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At PlayStation Meeting 2011 in Japan, Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, SCEI, introduced the world to the newest addition to the PlayStation product family and the future of portable gaming: currently codenamed NGP (Next Generation Portable).

When PSP first launched in 2005 in North America it changed the way people thought of portable gaming and raised expectations in regards to the variety and quality of games users expected to access while on the go. It has since become the go-to handheld entertainment system for more than 64 million users who seek home entertainment quality games along with access to their music, movies, photos and more.


Key NGP features:

• Multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display
• Multi-touch pad on the rear of the device
• Dual analog sticks
• Two cameras (front and rear)
• Software titles on small, dedicated flash memory-based cards
• Three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass
• Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity
• PlayStation Network access, including "LiveArea™", "Near" and "Activity" log features Trophy Support
• NGP will be able to play PSP titles, minis, PS one classics, video and comics from the PlayStation Store.

Specs:

Details such as release date, price, and more will be announced in due course. We’ll keep you updated.

Images via comments ...

Whereas the DS's ugly-duckling launch model was replaced by the sleek DS Lite a year after birth, Nintendo insists it has no immediate plans to follow a similar route with its impending successor.

Speaking in the latest Iwata Asks interview on the platform holder's official site, 3DS hardware designer Kenichi Sugino revealed that, thanks to lessons learned during production of the DS Lite, it will be tough to further slim down the new handheld with any future hardware revisions.

"The first thing (Nobuo) Nagai-san, who's in charge at the Uji plant, said to me when he looked over the designs for Nintendo 3DS before mass production began was 'This time it's fully packed right from the start'," recalled Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata.

"Oh, really?" replied Sugino. "But he was right. That's why we don't have any short-term plans for creating a more compact version of Nintendo 3DS like we did with Nintendo DS Lite."

"Yeah," added Iwata. "When making Nintendo 3DS, we used all our tricks for Nintendo DS Lite - and more - for cutting down on size right from the start."

So, just a cynical attempt to entice fence-sitters holding off on a 3DS purchase until a more fully-featured model is announced, or could this genuinely be a new approach for the platform holder? Time will tell.

The 3DS launches in Europe on 25th March.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ing-a-3ds-lite ...

The more responsible gaming hardware enthusiasts among you have probably reserved your excitement over the recently announced NGP until you learn the device's ever-important launch price. Given the impressive specs of the handheld -- as well as Sony's infamous tendency to overcharge for its new gaming hardware at launch -- we wouldn't blame you for worrying. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Andrew House recently provided Eurogamer with the first potential hints about the console's MSRP, saying, "I can't put a ballpark on it in terms of figures, but what I would say is that we will shoot for an affordable price that's appropriate for the handheld gaming space."

However, Sony's not going to be giving the things away; House also shot down a Eurogamer source who claimed Sony would be selling the device at a loss. House explained, "we would want to have our hardware be profitable, in addition to our software," later adding, "We've experienced both sides and we know which one we like to be on!" That seems like a tricky balancing act: How exactly is Sony planning on introducing new (assumedly high-investment) technology at an affordable consumer price point and still hope for the NGP to remain profitable? Wizardry? Alchemy? Both?

As far as a firm number, Game Informer was the only outlet able to get anything out of Sony's biggest wigs -- when GI brought up the enormous launch price of the PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment president of worldwide studios Shu Yoshida laughed, and replied, "It's not going to be $599." We're glad events unfolded in that order -- had he said "It's not going to be $599," then laughed maniacally, we would have started to get really nervous

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/27/so...nd-affordable/ ...

A 1UP report quotes Sony head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida saying that the NGP handheld will have "about the same [battery life] as the original PSP." The PSP's battery life varies considerably from around 3 hours if the UMD disc drive was whirring away, to much longer if played off flash storage. Sony's official estimate for average PSP operation time is 3-5 hours.

Meanwhile, Eurogamer has Sony Europe honcho Andrew House saying the device will have a "good, solid battery life because of two factors." The dual delights of life extension are apparently the card-based media (instead of UMD, which requires moving parts) and the OLED screen. Those potential power savers are joined by energy-sapping features like a four-core CPU, 3G, and other factors, helping explain the PSP-like battery life.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/27/ng...arable-to-psp/ ...

