We all know that the new Sony PSP2, or NGP as they have codenamed it, is due to be released before this year’s end. Now that leads to a lot of speculation on the games that are coming for it, how powerful it really will be, how much it is worth, how much it will cost, and whether you should buy it instead of the Nintendo 3DS.
Well first of all, let’s start with the obvious. The Sony NGP will be a powerhouse. Using a Quad Core ARM CPU and a Quad Core ARM GPU, it’s by far the most powerful electronic device in the world that can fit into your pocket at this point. The Nintendo 3DS is the PSP’s direct competitor, and although it has the gaming world by the balls, in reality the hardware is extremely basic. The graphics are worse than a PlayStation one, and it’s on a small screen, at around the same effective resolution, and it was released about eleven years later. Whilst the original PSP on the other hand is now nearing PS2 graphics – that’s a huge step up from the DS. 3G and WiFi are going to connect NGP users around the world, and if Sony makes the right moves, PSN could be the main gaming platform for many more users.
What about the price? Well let’s take a look at the first generation PSP. 4.3″ TFT LCD, 333MHz single core CPU, 32MB RAM, 333Mhz graphics chip. This was quite good at the time of release, but now that our mobile phones are carrying 512MB RAM, over 1GHz CPUs and 4″ Super AMOLED screens it’s definitely time for an upgrade. Sony is packing a lot more power into the new NGP so we expect some higher prices. In Australia the PSP Go is now selling for $280 brand new with one or two games, this means we can expect a price quite a lot higher for the NGP – my guess is around $350 – $400. This is definitely not affordable for everyone, but with these specs Sony is definitely targeting the hardcore gamers – which in my opinion is great, it means we finally get a “meaty” handheld console that developers would actually like to create games for. Remember playing FPS games on the first PSP? It sent you into a coma trying to remember to use the analogue stick to aim and Triangle, Circle etc. to move around – the opposite thumbs to what the majority of us are used to. If you didn’t go for this option it was even worse, trying to aim using buttons is not fun, and you quickly find yourself dead in online FPS games (MoH: Heroes for example).
My view is that the NGP or PSP2 is going to be great, and even so far is a day one purchase for me. Being able to hold that much power in my hands, and being able to connect to my friends from anywhere is a must now that I have seen this. My only hopes are that they integrate PSN properly with this PSP, giving us Trophies, and being able to be constantly online instead of just parts of games. My last hope is that with this PSP comes a PSN update allowing us to use a party chat feature like the Xbox 360 – this is a must for me.
Written by Watermelnkidd
