Sony just announced the PSP2, current known as codename NGP (Next Gen Portable?). So if you missed it, then you suck at life. Excuse me, if you missed then I got you cover WITH ALL THE DETAILS.
Alright here it is. First things first let’s get into the specs.
A 5 inch OLED screen 960 x 544 (if you have an iPhone 4 that’s what this screen looks like), ARM Corte-A9 core (4 core CPU), SGX543MP4+ GPU (It's the same tech Apple uses in the iPhone 4, and iPad, as well as other phones and tablet devices, but my guess is this is a modified version of those GPU's to better suit gaming needs), 3G plus WiFI, GPS, Front and rear touch pads, Six axis motion sensing abilities, Front and rear camera, microphone, dual analog sticks (not nubs), motion sensors, an electronic compass. The device will be out this holiday season.
NGP will accept a new game medium, flash based.
The devices on the stage are various colors. From here, looks like black, white and silver.
A montage of various games are shown for the platform. Hot Shots Golf, Killzone (looks awesome), Reality Fighters, Broken, Gravity Daze (Girl flipping around and being awesome), Little Big Planet, Wipeout, Resistance (looks amazing), Uncharted (WOW)
They’re showing Uncharted 2. Visuals look absolutely stunning. Game looks really, really nice. Only a few touches less impressive that Uncharted on the PS3. Sony has developed a "micro-analog stick" which was developed for this platform. Folks, when Drake is running around, the game just looks really amazing. Drake runs through the jungle and the environment is detailed and lush. Thank goodness for Naughty Dog. Can actually use the touch screen to control Drake. And can also use Six Axis feature to control Drake's swing on a vine. Now he's using the rear touch pad to control Drake, alternating the left and right finger to command Drake's movements. Looks fluid. Now he's touching the various parts of a cliff to tell Drake to move along the rock wall. Now Drake sneaks up behind an enemy and touches the enemy to push him off the cliff. Looks like all the various control schemes are implemented at the same time. He's using the gyro-sensor to aim.
Little Deviants is being shown now. A little game with cute, cuddly characters. The rear touch panel is used in this game to control the game world. Oh man, as he touches the back of the device, it creates a hill in the world, almost as if he's pushing through the back of the device and altering the game world to control characters on the screen.
Trace, Grab, Trace, Push, Pull. These are all actions available through the touch pad. The touch screen in the back is the same size as the OLED screen on the front, meaning you can touch anywhere in the back and get similar reactions in the front. The technology really does look impressive. Not only visually, but how responsive the touch screen appears. Can't wait to get my hands on this. Now, he's pinching the front and back touch screen to grab things on the screen.
It seems like this touch technology is extremely versatile and allows for new types of control.
Now, Kaz is discussing "Live Area," a new service. It's a new space. Screenshot of the UI. Shows different software icons. Really slick. OH SNAP, HEY COLIN GUESS WHAT? There's a Trophy icon on this screen. It wasn't mentioned but it looks like Trophy support is all but confirmed.
Live Area is like the hub page for a game, where users can get information on different games, and jump right into the PlayStation Store, and other parts of the PS space. It's easy to hop in and out of the game almost instantaneously. Think about how fast you can open and close apps on an iPhone. Same speed here, when launching games. Impressive stuff, friends. There's even built-in message boards that you can access. This UI is absolutely incredible. I never get excited about UI, but I'm actually pretty pumped for this tech. It's seamless, pretty, and seems to highlight community. Because the NGP is always connected to the internet by 3G, you'll always be connected.
Next in the lineup, Location-based services. This gives users the ability to see where their friends are, and what they're playing all live. Near. This is a multi-function application. The Near app records the footprints of your travel, and tracks it. The app shows the path of the user in a friendly, stylish interface. Very nice. People around you that are gaming are displayed as avatars. So you can actually see where people were. Tapping on the avatar shows the games that user was playing recently. This is like a Google Map for gamers, showing when, where, and what people are playing. So much information! You can drill down even deeper to see how many people are playing Hot Shots in your area, for example. If you see someone playing a game, you can touch it and buy it instantly on the PS Store to start playing for yourself.
Another demonstration of a new studio title in development. Hot Shots is being shown off on the stage. Sony wants to show the convergence of the real and virtual worlds. The visuals in the game are, once again, fantastic. Yoshida is using touch controls to position his golfer before lining up a shot. By using the camera, the game can actually track where you are pointing the device, meaning you can look around in real time within the game world. It's responsive, and very cool. Yoshida can rotate 360 degrees in real life and move the in-game camera around.
The implications of this tech are mind-blogging.
Kaz is inviting some game creators onto the stage. Capcom, SEGA, Tecmo Koei, Konami, Epic, Activision. They are all with us today!
