Just arriving on shelves today is the commercial title SBK: Superbike World Championship. Check out the features list:

• 12 official SBK tracks featuring locations all around the world
• 22 real riders, with each rider’s AI reflecting their true-to-life riding style
• Players can choose pick-up-and-play Arcade mode or the more technical, ’Extreme Simulation Mode’
• Interact with other Players through online racing
• In-depth bike customization tools
• 4 Variable Weather Conditions

Here’s the official description from the press release over at Play-Asia.com:

“The SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSAMPIONSHIP is truly a global event. SBK Superbike World Championship is a unique experience in motorsports featuring ultra-realistic close-up shots of the riders hugging ’tight turns’ while their bodies hang inches away from the track. Closely fought battles are guaranteed and unlike MotoGp, ’Superbike’, promises these battles will have frequent lead changes. Spectators have easy access to both the paddocks and the racers themselves. SBK is the natural choice for both bikers and racing game enthusiasts alike!”

Looks like a promising, edge-of-the-seat kind of game, with lots of aggressive head-bashing at the front. This is probably one of those titles that’ll burst that vein that pulses ominously in your forehead in times of duress.

In recent statements made by the developer, it’s unclear whether or not Perry is just reiterating rumors he heard himself, or if he’s commenting on genuine information that he received from the inside. Says David Perry on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, “I hear Sony FINALLY has the PSP 2. And thank goodness, they’ve removed the stupid battery-sucking UMD disc drive. I’m excited!”

In the case that the PSP 2 doesn’t utilize a UMD disc drive, then chances are the hardware will utilize PSN downloads and Memory Sticks to handle software. UMD backwards compatibility would still be an issue to be resolved, however.

Now, there’s been a ton of speculation, most of it completely unconfirmed, with regard to the forthcoming new PSP. The best we can probably do at this point is fall back and wait patiently for Sony to make an official announcement as to hardware features. Don’t get all crazy yet – everything’s speculative!

Sony spoke dramatically and forcefully at the annual Destination PlayStation event of “another record year of growth and momentum” for the PlayStation Portable and the PS3. Says the CEO and President of Sony Computer Entertainment, Jack Tretton,

“With a year of record sales ushering us into the new year, we continue to raise the bar on providing consumers the deepest and broadest entertainment content for every member of the family to enjoy. With new content being added every day to the PlayStation Network combined with an unmatched line up of exclusive titles on PSP, and the roll out of truly groundbreaking games such as Killzone 2 for PS3, we remain confident in our approach and strategy for another record year of growth and momentum.”

This declaration comes on the heels of the announcement of two new PSP entertainment packs, including the lilac PSP. Things are certainly looking on the up-and-up for Sony, as they stood behind previews of a formidable showcase of forthcoming PS3 titles. Games such as Killzone 2, inFamous, MAG, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, God Of War III, and MLB ’09: The Show are set to drive sales through the roof this fiscal year. We’ll keep on rooting that Sony gets to the top.

Sony just had another brilliant idea: A Hannah Montana version of the PSP is set to drop on our heads as part of a $199 awesome marketing package geared toward that particularly screaming and energetic demographic of almost-teenage girls. The PSP Lilac will come with Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana PSP game, a UMD with some Hannah Montana episodes, a 2 gigabyte memstick, and even some gnarly stickers.

For a different slice of the demographic pie, Sony also announced plans to release an Assassin’s Creed Entertainment Pack. More details on that particular drop are to arrive a little later this year, according to Sony. As for now, we’ll just have to be satisfied with knowing that our next PSP is going to be purple and will be blasting awesome girl-righteous pop songs.

For those of you keeping it mainstream, above-ground, and for real, here’s what’s up: Sony just released an update to the official PSP firmware, so now the count’s at v5.05. Chances are, though, you won’t run into it at all, because the update is exclusively contained on the UMD of the Japanese game Idolmaster SP.

