PSP Go is 43% Lighter ( Technology )

Sony's much-rumored PSP Go finally made an appearance in the latest edition of Sony's Qore series, sporting a sliding top and a lighter design.

Sony's much-rumored PSP Go finally made its grand appearance over the weekend, highlighting the latest edition of Sony's Qore video series, and looking rather slick and compact with a sliding top and an obviously lighter design. The video, along with a group of product shots acquired by Eurogamer, verifies most of the speculation tossed around in the gaming industry within the last few months. The video also confirms that Sony ultimately decided to ditch the flailing UMD format altogether in favor of electronic media distribution.

The new hardware isn't expected to replace the current PSP-3000 model, but rather share the same shelf space with its bulky cousin. The new version is not only slimmer, but supposedly weighs 43-percent lighter than the current model. The screen itself measures 3.8-inches, covering the standard PSP controls--the D-Pad, thumb stick, classic buttons--under the sliding top. The unit also features 16 GB of internal memory, and offers an additional memory card slot for storing games, music, and whatever else gamers can purchase from the PlayStation Network Store. Bluetooth support is also included with the PSP Go, however it's unknown if the console's screen provides the rumored touch technology.

According to the video, the PSP Go will hit the market this fall, however for the moment, the final price tag is unknown; expect this revelation sometime this week. As for games, Gran Turismo PSP and Jak and Daxter are in the works along with a new Metal Gear Solid title. The only drawback to this new model is that gamers who want to "upgrade" to the new model won't be able to play existing UMD disks on the new device; they will need to keep the original hardware much like DSi gamers still need a Game Boy Advance to play pre-DS games. It's probably safe to bet that all PSP games will eventually revert to a digital format to purchase and download at a later date.

Look for an official announcement from Sony this week at E3. In the meantime, you can check out the PSP Go over on YouTube, although Sony keeps shooting these links down.