An eagle-eyed attendee of the Paris-based Japan Expo happened to notice that one of the PSP demonstration units on display to showcase Soulcalibur Broken Destiny was running a yet-unreleased firmware 5.55. No visible changes were observed, so if we had to wager a guess, this is another minor update. Nevertheless, it piques our interest, leading us to believe that the update could be game-specific or was designed to further patch up security holes that have cropped up within the past couple months, much to Sony’s dismay.

As we have witnessed in the past, not all firmware updates are released through the traditional means of Network Update and instead are kept solely to UMD discs, so whether this one will see the light of day is unknown at this point. We’d assume that official word will be coming from Sony soon if so.

PSP Firmware 5.55 Spotted On Demonstration Unit - [eXophase.com]

Aficionados of the fighting genre will have much to look forward to on PSP this year, as Namco Bandai has announced that its revered Soulcalibur franchise is receiving the portable treatment.

Due out this summer, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny will mark the series’ first foray on a handhand format. The title is said to feature a expansive roster of 20-plus characters. Star Wars fan-favorites Yoda and Darth Vader will not be making an appearance this time around, but to make up for it, this PSP-exclusive entry will feature the introduction of a new challenger: Dampierre.

Like its console brethren, set for inclusion in Broken Destiny is a character customization aspect, allowing players to dress up their favorite fighters in outfits ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime. No word on if DLC is on the cards yet, but knowing Namco, we wouldn’t rule it out.

All of the gameplay modes found in previous installments will be making a comeback here, including Arcade, Versus, and Survival. New to this entry, however, is a single-player mode primarily designed to aid newcomers in becoming familiar with the battle system.