The NGP lacks mass market appeal, according to a top industry analyst, and may fail to resonate with the mobile gaming generation, predicts another.

A trio of talking heads chimed in with their opinions of Sony's new PSP successor to IndustryGamers following the hardware reveal earlier today. While all were impressed by the system's feature set, there was less consensus regarding its market potential.

"[NGP has a] strong software lineup, but unlikely to hit the mass market," speculated Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian.

"While clearly differentiated from the more casual games that have made the iPhone a phenomenal success as a videogame platform, it remains unclear whether there is mass market potential for high-end portable games. We note that Sony's PSP did not meet initial sales expectations despite offering the highest quality graphics on a portable device at that time."

Mike Hickey of Janco Partners, though excited by the portable's "muscular hardware specs", echoed Sebastian's concerns.

"We suspect Sony's NGP will face considerable market competition from smartphones, tablets and Nintendo's 3D's gaming handheld," he explained.

"We believe Sony's PSP and PSP Go failed to resonate with today's mobile gamers; and view the NGP as an evolution not a revolution from the aforementioned. The mobile gaming market moved aggressively away from Sony's interpretation of a mobile game experience, and it's not clear to us that the NGP is mapping to that new market."

Of course, no analyst round-up would be complete without Wedbush Morgan's beloved Michael Pachter and, surprisingly, he was the most enthusiastic of the three.

"It's a pretty impressive device," he gushed. "There is a lot to like, and Sony has a huge library of content. The device looks pretty powerful, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some pretty sophisticated games, and the 3G capability and relationship with Android means we'll see a ton of Android apps on the device as well.

The Pach-Man predicted strong launch sales for the device, but speculated its long-term success would live or die on the strength of the software support.

"I suppose it will sell incredibly well for the first year (would bet 15 million or so), and then it will succeed or slow based upon the availability of software, much like the original PSP. I think it's a huge step up on the PSP, and think that the memory card-based games (a la DS) make a lot of sense."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...he-mass-market ...

Following the extensive PlayStation 3 update earlier this week, it's now the turn of the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops to get patched up.

Title update 6, as detailed on the game's official forum, adds in a few minor new features, support for the impending First Strike DLC pack and fixes a number of glitches and exploits.

Here's the full-list of changes:

New Features:

New contracts added to the rotation.
Added optional pre-match timer for LAN / System-Link games.
Support for "First Strike" map pack. All First Strike maps will be available in every playlist on 2/1.
Issues Addressed:

Fix timing specific issue where the game can be put into slow motion.
Addressed "disconnected path" error when using the doors in Radiation after a host migration.
Fixed stability issues navigating lobbies after client on Split Screen Zombies quits out of a game.
Addressed issue/exploit when removing Counter Spy Plane effects with the Jammer.
Fixed a freeze when quickly loading maps one after another in private match.
Fixed issue where players get primary weapons in Second Chance.
Fixed "NEW" stamp not disappearing for Custom Slot 9 when highlighting the slot.
Removed water vision effect when respawning after dying in the acid pool in Radiation.
Several contract fixes.
Now allow players to connect to System Link Games even if they are not connected to LIVE.
Fixed crash when host migration occurred during a join-in-progress.
Fixed issue with players seeing incomplete Create a Class submenus when Party leader switches lobbies or kicks player.
Fixed in-game Friends List from opening when viewing then closing the playercard of a player in a lobby.
Addressed Zombies split screen issue where players sometimes get booted back in the lobby.
Replaced debug text appearing for some content in the in-game Store.
Fixed crash when attempting to watch a film or clip with 3 or more profiles signed in.
Fixed freeze while watching films and changing sign-in status using inactive profiles.
Fixed a freeze if a player opens the Xbox Guide while the match is ending and quits immediately as they arrive in the post-game lobby.
Gameplay Tuning:

Second Chance – players that put an enemy into Second Chance are now credited for a full kill once that enemy dies. If another player kills the enemy while the enemy is in Second Chance, they will get assist credit.
Adjustments to the PSG1 with attachments.
AK74U adjustments.
RCXD adjustments.
Silenced sniper rifle adjustments.
Removed hit markers when shooting friendly equipment.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...e-for-xbox-360 ...

