PSP 2 'as powerful as PS3' The PSP 2 - or "Next Generation Portable", as Sony has codenamed it for now - has officially been revealed in Tokyo today, and the company claims it's as powerful as the PS3. As rumoured, the PSP 2 - sorry, NGP - has a high-res OLED touchscreen as well as a touch-sensitive back panel. It features front- and rear-facing cameras …
"there'd better be some way to synch across the games"
that would depend on the developer, I won't claim to know how much porting need to be done, but from articles else where, it seems like some 3rd party developers have been able to port that engine to the PSP2 quite easily. (check the MGS4 screen shot in the article).
also, some Japanese developers already give you the option to copy your saved games between the PSP and PS3. This way, you can switch between the devices and counties from where you stopped (although, it does require you to _buy_ 2 different copies of the game, one for each console).
you do know that if you buy a PS1 game from the Playstation Store then you can install it on your PSP and your PS3? (i think it actually says up to four devices or somesuch)
That would make me think that they *would* allow that - except nowhere does it say this is a handheld PS3, its says its a new platform; so it won't play your existing PS3 games. In addition, it doesn't have a hard-drive so how many PS3 blue-ray based titles do you think you'll fit on hand-held flash storage?
You can already download minis from the PSN and shove them onto your PSP, as well as having them available on your PS3. Plus you can play some media (including games) using your PSP as a portal to your PS3 via the internet (the only stuff I can't get this to work with is, understandably, HD content).
It's ARM + PowerVR, whereas the PS3 is Cell + RSX. I think they're just arguing that the graphics are similar to those of a PS3 (at a much lower resolution, one assumes, and therefore a lower processing cost — and getting a 1080p screen onto a PSP-sized mass consumer device just isn't going to happen very soon). So, no doubt, porting incurs costs and gives an opportunity for Sony to charge consumers that want both copies for (i) the additional costs of porting; and (ii) the content, a second time.
No change there then.
Currently, PSP1 for serious games, DS (i, XL, whatever) for fun / kids. Trouble is, there are a lot more handhelds bought for kids wanting a bit of fun than there are serious gamers with deep pockets, hence the sales figures.
It doesn't matter how good it is, the 3DS will outsell it by an order of magnitude or so.
Where they really need to take a leaf out of Nintendo's book is to make the sodding thing nigh-on impossible to fix and self-destruct when dropped six feet onto a hard surface / thrown at a sibling / subjected to harsh language. The first-gen PSP at home has been through three screens, a front case, a couple of batteries, an analogue stick and some microswitches. It's still going strong and it's a piece of the proverbial to maintain. I've lost count of the number of bloody DSs I've bought over the years. There's nothing like repeat sales to keep the figures up.
It will easilly outclass the 3DS, which is nothing more than a parrallex barrier gimmick. Whether it outsells it is another matter.
The Current PSP easilly outclasses the DS, but the DS outsells it. Quaility and sales don't go hand in hand unfortunately, marketing, spin all get in the way of that.
The Wii sold bloody well too. Not because it was underpowered, or because of marketing, or spin, but because it allowed non-gamers to get in on the act. The DS sold because it's accessible to me, my mother and my grandmother.
I love that you're writing off the 3DS already as a gimmick without even trying it... Sony called by the way, they've got another shiny shilling for you.
I'm sure the hardware will be great.
I'm sure the games will look amazing.
I'm sure that in trying to compete with the iThings & Nintendo, Sony will have another flop on their hands.
It'll be too expensive for the 'casual' gamer, it won't be backward compatable with anything, and tha games won't be good enough for 'hardcore' gamers.
But I do love the idea of it. Maybe it'll be good once it's hacked: I'll have to wait an extra week to find out.
Just because the PSPs haven't sold as much as the DS doesn't make it a flop. This isn't aimed at the casual gamer so I don't expect a lot of penetration in that market. The PSP games were good enough for the hardcore gamer and now that they have addressed the lack of a second analog stick I'm sure the upcoming games will be more than good enough.
AC, I didn't campare the PSP to the DS. PSP games were never good enough for the hardcore gamer, the only ones worth getting were the PSP versions of much larger console games (unless you're talking about locoroco, but please don't try telling me that's a hardcore gamers game)
Atleast 4 incarnations and 7 years. Easy hacks available. UMD which as aweful, they even scrapped it themselves making early adopters games useless on new versions.
So yeah, to me that says: try, fail, try, fail, half try, more fail = flop.
I dont think it's going to be like that. The games will be different i think.
Even if it was i doubt Sony would let you port the PS3 games over to it considering the PSP Go won't let you do that with old PSP games. (At least last time I checked anyway)
So this PSP2 has a 4 core processor? Is Sony not continuing with the Cell chips?
I've heard the PS3 was hard to develop for because of the Cell, maybe things will be easier this way.
I think that the maker who build its console in a way that developers find easiest to work with will have the edge over the rest.
.... the end of a machine which is just a games machine ?
Why does everything have to be connected, wi-fi / 3g with gps blah blah.....
It does look like there is room for games only games machine, like the Game Boy used to be.
