So a shit-ton of information just came out about the PSP2, code-named NGP (Next Generation Portable). Here are the main things:
[ul]
[li]5" OLED screen 960x544[/li][li]Close to PS3 in graphical abilities[/li][li]Capacitive touch screen[/li][li]Touchpad on back, same size as screen[/li][li]Front and rear camera[/li][li]2-Analog Sticks[/li][li]Six-Axis Motion Detection[/li][li]3G[/li][li]GPS[/li][/ul]
I’m impressed. This thing looks to be a beast. For the first time ever, I think Nintendo may actually be in trouble. The NGP isn’t just an incremental improvement, but includes several things I’m surprised Nintendo hasn’t taken advantage of. The rear touch-panel sounds especially cool–one example involved tapping the rear of the system to push an object up through the floor, then tapping it on the touchscreen to push it back down.
And its location-based social features make the 3DS’s StreetPass look quaint by comparison. Really, the only things from a hardware perspective the 3DS has going for it is the dual screens (partially mitigated by the sheer size and resolution of the NGP’s) and, of course, the glasses-free 3D.
Of course, there are other factors to consider…mainly the unknowns. I can’t see this thing being any less than $400, at a bare minimum…unless it’s subsidized by a wireless plan. Speaking of which, what’s that going to cost? And this thing is going to eat batteries like they’re going out of style.
For the first time, I’m pretty excited for a non-Nintendo handheld (though I’m also looking forward to the 3DS). What do y’all think?
I can’t wait. I’ll get one for sure. The hardware sounds fantastic and ign had a hands on impression that said the thing is bad as hell. I’ve had a psp since launch and it’s true that it doesn’t have the library of great games the ds has but the games that are great on there are mustplays. I’m very excited about the new dual sticks and the touchpad on the back.
Also I think the psp battery lasted a very long time considering what it was driving. Hopefully we can still replace batteries on this new one too.
Yup, I didn’t expect to care about this at all: I normally pick up my handhelds a few years after release, when they hit the $100-150 price range. This actually looks really cool though, especially given how underwhelmed I’ve been by everything I’ve seen re: the 3DS. I still wouldn’t pay $350 or $400 for it, but if they can get this down into the iPod touch range, $200-$250 with no contract? I could definitely see myself getting one if the games come through.
It won’t sell for shit if there aren’t fun and interesting games for it, though.
I mean, the PSP has better graphics, a better processor, and bigger games than the DS/DS Lite/DSi/DSi XL, yet it was spanked in sales. And if this is going to cost $50-$100 more, and odds are the games will cost $10-$20 more, then it will have to have a GREAT library to entice people to get it. Which will be hard to do, since so many game developers already know the success of the DS line will most likely translate well to the 3DS.
I’m not predicting the 3DS will “win,” I’m just pointing out you have to have the software to back up the hardware (which does look kick-ass.)
This thing is huge as portables go. It’s almost 7" long, even bigger than the PSP. I’ve no doubt it will be awesome to play but for me to buy a portable it needs to fit comfortably in my pocket. I have a DS Lite, and that’s right around the upper limit of what I’m willing to put up with.
I’d be interested to know who’s this that thinks a quadcore ARM processor and a cell phone graphics chip are going to get anywhere close to PS3 level graphics.
It’s pretty clear that it’ll be similar to the PSP in relation to the PS2; that is it won’t be as powerful technologically, but many games will look pretty close. Several developers mentioned being able to take PS3 assets and have it up and running on the NGP with minimal tweaking. Take the MGS4 demo, for example, which was running the same scene from the PS3 version using the same models and shaders (according to Sony) at an extremely respectable 20fps.
It’s really not that surprising considering the PS3 will be 5 years old when this system launches–handheld generations are usually just a generation or so behind in tech. Hell, the PSP launched just 4 years after the PS2 and was capable of putting out games approximate in quality (also, having smaller screens and lower resolutions allows you to fudge things without drawing much attention).
We’ve already seen the 3DS put out “360-like” visuals with a couple of its games, and there’s no doubt the NGP is several times more impressive (someone at the conference stated it’s 4x as powerful as any other handheld); PS3-level of visuals hardly seems out of the question, considering that’s exactly what they showed off in real-time.
In summary, will it be as powerful? No. Will it look pretty similar? All signs point to yes.NeoGeo Pocket
IMHO, the big problem with PSP (even though I have both it and the DS) was that its games never felt like portable games to me. Popolocrois and Ridge Racer were two of my favourite PSP titles, but they had long load times and weren’t games that I could sit down and play for 20 minutes on a bus. Iunno, maybe it had more to do with the system than anything else. It was so shiny and slick and big that I was constantly terrified of playing it outside of my house and having the screen scratch or something. My first generation DS, on the other hand, is tough as bricks. I have the bite marks from when Tetris DS online conspired against me to prove it…:mad:
It will be interesting to see how these new portables perform in the age of smartphone gaming. I have a feeling they may fall between two stools; i.e. people will use their smartphones for a quick gaming fix and their consoles/PC’s for longer, more immersive experiences. Sony is smart to hedge its bets by pushing into smartphone gaming with the “Playstation Phone” which may well light a fire under the Android gaming scene.
Wildly popular compared to itself perhaps. I don’t think a price cut has ever changed the winds of a system war. They almost always provide a temporary bump until sales drop off to a level just a bit higher than before. Take the PS3 for example; the price cut put some wind in its sales, before dropping back down to third place for the Christmas season.