While Atlus U.S.A. continues to leave us in suspense over a Persona 3 Portable U.S. release date, they've decided to indulge PSP owners' RPG-appetites with the announcement of "Hexyz Force". This game was released in Japan back in November, and it seems Atlus U.S.A. has decided the time has come to release it stateside on the 25th May 2010. The game will be available on both UMD and PSN for the price of $29.99. Details on the game from the official forum thread follow after the jump.

Publisher Atlus today announced plans to bring Metal Slug XX to PSP, an enhanced version of DS title Metal Slug 7 with the much-welcomed addition of cooperative play at a palatable budget price to boot: $19.99.

Players can choose between six characters from the Metal Slug universe, engaging in frantic non-stop shoot em' up action that fans of the series have come to expect, backed by lush 2D visuals. To round out the package a "Combat School" gameplay mode is due for inclusion, which features 70 challenge centric missions. Additionally, a seventh playable character - Leona - will be available at launch as DLC for $0.99 from the PlayStation Store.

Metal Slug XX is slated to hit retailers February 23 on UMD. No plans have been made for a digital equivalent at this point, meaning PSPgo owners are out of luck for now.

Atlus Preps Metal Slug XX UMD for PSP [eXophase.com]

Unlike its PSN-exclusive predecessor, NIS America's dungeon-crawling puzzle title Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time To Tighten Up Security is set to make a retail debut and it'll include a special bonus for those that missed out on the original. An Amazon listing reveals that NIS has managed to squeeze all the quirky escapades of Badman's first outing onto the 1.8GB UMD disc that houses Badman 2, effectively giving consumers two games for the price of one. Now that's a generous deal.

Badman 2 is set to hit PSN as well, though it's unclear if this same bonus will extend to the digital release. We are awaiting word from NIS on that, but as it stands, consider this a retail only incentive.

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! 2 UMD Includes Predecessor [eXophase.com]

The French-based team of coders collectively known under the guise of Team GEN have released an update to their 5.50 series custom firmware, dubbed 5.50 GEN-D3.

According to the supplied changelog, this build features compatibility with all PSN demos and UMD titles to date. Additionally, tweaks have been worked in to improve compatibility with non-MagicGate supported aka "fake" Memory Sticks when loading UMD backups, though the changelog notes that this feature has not been tested.

Catch the download below.

PSP Custom Firmware 5.50 GEN-D3

PSP Custom Firmware 5.50 GEN-D3 [eXophase.com]

Speaking at this week’s Develop Jury Service, Traveler’s Tales founder Jon Burton expressed his disdain towards the pricing model of digital offerings for the PSPgo, going as far to say that the platform will die unless radical changes are made.

“I own a PSPgo but don’t want to buy LittleBigPlanet, for instance, as I can get it 20 per cent cheaper on UMD from Amazon and could resell it once I’m finished with it,” lamented Burton. He added, “But if I download it, I get no discount, and no chance to resell – how annoying is that?”

One of the reasons digital download services like Steam are so popular is because you can often nab games at a sale price below their retail counterpart. On the PSP, UMD efforts are priced exactly the same as retail, and to top it off sales are a dime a dozen. It’s a troubling trend, one that Sony needs to rectify, otherwise store sales will remain stagnant. Just having weekly sales would go a long way towards generating interest.

PSPgo ‘will die without software price cuts’, says Burton [Develop]

Traveler’s Tales Founder: PSPgo Will Die Unless Game Downloads Are Made Cheaper - [eXophase.com]

An inside source has told UK news site CVG that Logitech is working on an external UMD drive for the PSPgo, presumably allowing owners to playback of their games on the format. There’s word on hwo the attachment will work exactly, but CVG surmises that it could plug into left memory stick slot, much like Datel’s unofficial hard drive add-on for original PSP units did.

Sounds a little far-fetched to us, unless Sony plans on officially endorsing this peripheral. Logitech will need licensing on this item if it ever plans to see the light of day. Besides, with the push towards digital distribution on the go, it seems silly for Sony to backpedal like this. On the other hand, having more options is good for the consumer. However, we don’t see it happening. A revised PSP adopting the same sliding design as the go but with a built-in UMD slot sounds more likely. PSP-4000, anyone?

Rumor: Logitech Devising External UMD Drive for PSPgo - [eXophase.com]

According to developer talk recounted by Edge at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Sony’s next PSP iteration will include a UMD drive, despite the company’s renewed focus on digital distribution. It was originally assumed by many that the PSPgo was Sony’s first step towards moving to a digital only platform but recent murmurs out of Tokyo suggest that this is not the case.

Specifically, Edge says several prominent developers remain “convinced” that UMD will play a leading role going forward, with digital taking the backseat for the foreseeable future. This, coupled with the fact that Sony is not mandating that third-party studios release titles digitally leads us to believe that the day when physical based media is fully abandoned in the portable space isn’t coming anytime soon.

PSP-4000 To Support UMD? [Edge]

PSP-4000 To Include UMD Drive - [eXophase.com]

It has come to light that Sony is not mandating that third-party development studios release their UMD titles on PlayStation Network. According to PSN director Eric Lempel, Sony is merely encouraging studios to go digital. While most are on board, it’s a little nerve-wracking to invest in a PSPgo and not have the assurance that all titles going forward will be made available digitally.

It’s up to individual third parties to decide if and when to publish their UMD releases on PSN. Most, if not all, are on board, as this is a revenue opportunity for them.

It’s great that Sony gives publishers freedom on the PlayStation Store, but honestly, this is one area where the line needs to be drawn. If Sony is serious about embracing digital distribution, it should be mandated that UMD titles are released on PSN going forward, whether you are a first, second, or third-party publisher — no questions asked.

Third parties not required to release PSP games on PlayStation Store [Joystiq]

Sony Not Mandating That Third Parties Release PSP Titles On PSN - [eXophase.com]

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today revealed that the recent launch of PSPgo has been a success in European territories, boosting overall hardware sales of the brand by 120 percent over the previous week beside its UMD-touting cousin, the PSP-3000. No hard numbers, unfortunately, but this gives a vague indicator of retail performance. And, to Sony, expectations are being met:

PSPgo has performed in line with our expectations, driving 100 per cent incremental volume for the category and has benefited the broad PSP portfolio with PSP-3000 also enjoying a big lift.

Steady sales are always a good thing, but retail performance of the handheld has yet be gauged stateside and of course a launch in Japan is not scheduled until next month. With SCEA having released a Gran Turismo PSP-3000 bundle on the day of the go launch, we have a feeling that did not help numbers. If you’re a consumer, it’s clear which package offers more in the way of value proposition. Maybe too clear.

Sony: PSPgo sales “in line with expectations” [GI.biz]

PSPgo Meeting Sales Expectations In UK - [eXophase.com]

The announcement of PSP title Fate/unlimited codes as a digital-only effort left questions, leaving us out to wonder if Capcom is considering to leave the UMD format behind and release solely on PSN in the foreseeable future. With talk of other titles like Patapon 2 taking the no-disc route, as well as rumors that point to a UMD-less PSP, it’s not such a outlandish thought. So, is Capcom abandoning the format?

The answer is: no. In an attempt to quell such notions, Capcom said today that it has no immediate plans to refrain from backing UMD.

We certainly do not intend to stop supporting UMD. Certainly for us PSP is very important – more so with Monster Hunter coming – than maybe any other publisher.

Fair enough. In Capcom’s case, it is easy to see why they are hesitant on making the jump. With millions of gamers over in Japan snapping up each Monster Hunter title, I suppose it’s safe to say they want to ensure that all PSP owners can play it, whether they have an internet connection or not.