Friday, February 4, 2011

The PSP2 Looks Like It Can Crush Any Apple Device As Well As Nintendo's 3DS

Since last week news about the successor of the PSP, code named the NGP (Next Generation Portable) has been piling in. I was seriously considering picking up a 3DS if any games that caught my eye were to be released by the holiday season of 2011; well up until last week.

There are so many features that the NGP has that on paper it should be the clear winner of the next generation handheld market. I like the fact that Sony did away with the UMD format and is now using some sort of proprietary flash card to store their games aswell as game saves. There are front and rear cameras that can be used to take pictures and be used in games (hopefully there can be some way to get Skype on the NGP) which is rather interesting. My prayers have been answered and there are 2 "real" analogue sticks on the NGP (the 3DS only has one); I can see this making games a lot easier to play and port to the NGP from other consoles. The front (OLED) touch screen and rear touch pad can allow some new and interesting games to be developed but if the rear touch pad can mimic the R2 and L2 buttons on a regular PS3 controller, then the ability to port games will become much easier and increase the NGP's game library significantly. The thing that hurt the original PSP the most was a weak game library compared to the Nintendo DS but I can see this changing once the NGP is released.

I almost forgot, the games on the NGP look almost as good as the early PS3 games in terms of visuals, which is amazing for such a compact device. Having pretty games is always a plus; it always annoys me that Nintendo's (including the 3DS) handhelds have games with archaic visuals. I know graphics aren't everything but it is a minor annoyance.

As for price, if it is $399 for the base model (no 3G, WIfi only) I believe that would be a decent price point and I would definitely pick one up. Many people on forums these days are complaining that they will not buy a NGP if it costs more than a cheapest PS3 slim ($299) or even a 3DS (3DS) but people forget that you get what you pay for and all the features that the NGP has. Besides look at the absurd price points of Apple products that are emerging as the popular gaming devices for casual gamers. If Apple can charge over $500 for their base model of the Ipad, I think Sony will have no problem selling the NGP at a $399 if it is marketed properly simply because it has so many features which the competition lacks.

13 comments:

  1. Nice blog, I have been here before! A great place for anyone with an interest in gaming, keep your posts frequent and interesting like they are now. Very informative and I like it. Keep up the good work, you can check out my blog and let me know what you think if you wish! Thanks, keep it up.

    Dan.

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  2. very good gaming blog!!! Also i cant wait to get the new NGP. the screen looks so crisp. Bring on xmas

    http://talkinggadget.blogspot.com/

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  3. I agree, the new PSP will kill. Great gaming blog

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  4. thanks, I can't wait to get my hands on one

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  5. awesome, PSP RULEZZ!! do you think PSP can defeat XBox?? and follow my blog

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  6. I think this device has a chance, but a $399 price point is going to kill it. I just don't think MOST consumers are willing to pay that for a game system.

    For whatever reason, people are willing to pay an insane markup for the Apple name. Sony can't charge iPad prices, even if the NGP is better than the iPad.

    And if Sony doesn't do a better job of marketing for the NGP than they did with the PSP Go or Playstation Move it doesn't matter how awesome it is, the NGP will be DOA.

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  7. Good point Sony has been horrible at marketing this generation, one would think a company that larger would have some half decent marketing. I think the NGP with Wi fi only will be $299 and and the one with wi fi and 3G will be $349,those price point wouldn't be that ridiculous :P

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  8. The ipad and this new system are 2 completely different systems and really can not be compared (they will though). I am kinda excited for the NGP but I am afraid it will die just like the PSP. Reason portables have usually had graphics 1 or 2 generations behind is because of battery life which will most likely be worse on the NGP then the 3DS. Nice blog by the way.

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  9. Just to clarify, the NGP will be able to run PS3 games. Another thing is that there is two devices coming up, the NGP as you all know, and the SonyErisson Xperia Play (AKA, the Playstation Phone) that is already out.

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  11. I would like to see one in action.


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  12. Yeah I'm pretty sure that Sony will have tons of content for this at E3, I can't wait for next week

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