I wonder if Sega could be tempted to fill this niche. The Dreamcast [not hand held I know...] was a cracking good machine.....
*sighs* Sadly I don't think it would matter if it was 40 times the power of the PS3, came with a built-in HD projector and could give blow jobs.
Sony have lost the plot when it comes to software development and marketing. Their pitiful handling of the PS3 shows a frankly superhuman ability to come in last on the fastest horse and I can't see that changing.
well the PS3 have 8 cores (1 is disabled, don't know when will they enable it) and it output at 1080i.
the PSP2 (NGP) have 4 cores (and according to the net, clocked at up to 1.5 GHz) and it output at 960x544 (i544?). So I guess if you keep the screen size in mind, the statement might be true. In fact, while keeping the difference in screen size in mind, the PSP2 might be able to do more the PS3, especially if they give it more then 512 MB RAM + 256 MB RAM for the GPU. You might even be able to play FFXIV on it.
now if they will give you a mini-HDMI port, then you should be able to use it to watch HD movies in your living room.
note to Sony, I am willing to pay an extra US$ 50 for an attachment that can load UMDs into this device.
They cannot enable the 8th cell as the specs for the PS3 only ever call for 7. one ringfenced for the machine and 6 for software to access. This was chosen to get better yeild from the cell processor production. They could utilise all the chips that only had 7 cells working. If you activate the 8th, then some machines will never be able to use them and you cannot tell which ones can, and it would only make a small percentage difference anyway!
Why do people keep repeating this clearly incorrect fact? It's an incredibly well specced portable device, but it's not going to be as powerful as a PS3, even if that system is approaching 5 years old.
For starters with a 960x544 screen it's not even going to be pumping out 720p imagery, and since the quad core GPU is likely to be clocked around 200MHz it's going to have about the same graphical power as the Xbox 1 (which for a device that size is incredible).
The specs on this thing are fantastic, but why keep saying it's something that it's not?
"So a 32-bit Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 (up to 2GHz) is as powerful as a 64-bit 8-core 3.2GHz Cell processor?" No, because there is no 8-core Cell processor. Cell is a simple single PowerPC core with 8 co-processors (which are only fast for a few operations). This is far fom being the same like a symmetric 8-core processor, or even a quad-core processor.
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As we know, the PSP has been utterly trounced by the DS, and looking at that PSP2 launch line-up, I can only see history repeating itself.
If this repeats the PSPGo sales model of only distributing titles online through PSN-Store, then it will be spurned by many from the start, as the PSPGo was.
And having read the various articles of grown-men weeping in reverence at Pro Evo Soccer on the 3DS, it could be game over already.
"If this repeats the PSPGo sales model of only distributing titles online through PSN-Store"
as it have been pointed out in the article, it will use memory sticks for games, instead of game cartridges or discs. Those will be physically bought from stores.
note this memory stick will be different from the SD card used to extend its storage space. Also the space on those sticks will depend on the game, developers won't be restricted as far as I know.
* A non-final hardware design, (every picture says design and specifications subject to change).
* Some lovely looking games technology demos from many industry big hitters. What may happen is lots of game+ editions (MGS4+, MHP3Turbo, etc) with new content, extra levels and so on in the first few months.
* A code name - NGP will not be the final system name.
* Battery life is being quoted at 4-5 hours
* Sony will sell the unit at a loss, so price could be lower than expected
* Some big names still not on the publishing list
That battery life doesn't sound great for a portable, which makes me wonder whether Sony will then play the usual game of silly buggers with replacement battery pricing.
In terms of pricing, I wouldn't rely on "selling at a loss" meaning "reasonable price". Hell, the PS3 has always been sold at a loss and still spent several years costing a frankly stupid amount of money.
The tech in it is fabulous, but it's useless without a decent library of games - the PS3 before it also had fabulous tech, and yet Sony managed to fumble the software library side of things so badly they now have to use "It's not just a games console" as the sales pitch.
It could be nice, but with Sony's handling of the PS3 I wouldn't take it for granted.
One does have to question whether Sony have really learned from their mistakes here.
For me, the biggest problem with the original PSP is that they didnt understand the hand-held market.
In a hand-held, i dont want to play cut down versions of full console games, i dont want the full console experience in my pocket. I THOUGHT i did, before i had it. But then i realised that the hand-held is all about those 5 minute experiences while waiting for a train, pick up, put down, without having to retain anything in between.
Thats why the DS won, and as much as i respect this technology hugely if it is as good as it says, it smells a little like Sony have failed to learn from their mistakes last time around.
Time will tell i suppose.
you do use portables consoles for long gaming sessions, example, waiting at the airport, staying at a hotel or long road trips. Also the flexibility of being able to use it (almost) anywhere means you can play it from your bed.
from my point of view, 5 minutes gaming sessions is what the smartphone is for.
any way, now that the PSP2 (NGP) have a touch screen.....
I wander if I will get my LovePlus++ on it :-p
"In a hand-held, i dont want to play cut down versions of full console games,"
... so use your iPhone or your DS.
There are lots of people, myself included, who *do* want to play proper console games on a handheld. The original PSP wasn't quite good enough for this - the lack of dual analogues being a massive factor.
