Concept design

Rumors are swirling that we will hear of a PlayStation Portable 2 gaming device by the end of the month. Reports say that the new device will have a touchscreen HD display as well as physical buttons below the display.

Sony knows that in order to stay in the game, it primarily has to compete with Apple's app store and the Android Market. The great thing about smartphone app stores is that they offer a great selection of games for extremely low prices -- almost all under $5. Neither Sony nor Nintendo have been able to match those prices, with games still mostly in the $20 to $40 range for their portable products.

PSP Go was Sony's attempt at staying in the game by removing the game slot and making all games available as a download through the built in store. This failed due to a lack of games and the inability to recognize or transfer previous purchases onto the Go. The stakes are high for Sony to convince consumers that a portable gaming device is a better experience than gaming currently offered on smartphones.