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 Blasts Mobile Phone Gaming, Winks at Apple

This new commercial from Sony pretty much says all it needs to say. Sony is no longer just concerned with Nintendo in the handheld gaming market but is very well aware of the fact that Apple has taken a big leap with the App Store and the cheap games it offers. The message here is simple: on the PSP, you can get high quality games starting at $9.99. Sony also offers the Mini games as well which have a starting price of $2, but those are more like the content and sometimes straight ports of games on the App Store. Being a lover of my iPhone, I have to say that although the games on the Apple platform are fun for a few minutes, they are nowhere near the quality of a game designed for the PSP, especially AAA titles like God of War, Final Fantasy and LittleBigPlanet which offer far superior graphics, depth, and storyline. Of course, price plays into all of this as well and I think Sony is on the right track. It needs to further increase the presence of the PSP and let gamers know of the variety of titles it has, including Minis. From there, Sony needs to reach to the small time publishers of the App Store and let them know that the content they create is welcomed on the Playstation platform and then formulate a delivery method so they can actually pass those games to Sony.

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DC Brings Its Comics To PSP

DC is throwing its support behind the PSP and will now be offering its comics in the Playstation Comic Store, joining the likes of Sony Comics, Marvel and others. DC will be starting off with 80 titles; there will be more coming in the future. DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee went on to announce that there will be: “actually a fairly wide and diverse offering of kids comics like Tiny Titans, DC core titles such as Batman: Hush and critically acclaimed classics like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman”.

Lee also confirmed that the prices of the comics will range from $1 to $3. For those who want to try out this service, there will be several free issues and samples, including a 10-page preview of “Superman No. 700,” stories from “Batman: Black and White” and the first installments of “Bayou,” “Fringe,” “Mirror’s Edge,” and “Resistance.”

Some other launch titles include:

“Batman: Hush,” “Green Lantern: Rebirth,” “Fables: Legends in Exile” and “Planetary: All Over the World,” “Other Stories,” “Superman/Batman,” “Resistance,” “Free Realms” and “God of War.”

I Don’t Use My PSPgo Because I’m Cheap

On October 1st, 2009, I was a giddy person. It was the PSPgo launch date and I had my unit already paid for and only needed the UPS man to bring it to my door. It was a little opposite of the PSP-1000 launch as I waited in line that day at a GameStop store. The original PSP was one of my favorite gadgets. Before I had an iPod, that little guy would hold my music, I had a load of UMD movies and  had downloaded Anime on my memory stick and a load of games. Fast forward the PSPgo launch: I received my unit, fired it up and was in love. I immediately downloaded Grand Turismo and a few other games and took my PSPgo with me everywhere. But I noticed I kept going back to my PSP-1000 and it was for the simple reason that I still needed to beat Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. Because of lack of option of playing Crisis Core on my PSPgo, my PSP-1000 had me in. But now I owned this beautiful unit and I couldn’t even give it the attention it needed. Soon I noticed that Amazon had a fantastic deal on Dissidia: Final Fantasy. Of course, this was on the UMD version, but for $20, how could I say no?

It’s with this that I noticed that the reason I don’t use my PSPgo is because I’m cheap! Seriously, one of the reasons I have been playing my original PSP more than my PSPgo is because I can go on Amazon and get cheaper prices or sales on games. Plus, at the end of the day, it will be the same game because yes the PSPgo is sexier and has a better screen, but the game itself is and will be the same. So while I do love my PSPgo, I don’t want to pay extra for games when I don’t have to.  Also, the whole point of digital distribution is that there is no shipping, no packaging, no producing and booklets and boxes, so does it not make sense for the digital version to be cheaper? Plus, the big worry with game publishers right now is secondhand selling and how they don’t get a cut of that market. Well have the UMD version for $40 which can go be sold again and the PSN version for $30 because I cannot share those and sell that copy.

That is ultimately not the only solution. Sony needs to give a retailer like Amazon the capability go also put the PSN versions on sale as well as the UMD and give the buyers a choice (remember, there is a PSN store on Amazon as well for those who want to gift games or just buy them some other way). So to wrap this up, I’m not against digital downloads. I own 2 iPhones (soon 3) and my iPad, and I have nearly 30 PSN games on the PS3, but when I can get the same game for cheaper on the PSP as opposed to the PSPgo version and they are of the same quality, capitalism and supply and end demand indicate that the PSPgo will flop and so far, its been true, sadly.

Here’s a funny thing: in order to take the picture I did for the profile, I had to plug my PSPgo back in and charge it up and during its initial setup, I felt very guilty about this post and the lack of attention I have given that unit and the lack of marketing and attention Sony has given it as well because it feels so damn nice in the hand. Dammit Sony!