By Andrew Liszewski
I’m not sure if they’re trying to distance themselves from the PSP, but Sony’s next-generation portable gaming device has officially been unveiled and instead of referring to it as the PSP2 or the PSP-somethingorother, it’s currently known as the NGP, or ‘next-generation portable’. And since Sony is still convinced that specs and horsepower are what wins the handheld gaming wars, the NGP is certainly packed to the gills.
It’s powered by a quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor and a quad core PowerVR SGX534MP4+ GPU, and features an impressive 5-inch, 960×544 pixel resolution OLED display. The single flat analog nub of the original PSPs has been replaced with 2 more substantial analog sticks, presumably making it feel more like Sony’s DualShock controllers, but taking a cue from Nintendo not only is that fancy new display touch-friendly, but there’s also a similar sized touchpad on the back allowing you to enjoy touch-based games without blocking the screen with your fingers.
There also seems to be more of a push for social gaming with a new Xbox Live-esque feature called LiveArea which uses the NGP’s 3G, wifi and GPS to find people to play with and share your scores and achievements. And if you’re a big fan of the PlayStation Move, you’ll be happy to hear the NGP packs the same accelerator and gyroscope technology. Sony also announced a batch of titles that will be available for the NGP including portable versions of hits like Call of Duty, Uncharted, Hot Shots Golf, Killzone and Wipeout, plus a slew of developers who are already on board. But what’s most surprising is that the unnamed NGP is actually slated to be available this holiday season. So, anyone still care about that PlayStation phone now?
Too bad the screen is not 32 pixels taller, then Sony could have sold PAL programming