The evolution of the PSP has been one of small incremental updates rather than drastic aesthetic and hardware reconfigurations. Since its debut in 2005 the PSP has undergone two mild hardware adjustments with the PSP-2000 and the PSP-3000. While the 2000 series altered the handheld in terms of form -- slimming down the hardware by 33% in weight, and 19% in thickness -- the 3000 series made some notable functional improvements, such as a built-in microphone. The 2000 and 3000 series ensured the continued success of the PSP brand across North America and Europe, many gamers have been clamoring for a full-fledged PSP 2 for months.
Although Sony has consistently denied that any such product is in development, rumors and predictions have been circling for over a year about a forthcoming PSP 2. Last week we posted our predictions for the seemingly inevitable sequel to the popular handheld, citing hardware improvements like dual thumbsticks and a touch screen interface, but now we've learned that our hopes and dreams for the system may be, in part, dead on the money.