Sony has announced that an upcoming PlayStation Portable videogame may not be released on UMD.

Instead the firm’s considering opting to release Patapon 2 on a “digital only format” as a “one time test case” for digital downloads.

However, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s announcement should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Although SCEA’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Patrick Seybold, has – according to several online sources – confirmed that the title will be available through the PlayStation Store from 5 May, he added that Sony’s only “considering a digital only format for the Patapon 2 release”.

Based on this, it’s reasonable to assume that Sony hasn’t yet made up its mind whether digital only is a safe enough sales route for the videogame. So if online sales are slow, then Patapon 2 UMDs could well spring up in stores.

However, it’s definitely safer for Sony to launch Patapon 2 through download only means than it is to do the same for a blockbuster title, isn’t it?

If all goes well for Patapon 2 then a recent promise by John Koller, Sony Computer Entertainment America's Director of Hardware Marketing, that the “back half of this year” will begin to see a “good rise” in the volume of downloadable PSP games, could well become a reality. ®