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Author Topic: PSP2 Announced  (Read 2865 times)

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« on: January 27, 2011, 02:24:52 AM »
They're calling it the "Next Generation Portable" right now, even though NGP is already taken.

EDIT: Full specs.

-Supposed to be as powerful as a PS3 (Capcom demonstrated the console-spec MT Framework on it)
-Dual analog, and they actually appear to be sticks this time
-Touch on both sides (OLED touchscreen and a touchpad on the back)
-Probably no UMD slot (boooooo!), but will apparently use some sort of flash card for new games, and will be capable of playing any downloadable PSP1 games, including an enhanced version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd with support for the second analog stick
-Will have both 3G and Wi-Fi
-Sixaxis built in
-Two cameras
-No more XMB; new OS called "LiveArea"
-FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE US DOLLARS No price announced yet

It seems like it's going to be easy to port stuff to the new hardware. Capcom reported that their Lost Planet demo took only two weeks to port to the new hardware, and Epic, who showed Dungeon Defenders for their UE3 demonstration, said they ported it from PS3 in less than a week and without any reduction in quality.

I'm guessing Sony's going to try to price it to be competitive with the iPad, but with what's been revealed about the specs, it seems like they're going to be selling it at as much of a loss as they initially sold the PS3. Either way, for me, no UMD slot means no sale even without knowing price or available software.

Oh, we did get one solid software announcement, just for Turtlekid:

-Exclusive Uncharted game
« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 04:18:59 AM by WarpRattler »

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2011, 08:46:16 AM »
-Exclusive Uncharted game
Screw you, Sony.  ScrewYou.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 08:48:45 AM by Turtlekid1 »
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2011, 09:46:25 AM »
Look on the bright side, Turtlekid: after the new system comes out, the price of the PSP and UMDs will start to drop. You'll finally be able to play Birth by Sleep!

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2011, 09:57:45 AM »
That's the dimmest bright side I've seen in recent memory.
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

CrossEyed7

  • i can make this whatever i want; you're not my dad
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2011, 10:24:16 AM »
So, it's about as powerful as a PS3, bigger than the PSP, will probably cost $400, will probably have a shorter battery life than the 3DS, and can't go in pockets what with the sticks being actual sticks. Is this really still a handheld at this point?

When the 3DS was shown off at E3, I thought the only possible directions for the PSP2 to go were for it to be a phone or a Game Boy, since if they just went with graphics again, they wouldn't be able to have a noticeable enough jump over the 3DS without being more expensive than a PS3. They are still doing a phone at some point, but I was expecting it to be in the PSP2, not a side thing. I still think there's potential for someone to come out with a small, underpowered, $99 system and turn both the 3DS and the PSP2 into Game Gears.

I want to see if all the people who said the DS couldn't survive without becoming a phone will say the same thing about the PSP2. Takes up much more pocket space than a 3DS, probably noticeably more expensive, and still just a dedicated gaming handheld. The 3G might help a bit, but still. Brand recognition? The company that's been in handhelds less than a decade versus the company that practically invented them? So yeah, nice to see Nintendo and Sony are in the same boat in the non-phone-handheld's battle for relevancy.

Also, there's been speculation that the reason it's called the NGP for now is they're coming up with a better name than PSP2 since they're competing against the 3DS, like how Microsoft went with Xbox 360 instead of Xbox 2 against the PS3.
"Oh man, I wish being a part of a Mario fan community was the most embarrassing thing about my life." - Super-Jesse

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2011, 07:48:07 PM »
CrossEyed, I disagree that a cheap and underpowered system could do well against Nintendo and Sony's offerings, not because it's a bad idea, but because I doubt there's anyone who would/could pull it off. As in, I don't think there's a company out there who's a big enough name in the game industry and has the balls to challenge the current contenders in the handheld market and can get support from the big third-party developers (who want to focus on the more powerful systems).

I think when market analysts keep saying the DS can't survive without being a phone they're comparing it directly to the entire iOS family (which is trailing the DS family by about thirty million units worldwide, at last check) rather than just the iPhone (which I'd guess is two-thirds of those sales at most) to make their argument sound good. Game systems don't need to be phones. Consolidating everything you do into one device is not the optimal solution; I for one like having my computers, phone, game systems, and music player be separate devices even if my smartphone can be all of those and more, because I'm not screwed if my phone dies like I would be if I used it for everything.

Also, no "probably" about either cost or battery life - it's definitely going to cost at least $400, and almost certainly more. OLEDs alone are mad expensive even before considering that this one is a touchscreen, and when you consider the cost of equivalent CPUs and GPUs for laptops and then consider they're making the hardware even smaller for the PSP2, well, $400 is probably a gross underestimate. And just going from the specs, it's likely that the battery life will be no more than a third of the given 3DS battery life; Wi-Fi might drain a lot on 3DS, but 3G on PSP2 will drain just as much, and you can use the battery life from a laptop using the aforementioned equivalent CPUs and GPUs to guess what kind of battery life the PSP2 will have with worse batteries.

Sony didn't say if they're still doing a specific PlayStation phone, but it looks like that all might just be the PlayStation Suite thing for Android phones and PSP2. Some new games that can be played on either platform, plus PSX emulation.

(Also, the PSP1 is already a Game Gear. More powerful than Nintendo's offering but doesn't sell as well, but isn't really a flop; has a robust library that still isn't as good as on Nintendo's system, though PSP's is way better than GG's; and has worse battery life than Nintendo's system.)

« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2011, 08:18:29 PM »
As long as Sega can get the true CANVAS engine running on the NGP, they can count on me buying this down the line.

Because honestly, I've accepted that Valkyria Chronicles will never return to home consoles.
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2011, 06:34:52 AM »
Famitsu readers are silly. Less than ¥30,000? Seriously?

Also, I doubt even an exclusive Valkyria Chronicles game would be enough to get me to buy the new hardware.

Also also, the sticks totally aren't what would stop you from putting the PSP2 in your pocket. I'm pretty sure the fact that the screen alone is bigger than the entire 3DS would stop you first.

« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2011, 09:04:05 PM »
Quote
The result for this question shouldn't come as a surprise. Monster Hunter got 282 votes, almost as much as the other four in the top five combined. Metal Gear Solid was second, followed by Final Fantasy, Tales and Kingdom Hearts

So basically, they want a PSP with prettier visuals.

So much for changing it up.
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2011, 09:48:47 AM »
Man, this is Japan we're talking about. The only thing that's surprising about that list of franchises is the lack of Dragon Quest, and I'd guess that's because fans are resigned to it being a Nintendo franchise at this point (what with the last numbered game being on the DS and the next one to be on Wii).

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