Touchscreen PSP 2 rumors get stoked, then slammed

So, is there a full-on, touchscreen revamp of Sony's PlayStation Portable in our future? Spies for gaming site IGN say yes, and soon, provoking a sarcastic (and kinda weird, frankly) denial from an anonymous source "close to Sony."

In its initial story on Monday, IGN claimed that it had heard from "several credible sources" that a successor to the PSP—complete with a "widescreen multitouch interface comparable to that of the iPhone for both in-game control and navigation"—is "on the horizon."

IGN wasn't able to squeeze any more info from its spies, although it noted that the leak was "in line" with other recent rumors, as well as a recent Sony survey that polled gamers on which features—including a touchscreen interface—would make them more likely to buy a new PSP.

Fair enough; rumors of a touchscreen PSP have indeed been floating around for some time now, so the IGN report doesn't come as a huge surprise. What caught my attention, though, was the venom in Sony's response—or rather, an anonymous source "close to Sony," as reported by gaming site MCV:

Clearly, being a quiet time of year, many, what we though to be credible websites, are making up stores about PSP2, and how it allows you to teleport across the globe, travel through time, and will be powered by the horns of baby rhinoceroses.

Hopefully, you can sense a mild tone of sarcasm, which should hopefully indicate how 'on the money' IGN are. Needless to say, we don’t comment on rumour or speculation, but this is nonsense.

First of all … whuh? Assuming the anonymous source "close to Sony" is really a Sony employee … well, talk about forgetting everything you learned in PR school. Indeed, the bizarre, spiteful statement reminds me of those over-the-top "non-denial denials" from the Nixon White House—note how it mentions IGN by name, attacks the rumor as "nonsense" (definition: "words that have no meaning or make no sense," not "it ain't true"), yet never comes out and outright denies it. Tip for next time: Just say "no comment"—and, if you're having a bad day, kick your office door instead of taking it out on IGN.

As to the substance of the touchscreen PSP 2 rumor, well … reaction was mixed to dismissive, which makes me all the more surprised that Sony—or its unnamed surrogate—made such a fuss over the initial report.

Gizmodo called the report "fairly believable" because of the Sony consumer survey, while Wired thinks that Sony will "talk about PSP 2" this year but left the touchsceeen issue alone. Meanwhile, CrunchGear called the story "rubbish" and "completely baseless," while Kotaku has its fingers crossed for dual thumbsticks rather than a touchscreen (hear, hear). And as for me ... well, given Sony's current plight, I'd be surprised if we got a PSP 2 this year, but hey—I'd love to be wrong.

So, what do you think? Will we see a PSP 2 in 2009? And if so, would you rather get the same controller layout, touchscreen controls, or dual joysticks?

Related:
Rumor: PSP 2 Coming Soon [IGN]