Seems that we might not have to wait until E3 for information about the long-rumored PSP redesign after all…if you’re willing to go with as-yet unconfirmed rumors, that is. 1UP.com’s David Ellis just posted a news story this evening detailing information on the newest iteration, tentatively named the PSP Go!

According to the story, Sony plans to put the new hardware out into the Japanese market in September with a late October/early November launch slated for North America. As for the features? So glad you asked…

PSP Go! is said to go the route that we all assumed was coming – the UMD drive is dead (Long Live UMD!) and will be replaced with either 8 or 16gb of flash memory storage. Sony will reportedly have over 100 new and classic PSP titles available to download at launch which, if Kotaku’s rumor about the possibility of in-store UMD rippers for consumers to convert their old titles to digital is true, will mean that the early “test case” of Patapon 2‘s download-only US release may actually be the vanguard of how they plan to appease retail. Gran Turismo Mobile is also rumored to be one of the titles launching alongside the new hardware.

One rumor that, sadly, may not be true is the long hoped-for addition of a second analog nub to better emulate the twin sticks of a DualShock controller – 1UP claims that the device stays with the single analog format. As for the rest of the form factor, the controls are supposedly hidden underneath the screen, which either flips or slides up to reveal them.

Sony, as usual, “does not comment on rumors and speculation”, but I have a sneaking feeling that when this explodes all over the net by tomorrow, they may have to tip their hand a bit earlier than they’d hoped. If not, the announcement at E3 will be rather anti-climactic, don’t you think? Besides, many people are speculating that E3 will be a big win for Sony this year with many large announcements in the wings so why not just let us have a taste early? Give them a reason to want to be excited by the time June gets here.