On the rumoured PSP re-design

As you all know, for a while now there have been rumours floating around regarding a slimmer, lighter PSP for a while now. However, a news update over at GameSpot describing a Sony patent now reveals that the PSP upgrade might involve a lot more than Sony is letting on.

In question is a patent for Sony's much-speculated-upon mobile-communication-equipped PSP, which details a way to switch between gaming functionality and phone functionality on the fly. According to a diagram (pictured) accompanying the patent, which was first filed last November, this is done by rotating the screen and a portion of the face buttons 90 degrees. The system would be equipped with a sensor that could detect the position of the screen, which in turn would determine the handheld's video output. The patent also details a third position for the screen, which would control TV and video function.

While this does sound rather exciting from a technological standpoint, the question still remains; what are they doing about games?

Sure, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Final Fantasy Tactics and a couple of other good games are on the way, but honestly, those can't possibly hope to compare to Phantom Hourglass, Revenant Wings, Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, Dragon Quest IX, Final Fantasy IV and-- well, you get the point.

I know I should be impressed by this highly ambitious attempt by Sony to build an all-in-one media device (if it is, indeed, that) that doubles as a cell phone, but honestly, I am not. For one thing, it's pretty obvious that the price of such a product is going to be mindblowing. Couple that with the fact that Sony still insists on using UMDs and the new PSP doesn't really sound all that appealing. In fact, I'd much rather buy the current PSP because it is comparitively more affordable and the gaming experience is presumably going to be the same as that of the upgraded version's.

In my opinion, what this looks like is an excuse to try and cash in on a failed product. One could argue that the PSP isn't failing as it is still selling reasonably well worldwide, but the point is that it isn't really being used for its primary purpose: gaming. That counts as failing in my opinion. Sony has definitely managed to cover up the PSP's failure by cashing in on its multimedia capabilities but that is only as far as non-gamers are concerned.