Kotaku’s received word of a new Sony survey being sent round ‘gamers’ – nothing more specific than that, but I’m guessing random PlayStation Network users in the US – asking them about what they’d like to see in the true “next” version of the PSP. There’s some pretty interesting features being mentioned by Sony in the survey, and I’m beginning to think of what I’d like to see in the next version of the handheld console. (’Decent games’ is not one of them, cynics. LocoRoco 2 rocks.)

Find out what the survey revealed – and what I think of the features being mentioned – after the jump!

Plenty of these features have emerged from previous rumours or that ever-evasive part of my brain called ‘common sense’. Still, if Sony are looking into these, then who knows what to expect from the PSP2? Here are the features Kotaku have listed, in handy list-friendly bullet point form:

• Smaller unit, big screen: I personally find the PSP comfortable to hold, if perhaps a little bulky to slip in a pocket. If the unit could be shrunk down without compromising too much on the screen size, that’d be great from a practical point of view.
• Social networking on XMB: If Sony could sign deals with Facebook, Myspace, Bebo and so on, the PSP would immediately become more attractive to 12 year olds. It’ll make them look up from Nintendogs, to say the least.
• Keyboard: As the owner of a T-Mobile G1 I can only sing the praises of having a keyboard included in a unit. It makes typing much faster (no dashing across an on-screen keyboard with a d-pad) and if matched with the suggestion of social networking makes the console far more useful when out and about.
• Bluetooth: If Sony are serious about pushing the PlayStation Network on the PSP and promoting chat services such as Skype and Go!Messenger, then the ability to pair with a Bluetooth headset is almost essential. If you’re at home, you could easily combine it with a Bluetooth keyboard too.
• Touchscreen: Is it necessary? Would we just see DS-style shovelware? The PSP has always appeared to be the more ’serious’ gaming device and I think a touchscreen would soften that image up. Then again, it’d appeal the social networking demographic (see ‘Social networking on XMB’)
• Improved ‘dynamic’ screen: If this is just the PSP-3000 screen again, count me out. If it deals with the issues said screen has had, then I’m all for it.
• ‘PSP locator’ to find gamers nearby: If you were feeling lonely on the bus or out and about, then it’d be cool to search for people who own the same games as you. If you couldn’t log which games you owned and ended up finding people you couldn’t play with…that’d be sorta pointless.
• Comic/e-book downloads: This one strikes me as odd. Sony’s trying to pimp their Reader e-book device, so I can only guess that this sort of service would be out there to compete with the DS’ lame e-book game that hit the stores a few weeks ago.
• Hard drive: Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.

So then! That’s all that’s apparently appeared so far (after all this survey’s existence has neither been confirmed nor denied by Sony) but if Sony really are putting these suggestions past their consumer base then I’m really quite happy. It’s nice to see the company is genuinely interested in what we want to see in the next iteration of their handheld. Personally, I’d go for a PSP2 with hard drive, keyboard, Bluetooth, social networking and a smaller unit.

Oh, and some nicer-looking games too. What about you?

Sony Surveying Gamers On Next PSP Features? – Kotaku

Tweet This Post