We've been listening to Sony PSP rumors for a while, but now we finally have some hard, meaty facts to chew on. 1Up is reporting that a date has been set for the release of the new Sony PSP in both Japan and America.

Japan will be getting their new PSPs in September, while the US release is set for late October/early November. The PSP has had some time to build up a good reputation, and the depth of the rumors swirling around it is a good sign for Sony's sales department. If they're lucky, they might just have the 2009 must-have Christmas gadget on their hands.

Of course, we know very little about the new PSP at this point. 1UP believes it will be called the PSP Go!, in line with Sony's brand of Go! add-ons for the PSP. They also state that the new PSPs will feature a d-pad, an analog nub, and face buttons that slide out from under the screen. The next generation PSPs will also feature a choice of either 8, or 16 GB of flash memory.

Sony's main competitor in this market is definitely going to be the iPhone. Thanks to its robust hardware and huge pool of developers, the iPhone has been recognized more and more often as a serious gaming device. Whichever system wins will likely depend on how well Sony can grow their PSP community within the first few days of launch. We'll have more PSP rumors and updates for you as we receive them.