Times are tough and Sony knows that if it wants to sell PSPs(Believe me they want to sell some badly) they had better try some new tricks to entice buyers. And what could make the consumer want you more? Sony thinks that it’s all in the colors.

Sony is releasing the European PSP in three new colors to compliment the Carnival Colors we covered just a week ago. You’ll be able to get your PSP in Radiant Red, Mystic Silver and Pearl White. They might be trying a little too hard. Those color names sound like stripper names for Eighty-year-olds. In fact, I’m pretty sure Pearl White starred on The Golden Girls.

The PSP is cool and all, but like any other device, it’s outer shell is boring. Gametech has the answer and wants to glam up your PSP with a set of protector cases coming out that make your portable look like a work of art. The designs are the bright patterns of Japanese woodcarvings and traditional paintings.

Their new line’s name translates to Wasabi Beautiful Colors and they come in durable hard covers, flexible soft covers, and gauze capsule cases that make your PSP look like it was wrapped. They’ll be available in Japan at the end of the month, and they’ll probably hit other countries soon after.

Check out this creative marketing campaign for Sony’s PSP gaming console. Have you seen one in your neighborhood? I’m guessing no, since this is actually a concept for a PSP campaign made by a fan. But how cool would it be to spot a transparent PSP with a Tie Fighter, or even Spiderman in the background. Hit the link for more pics. Sony needs to hire this guy at once.

The good news is that the PSP-3000 has a new brighter screen that gets rid of a lot of the older PSP’s ghosting, but the bad news is that there’s a price to pay. Some PSP owners are reporting at the official PlayStation forums that their PSP-3000 suffers from really bad interlacing defects during video playback AND gaming. That means that there are nasty visible jagged edges and scanlines on anything that’s moving. According to Joystiq, turning off the Wide Color Space option helps. We can only assume that Sony is in the process of investigating the problem.

Some of us think that the PSP could do with a major overhaul instead of just minor updates and upgrades. Designer Tai Chiem certainly thinks so, which is why he has taken it upon himself to unleash this radical concept on an unsuspecting world.

The idea is that the Sony PSP 2 is a small cylinder lightsaber deal with a flexible OLED display that can be rolled out when needed and rolled back when not being used. The electric charge that juices the display would stiffen it. It also sports stereo speakers on both sides. The design also supplies two joysticks, something PSP fanboys have been wanting. Sadly it will never happen, but it’s great eye-candy.

After having an early coming out party, the PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack had it’s official launch today and the brighter PlayStation Portable is now available in North America. The bundle will cost you $199.99, while the economy black PSP-3000 kit with just a 4GB Memory Stick will be available next month. The silver pack will be available in all European countries except the UK a day later on October 15. EU countries will also have to wait for the black bundle in November.

The PSP-3000 is set to launch next Tuesday, but someone jumped the gun. The PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack has made it’s way into at least one Best Buy early, where some lucky guy snatched it up and took this mug shot.

Some guy(Presumably Disco Stu from Springfield) made himself a retro, light-tastic PSP that suggests that Disco is either coming back or that the timeline has been altered and Sony has now created the PSP in 1977. The flashing Disco lights will definitely distract you from any game and get the attention of gamer ravers. The whole system consists of 30 LEDs all linked to the sound output and set to pulse in time with the music. I wonder if the modder heard whispers that said, “If you build it they will come”. They, being the Bee Gees. Video below.

At the Leipzig Games Convention today, Sony revealed the brand new PSP-3000, which will arrive Oct 15 in Europe for around $250. As far as looks, it looks the same as the PSP-2000, but it features an “improved screen that’s better outside with no glare and a built-in mic.” A no glare screen will sell many on the device by itself. I guess you could say that this is Sony’s DS Lite. More details have yet to surface, but we’ll stay on top of it for you.

The Japanese have been using GPS applications on their PSP for awhile, but now it looks like Sony is about to get off it’s ass and bring it Stateside. They are working on a new game that will take advantage of GPS to give the player a totally unique playing experience no matter where you go or where you are.

The new peripheral will change the dynamics of games on the PSP, or so they hope, opening up new ways to play. Sony plans to introduce the whole GPS thing to third party publishers while they brainstorm within their first-party studios.

We all know the rumors. By now most of us have seen the patents. But are these the real, official Sony Ericsson PSP phone specs?

Well, if this scanned white paper is to be believed, the PSP phone is going to be made by Sony Ericsson, not just Sony. It will feature the “full PSP experience” and also have advanced phone features. Some of the specs include: 4.3″ 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD display at 480 x 272 pixels and 16.77 million colors, 2 megapixel camera, Built-in web browser, Built-in podcasting, Flight mode, Bluetooth connectivity, Memory Stick Micro/microSD memory card slot, Streaming audio/video, Video calling, Speakerphone, Alarm clock, calculator, calendar, and more.

The portable is getting Google search, with stored memory of your last 20 searches. Another feature is that video played from a memory stick can be sped up or slowed down to suit your needs. Nothing very earth shattering, but welcomed nontheless.

If you have a PSP slim and you’re up to date with the firmware you may have been thinking about taking advantage Skype through the Wi-Fi connection on your PSP. One of the hurdles might have been getting your hands on a headset to use with the Skype feature, which seems to have taken an awful long time. In fact, you may remember that the Japan launch was delayed due to something wrong with the headset microphone.

Well, now SCEA has finally come around and yesterday launched the Skype compatible headset to make it easier to get some free VoIP calls from your PSP – one more thing that makes that portable game console just plain cool. The headset comes with stereo sound and a microphone for $30, which is more than we had heard, but at least its available now.

PSP Skype Headset via PSPFanBoy

Want your PSP to glow like it just set off the geiger counter? These replacement covers will give it an otherworldly glow. Just put your PSP in daylight for a few minutes, and then switch off the lights and watch your system glow.

The XCM Magic Night Glow face plate attaches to the front of your Sony PSP (slim model only. Sorry fatties.), and gives you a cool lights off look. They come in a variety of colors, including pearl, yellow, blue, red, green, and pink. Most of them glow in a different hue when in the dark.

PlayStation has partnered with Sky to create a new video-on-demand download service called Go!View. As in…Go and view. Very clever. Those guys who name stuff really earned their money on that one. It will allow users to create TV schedules for their PSPs, completely tailored to suit the users individual needs and tastes.

You’ll be able to choose from a wide range of stuff like comedy, entertainment, sports and movies. You download it from your PC and watch wherever and whenever you damn well like. Never miss anything ever again. It works on a subscription or pay-per-view basis.