Sony is pushing stereoscopic 3D hard – in televisions and in games on the PlayStation 3 – but the feature is absent from the recently announced Next Generation Portable.

While Sony explored stereoscopic 3D for the NGP, it decided against its inclusion. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Andrew House explained why in a new interview conducted this morning in Tokyo.

"We view 3D as having the greatest potential, in the near term, in what I would call a dedicated entertainment environment," he said.

"And that's in the home, around the television, and where it's a shared experience. I think that's really important. We struggle a little bit to see how that 3D, shared experience translates to portable devices as they currently stand."

In a statement, Sony revealed more detail on its exploration of the tech.

"In the development process, we had studied the possibility of introducing stereoscopic 3D feature to NGP, but decided not to install it. After careful consideration of our goal of offering users the ultimate portable entertainment experience with a revolutionary user interface we have decided to focus on the features and specs announced today first.

"SCE will continue to play an important role within Sony group by promoting 3D in tandem with Sony Corporation's 3D compatible BRAVIA LCD TVs to deliver the sublime 3D entertainment in the living room and without having to go to the cinema. We will continue our effort to provide users with true 3D entertainment experience that only Sony can deliver."

The absence of 3D from the NGP is made all the more noticeable by Nintendo's glasses-free 3DS, due out in March.

While House admitted the NGP is "in competition" with 3DS, he insisted it has more than enough features to stand out.

"I know you'll think me coy, but our wish when we enter markets is to grow the overall market and landscape, and find new audiences. So in that space, I think we're more or less generally competing for consumers' time, and that's where we place the highest premium.

"It's our job to deliver fantastic experiences that merit the consumers' investment of their time with our devices.

"We feel very confident that we have very sufficiently differentiated ourselves from the competition with spec, and in particular the connectivity and network features and interfaces that are all pretty revolutionary. That will set this device apart."

Sony will roll out the NGP worldwide from late 2011. Pricing is yet to be announced.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...rtable-devices ...

Sony's Next Generation Portable does many things – including 3G – but it is not a phone.

"Deliberately no," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Andrew House told Eurogamer. "We've avoided it."

Why?

"We think that voice capability carries with it a whole other set of expectations, and we want this to be first and foremost the ultimate gaming experience.

"We've elected not to complicate that proposition overly by trying to have it be all things to all people including voice and a conventional phone. Clearly [PlayStation Suite] addresses an already vibrant phone marketplace that serves that consumer very well."

PlayStation Suite is a new service which will deliver classic PSone content to Android smartphone devices.

Sony boss Kaz Hirai promised PlayStation Suite, which launches later this year, will bring "legendary original PlayStation content" to mobiles. No specific titles were announced, but a snowboarding game was briefly demoed, with a virtual D-pad and buttons clearly displayed on the phone screen.

"We envision PlayStation Suite as an initiative that is essential to the world of portable entertainment," he insisted.

Yesterday Sony's PlayStation Phone – what we now know is called Xperia Play – was suffered another leak with the publication of a detailed hands-on video. Sony is expected to announce it next month.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...p-isnt-a-phone ...

The NGP's memory storage capabilities are puzzlingly absent from the hardware specifications released by Sony today. During the PlayStation Meeting 2011 press conference, the company briefly introduced a "new game media" format, a flash memory-based card on which retail titles will be sold (replacing the clunky, power-sucking UMD). These SD-looking game cards -- said to be proprietary -- will feature extra storage for relevant data, including games saves and add-ons.

"NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles," a Sony press release later confirmed. "Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games."

But where will users store non-game data? The NGP's LiveArea UI suggests that multimedia applications will be integral to the handheld, and many of these apps will obviously require data storage -- not to mention the storage requirements for downloadable games. While Sony has not mentioned an internal flash memory component of the NGP, SCE Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida revealed to Game Informer that the device will feature "two slots" for memory cards; one for the new game cart format (which Yoshida confirmed would be proprietary -- not SD) and a second port for additional storage.

Whether the additional slot has been designed for Sony's existing proprietary Memory Stick (the "Micro" version is used for PSP Go memory expansion) has not been specified. "At this point, all we're saying is it is proprietary storage capabilities," SCEA boss Jack Trenton told Engadget, "we're not getting into defining what it is yet."

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/27/ng...-storage-game/ ...