Capcom rep. takes the stage. Jun Takeuchi. Takeuchi starts by stating that he is very thankful for gamers' support of Monster Hunter. Monster Hunter Portable downloadable version, is currently in development. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd will run on the NGP. Takeuchi is playing the game on stage. Doesn't look quite as good as the other demos that we've seen today, but it's still nice to see. Takeuchi quotes as saying, "The stick feels... greeeaaaat!" this is the first time he's played the device, apparently. Lucky jerk. Looks like we've got Lost Planet 2, rendered real time, on NGP. The quality of the image is quite nice. Just slightly less detailed than the PS3 version. That demo was completed in only 2 weeks, so that's definitely encouraging. Seems like ports will be very easy. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Takeuchi isn't announcing any new titles at the time. But he says to stay tuned.
Toshihiro Nagoshi, from SEGA, takes the stage. He admits to being nervous on the stage. "This is a hardware with no excuses." Looks like some Yakuza action on the NGP. Looks like Yakuza characters, but he hasn't said what the game title is. And zombies burst into the room during the trailer. So, yeah. Let's just all go and think about that. Trailer complete.
Akihiro Suzuki from Tecmo Koei takes the stage. Oh go figure, it's Dynasty Warriors. Okay, that's it for Suzuki's portion of the conference.
Oh snap. Hideo Kojima takes the stage. People get excited. Aw, no new title announcement, according to Kojima. Trailer shown that displays an opening scene of MGS4 running on the NGP. This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the visuals on these titles is something I've never seen on a portable device before. Think Infinity Blade on drugs. Please note, this is not necessarily confirmation that MGS4 will be on the NGP, but it's a possibility. This was just a tech demo. Kojima wants to create an experience where you can play something on the PS3, then put it on the NGP and take it with you and resume your experience. Kojima notes that he will reveal the company's plans at E3 this year.
Epic rep comes out. Tim Sweeny. They show a trailer of the Unreal Engine 3 running on the device. Dungeon Defenders is now being shown on the main stage screen. Dungeon Defenders was meant for the PS3 but was moved over to the portable. And nothing was reduced in the process. The team could make the move over in just one week of development time (Do I smell port crazy, I think I do.) More gameplay footage from Dungeon Defenders. Tim thanks the audience and leaves the stage.
Next, Philip Earl, from Activision, is next up! He has a very lovely English accent. Call of Duty confirmed for the NGP.
A list of devs is shown, including Grassopper, IREM, Level 5, Namco Bandai, Square Enix, Ubisoft, 2k Games, Rockstar, These are all devs. that have pledged to support the device.
That's it folks!
Using the latest driver/game patches, the GeForce RTX 4090 is 16%, 14%, and 10% faster at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively
Duuro says: "While the story didn't do it for me this time around, everything else from the gorgeous and varied festival grounds and set-pieces to the new weapons and enemies are enough of a reason to return to Hell-A."
The latest major order in Helldivers 2 was completed within 12 hours. The community managers are already celebrating a job well done.
Interesting...
Where´s the official sales numbers for Helldivers 2, since we heard those metrics are such unacceptable and misleading bs?
Last Official’steam update was 3 million, and the developer saying there’s an even split between steam and pc, so 6million, I’m sure with numbers still growing week-by-week
Other reports suggest more
“According to a Bloomberg report, Helldivers 2 has sold over 8 million copies as of 15th March 2024”
Don’t be salty ps5 has destroyed your favourite box in the first half of the year, with Helldivers, Rise of Ronin and Final Fantasy VII, where Xbox has little to no blockbusters in terms of quality, or sales numbers
First off let me start by saying this is everything I could have imagined it would be. Sony has outdone themselves. It's literally a PS3 on the Go, and in the process they've corrected every fault that the PSP had with this new device. The only complaint I have is how big it is. This has made me want to buy one at launch, but I think I'll wait for the inevitable remodel to come out which may have more RAM (PSP 2000), better battery life, better screen, and a smaller size.
So a lot of our questions were answered, now list any other questions you have.
How much does it cost?
How much battery life does the device have?
Will Android OS be on the device?
And here's another question.
Say devs. made games on the NGP shorter. You can play through a game in 4 - 6 hours (which is the expected battery life for the NGP according to Digital Foundry). Would you be satisfied with those games, if they were $15 - $20? A perfect example is Ratchet and Clank Quest for Booty. Would you be satisfied with a 4 - 6 hour campaign, with online multiplayer for $20?
***A 5 inch OLED screen 960 x 544 (if you have an iPhone 4 that’s what this screen looks like), ***
No, it doesn't. iPhone 4 has a 3.5" diagonal screen. It does have a slightly higher resolution (960x560), but the display area is much smaller. Rather than going with the high retina display and oversampling the resolution, the NGP is instead going with size at the standard dpi for gaming.
Wait, it's expected out THIS year? Man I wasn't bothered filtering through the multiples of articles on it with all the specific details after I had already checked a few on the main ones but I thought it'd be out in around 2 years at least.
As for the system itself, sounds great, but I'm not gonna get all my hopes up. We were told all these amazing things about the PSP too before and we ended up getting about 2 good games a year for it. The possibility with the PS3 game-demos being shown on it are good, but I'm gonna wait and see exactly what the possibilities for it are before making a judgement.