Is Sony announcing "PSP 2" this autumn, is the UMD drive obsolete?

Last OctoberAs a portable game machine "PSP - 3000" equipped with the highest class liquid crystal displayHas appeared, but it seems that Sony may announce "PSP 2" which revamped the past PSP this autumn.

In addition, "PSP 2" uses the recording media "UMD"The drive of may be abolished. Although it is possible to slim down the main body and improve the battery life by abolishing the UMD drive, is it really abolished?

Details are as follows.
Perry: PSP 2 is Real, Could Hit This Fall

According to this article, Acclaim company which handles online game productionCCO (Chief Creative Officer)David Perry said that Sony will release "PSP 2", which discontinues UMD drive as early as fall.

And the "PSP 2" which discontinued the UMD drive is planning to purchase the game software online like Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, and now only some of the software is sold online, Ultimately it seems the goal is to be able to purchase all PSP software online. However, it is said that a complete shift to online sales is likely to stifle the used software sales industry.

In addition, when Sony starts selling game software directly to users online, there is no merit that major game retailers like America's "GameStop" sells "PSP 2", so Sony will release game software It is speculated that retailers will be selling memory sticks and prepaid cards for purchasing content online.

By the way, Nintendo"Nintendo DSi" which abolished GBA slotAlthough it sells "Nintendo DS Lite" of the conventional model with the GBA slot installed at the same time, even if "PSP 2" which discontinued the UMD drive is actually released, the past game purchased by UMD Perhaps the current model will be sold together for users who want to play software.