As we have been telling you for the past couple of weeks, Sony is likely to announce a hardware refresh for the PSP at E3, according to our sources. As part of this refresh of the hardware, Sony is considering trying something new on a different front with the idea of downloadable title rentals for the PSP.

Sony is seeking to drive some excitement back into the PSP and the company feels that it needs something new; and downloadable rentals could be the something new that might get gamers interested in the platform once again.

While the concept of digital download distribution is not new, the idea of rentals via download is. From where we sit, it is obvious that Sony needs to try something new with the PSP, but we think that the price will have more to do with the success or lack of success of attempting to cultivate a digital download rental strategy. If it is priced too high, we suspect that most gamers will not be excited by the concept and, of course, you have to have titles that you can offer on the PSP for digital download rental; that alone could prove to be a problem for Sony.