The oft-rumored PlayStation Portable 2 may have just been photographed in the wild—or at least an early version of the device's development kit has. Early spy shots of the PSP2 appear to confirm many of its new features.
VG247 has what it claims are pictures of the PSP2's dev kit, appropriately grainy shots that show off the previously reported touch pad positioned on the back of the device, its dual analog control sticks and front and back-facing cameras. According to VG247's report, this is an early version of the PSP2's dev kit, which Sony may have abandoned in favor of a form factor that more closely matches the original, non-sliding PSP.
As we've previously reported, Sony was looking at two different form factors for the PSP2, one modeled after the original PSP series, the other in the style of the PSPgo. The system's hardware specs are said to rival those of the Xbox 360, with the PSP2 sporting a larger, higher-definition screen than that of the original PSP. The PSP2 will drop UMD support in favor of using Memory Stick storage, according to those who have seen the device.
A development source with knowledge of the device has confirmed to Kotaku that the leaked PSP2 dev kit shots are legitimate.