Early this morning, Sony revealed the successor to the PlayStation Portable, the device codenamed Next Generation Portable or NGP. Kaz Hirai took the stage at the annual PlayStation Event and, as a warm-up, announced the PlayStation Suite for Android platforms. Basically, it’s the PSone Games section of the PlayStation Store extended to smart phones and tablets. Soon, it will be possible to play Cool Boarders 2, Wild ARMs and Syphon Filter on your phone using a simulated D-pad on touchscreen devices, or any other input devices that phone possesses. The aim is to extend the PlayStation brand to other platforms, and not regulate it to strictly Sony-based hardware.
Then came the meat-and-potatoes of the event: The NGP, which comes with the following features:
- 5-inch OLED touchscreen with 960×544 resolution (the current PSP has a 4.3-inch LCD with 480 × 272 resolution)
- ARM Cortex A9 core CPU (4 core)
- SGX543MP4 GPU
- Storage: “new type of mini flash memory cards” (definitely no UMDs anymore)
- New design (Sony speaks of a “super oval” shape)
- Touch pad on the rear that allows users to “touch” or “push” objects in games from the back
- 3G and Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n connectivity (3G for a gaming system is a first)
- Front and rear cameras
- Dual analog sticks
- Tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS controls
- GPS
- Built-in stereo speakers, mic
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Size: 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm
- Touted as having PS3 quality graphics
The NGP appears to eschew the XMB in favor of the LiveArea. It uses the front-facing touchscreen to navigate bubble icons representing the store, the Web browser and games and other apps. The main communication function offers a live feed that shows what your friends are up to. It will also be the first portable game system to connect with mobile networks–if you don’t consider the iPhone or iPad as portables, that is.
The “Near” app utilizes this mobile communication technology, allowing players to see what games are being talked about in your area, such as the train, in school or at the office. Players can check the most popular game in a given area, what titles different players have played recently, and rankings in a given area. It will also be possible to jump from Near to buy a game on the PlayStation Store if you see something interesting being played nearby.
The games hinted at (there were no official reveals) include Killzone, Resistance, Uncharted, Hot Shots Golf, Uncharted, Call of Duty, an untitled Hideo Kojima project and more.
During a demo of the Uncharted game, the NGP touch pad was used to control Drake. The gyrosensor was used to make him jump, too. Sliding the player’s fingers on the touch pad on the back allowed Drake to perform other moves like sliding down vines.
There was also a demo of Hot Shots Golf, in which you can make the NGP your camera, and move the system in real life to view the camera angle from the player’s point of view. Your shot can be set up in the first person mode, but then switched to third person mode to hit the ball.
As far as backwards-compatibility goes, PSone games on the PlayStation Suite will work on NGP, and you can play downloadable PSP titles on the NGP.
Representatives from Capcom, Koei, Konami, Sega, Epic and Activision were on hand to show off tech demos and to make announcements.
Jun Takeuchi from Capcom took the stage to thank everyone for the success of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (4 million copies sold in Japan!) then went on to announce a downloadable version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the NGP.
“The stick feels great, you can quote me,” said Takeuchi. “It feels different from the stick on the PSP. It goes down further, it tilts. It’ll be good for action games.”
It will be possible to use dual-analog camera controls for Monster Hunter. Goodbye, mangled claw! Goodbye forever!
Takeuchi went on to show how Capcom’s MT Framework will work on NGP. Called MT Mobile, he showcased the Lost Planet 2 intro running on NGP. explaining it is basically the same as the PS3 version, though the NGP demo was developed in two weeks. He didn’t announce any new games today, but said he will “before long” — a phrase that got repeated often at the event.
Next, SEGA’s Toshihiro Nagosh (of Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza fame), demonstrated a Yakuza 4 port tech demo. It took about three months to port over. “Everything can go on NGP,” he said.
Then, Akihiro Suzuki from Tecmo Koei showed a clip from the Musou series, showing how players can touch to destroy multiple enemies at the same time. And next, Hideo Kojima from Konami, of Metal Gear fame, took the stage to say “I don’t have an announcement of a new title” then showed a clip of Metal Gear Solid 4 running on NGP. Another test render, it showed part of the cutscene where Old Snake meets Otacon via Metal Gear Mk. II.
“This game used the model data and environments from PS3, and it was exported directly to NGP,” explained Kojima. He then went on to talk about how NGP’s potential for cloud computing can add a new experience for players, so players could play a PS3 game at home, and then take that game outside on NGP. “This dream is going to come true in the near future … I am currently working on a new project for that dream.” He says they’ll present that title at E3 later this year.
Tim Sweeny of Epic Games took the stage next, to reveal the Unreal engine on the NGP. He showed Dungeon Defenders, a game developed for the PS3 by Trendy Entertainment, but moved to the NGP recently in a short span of time.
Finally, Kaz Hirai came back, introducing Phillip Early from Activision. Without any footage, they announced Call of Duty will come to NGP. “We believe Call of Duty will set the bar for the next generation of portable gaming,” said Early. He went on to say the dual analog sticks, social networking, front and back touch screens will make anything possible. Hirai then said we can experience a totally new world of Call of Duty.
Lastly, a long list of a confirmed developers, including Q Entertainment, Rockstar and Ubisoft, scrolled up the screen. More NGP info will be revealed at E3 and the system is set to hit the market this holiday season.
Senior Reviews Editor Tim Torres loves video games and loves to write about them. He also loves movies, comics, animation and acting. He does not hate Final Fantasy VII.
