Sony will announce new PSP product when "timing is right" as new PS Phone shots emerge

Sony has told investors today during discussions on its latest financial report that it will announce a new PSP product "when the timing is right".

However, Sony's silence on the matter of a PS Phone or a new PSP hasn't stop Engadget from posting more shots. At least of the phone anyway.

According to Engadget, which listened in on the conference call, Sony's executive VP/CFO Masaru Kato never said one wasn't coming, but he didn't say one was either, instead preferring to tell investors that as far as a PS Phone or PSP 2 was concerned it "will look into those markets in trying to develop strategy for the future".

"As for the new PSP product, as mentioned, I know that you are not asking me to tell you when we will be coming out with a new product, but there is a gaming market based on [the] cellphones, and there are many changes that are being seen [with] Nintendo, as well as ourselves, in the field of the product for the gamers. And there are smartphones and others or even cellphones gaming markets are very popular here in japan. So the market itself is very... expanding," said Kato through an interpreter.

"It's not that we are not looking into those markets as well. We will look into those markets in trying to develop strategy for the future. Of course, we can't talk about specific products, but smartphones and tablets... it is difficult to tell you how we can put the games on them, but they are not going to be planned in different parts of our company. When we organized ourselves last April, we introduced network services, and within that umbrella, network services, all of these products are handled. Therefore, the planning and the prototypes for various content [are] all carried out within this... one umbrellas. So we are trying to figure out what we can do as Sony in this market. I think this is as far as I can tell you regarding these products at market.

"There [are] so many different elements. There is Sony Ericsson and there is SCE. They moved from Aoyama, the design and headquarters had to come to Sony City. Of course this contributes to savings on rent on an office... but they are [also] closer to the planning and engineering group of Sony, and I think we can better incorporate all of these capabilities better... so when the timing is right we can probably announce [to] you about the new product that we have."

Rumors regarding a PS Phone - code named Zeus - with gaming capabilities have been running around the net since last year, and the rumors of what is included in PSP 2 - code named Veta - have been rather hot lately, especially since Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon admitted his studio was just one of the developers with a prototype on hand.

Most sources believe whatever the new device from Sony is, it will be released towards the end of 2011.

Thanks, Joystiq.