According to a report on French site PSPGen, Sony has informed those in the relevant communities that come November 15, they won't be able to order development kits for the handheld any more. Wonder why that would be?
The news reportedly comes via a message Sony Computer Entertainment sent to PSP developers, part of which read:
SCEE will no longer be selling the PSP Development Tool (DTP-T2000A) or Testing Tool (DTP-H2500A) past November 15th. Please order in advance if you require these development units.
We will advise you when a new model becomes available.
Now, if this is correct, it could just mean that new models of the current PSP's development kits are on the way. That's one scenario. The other, of course, is that dev kits for the existing models of the PSP won't be needed when Sony begins sending out those for a new PSP.
You know. The one that still hasn't been officially mentioned yet.
We've asked Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to confirm the message, and will update if we hear back.
UPDATE - Of the two possibilities outlined above, turns out it's...probably both, SCEE telling Kotaku "Due to the certification on the current development and test tools expiring, we will be stopping selling them on the 15th November. However, we will continue to provide loan stock for registered and new developers, until a new certified model is available."
La fin de la PSP actuelle se confirme "officiellement" [PSPGen, via exophase]