The PSP2′s name is NGP
Sony’s codename for the PSP2 is NGP. It stands for Next Generation Portable.
The PSP2 specifications are pretty tasty
Sony PSP’s replacement has a five-inch, 16 million colour 960×544 OLED touchscreen, twin cameras, twin speakers and a microphone. There are also twin analogue sticks and a ridiculously powerful quad-core processor based on the ARM Cortex A9. Expect four to five hours from the battery.
It’s got twin sticks
The “biggest criticism” of the original Sony PSP, according to GamesRadar’s Justin Towell, was that it had no second stick. “Why is a second stick so important? It allows you to move your character with one stick while looking with the other.”
The PSP2 specs include a touch-sensitive back
The rumour factory got this one right: the Sony NGP includes a touch-sensitive back so you can control the on-screen action without hiding it behind your fingers. The screen’s multi-touch too. The combination of a touchy front and back is fascinating – Sony talks about it enabling “touch, grab, trace, push and pull hand movements.”
The PSP2 specs include POWERVR graphics
Sony NGP doesn’t just have that nifty quad-core processor: it’s got a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR graphics processor too. We can summarise its spec in one word: mighty.
The PSP2 specifications include GPS
Sony promises that the PSP2′s built-in GPS will mean some interesting location-awaregames via the PlayStation Network, and an application called Near will let you know if your friends are, you’ve guessed it, near you. The PSP2 also includes a three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer and three-axis electronic compass for handheld-waggling motion-controlled tomfoolery.
The PSP2 design looks a bit like a PSP or PSPgo
Sony calls the PSP2′s shape Super Oval Design, which is one in the eye for anyone who expected mere Ordinary Oval Design. It looks quite like a PSP, we think. It’ll be 13mm longer than the PSP-3000 at 182mm in length – that’s big. Thickness? 18.6mm.
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The PSP2 UK price will be so low, Sony will lose money
That’s what a little bird told Eurogamer, anyway.
PSP2 games won’t be download-only
The rumour mill predicted download-only games, but while the NGP does indeed support downloadable games the device introduces yet another new format, “a small flash memory based card dedicated for NGP software titles”. What Sony has said is that the games will be “PS3 quality” – quite some achievement if it pans out.
Trophies will be coming too
It seems that Sony’s Trophies system from the PlayStation Network will also appear so you can score points wherever you play – even on your Android mobile….
The PSP2 will play Android games; Android will get PlayStation games
The newly announced PS Suite is fascinating: it’ll bring PlayStation games to Android, and casual games from Android to the NGP. Could we also see games become cross-platform with the PS3?
The PSP2 will have a 3G connection (and Wi-Fi)
The NGP has all the connectivity options you could ask for: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and 3G. That always-on connectivity means it’s ideal for socialgames too – so much so that Sony’s gone rabbit-ears crazy in the press release, promising ‘infinite possibilities for users to “encounter”, “connect”, “discover”, “share” and “play” with friends wherever they are.’ Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) says that every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called LiveArea where “users can share the fun and excitement with other players”.
The PSP2 UK release date will be late 2011
Sony’s a bit vague on this one. “NGP will arrive at the end of 2011“, it says. In time for a lot of Christmas stockings then…
