Sony NGP to Cost $250 for Wifi, $350 for 3G?

When Sony Electronics finally took the wraps off of the PSP successor, previously called by the public the PSP2 and currently codenamed NGP; both the press and consumers were blown away by what the system had to offer. We encourage to read our previous post where we dive into the NGP specs but for those who are playing at game, you will know that there is not one singular feature that stands out. Instead, Sony has created a cutting edge machine, much like the PS3 when it launched that offers power unparalleled by any currently and probably for some time to come. But the hardware is only part of the story, this time around, Sony has learned a good deal from both the PS3 and the PSP and has an extremely excited 3rd party presence that will sure help the NGP reach a success that the PSP was not to. Two questions were shortly discussed after the unveil; Is NGP really the products name and how much will this handheld cost.

The first question is the easier of the two. NGP stands for Next Generation Portable which is an internal codename that Sony used, during the products inception. The final product name has yet to be announced but think of it like when the original AppleTV was called iTV till an actual name (AppleTV) was given to the product. Although I would say that nearly two months after the product announcement and the word NGP sits quite nicely. After all, everybody thought Nintendo was crazy to call their next generation console the Wii and 80+ million units later, I don’t believe that the name hurt them one bit. Still, the product  name was the least of Sony’s worries or the perception that soon would follow the press release. Instead, question two began to set in. How much would the NGP cost?

Sony NGP to Release on November 11th in Europe?

The NGP is a hot tech topic. Announced a little over two months ago, the PSP successor, previously dubbed as the PSP2 and currently codenamed the NGP which is an internal codename and not the products actual name was met with great reactions from all over. The latest handheld from Sony packs some of the most state of the art technology in any device with many components of it not yet released into the market, like a quad core CPU and graphics card. Originally Sony’s Kaz Hirai had indicated that the NGP would launch during the 2011 Holiday season. We now know, thanks to clarification from SCEA Jack Tetton that Sony is looking to launch the NGP in at least one territory in 2011 with others to follow through. Part of this is the limitation in resources which make building large quantities of a unit like this extremely hard.

it’s very difficult to have the quantities to be able to launch on a worldwide basis on the same date” and that “our goal is get at least one territory out by the end of holiday 2011”.

When it comes to product launches, Sony users are no doubt accustomed to Japan, Sony’s home territory to receive a product with Europe and US to follow a few months after. This is especially true in the PlayStation division where all unites, including the PSone, PS2, PS3 and PSP launched in Japan and were eventually followed with a US release date. With such a track record, many assumed that the NGP would fall in line and Japan would receive the product sometime during the 2011 Holiday with Europe and US receiving shipments in the Spring. Now an online leak is pointing towards Europe receiving the honors and being the first territory to receive the NGP. This should partially come to as no surprise as Europe is one of Sony’s strong holds where the company sold over 9 million Sony Ericsson Android devices and the PlayStation 3 has continued to stay ahead of the Xbox 360. Still, this early on, it’s hard to take any leaks seriously as I’m sure final configuration and logistics of the NGP are still being sorted out.

[Via MCVUK]

ncmogo CEO Thinks ‘NGP Will Be Dead on Arrival’

Coming into the spotlight a little over three years ago, ngmogo is the game developer behind such popular iPhone games like Dropship, Star Defense, We Farm and We Rule. Since then, the small developer has grown to provide games for the full range of iOS devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) and Android. With their bread and butter invested into mobile games for cellphones, it’s no surprise to hear ngmogo CEO Neil Young bash the upcoming handheld from Sony, the NGP. The CEO thinks that the NGP which previously was called the PSP2 will be “dead on arrival” because the system wont be able to keep up with the advances in the iOS and Android ecosystem. Of course, every time I hear random CEO’s taking a shot at their competitors, it’s because they need some attention or they actually know there is real competition coming.

“I think they are hurt; I think they’re clearly hurt,” Young said of the traditional portables from Sony and Nintendo. “I think PSP is done and the new [NGP] is dead on arrival. It’s really difficult to compete with an app store that has hundreds of thousands of applications and a wide range of options where the average price paid is around $1.20 and there are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of free applications that are really high quality. So I just don’t think Sony’s going to be able to compete with that.”

Our NGP Video Overview Including HD Pictures, Specs and Game/Device Footage

For those of you who’ve been waiting for any spec of detail you can get about the upcoming handheld device from Sony, the NGP aka PSP2, we’ve finally got our video uploaded to YouTube after some technical difficulties and you are in for a treat. We not only go over some of the announcement, but we have all HD Pictures of the NGP and the current spec list. We also have some great game footage and some videos showing the devices different functionalities used in different game scenarios. Expect more videos from us as we cover the device in more depth and detail.

The NGP aka PSP2. Full Game List, So Far (updated)

One thing should be apparent about the NGP, that it’s crazy powerful. It has Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9 core with a SGX543MP4+ graphics card. All that should really mean nothing to the average person but what should mean something to you is Uncharted and Killzone which are synonymous with crazy graphics and thats exactly what the NGP is going to deliver. As shown with Hideo Kojima onstage, he was able to port over MGS4 from the PlayStation 3 and have it run on the NGP with no problem. What kind of game franchises are already being developed for the NGP and by who? Besides the obvious being Sony and it’s first party studios who have brought you games like God of War, Killzone and Uncharted, some third party studios include:

• Capcom
• Sega
• Tecmo Koei
• Konami
• Epic
• Activision
• Square-Enix

All of these companies have  announced games in development for the system. Hit the jump to see a full list of the currently announced titles that are in development, as well as a full publisher breakdown.

The NGP aka PSP2. We Have Full HD Pictures

Want to look at some pictures of the NGP aka PSP2? We got all of them in full HD galore for your viewing pleasure.

Checkout the full gallery  below and if you’re looking for NGP specs, we have those too!

The NGP aka PSP2. We Have Full Specs

The PSP2 which is actually called the NGP (Next Generation Portable) although we are not sure if this will be the official name when it launches this Holiday season or not was finally shown off last night in Tokyo and we have both specs and official pictures to show you. First, the device is crazy powerful and packs a lot of up to date technology, something that the PSP and PSPgo both lack. In comparison to the Nintendo 3DS, there really isn’t one. The NGP is for people who take gaming, media and the connected life serious. But more on that later. Lets get some specs out first like the fact that this thing has a Quad Core processor inside.

CPU: ARM Cortex -9 core (4 core)

GPU: SGX543MP4+

Multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display ( Resolution 960 x 544)

Read touch pad

Two cameras (front and rear)

Sound: Built in stereo speakers

Dual analog sticks

Built in Microphone

Sensors: Six-Axis motion sensor with accelerometer. Same internals of the PlayStation Move

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.

3G

Wifi (802.11 b/g/n)

Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR

Now how a full spec breakdown.