Thanks to Richard Allen for the tip!

Now the rumors are being doused down with more set of rumors. It's getting crazy, and this ought to be just as exciting as the nearing Hatton-Pacquiao boxing match. Earlier, we posted an article on more juicy Insider Info on the PSP2. Is it or is it not real?

Now we have a post from PlayStation LifeStyle, and really, this could have passed as just another of those sites dishing out info through their anonymous sources. And their info does come from an anonymous source - one (or two, or three, or more) that they "are not at liberty to divulge."

What piqued our curiosity, though, was how matter-of-factly they dished out their info. Without the usual caveat of, "We'll let you know if we hear anything official from Sony." Instead, they pointed their attention to this article by PSPWorld that was with the objective of straightening out the "fact" versus the "fiction" in the growing PSP2 drama. They even have a matter-of-fact Artist's rendition of PSP2:

Wait..isn't that... an i...Phone...no, no. It can't be...

Here's what PSLS pretty much confirmed and concurred with as "facts" from that post:

• UMD is dead.  Sorry folks, UMD IS dead, they got this one right…
• Touch Screen.  PSPWorld states that this is a given as this seems to be the trend the industry is heading towards.  Well Sony boasts it’s “Like No Other” and that is the truth, Sony doesn’t follow trends, it sets them. There will be NO touchscreen in the next PSP.
• “Monstrous Hardware Specs” If that were the case, it WOULD be the PSP2, and the next PSP is NOT the PSP2, it’s not the PSP-4000 either.  In fact it’s something entirely unique.

As for the fiction in them:

• Release before Christmas 2009.  We don’t know an exact release date, but it’s much sooner than anyone is expecting.  One thing we are sure of is that it’s definitely Going to be before Holiday 2009.
• Internal HDD.  If UMD is dead, how exactly does PSPWorld think we are going to get our games on the new PSP?  Sure Sony could pack in some form of memory stick with the new PSP, but that isn’t practical.  As Dave Perry has mentioned in the past, look for some type of solid state memory on board.  It will also take some form of removable flash memory.
• Phone included.  They got this one right also, but it wasn’t a hard guess.  There will be no built in phone in the next PSP, however you can always use Skype.

And then they leave out some more intriguing teasers, the ones that would probably fall under Sony's "We don't comment on rumors" press release bin, if they ever had one:

• Sliding Screen.  They call this fiction, and unfortunately we cannot comment on this.  We have to leave it at that.
• Dual Analog Sticks.  Nope, not happening, at least not until the PSP2 which this isn’t.  Adding a second analog stick would alienate the current PSP lineup, which is going to get much more robust later this year.  A lineup, that will play just fine on this new PSP, which is based on current PSP tech.

And again, it ends with that all-too blatant banner to head to the E3 for more.

Last thing we would like to leave you off with is…

We all know E3 is GOing to be filled with HEAVY announcements, potentially COLOSSAL even if we’re lucky. Don’t let all the MASSIVE amounts of rumors RAIN on your parade. It’s a great TIME to be living the PlayStation LifeStyle, so TUNE in as we bring all the news, LITTLE and BIG to you as things are set in MOTION every step of the way.

How do they know? What else do they know? Is this Sony's round-about way of confirming things to us baffled, awaiting fans? Or... rather... could it be Sony's way of throwing us off-track?

And the mystery only deepens.

They think they know, or they know for sure, either way, we're tagging this as Rumor for now.

If anything, the one thing for certain here is that it's E3 who's benefiting the most from all this. I think we just might see the best E3 yet.

Please, do not disappoint.

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Related PSP2 Rumor Articles:

• Koller: digital will be an important part of the PSP's future
• Rumor: PSP-4000 incoming with new sexiness, sliding screen