Sony has dropped a massive bombshell for PlayStation Portable owners today. During their TGS press conference, Sony announced a miniature version of PlayStation Home called Room – the two “o”s are actually an infinity symbol (“R∞M”).

“PlayStation Room” (shown above) features avatars, live blogs, photo albums and social networking. Along with, Chat, mini-games, and real-time communication. Room is being tested in Japan right now because Room is more inline to what Japanese gamers want, however, we’re fairly certain that it will come to North America, sometime in the future.

While its rival, Grand Theft Auto, has made its rounds on and off the PlayStation Portable, Saints Row is yet to venture on the system. However, it seems that THQ and Volition look to change that.

According to the Swedish metal band, Opeth, one of their songs, “The Lotus Eater”, was given the go ahead to be featured in the upcoming PSP version of Saints Row.

“We may not like playing videogames all that much but we do like it when our music is featured on them! Makes us a bit proud even when it’s a game as big as Saints Row for the PSP… So if you love playing videogames: the game is expected to hit the streets around March 2010.”

THQ hasn’t given the official word on this yet. But, it looks like Opeth was a little keen on announcing their presents within the game. Anyway, lets hope they announce the game soon.

As it was rumored, Rockstar Games has announced that one of the highest-rated handheld games of all time, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will released for PSP this autumn.

“We’re proud to extend this truly unique handheld Grand Theft Auto experience to PSP and offer a downloadable version of Chinatown Wars for PSP GO,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “Rockstar Leeds has shown incredible talent in creating games that raise the bar in terms of depth and innovation on portables, and with Chinatown Wars we have a rich, fast-paced, and incredibly addictive entry into the series.”

“Rockstar’s work with the GTA series has been an enormous part of the success of PlayStation platforms,” added Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. “We’re excited to welcome the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars to the outstanding line-up of great games headed to the PSP platform this fall.”

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father.

Coming June 9, 2009, Harmonix, Backbone Entertainment and MTV Games bring you Rock Band Unplugged, the award-winning full band experience found in Rock Band and Rock Band 2 right in the palm of your hands! For the first time, PlayStation Portable gamers will be able rock out – anywhere.

Just in time for Summer Vacation, Rock Band Unplugged gives you the ability to take the show on the road. Start a band and tour for fame and fortune while you learn to master lead and bass guitar, drums and vocals as a one man band. The multi-track game design takes the look, functionality and customization options of the Rock Band games and combines them with enhanced options built specifically for the abilities of the PSP. You’ll be able to control all four instruments at once by hitting the colored gems in time with the musical tracks just as you’ve done on other Rock Band games, but now you’ll have the added challenge of switching between instruments on the fly in an attempt to keep those note streaks going.

Rock Band Unplugged’s soundtrack features 41 songs on-disc and an additional 10 songs will be available for download following the game’s launch. You won’t have to worry about listening to lousy covers, either – all the music in Rock Band Unplugged will be master recordings and span all genres of rock from punk and metal to alternative and classic. And then you have Rock Band Unplugged’s in-game Rock Band Music Store which can be used to purchase downloadable content on the first game to enable the PSP’s in-game commerce capabilities.

The lack of mini-guitars and drum accessories can either been seen as a cursing or a blessing. Either you’re completely upset that you won’t be able to pound the skins in the back of your mom’s mini-van on the way to grandma’s house or you fully appreciate not looking like a complete tool in front of the guy next to you on the plane, but one thing’s for sure – at least you won’t be forced to sing in public. Vocals are handled like any other instrument – tap the buttons in time to the colored gems. Every one around you should be happier knowing this.

The Left, Up, Triangle, and Circle buttons on your PSP will handle hitting the notes while the shoulder buttons jump you from track to track as you attempt to keep the show going. The better you do on a certain track determines how much of a buffer you get between each track as you try to keep them from failing out. It looks like this game is going to be quite challenging.

The bright colors seem to make the game easy to see despite the smaller screen and the graphics look right about what you’d expect, though not any worse than a PlayStation 2 game. Hopefully the sound quality will be good enough a pair of headphones without too much lost to compression – if any.

If you’re not completely sick of Rock Band/Guitar Hero style games and desperately need something to do in the car – when you’re NOT DRIVING, of course – this looks like it could really scratch that itch. On the other hand, if half the fun of a music game is the feeling of playing an instrument, I don’t think this is going to cut it for you. In fact, I’d say that plastic guitars and drum kits are more than half the fun, but that’s just me. Also, where’s the multiplayer? If you like the idea of going solo while you’re on the go, again, maybe this is aimed right at you. We’ll see what the game is like once it drops – which isn’t too far away.

