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PSP2 "NGP - Next Generation Portable" - Everything You Need to Know
Jason Tsay
With the PSP Go being nothing short of a gaming flop, PlayStation fanboys have been eagerly awaiting the true successor to Sony’s handheld gaming platform. Well the wait is nearly over as the PSP2, or codename “NGP - Next Generation Portable”, has just been announced and with it a ton of information; including news that the UMD format will be discontinued.
Most of the rumors and leaks we saw over the past year have for the most part been true. Yes, it’s getting a touch screen; yes, it’s getting a gyroscope and accelerometer; and yes, Sony claims its as powerful as the PS3 — but before we delve into what this all means, let’s take a look at what the handheld will sporting under its hood and what sort of software it will be rockin’:
Features and Specs
- 5 inch 960x544 OLED display (touchscreen)
- quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor
- SGX543MP4+ GPU
- front and rear cameras
- 3 axis accelerometer + 3 axis gyroscope (like PlayStation Move)
- electronic compass
Controls
- Dual Analog sticks
- Rear touchpad
- D-pad
- Shoulder buttons (L/R)
- PlayStation buttons (triangle, circle, square, and x)
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi
- 3G (on separate 3G models)
- GPS
Software
LiveArea interface (integrated social networking/PSN, new menus, continuous gaming), “Near” (lets you play games and interact with other PSP owners in close range), Games will run on flash memory cards containing games and save files - replacing the current UMD format.
Games
Uncharted
Killzone
WipeOut
Resistance
LittleBigPlanet
Hustle Kings
Hot Shots Golf
Call of Duty
Reality Fighters
Gravity Daze
Smart As
Broken
Little Deviants
Commentary
Without doubt Sony has been playing the waiting game, sitting in the corner paitently until Nintendo finished with all their media events, that way all the attention could be focused on the PSP2, now otherwise known as the NGP.
During the announcement we took away a couple of key elements from the new handheld that really struck a chord with us.
First off, Sony’s announcement that the UMD format will be finally getting the boot was something we all feel will be a welcomed decision. Doing away with loading discs and the need for a disc drive, the handheld will operate much more quietly and cooler than its predecessor did. However, doesn’t it feel as if Sony is playing right into pirates’ hands by running games off a memory card?
Another key feature that was briefly touched on was the ability for PS3 games to be ported over to the NGP. Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear Solid, talked through a video of MGS4 running on the handheld and said that it was his dream that one day titles could be transferred back and forth seemlessy between home consoles and portable systems, “right now I’m working on this project,” Kojima concluded.
And finally, one of the more exciting portions shared with us was the announcement of PlayStation Suite. What this does is allow PS games to go cross platform (yes, Android included) and make something like the Xperia Play/PlayStation Phone possible. We don’t know too much about the service at this point except for the fact that it will be device neutral, meaning it doesn’t have to have all the PlayStation buttons to work properly.
No price figure or release date was mentioned except for the vague “Coming This Holiday Season.”
Update: Sony has kindly mentioned that the “NGP” will not cost $599, and confirmed that there will be 2 separate models: one WiFi only version, and another that’s 3G capable.
