PSP phone in the pipeline?

Thursday 26th June 2008 - 15:00

Rumour mill once again suggests Sony phone hybrid, Nintendo brings Wii to sick children and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screens

It's a story that is as old as the handheld itself - but one that just won't go away. News reaches us that Sony may well be bringing out a mobile phone with in-built PSP functionality. According to a report in Marketing Week, the new phone could hit the shelves in time for Christmas 2009.

Details are sketchy at best, but Marketing Week quotes 'sources in Japan and Korea' which say Sony is working on converting the current PSP model into a phone. A chance to finally enjoy high quality mobile gaming is considered something of a Holy Grail. A joint venture allowing PSP technology inside a mobile handset would finally begin to redress the balance of power between the underperforming PSP and the runaway success of the Nintendo DS. We can only hope that this rumour is based on something concrete, but as always, time will tell.

Meanwhile, news reaches us from across the pond that Nintendo is making literally thousands of very poorly children happy by giving away free Wii consoles! Determined to help lift the spirits of seriously ill children and their families, Nintendo of America. and Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation have committed to placing hundreds of Fun Centers, (featuring Wii game systems) in hospitals across the United States and Canada this year. We understand Nintendo is manufacturing 1,250 new Fun Centers in their first run, and Starlight expects to have about 500 of them placed in hospitals by the end of the year. There is no announcement if this initiative is intended to roll out through Europe, but we can only hope that the corporate powers that be decide to extend the generous courtesy to needy children here in the UK and beyond.

Finally, feast your eyes on some blistering new screens from an open-world soldier shooter that we're itching to get our hands on. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is all set for an early September release courtesy of EA on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PC.

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