Sony NGP(PSP 2) - with ps3 graphixx! ZOMG

[EvilGenius]

So today, Sony announced the NGP - the PSP's successor:



Sony's touting it as "just as powerful as a ps3" - but I don't see how a quad-core ARM cortex could keep up with a 9-core cell

Specs:



Portable Diablo 3 anyone?

[DemolitionSquid]

I thought the PSP was dead.

[sandwich_bird]

It's about time they include dual sticks. I'm also glad to see that the system won't entirely rely on virtual games like the psp go.

With all that said though, the 3DS is still looking more attractive to me because of the game library it will have. Having nice graphics is good and all but, like Nintendo proved this generation, it is definitely not all there is to gaming and you don't need it to make good sells.

[XSOLDIER]

I'm gonna C&P my post from another board about this:



So there's a LOT of things that I'm very excited about with the NGP that I got from watching the conference and live blog last night. Some of which isn't explicitly mentioned in the articles. It's gonna be a long read, so get ready.

One of which was the statement made by Hideo Kojima:

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima showed a demonstration of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots running on the PSP2, looking almost as good as its console counterpart. "This game used the model data and environments from PS3, and it was exported directly to NGP," Kojima said, adding "On NGP, we can enjoy the same quality as the PS3."

During the press conference he mentioned that the Model data and environments from a PS3 title were incredibly easy to export to the NGP. In simple terms that means that developers who have made games for the PS3 should be able to make ones for the NGP fairly easily, especially with tie-in games that will use almost the same level of graphics as their PS3.

While Kojima also mentioned that he wasn't announcing MSG4 for the NGP, he did state that he'd like to be able to have a single fluid gaming experience that moves directly from the PS3 to the NGP, and that he'd be announcing this at E3. This makes me very interested in what Square will be doing with it, since they seem to love the PSP, and this could mean that we could get a game that's Console AND Portable from them.

The dual analog sticks are, by everyone's review: absolutely fantastic, and makes it gaming just like you'd expect, without thinking of it as a portable system. Miles better than the one on the original PSP.

The Dual Cameras are going to be nice for it as a more capable media device, which is something that I like for it as just a media device in general, along with the Wifi, 3G, and other feature supports.

On to the new feature that I wasn't expection the Touchscreens. The interactivity oft he front touchscreen is something that I was hesitant about, but the handson review from Bashcraft seems to feel that most of the applications (at least in Uncharted), feel very natural, which I was quite glad to hear. The REAR touchpad was something that completely confused me until I heard about and saw the footage of Little Deviants. It's like matching your fingers on either side of a table, and it's something I'm surprised hasn't been implimented earlier. It's now something I'm super excited about.

The implimentation of Sixaxis controls to be able to switch into a first person view and actually look around the world is something else that interests me. I'm sure that there are games that will use the feature brilliantly, as it's something I'm quite fond of in my PS3, though for games that don't rely on it as a key feature, I'm hoping they make alternate methods, so I'm not swooping around with my NGP in front of my face on the bus or something.

More Hands on reports mention that the system is light, despite its size, assisted because of the lack of a UMD drive. The battery is also sealed in, like an iPhone, because of the rear touchpad. Not a worry for me, as I've never needed to replace one on any portable systems I've owned. The battery life was discussed afterwards, and it's listed to be 4-6 hours, AKA the same as the PSP-3000, which should be helped by not having to run physical media, as well as an OLED screen.

As for the method of media storage, I was momentarily reluctant to give up physical media, until I realized something: I have a little over 100 games installed on my PS3 right now, including some full titles. Especially the idea that some of these titles will be able to flow seamlessly from my PS3 to my NGP, a "media-less" format makes sense to me.



As if that all wasn't enough, the PlayStation Suite was announced, as a hardware-less platform for PlayStation games coming to Android devices, including emulated PSOne games, and new PlayStation Certified titles. This is undoubtedly what the Xperia Play is going to be set up for, but the fact that I own an Android Device makes me glad that te integration of the devices I own will be more complete. Also - the prospect of taking PS1 games with me on my phone is a plus, since I have an unrooted Nexus One. This was the big selling point to making the NGP work, because they're providing an outlet for the less technically impressive casual games to still be distributed into a market where that type of gaming is swiftly becoming commonplace. Although I don't think it's explicitly stated, but I'd assume that you could play the PlayStation Suite games on the NGP, just like the Minis for the PS3. That lets them have a super handheld device, and not lose anything to the more casual gaming. It's an excellent business model.

Lastly, here's a brief video recap of footage that everyone should appreciate.



All I know is that I'll absolutely be getting one.

Here's a couple more useful links for people looking for lots of details and images.

• Kotaku easy guide for info.
• All atricles tagged as NGP for later updates.



X

[TheEconomist]

PS3 is has 8 SPE and single-core; not 9-cores.

[sandwich_bird]

As for the method of media storage, I was momentarily reluctant to give up physical media, until I realized something: I have a little over 100 games installed on my PS3 right now, including some full titles. Especially the idea that some of these titles will be able to flow seamlessly from my PS3 to my NGP, a "media-less" format makes sense to me.

Wait wait wait, didn't they say that games would be delivered on flash memory cards?

[EvilGenius]

PS3 is has 8 SPE and single-core; not 9-cores.

I count the PPE as a core - it's still a processor. It just governs the 8 SPE's

**does anyone know if any DEV's have offloaded graphics calculations onto the PS3's CPU? It seems like it's capable... but I dunno, I'm not much of a programmer :P

Wait wait wait, didn't they say that games would be delivered on flash memory cards?

Yes, they did

[SinsWage]

No way to use your now defunct UMD format games? Thanks for that sony.

[Audie Murphy]

[TheEconomist]

An SPE =/= core.

Besides, a mediocre Core 2 Duo is faster than the Cell in the PS3 so a quad-core AMD generations later should have a decent change of surpassing that 2006 tech.