It wasn't so much an announcement as it was a sudden start, like when someone sleeping wakes with the realization that he overslept on the morning of an important meeting. That's the mental image I get from Sony's torrent of revelations about upcoming PSP titles. The neglected handheld system is getting its own versions of Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, Little Big Planet, and MotorStorm (pictured, although that's a shot from a trailer, not the actual game).

Sony also appears to have noticed the girl-friendly Nintendo DS for the first time, which would explain the announcement of a Hannah Montana and a Petz game for the PSP, not to mention the new lilac model. And I'm not being a smart alec. There's literally a lilac PSP on the way. Not pink, not purple, not mauve. Lilac. Don't believe me? Check it out:

So precious.

While it's easy to be cynical, I really like the PSP. It's a sexy piece of hardware -- in any color! -- that hasn't gotten its due from Sony, especially over the past year. Sony all but threw the PSP under a bus for the 2008 holidays. Now they're doing what they should have been doing all along: stressing its appeal to hardcore gamers with titles that rely on hardcore graphics. As much as I love Patapon, LocoRoco, and Space Invaders Extreme, all of which are getting plenty of time on my PSP these days, they're the kinds of games folks get a Nintendo DS to play: quirky, 2D, and niche. I'm glad to see Sony finally getting serious about supporting the system and even expanding its appeal beyond guys like me.