Today Sony released their Q3 Financial Report for the 2009 Fiscal Year which described an increase in PS3 sales and a decrease in other gaming systems when compared to with last year’s 3rd quarter.

According to the report, Sony sold approximately 6.5 million Playstation 3 systems, 4.2 million Playstation Portable systems and 2.1 million PS2 systems. The PS3 was the only system to see an increase in sales, boosting a remarkable 2 million more sales than the previous year. The PSP and PS2 both saw a decline in sales.

However, Sony reports that because of “improvmenet in the cost of PS3 hardware” the profitability of their game business remains relatively unchanged from last year. You can read the full financial report via the source link below (warning: PDF)

Sony Q3 2009 Financial Report [Sony]

Well lookie here, a new PSP firmware has conspicuously appeared on Network Update. As you’d expect, firmware 5.51 is a minor revision, with the supplied changelog vaguely mentioning of improvements in “system software stability” during use of certain features.

Not to sound cynical, as stability enhancements are always important, but in the end this amounts to changes we will likely never notice. That makes this firmware version bump a rather uneventful one. Here’s hoping something more substantial is on the way. It’s been far too long since the PSP received a meaty, feature-filled update.

Download PSP Firmware 5.51

According to a 1UP report, Sony will debut a revised edition of PSP hardware at this year’s E3 in June, dubbed the “PSP Go!” The moniker is presumably designed to fit alongside Sony’s Go! brand of hardware and software additions, such as the Go! Cam and Go! View.

The site’s source alleges that the PSP-4000, as it has been internally named until now, will pack a substantial amount of internal flash memory. While there is no word on exactly how much, either 8 or 16GB of space is being presumed. As previous rumors have strongly alluded to, as well as reports from industry vets in the know, this revision will also do away with the built-in UMD drive.

Considering we’ve already heard of retail-quality efforts like Patapon 2 and Fighter Fate/unlimited codes going digital, this is far from an outlandish prospect. It makes sense, especially since Sony is now putting a considerable amount of momentum behind the digital movement.

Also, sorry to dash hopes, but PSP Go! will not include a second analog stick if 1UP’s report is to believed. If there is a chance of it happening, you’re going to have to wait out for a true successor to the PSP. The hardware itself however is undergoing an aesthetic revamp — apparently similar to the compact mock-up pictured above — which depicts a top-front sliding screen with face buttons wedged firmly underneath.

Keep in mind this is still all unconfirmed, but if true, the new hardware should hit before the holiday season worldwide, possibly late October or early November here in the states. Again, an announcement is expected at E3 2009.

New PSP Named And Coming This Fall [1UP]

It’s no secret that software sales on PSP have been bleak as of late. You’d be ignorant to believe that piracy levels on the handheld are not incurring a hefty dent in overall sales. Piracy isn’t the only negating factor at play here, of course, but it is certainly a major one in the PSP’s case.

Sony agrees - and they are publicly admitting that rampant PSP piracy is a growing concern, one that may impale the lifespan of the handheld. SCEA marketing VP Peter Dille admits outright that “most third-parties were just about ready to jump off the cliff and pull support for the platform” prior to the introduction of PSP-2000.

Seeing download statistics for popular PSP efforts such as Resistance Retribution on high-trafficked BitTorrent sites made Dille to label the present situation as “sickening.”

Further to this, he made a call out to those responsible for escalating piracy numbers. “I think gamers, if they understood if this meant that a platform would go away, can we convince gamers to pay for their content? ”

For their part, Sony has of course been proactive in attempting to remedy this ongoing threat to the PSP’s future. Last year, they introduced the PSP-3000, which included hardware modifications that prevented the widely used Pandora Battery hack from functioning.

It’s hard to say where Sony will take anti-piracy efforts from here exactly, but it seems that a greater emphasis on digital distribution is in store for the future, as rumors have suggested. Such a direction is also evident by the forthcoming UMD-less release of Patapon 2.