It’s not the first time that Sony has done something like this; for instance, v3.96 was packaged with Hot Shots Golf 2, right on the UMD.

We’re not even really sure what’s different in this update – it’s likely just a minor fix that addresses compatibility issues with the Idolmaster game itself. But, if you’re keeping count, that’s where we’re at: v5.05. No word on when the next “major” bump-up is set to drop, but we’ll keep you posted.

Exclusively for Japanese PlayStation Network account holders, the demo for Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce is now available, just released from its developer, Koei (its Japanese title is Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid).

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce is based on Dynasty Warriors 6 and is slated for release in the US and Europe this Spring. It’ll boast gameplay similar to Dynasty Warriors 6 for the PlayStation 3, with a few character changes; specifically, Huang Zhong and Xiahou now wield bows instead of scimitars. All the characters from the popular Dynasty Warriors series are slated to appear – and they’ll have a new flying power-up, too.

Online play for Strikeforce has not yet been confirmed, but the game will definitely support an ad-hoc multiplayer set-up.

Fans who are getting delirious over the forthcoming release of Persona for the PSP will appreciate the addition of some new character trailers  that are posted up on the official game website. In case you’re just tuning in, Persona is a PSP port of the acclaimed PlayStation title from developer Atlus. Lots of new stuff will be included in the remake, which is much more than a basic port of the original game. Persona for PSP is slated to arrive on shelves in Japan on April 29th.

The character trailers are exclusively in Japanese, but hardcore fans will appreciate the glimpses, even if they’re up against a language barrier. In either case, it’s a great opportunity to practice your Japanese. Check out the trailers via the website link below, and take some time to peruse the rest of the content as well.

http://persona.atlusnet.jp/character/#

Sad news for PlayStation lovers in San Francisco: The PlayStation store in the Metreon will be closing up shop this summer. The store first opened in 1999 and was the epicenter of PlayStation launches on the west coast. Other Sony Style stores certainly will remain open across the country, but none are so central to the PlayStation brand. Here’s what Sony’s got to say about this tragic development:

“Our lease with the Metreon for the PlayStation Store will expire this summer and we have chosen not to renew it. While we are always looking at new avenues for additional retail exposure and space, we felt it best not to continue with a dedicated PlayStation Store at the Metreon at this time.”

Sigh.

Anyway, the Metreon reports that the store’s lease actually is up on March 31st, so the clock’s ticking now.

The popular PS2 fighting game, Fate/Unlimited Codes, is scheduled for release on the PSP under the title Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable. For now, the release is slated only for Japan – no word has leaked yet about its arrival in other global territories.

Its developer, Capcom, is a classic purveyor of fighting games, so it certainly has the experience to churn out cutting-edge titles in that particularly aggressive and heart-racing genre. It’s the mastermind behind precedent-setting fighting games such as Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom, and is also the force behind platform classics such as Mega Man.

The new version of Fate/Unlimited Codes is slated to contain features previously unseen in the PS2 counterpart. A more finely tuned battle system will ensure even smoother, more satisfying gameplay. A brand new multiplayer mode will expand the scope of its playability, and some characters will sport brand new outfits. There’s even at least one more special move included in Portable release. We can expect Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable to reach Japan by June of this year.

Capcom’s hit title Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, also known as Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, has shipped over 3,000,000 units in Japan. The third installment in the PSP Monster Hunter series was launched on March 27, 2008 in Japan. It won the Double Platinum Prize at the 2008 PlayStation Awards, meaning that the game sold somewhere between two and three million units at the time.

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sold 690,000 copies on its first day on the shelves and moved 1.5 million titles by the end of its first week. The Capcom US blog even made a coy statement that the game lowered Japan’s national productivity during the day.

Undoubtedly, the release of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in other global turfs (including the U.S. and Europe) will take its total sales to new heights. We’re excited for a forthcoming drop of the game stateside, and can’t wait to take it for a spin ourselves.