Heh heh, sorry for the random video game blogs, my friends, but this is just a story that has to be told. As all we gaming folk know, three main companies (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) rule the industry with their devices of wonder and wisdom. But before Microsoft with the Xbox in the early 2000s, it was just Nintendo 'n Sony rivalin' for the market. It all started with the original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in 1995 and 1996, then the PlayStation 2 and Gamecube in 2000 and 2001, then the PlayStation 3 and Wii in 2006, and finally, the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable (PSP, if you will) in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Somewhat recently, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 3DS for release just next month in Japan, and March for Americans and Australians. Rumors had been floating around for a bunch of months now if Sony wouldst pick something out of their pocket that would go head-to-head with Nintendo's and start the fanboys a-flamin'. They called it... the PSP2...
Rumors included suggested functions of the so-called "PSP'd 2" such as PS3-level graphics, dual analog sticks, no UMD drives, etc. And various companies had said they had a prototype kit of this system, leading to speculation amongst fans. Months passed, and no word of a new handheld system were announced by Sony. People posted mock-up photos of what they imagined the PSP would look like, some pictures sporting a design similar to the PSP Go, and others of the original PSP. Then rumors started floating around that Sony would be officially unveiling their new handheld at the "PlayStation Meeting" on January 27, in Japan. Coincidentally, the last time a PlayStation Meeting was held was to announce the PlayStation 3 back in 2005. This got many fans excited. Whether their wish would come true or fall flat, remained to be seen...
Yes, here it is, folks, in all its overgrown piece of junk Sony tech-like glory! The long-awaited successor to the PlayStation Portable throne!
Of course, much to the chagrin of Nintendo fans, their wish DID come true! The previously known PSP2 was given the new hip codename "Next Generation Portable." So what exactly can this little doo-hickey accomplish? Well, don't worry. It can do EVERYTHING that was speculated and MORE. Exactly what, you ask? Stop telling me all this trash and just explain the stinkin' system, you demand? Okay fine, calm down random reader! Uncle J. will provide!
Check out the NGP's abilities below:
- First off, this new device hits stores the holiday season of 2011. Yes, sure we just started the year and we have to wait until the end to pick this up, but hey, it'll be a great Christmas present!
- No games were announced, but tech demos of "Uncharted", "Metal Gear Solid 4", "Little Big Planet", and "Call of Duty" were seen on the device.
- The system has both 3G (provided by NTT Docomo -- Japan's biggest cell phone provider, also responsible for giving us Kingdom Hearts coded) and Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing for players to "encounter," "connect," "discover," "share" and "play" with friends wherever they are.
- The system incorporates a beautiful multi-touch (yep, a touch screen) 5-inch (yes, a five-inch screen) original light emitting display (that is, an OLED screen) as the front screen. The back has a multi-touch touch pad (yes, the one on laptops) Also, with a high-quality CPU/GCU, combined with the aforementioned OLED screen enables rich, visually striking graphics never before seen on a handheld. These two offer new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through "touch, grab, trace, push and pull" moves of the fingers on the NGP.
- Oh, and it has a "Super Oval Design" form factor, allowing it to fit perfectly in a player's hands.
- Every game title for the NGP will be provided with a space called "LiveArea" where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. (LiveArea also acts as the system's hub page, like the XMB before it). Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through PlayStation Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an "Activity" log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.
- There is also a new application called "Near," developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.
- Also, gone are the UMD drives, meaning no backwards compatibility with your fav PSP titles! Instead, now we get flash memory based cards for the NGP's games, as well as store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card.
- There are also two cameras (no, not for 3D photography, fool, one on the back and on the front for... *shudders* 2D photography), three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer (the latter two of which are on the 3DS. Shame on you, Sony, for copying), and electric compass.
- Oh, and there's this thing called "PlayStation Suite" which allows you to play your games on a trusty Android phone. Fun, ain't it?
Now for the tech specifics:
- CPU: ARM Cortex-A9 core (4 core)
- GPU: SGX543MP4+
- External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
- Screen: 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED
- Touch screen: Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
- Rear touch pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
- Cameras: Front camera, Rear camera
- Sound: Built-in stereo speakers; Built-in microphone
- Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
- Controls: PS button; Power button; Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left); Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square); Shoulder buttons (Right/Left); Right stick, Left stick; START button, SELECT button; Volume buttons (+/-)
- Wireless communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G); IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1x1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode); Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)
... Yeah, I didn't understand any of that either.
Anyway, that's all the info I got now on the PlayStation Portable successor. You can't preorder it... yet... but good ol' Amazon already has it listed here. Anyways, go on! You have a world of information to explore here on the Joel Severe Wiki!
Gallery and Videos[]
File:Sony Next Generation Portable (NGP) Tokyo Press Conference File:Sony Next Generation Portable (PSP 2) First Look File:Official Sony NGP Trailer - PSP2 File:Sony NGP Trailer