The rumors that popped on the internet stating that the next PSP would be called PSP Go! were true, but the name was a bit off. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have seen this as the prefect time to revealed the next PSP and it’s called the PSP Go! View – so yeah it’s not the next PlayStation Portable, but it is.

With Go! View, you can watch sports, movies, and TV shows on your PSP. From Football to hit comedies, dramas and a selection of Movies, everything is available to enjoy wherever you go. Offering a range of top TV including LOST and Ugly Betty, blockbuster Movies and Sports including Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League football action from Sky Sports, Go! View is simply an on-demand TV on a portable games console. And you’ll get all of this via a on-demand TV on a portable games console.

The Go! View retail packaging includes a 4GB Memory Stick, Mini USB Cable and a two months free subscription to the Go! View service, retailing with a Recommended Retail Price of £29.99. The PSP GO! View Bundle contains a Black PlayStation Portable 3000, 2GB Memory Stick, Mini USB Cable  two and month’s free subscription to the Go! View service, for the Recommended Retail Price of £ 149.99.  There’s no word on a US version of the system yet we’ll keep you keep you updated.

[PSP Go! View Bundle via ElectronicTheatre]

For a man that is going to hell, he sure isn’t picky. According to VG24/7, producer Jonathan Knight told them that Dante’s Inferno is being developed equally across - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP -  meaning that the title doesn’t have a “lead platform” to speak of.

“We’re developing for Xbox 360, PSP and PS3 simultaneously, and the two consoles versions should have parity with each other. We don’t have a lead platform, per se,” said the developer, speaking at EA’s spring showcase in London.

Knight said differences between the platforms, such as PS3 coming with a Blu-ray drive, presented little challenge to the studio.

“[Visceral's] in pretty good shape as regards to that,” he said. “We’ve shipped a number of titles simultaneously on the major consoles platforms as well as handhelds and Wii and so forth, but just specifically talking about PS3 and Xbox, our tech is pretty well suited to shipping simultaneously.”

“Obviously, you’ve got differences with the [terms and conditions] and the different rules and menus and stuff that you have to follow… but generally every day I get a build of both versions and both work equally well every day. It’s not really a problem for us.”

With games like Resistance Retribution having the capability to interact with its PlayStation 3 counter part, Resistance 2. It leaves one to wonder if the PSP version of Rock Band, Rock Band Unplugged, would gain such a talent.

However, despite the crazy idea 1UP had about the PS3 version of Rock Band, or Rock Band 2, sharing sharing content or unlocking features for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP. It seems that Harmonix and MTV Games weren’t on the same page about it.

When 1UP asked Harmonix about their crazy idea at a demo event last week, it was revealed to them that they have no such plans to ingrate that with  Rock Band Unplugged on the PlayStation Portable.

Most likely one of the biggest franchises that Sony has ever released, has been announced, recently, to be heading to the PSP. However, we have been given the quiet eye when it comes to details on any part of the game. Until now.

In an interview with Pocket Gamer, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge director Richard Ogden revealed that the game will support eight player multi player. But, the PlayStation 2 version will feature a ’split screen for two player races’.

“The PSP version will have Ad Hoc and Infrastructure Mode multiplayer for as many as eight players, whereas the PS2 has split screen for two player races at home on the sofa. The PS2 version will also have uprated graphical content to suit its technical capabilities and bigger screen area,” said Ogden.

In order to counter the Guitar Hero DS titles, MTV Games and Harmonix have once again teamed up to conquer the video game music scene. But, this time it isn’t on PS3, or even the 360, it seems that they have planned there next Rock Band title for the ‘forgotten handheld’.

Today, MTV Games and Harmonix announced Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, the first handheld version of the hit band game.

Rock Band Unplugged will allow gamers to take their band on the road and will utilise the PSP’s Wi-Fi capabilities becoming the first PSP game to include a in-game store for downloadable content in North America and Europe.

According to Primotech, who reported the games first details, Unplugged will use the left, up, triangle, and circle buttons to control instruments, switching from instrument to instrument with the shoulder buttons, and playing “phrases” of each instrument to maintain a score multiplier.

A big ‘I told you so’ just can’t cut it, but ‘I knew it’ sounds way better. So here’s I go. I knew it. According to CVG, LittleBigPlanet is currently in development for PSP and it’s being worked on by Sony Studio Liverpool, in England.

But, sadly, no details on the title were shared expect for the fact that it’s going to release in September ‘09 and that CVG thinks that the game will be able to link up with the PS3 version – much like what they did in Resistance.

We could see scope for transferable levels, or a level editor on the PSP that would allow you to keep working on your creations even when away from the PS3. Sony offered ‘no comment’ on the matter.