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 Ever since the PS3 integrated Trophy support into its firmware with version 2.40, people have been keeping an eye on Sony's other platform: the PSP. It isn't hard to believe that people have been looking for Trophy support to move onto the PSP - it's proven a great success on the handheld's big daddy and taken hints from the highly addictive system created on XBox Live.We're not going to argue which is better, trophies or achievements, but we're definitely going to argue that Trophy support is far better than no Trophy support. While everything to follow is speculation, I believe there is enough evidence to favor the idea of trophies coming to the PSP in the near future.
 The first piece of evidence pointing towards PSP Trophy support is found in more recent releases on the handheld. The proof is in the pudding, as it were. Games like Buzz, Phantasy Star Portable, Resistance: Retribution, No Gravity, and Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? all have in-game "trophies". That is, they have medals/awards that do nothing particular for the game itself, but by completing certain tasks, you are given the "trophy". Games have included this sort of feature in the past, so some may dismiss it as just a coincidence so many recent games have been integrating what seem to be trophies, but this evidence is supported by the PS3. Before the console got trophies proper, we saw clues of its coming - games like Devil May Cry 4 put in-game trophies for the PS3 version to match the Achievements on the 360. Naughty Dog and Insomniac put "Skill Point" systems in their games: Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction both had trophy-like systems before true Trophy support appeared. PSN titles like MegaMan 9 also have such features. It would follow this means PSP devs are anticipating Trophy support and are getting their titles ready to easily update and support them. Another piece of evidence to support PSP Trophy support is the existence of the PlayStation Network itself and Sony's continued insistence it plans on increasing the connectivity between the PS3 and PSP. Recently,those who have signed up for the PSN can access their "profile" by logging in on PlayStation.com and look at your Trophies. More features are in the works for the website, like comparing your trophies to other users among others, but what reason would there be to add this feature to the internet, the PlayStation brand, if it only applied to the PS3? This is a huge black hole of logic - there's no real reason to put it online if the "PSN" only means "PS3". Not only can you already connect your PSP to your PSN account and access the PlayStation Store, but since they're all potentially the same account, adding Trophies to the PSP is common sense and a logical next step in strengthening the PlayStation Network. It just makes sense.  Armed with these bits of speculation and analysis, I contacted SCEA's Jeff Rubenstein to get a comment. While PR guys in general aren't allowed to flat-out confirm or deny speculation, he did say that recent PSP games are probably including in-game trophies "because they enhance replay value", adding that "games have been doing that since the PS1 days ... I wouldn't read into it." He made sure to reiterate Sony has announced nothing along the lines of Trophy support, but it's up to readers to decide if his answers are solid enough to counter the evidence we listed. To be fair, it should be noted that most of the PS3 games that featured in-game trophies before firmware 2.40 were multiplatform - meaning acheivement lists for the 360 version were already compiled and simply kept in for other consoles. The recent PSP titles are from a variety of developers, including Sony themselves, and all PSP games seem to be relatively exclusive (a few exceptions, like Silent Hill: Origins, or Yggdra Union - a remake of a Game Boy Advance title). To me, this is pretty solid evidence. Rubenstein offered a completely different view, saying "you cite a variety of games from a number of producers there - it's just a common occurance." I didn't ask Jeff about this, but another issue with PSP Trophies involves PSP piracy - if people can so easily hack into the PSP,what's to stop them from hacking trophies and giving themselves all the rewards with no effort? That's my evidence and Sony's response. All speculation and analysis - but what do I think? I think PSP Trophies will happen. I think that the "PSP2" announcement being tossed around the internet isn't about a follow-up to the handheld, but rather a PSP 2.0, a step forward for the PSP as a handheld, increasing connectivity between the PSP and PS3 like Sony has promised for years. The most obvious way to connect the handheld and the console is with Trophy support. You could view them all together on PlayStation.com, or check them out on your PS3 and PSP - all share the same PSN account, after all. Games seem to be getting ready for the support, including in-game trophies that could easily be patched into Trophy support proper - they wouldn't compile the list for fun, since I don't completely agree with the "replay value" argument. It's not incorrect, but I find it hard to believe so many games from so many developers dropped them in their games in such a short time span. Even if pirates hack into them, all they're doing is proving they don't want to try to get a reward. Plus, it would be sort of obvious who's cheating the system. Not a lot of people have straight Platinums, or a very high 100% trophy rate. Time will tell, but at this point in time, I believe in a future with PSP Trophies.
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As for whether PSP trophies are coming, I think we might have to wait until PSP 2