Today in Japan, Sony unveiled their newest handheld gaming platform, the Next Generation Portable, or "NGP," for short. Immediately before this announcement, Sony revealed the PlayStation Suite, an Android gaming platform for PlayStation-quality titles.
In brief, the NGP is Sony's follow-up to the PSP. With an oval shape, two full analog sticks, a touchscreen, and a touchpad on the back, the platform could be considered Sony's contender against Nintendo and Apple to contain and expand their share of the handheld market. The 5" screen is an OLED, and according to several of the on-stage speakers, it is incredibly sharp and crisp. The size and placement of the back touchpad matches the screen, for proximity purposes.
At Sony's press event, the NGP was shown playing ports of PS3 titles, specifically Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4. Touchpad controls were used in Uncharted to make Drake climb up a vine, where the demonstrator alternated rubbing the left and right side of the touchpad to simulate the climbing motion. Kojima noted Metal Gear Solid 4 was using a direct port of the character and land models from the PlayStation 3 game, mentioning that the game being used as a tech demo for the platform's unveil. Sony was certain to mention that no other new games aside from Little Deviants, a platformer, would be showcased at the event. Also shown was a port of the PS3 version of Trendy Entertainment's Dungeon Defenders, intended to show off Unreal Engine 3's viability for NGP development. Other games shown or mentioned include Lost Planet, LittleBigPlanet, Hustle Kings, Hot Shots Golf, Resistance, Wipeout, and Killzone.
PSP games can be purchased over PSN to play on the new platform, with Monster Hunter Portable 3rd being shown on the device. The camera was mapped to the right analog stick, showing it was possible for older PSP games to receive cross-platform upgrades. The PlayStation Suite will also be available, like PSP games, to play on the handheld.
The PlayStation Suite is essentially an Android platform bearing the PlayStation name. Sony's goal is to create a method for developers to create PlayStation-quality games, which will then be "PlayStation Certified," similar to the Nintendo seal. While the fine details of the platform were not revealed, several developers and publishers, like Capcom and Konami, appear to be on-board with Sony and their new mobile platform.
The NGP is expected to be released sometime this holiday season, and the PlayStation Suite is due to have games available sometime in this calendar year.
Forgive me if there's any minor errors in here, it is pretty early in the morning, but I think everything is accurate.
Really? I think Sony blew it this time. Sort of. I love the idea behind the PlayStation Suite. That's great. I'll be excited to see high-quality games come to my phone.
The NGP? Well, right now, Sony's laid the framework. The device, to me, seems to be a PSP2, which, in all fairness, is exactly what it is. What I mean to say though, is that this game does exactly what the PSP did. It plays games with great graphics on the go. Sony added in a touchpad, then exhibited it with the equivalent of Wii-style waggle to climb a vine. The lack of 3D, itself, is the most disappointing aspect. After having seen the 3DS in person, I really can't see anyone wanting a portable machine built only for gaming that isn't also 3D. Maybe it will be a reintroduced feature at E3, but if it isn't, I don't think they'll fare well against Nintendo. So far, and yes, I'll admit, I'm biased, but the NGP isn't a device I want. No price tag was mentioned, but if it is as powerful or nearly as powerful as a PS3, we should expect it to be way up there, especially if it can access phone networks in North America. I would imagine we're looking at a $350-$400 device here, personally. I really just can't see how Sony expects to gain any ground here.
They may have added a second analog stick, but god they still look uncomfortable.
So... who is going to drop the spending moneys on this beast?
I have a brother-in-law that might. He likes fancy techy stuff, even if he doesn't use it. As of now, I don't plan to buy it. Sad thing is, a PSP actually does have a lot of tempting games on it, but like the DS, its price refuses to go down into a viable range. I could see myself tempted to buy the first revision of the NGP whenever the price shoots down if there's quality games there that aren't just PS3 ports, but even then, I'd want a lower price than what the PSP is at now.
Various news outlets are reporting the Uncharted game at Sony's event is a new title, not a port of the first game, something that was unclear at the time of press last night.