Leipzig Games Convention preview: Sony's PSP plans

Normally, we'd sit here patiently before boarding a plane next week, checking in to our hotel, getting a good night's sleep and then storming the Leipzig Games Convention for all relevant information.

But we've had a good run this year in terms of predicting announcements made at major video game exhibitions – not least the PSP redesign at E3 – so trying to second-guess what Sony has in store for PSP next week's major European event seems like it's worth a shot.

Besides, it's hardly black magic given that we know we should expect significant announcements. Sony representatives said as much earlier in the year and with the PSP Slim model now out of the way, as it were, the focus obviously shifts elsewhere.

Of course, the most traditional revelations would centre on games. Particularly as it was an area noticeably undersubscribed at E3, where little other than (the admittedly intriguing) Patapon was mentioned for the first time.

Yet, while we suspect the likes of God of War: Chains of Olympus, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, WipEout Pulse and Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow will feature prominently, we're not entirely convinced much else will join this promising end-of-year line-up – at least with regards to titles Sony is publishing.

So logic suggests the emphasis shifts back to PSP functionality. And within this context, three things immediately stand out: phone and GPS capabilities, and PS3 functionality.

The former dates back to the four-year deal Sony signed with British Telecom earlier this year, which aims to bring video and voice calls, as well as messaging to PSP. The silence since hasn't gone unnoticed, prompting us to believe that a further announcement is due at any moment.

Meanwhile, the GPS is an on-going concern. Already out in Japan, again little has been said recently about the service's western debut but we imagine it would form part of the 'big news' Sony reps promised for Leipzig.

Perhaps of more interest to us because of the gaming implications, the last element in our proposed PSP announcement trilogy concerns the handheld's position within the PlayStation family. Granted, this has already been mentioned at other events – it's something of a regular which seems to rear its head as and when Sony decides to release a little more information on the ongoing (and seemingly flourishing) relationship between its two consoles.

But given the increasing significance of the Leipzig convention within the industry, the publisher could choose to make a more concrete revelation with regards to how PSP integrates itself into PS3 games than it has to date, for instance.

Of course, we're speculating – we could be miles off the track or right on the money. The beauty is we don't have to wait long to find out: the Leipzig Games Convention runs August 23rd-26th, with a press-only day on August 22nd.