PlayStation Phone ‘definitely real’

It’s real! It’s fake! Actually, no comment. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Sony today but at the end of it there’s one conclusion that seems certain – the PlayStation Phone pictured on the internet this morning is anything but a fake Photoshop job.

Engadget has published a second story insisting that the handheld "is most definitely real". It adds:

"This is a device which has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources. And we’re not just talking good tipsters – some of our information comes from people much more closely connected to the project."

It goes on to claim that the machine has been going under the codename of Zeus and that "based on what we’ve heard about the secrecy of this plan, it makes sense that even Sony’s own employees wouldn’t be privy to information on the phone, the marketplace, and the collaboration with Google".

The claims come after Sony retracted an explicit denial given to one UK website, reverting instead to the tried and trusted "we don’t comment on rumour and speculation" line. But the retraction of what was an initially very firm statement – that the pictures were "definitely fake" – tells a wholly different story.

MCV has not had any concrete confirmation that the device is real, but it has certainly been implied from a trusted source that it is indeed so. And some sites, such as VG247, are claiming to have such confirmation.

What does remain unclear is how the new device will sit within the PSP family, which will next year welcome a new member in the still secretive PSP2. Will the PlayStation Phone replace the current PSP? Will it exist alongside both the old and the new device? It would be surprising if these questions remain unanswered for long.