Sony announces PSP2

[dsheinem]

Also, who keeps reading NGP as Neo Geo Pocket?

*raises his hand*

Also, PS3 graphics? Isn't that kinda what we expected anyway? Meaning, it's probably going to be equal to the DS in terms of graphics.

The 3DS improves on the graphics of the DS, but about the best I've heard people say about graphics is that they are "almost-Wii like" (and in 3D). The current PSP's graphics are almost Wii-like. If graphics are what you're after, it doesn't look like there's a contest between the two: PSP2 wins hands down.

Basically, with them being on par in that category, it's going to come down solely to games. Dumbed-down PS3 games aren't going to do it; Sony needs some BIG original titles for it to compete.

Sony has done very well world-wide with both the PS3 and PSP. They've proven that they don't need to be #1 in the market as there is enough market share for two portables to be successful. If things go as well with the PSP2 as they did with the PSP, they should be fine.

Frankly, the only notable design improvement I see for PSP2 is a second analog stick... Color me not impressed.

So the inclusion of a physical media option, a touch pad, an OLED touch screen, gyroscope, and 3G built in aren't significant design improvements over the PSPGo?

[AppleQueso]

With the 3DS and PSP2 being almost as powerful as their current home console counterparts, I smell the next console generation coming really soon...

[EvilRyu2099]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011- ... -4-5-hours


So apparently this overpowered portable still has more battery life than the 3DS, it still is pretty bad..

[YoshiEgg25]

Also, PS3 graphics? Isn't that kinda what we expected anyway? Meaning, it's probably going to be equal to the DS in terms of graphics.

The 3DS improves on the graphics of the DS, but about the best I've heard people say about graphics is that they are "almost-Wii like" (and in 3D). The current PSP's graphics are almost Wii-like. If graphics are what you're after, it doesn't look like there's a contest between the two: PSP2 wins hands down.

I've heard that the 3DS was on par with the Xbox 360. Don't remember where I heard that, though. Reports have been everywhere from the Dreamcast to the 360.

[EvilRyu2099]

I've heard that the 3DS was on par with the Xbox 360. Don't remember where I heard that, though. Reports have been everywhere from the Dreamcast to the 360.

You heard wrong.. Most demos show it's on par with the Wii, maybe a little bit better.. Same with the NGP(PSP 2).. It's not actually PS3 graphics, but the lower resolution makes it look much better than it really is..

[ejamer]

Nintendo is failing on battery life and cost with their 3DS

You can't really slam Nintendo on cost; I mean, it's stereoscopic 3D without glasses, with a whole other bunch of bells and whistles. That had to be expensive to develop, let alone mass-market.

I'm not trying to slam either company on cost, but they are developing products that simply fall outside what I can justify paying.

3DS surely had some expensive R&D costs and is doing something that (to my knowledge) no other device really is at this point. PSP 2 will probably be way out of my price range, but that price could be fair if the system is as powerful as Sony claims.

I'm just interested to see if the market is willing to support higher prices for portable systems. It feels like a switch from what we have now, where portables often fill the "budget" gaming niche - especially with iOS continuing to push cheap (often shallow) games to the masses through the App store.

[env963]

I am guessing $300 - $400. I wont even consider such a thing, $200 or less please. PORTABLE GAMING, not my main console. We will see.

[scarper]

I kinda wish that they had smaller Blu-Ray based UMD discs, but this is probably for the best. I'm disappointed that it won't be backwards compatible with physical copies of original PSP games, because I have a ton of them. They'd better fix PSN so that downloading a game doesn't cost twice as much as buying a physical copy. That should be the other way around.

[ejamer]

Frankly, the only notable design improvement I see for PSP2 is a second analog stick... Color me not impressed.

So the inclusion of a physical media option, a touch pad, an OLED touch screen, gyroscope, and 3G built in aren't significant design improvements over the PSPGo?

Not really.

Physical media isn't a surprise after the disaster that was PSP Go, and replacing UMDs with a better option is also an obvious move. Do you really think this counts as a notable improvement? Sorry, I don't.

Is a touch pad/screen going to improve my gaming experience on this system? Maybe... but given Sony's focus on core gaming experiences I'm not confident about that. I guess it doesn't hurt to include it, as long as developers don't feel the need to make it a silly gimmick and instead only use the feature where appropriate. I can't shake the feeling that this is just a "me too" addition though, copying Nintendo and Apple and hoping to leech off their casual gaming success even though nothing else about this system is designed with casual gaming in mind.

Even on home consoles, the appeal of motion controls is quite limited. When you need to move and rotate your entire screen on a portable system to control a game it seems even more limited. There will be few games that make good use of it... but I'm betting right now you'll be able to count the really good ones on one hand. The gyroscope is more interesting for gaming than the GPS though, so I guess it's got that going for it.

As for the 3G option, I don't see that as a meaningful improvement. Online gaming isn't that important to me, especially for short, pick-up-and-play sessions on a portable system. The expectation that a contract will be needed only makes that feature less appealing.


So you've basically got a more powerful PSP with a few gimmicks throw in. Let me repeat: color me not impressed.

Sony has done very well world-wide with both the PS3 and PSP. They've proven that they don't need to be #1 in the market as there is enough market share for two portables to be successful. If things go as well with the PSP2 as they did with the PSP, they should be fine.

Very true. The PSP is a success, just not as big a success as some of the competitors.

I expected that Sony would rethink things and push to expand their market share instead of just accepting the status quo with PSP 2. I was wrong. This is a very safe and predictable upgrade that actually discards any progress made with the physical design of PSP Go in favor of returning to the older and more familiar original PSP system.

It is what it is, but I admit that I was hoping for something more.

[ZeroAX]

I know some people here didn't like the PSP Go design

I loved the PSP Go design. Most people actually did. The problem was how expensive the games were compared to stores, and how only a fraction of the PSP's library was released on PSN. Plus no UMD to PSN option for people who already owned a PSP.

EDIT

Little Deviants sounds like a fun and original game
http://kotaku.com/5744718/hands-on-with ... t-surprise

Still got a long way to go, in order to convince me to get one of these instead of a 3DS, but you never know what else might be released on the system.