Sony formally announced the follow up to the original Playstation Portable today. Unfortunately most of the videos you can find are in Japanese, so I'm just going to tell you a few reasons why I'm excited for this promising new handheld.
| Isn't she lovely |
Now, this is sort of a loaded one because if you've been into games for a while you might remember that this was a big reason most people thought the PSP would beat the DS. It was visually superior to the DS. It was basically a portable PS2. At the time everyone was thinking, "Is that even possible?" But then the Xbox 360 came out and people realized that the PS2's visuals weren't as great as they used to be. So am I forgetting all of that when saying that the graphical power of the NGP is one of the most exciting aspects of the new device? No, I'm not forgetting, I'm remembering selectively. Take a look at the Uncharted demo and tell me this doesn't look amazing. It may not be quite on par with the PS3, but I only really saw that after the 3rd time I watched the video. And even then it wasn't pronounced. Basically this thing is a powerhouse you can hold in you hand.
Uncharted Demo
2. The Look of the Console
The NGP looks like it's not changing it up too much from the original PSP formula, but it's the little additions that make it a really pretty device. Mostly what I'm talking about here is the rear touch panel which has the Playstation face button symbols imprinted all over it. It looks amazing. Apart from that, it has a glossy finish, what looks to be a very crisp (and if reports are accurate, a very expensive) screen, and a new more user friendly interface. I'm in the minority that actually likes the Xross Media Bar, but this new layout looks cool.
| Just look at that. |
3. Two Analogue Sticks
Let that sink in just for a second. Two. Analogue. Sticks. First of all, the main issue with the original PSP has been addressed. The lack of the 2nd analogue stick made controlling shooters cumbersome at best and a disaster at worst. Games like Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Resistance: Retribution (made by the same developer) transfered 2nd analogue functions to the face buttons as best they could and these were good games, but it made the PSP feel dated (like playing a shooter on Dreamcast 5 years later). But now we've got two and that allows the face buttons to be used for anything else. But Sony didn't stop there. Look at the NGP again. These aren't analogue nubs; they're actual sticks! This may cause portability issues, but I, for one, will deal with it.
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| They're calling them "mini-analogue" I'm calling them awesome |
4. All the Flippin' Tech
Without going into technical specs (mostly because I don't have the largest comprehension of those things) the NGP looks to be pretty capable. Not only does it have a powerful processor and an OLED screen, but the new gameplay possibilities are looking pretty huge. These include: a touch screen and rear touch panels, a front and back facing camera, and a gyroscope. All of these are used in the Uncharted demo to great effect and while I want a more traditional control scheme for games like Uncharted, I still think these look promising. And speaking of Uncharted...
5. The Confirmed Games
Because what would a console be without games? If you're a current PSP owner, you know that it wouldn't be much. But this doesn't seem to be the case for NGP. Aside from Uncharted you'll be able to look forward to Killzone, Resistance, WipEout, LittleBigPlanet, and a slew of other offerings from third parties one of which is Metal Gear Solid 4. The same one that's on PS3. Yes, that one. Oh and have I mentioned Trophy support? Because all these games will have them. Also, Epic Games showed off the Unreal Engine on the device, so we can probably expect something from them as well. All in all, this looks awesome.
Overall this new portable looks great. There are a few things that haven't been disclosed yet. The big ones are price and battery life. Both are very important buying factors. Some are speculating 5-6 hours of battery life which is decent and on par with the soon to be released Nintendo 3DS. This isn't too bad and when you look at all the stuff that's on the device it's a little hard to believe. Also, the price is a big unknown at the moment. All Sony have said so far has been that it will be priced affordably for a handheld, but then again this is the company that debuted the PS3 at $600, so we'll see what happens. I refuse to let these factors get me too pessimistic today because, well, did I mention Uncharted?
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| Just look at it |
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