Catching Up With PlayStation: Peter Dille On Sony In 2009 [Gamasutra]

Update: Firmware is out. Check Network Update or grab it by clicking here.

Sony just announced that firmware 5.50 for PSP is due out tomorrow — April 21. The update will allow users to browse the built-in PSP store without a registered PSN account. Of course, you’ll still need to register an account to purchase anything.

PSN integration will also be enhanced with the arrival of version 5.50, as a live news-ticker detailing the latest offers from the store will be visible from the XMB. Additionally, another key, and perhaps overdue improvement is the ability to create subfolders for media such as photos, music, and videos.

Specific to North American PSP owners is the inclusion of Trend Micro security software. You’ll be able to access a free trial of the software by installing this firmware update. When enabled, it provides parental controls and technology that automatically scans for inappropriate content.

More details are after the jump.

While we still don’t know for sure if the next PSP, whatever Sony decides to officially name it - PSP2 or PSP-4000, will ship without a UMD drive, folks are already beginning to get excited. Folks like Ready At Dawn, the team behind God of War: Chains of Olympus. Speaking in a recent interview with Edge, company CEO Didier Malenfant mentioned they’re absolutely thrilled over the prospect of a PSP sans UMD, further noting that digital distribution is the future:

As far as what my personal wishes are, I’d love to see anything that can help distribution move quicker toward a 100 percent online model. It’s not piracy but used games that are killing us.

Interesting that Malenfant labeled used game sales as hurting the industry more so than piracy. This is often overlooked by many who are quick to place the blame entirely on piracy.

Whether the next PSP has a UMD drive or not, we’d certainly like to see more of a push towards digital distribution. Right now, it’s mostly first-party studios populating the PSOne classics library on PSN. Sony says that will change, but when?

Ready At Dawn’s Two Cents on PSP Rumors [Edge]

Looks as if Konami may be jumping on the “Wii-make” bandwagon if a report from VG247 is to believed. Citing anonymous sources, the site has learned that a remake of the original Silent Hill is in the works for Wii. Naturally, little is known about the supposed remake at this time, but motion controls will apparently be used for torch handling.

UK-based studio Climax, responsible for PSP and PS2 title Silent Hill Origins, are reportedly handling development duties on the remake. It could be PSP bound as well, seeing as the company’s site has long mentioned that a new game is being worked on for both PSP and Wii.

Konami has declined to comment.

Developer Gamelion sent word today announcing that it is now an authorized licensed developer for both the PSP and PlayStation 3 platforms. Gamelion is currently working on WiiWare title Furry Legends, which was first revealed earlier this month.

According to production head Sebastian Szczygiel, the company is in talks with Sony to release a number of causal-centric PSP titles in Q4 2009. No further details were provided, though it is presumed these titles will be distributed through the PlayStation Network rather than via retail channels.

Even though Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has yet to make its stateside debut, the folks over at Capcom are already commencing work on the next PSP entry in the series. That’s right, according to company executive Keiji Inafune, there’s going to be a fourth installment. Given the enormous success of the franchise, we’re not very surprised.

When pressed for further details, Inafune naturally kept silent, only mentioning that he was not yet sure what the fourth installment will be called - or if it will tie in with the upcoming Monster Hunter Wii title, Tri.

PSP Getting New Monster Hunter [IGN]

Rumors surrounding the next generation of PSP hardware are sticking around. In a recent Twitter update, industry veteran and Earthworm Jim creator Dave Perry hinted that Sony is planning to remove the UMD drive in what he calls PSP2. To quote:

I hear Sony FINALLY has the PSP 2. And thank goodness, they’ve removed the stupid battery-sucking UMD disc drive. I’m excited!

The removal of UMD would certainly fall in line with previous rumors suggesting the PSP-4000 is due for an “aesthetic revamp.” But it’s interesting that Perry mentions PSP2 here. Either way, we’re tagging this as rumor for now. Although Perry is a developer, he doesn’t work under Sony, so it’s possible some facts were mixed up here.