The new PSP is aimed at a market that neither Apple nor Nintendo nor Microsoft is competing in. Makes sense to me.
If Sony had aimed squarely at competing with the iPhone and DS markets they would indeed have been making a bad mistake.
It probably shares the same relationship to the PS3, that the PSP did to the PS2. On its best days you could almost be fooled into thinking this was a home console, but usually it fell short. Compare the best of the PSP, games like GTA VCS or God of War: Ghost of Sparta. You could *almost* mistake them for home console games, but the compromises they make are still noticeable.
That's not to say the PSP2 won't be a good handheld. It looks like a kick ass handheld with specs that massively outclass the 3DS and most phones. Of course better specs do not mean more sales. I suppose the way the market will go will rest on whether people want 3D (in an otherwise fairly lacklustre handheld), or no holds barred mobile performance.
To be fair Bub, i think that the majority of the market isnt with you on that one. And i think that the fact that the PSP (barring a few stand out titles as has been pointed out) died on its arse; somewhat bears out the fact that the "Micro games" approach used by the iPhone and to a lesser extent the DS is winning on handhelds.
Fair play, you may want that full cinematic experience on the move. But i think most people are much happier with something less involving for their commute to work. Myself included.
That said im not condemning this device before it arrives, maybe it'll be great. Maybe the market will shift back towards the hardcore.
But on the evidence of the last few years, casual is the direction that the ship of gaming is drifting in, and it seems unlikely to change any time soon.
I don't think it's a matter of the market shifting. The market is growing wider and there are whole swarths of people playing Angry Birds on their iPhone who probably wouldn't have played video games at all before.
My point is that Sony is not pitching the PSP at the iPhone market. It's pitching at a different market. Whether that market exists of course is a matter of debate, but it's certainly a market for which no device currently exists.
I'm a "professional" in my 30's, used to commuting and business travel. I get far more time to play games when on the move than at when at home with my family. I've love to be able to play "proper" PS3-style games on the tube, on the plane and plugged into the hotel TV in the evenings on business trips. Lots of my colleagues play video games. So I'd imagine "we" would be a reasonable part of a target market.
the majority of people who are hardcore gamers just dont even consider buying a handheld.
also, london-centric people, remember the vast majority of people do not commute by train to work. or bus, even. remember there is this big place outside of london, called england, where the majority of people live and work.
if i was to get a handheld it would be a psp2 - the nintendo feels too kiddified to me. but i drive to work.
The *win* is that it is the same family of CPU & GPU as is in the iPhone, iPad, a whole raft of Android handsets, Palm Pre, and other devices.
A game written for one will be dead simple to get running on the other - this gets them square with Apple/Google on the software front + with Unreal Engine and Rage already geared up and ready to go makes life so much easier for dev's!
Nice hardware perhaps, and they've shelled out on some good titles, but it's the whole package that counts and that's where Sony tends to struggle.
And Sony have a super reputation for screwing customers over and fragmenting their own product line. They'll have to overcome a lot of resentment if they want to win over the hardcore market - and they're the ones with the longest memories.
I wonder if it will have some of the epic arcade titles you can play in Japan on it then, as I'm chomping at the bit to be able to play border breaker again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXswexwr6zo&feature=related
Touch screen in games has a lot of potential particularly for rpg/tactical squad stuff/rts and turn based strategy.
I spent a great many Yen on this and an RPG they had.
If Sonys hardware dev team have proven anything over the last decade or so is that they're extremely poor at developing software, specifically the OS, and in areas of security and OS lockdown, not to mention consistency.
-A random number gen seeded with a constant 4 every time!?
-The PS3 has multitasking simply patched into the firmware, thereby making it so background tasks are extremely limited.
-Removal of the Other OS feature mostly only because it presented an 'attack vector' to the hackers - a slap in the face to those loyal customers making good use of it.
-Charge people an arm and a leg for old content on the PSN and screw everybody around.
-PS Home was just a laugh, a social networking system that demanded a three hour wait time getting between zones, of which the zones are very small, with very little real substance. What substance it did have was charged for - the PSN equivalent of your crazy frog ringtones and graphics.
-Apple devs typically charge anywhere up to a fiver for a game title on their mobile gaming systems (mostly the touch, but includes all the iOS devices). So how much do Sony charge for their wares? And how much will they add on top for PSP2 titles? Didn't PSP1 titles originally retail for £30-40
-Much like how Windows Phone 7 took nearly a full year to arrive since announcement, by the time PSP2 comes out, the technology won't be anywhere near as impressive as it sounds today.
etc. etc.
Then onto their handling of the situation - take the people to court! Fantastic!
For how it should be done, look at how Microsoft recently treated the team who opened up the WM7 platform, essentially open armed.
Basically Sony failed to spot that having a more open platform means more people buy their hardware. It happened on the PSP, and will happen all over again by the end of this year.
.
So how will Sony treat the implementation of the PSP2, they've got less than 12 months to go about improving pretty much everything they do, and how they go about doing it, and charging a lot less to do it! I'm not holding my breath.
*FAIL icon at the top but I'm sure it'll be a runaway success as the drones buy it in their droves.
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