July 2 - 3:25pm EDT   Sony's PlayStation product planning head Naoya Matsui today told Japanese publication GameBusiness that the company had always planned a version of the PSP without the UMD drive. He claims that the company had wanted downloadable games from the handheld's launch in 2004 but that it wasn't feasible until the PSP Go due to infrastructure. It was necessary to have not just simple download to the system itself but a means of getting games from a PS3 to the PSP as well as an easier sync process for loading games, movies and music. [full story]

June 30 - 8:35am EDT   Sony today hoped to spur growth in add-ons for PlayStation systems by launching an expanded official licensing program. The new approach lets companies in most areas make controllers or other peripherals for PS2, PS3 and PSP systems with full technical help and an official logo. In return, these companies will have to meet certain standards; it's not mentioned if companies will also pay royalties for the right to use the logo. [full story]

June 29 - 9:00am EDT   Sony is just now developing a gaming-themed phone that would be targeted explicitly at the iPhone, Japan's Nikkei BP said this weekend. The company is supposedly creating a device team as soon as July that would merge the gaming qualities of the PSP with its Sony Ericsson handsets. It's implied that the device would have a touchscreen to better position the device against Apple's hardware. [full story]

June 25 - 4:15pm EDT   Sony spokesman Al De Leon today teased that Sony is considering downloads of non-game software for the PSP. In an early demo of the upcoming PSP Go, De Leon told Crave that most of the downloads from the soon to be expanded PlayStation Network store will be games but that there's a chance "non-gaming applications" will be available. What these would entail isn't mentioned, but Sony already incorporates utilities such as Skype in PSP firmware. [full story]

June 4 - 1:55pm EDT   Sony today indicated that it would let new owners of its upcoming PSP Go download digital copies of games they already own on UMD. Hardware marketing director John Koller tells Gizmodo that Sony is developing a "good will" program which would be limited to either when the games or the PSP Go units were purchased. Koller likens it to Blu-ray's Portable Copy, which gives owners of the physical media a free second copy optimized for digital players. [full story]

June 2 - 3:00pm EDT   Sony this afternoon confirmed the existence of the PSP Go, its first major redesign of its handheld console. The new slider design reflects a shift towards download-only content and drops the UMD disc loader entirely in favor of 16GB of built-in flash memory that helps it slim down. Users can either download software directly over Wi-Fi or transfer it from a PC or PS3. A Memory Stick Micro slot gives it extra room. The PSP Go also gets Bluetooth to pair with headsets or cellphones themselves for communications. [full story]

May 30 - 1:10pm EDT   (Updated with PR shots) A leak Saturday morning on Sony's own PlayStation forums has confirmed major details of the PSP Go now expected to debut at E3. Spotted in a Qore episode slipped out early, the device is as rumored and switches to a slider design that renders it much more portable. It now also has 16GB of internal memory (plus a card slot) that gives it a much greater role as a media player and signals a shift to download-only PSP games; the PSP Go drops the UMD drive entirely. [full story]

May 28 - 3:35pm EDT   Sony Ericsson today made its push into touchscreen phones official with both a completely new model as well as the finalized version of the Idou. The Aino is the company's first touchscreen slider and hides both a number pad and navigation keys underneath its 3-inch display. It's also the first phone of any kind from Sony Ericsson to integrate tightly with the PlayStation 3 and can use the PSP-born Remote Play feature to listen to music or watch videos from the console when away from home. [full story]

May 28 - 8:40am EDT   A source today claims that Sony's slim PS3 and PSP Go are real but that they may not launch exactly as planned. Referring to the same contact that accurately leaked other hardware details, Ars Technica says the smaller PS3 is enroute but that it may not be announced at E3. As it won't ship until August or September, Sony is reportedly hoping to draw down existing stocks of the full-size models before replacing them with newer consoles. [full story]

May 21 - 5:15pm EDT   Sony has been experimenting with offering game rentals for the PSP, according to a source with access to game developers. The console maker is said by Develop to have been conducting briefings since the Game Developers Conference in March that would let users download and temporarily use full games similar to a conventional video store offering. In a later survey for gamers, Sony has also asked respondents if they would use a subscription service that offers a set number of game rentals each month. [full story]

May 21 - 8:40am EDT   Sony may bolster the PSP's role as a media player by giving the device its own music store, leaks from late Tuesday suggest. Those within the music industry have reportedly told CNET that Sony is in early talks with major labels to possibly add music to the PlayStation Network with the PSP as the primary focus. No agreements have been made, and questions of format and pricing haven't been revealed as part of the tip. [full story]

May 13 - 4:15pm EDT   Sony's all but expected PSP Go! launch at next month's E3 may also be accompanied by a significant change to the PS3 as well. A slip through PlayStation Lifestyle claims that a game console besides the PSP will get a significant "redesign," implying a major change. Whether this is the case and involves a slimmer model similar to the second-run PS2 or just different colors wasn't discussed. [full story]

May 11 - 2:20pm EDT   The PlayStation Network (PSN) currently accessible by users of Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console that lets them download games, movies, songs and other multimedia content may soon make its way to other hardware from the electronics giant, company CEO Howard Stringer revealed in a recent interview. Bringing the Internet and downloadable content into family living rooms will be made possible by integrating the PSN into Sony Bravia HDTVs, for example, with Sony Ericsson handset owners and PlayStation Portable gaming console users also benefitting from a version of the interface. [full story]

May 1 - 11:10am EDT   Rumors for the upcoming PSP Go! may have been corrected on Friday by a follow-up rumor. Pointing to supposed insiders aware of PSP development, PC World downplays the likelihood of the Sony console getting internal memory and instead claims that it will use a high-speed card format, such as the Memory Stick HG-Micro format that was teased at CES this year. The card is meant for cellphones but would be about 3 times faster than the Memory Stick Duo cards used for the existing PSP, topping at 60MB of data per second. [full story]

April 29 - 9:25am EDT   The long-rumored Sony PSP slider has gained further support with a new but detailed rumor that points to the handheld competing more closely with the iPod touch as well as Nintendo's DSi. Now given the title of the PSP Go!, the game console is still said by 1UP to move the controls from the sides to a slide-out panel but is now believed to be coming in versions with 8GB and 16GB of flash storage, letting them hold several games or more at once. Accordingly, Sony will shift to a more App Store-like model and put at least 100 old and new PSP games online as downloads. [full story]