice chat. The fall looks to be very big for Sony in general.

$200 or less and I am sold

At $170 a pop that's tempting, but what about the games? I've developed a nasty habit of importing DS games only because they're almost guaranteed to allow some form of download play (fighting games particularly).

"That said, a slimmer PSP with 8GB on board memory and the other minor tweaks mentioned sounds like it'd be a perfect device. I'd buy one at launch."

Totally agree I enjoy my PSP and for this price would get this revamped one. Doesn't need a camera or touch screen.

The PSP is the only bit of tech that I've ever held that feels both bulky and flimsy at the same time. The redesign can only help. But, in the long run they still need better games. Their upcoming lineup looks decent though.

"The new Playstation Portable will have a much slimmer design, thanks mostly to a new LED screen that will deliver an ultra-crisp image but take up far less space. That LED also helps pump up the battery life of this sexy new model, which can last as much as four times longer than the original PSP."

While some people might enjoy looking at a large LCD screen, reducing the dot pitch to keep resolution and save space suits my taste. I imagine a faster UMD drive wouldn't save battery life, but caching to 8GB of flash memory would. And if it's truly under $170 American, then I might just bite.

@baberg:Hey it also work for Gameboy, Gameboy Adanced. The one portable redesign that I can remember that didn't work so well was the Atari Lynx, but I got to admit I still miss my old Lynx even though it keep on breaking and getting replaced like every 3 months.

Crap, I said I wouldn't buy a new PSP, but 8gigs of built in memory is nice, but the real nice aspect is the faster UMD drive.... it would make many games a whole lot better.... damnit...

no camera please. and a second joystick for real FPS controls.

8GB onboard is SWEET. thx.

This pisses me off, and I just bought one 2 weeks ago...damn you SONY!!! *shakes fist*

It's about time.

I have the original one and it's uncomfortable to hold for long session, super crappy D-pad , impossible to carry around in your pocket plus the battery is bad.

Well, I already have a PSP and this wouldn't quite enough to make me want a new one. Just the same, if I'd had a regular DS before the Lite came out, I'd probably have stuck with that. The main problem with the PSP right now, as has been stated, is the lack of games. The main game I play is still Lumines while most of my other games just kind of sit around.

MATTE FINISH, I tell you, MATTE FINISH!!!!!!!!

:P Wow, with flash memory in there and a faster drive, how can they sell that for $170???

Already have a PSP but I'll definitely pick up this new one.

God, and right after i just bought a DS. I hope they offer some sort of 'trade in your old psp' deal.

@crecente:

It's not wrong, the problem is that many people won't take the liberty of realizing that the DS came out with the revolutionary functionality for gaming, and will say stuff along the lines of "Aww sheeeeaat man, dat PSP gots da touch screen, yo! DS can't touch this shiiit man!"

PSlimP