UMD Free PSP 2 is real

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 26 February 2009 03:05

Your IT - Entertainment

Well this might explain the push to sell current PlayStation Portables.  It looks like the revamped PSP without the UMD disc format is on its way.  But how will we put games into the thing?

Sony only yesterday sent iTWire info on planned releases for the PlayStation Portable.  And there are some big name franchises amongst the titles heading for the hand-held gaming platform.

MotorStorm, LittleBigPlanet, Rock Band and Assassins Creed are amongst the big names heading for the diminutive screen.

But for a long time now, the press has been wondering how long the UMD discs format, that failed as a movie buff outlet, could last in the games machine.  It added to the bulk and seemed to be an outdated method of getting digital data into the device.

Well it seems that possibly, behind castle Sony they have been putting ear to drinking glass and listening to the murmurings beyond the buttresses.  That’s what Chief creative officer at Acclaim, David Perry has told gaming site Kotaku.

In regards to the possibility of an UMD-Free PSP 2, Perry is quite passionate about the platform; "I've been pounding on Sony for a long time to make the Playstation Portable relevant and not to let Apple stroll away with the portable game market," he said. "Look at what Apple is doing now. Why are so many investors investing in Apple game development? Trying to pitch a PSP game to investors right now is brutal."

And apparently the PSP 2 is a reality;"I spoke to a developer who is working on it right now," Perry said. "I know this developer is already working on it, so that means they have a prototype. That would sound like a fall release to me."

And in news that will excite companies such as Firemint who develop almost exclusively for the digital distribution to mobile devices market, Perry commented in the discussion that without a UMD format to deliver games to a PSP, Sony will be reliant on direct digital downloads or transfer through a home computer.

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