PlayStation Vita (Sony Next Generation Portable)

[DrakeClawfang]

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/01/27/ps_meeting_2011/

NGP stands for "New Generation Portable".

To summarize - the system has two analog sticks, and they're actual analog sticks they had to custom design for the system. It has touchpads on the back for controlling characters, and a touchscreen. In addition to the typical one analog to move and second for camera, you can control the camera with the touchscreen and control the game with the back touch. There will be, quote, "some social network features", and has 3G and Wi-Fi. It has front and rear cameras, the screen has four times the resolution. It's unclear if "NGP" is the actual name they're going with, or just like a codename or dubbed moniker for it until they name it something else.

The NGP will be released throughout the world by the end of the year. No word on price.

And oh yes - apparently (I may have misread it but this is what the link says) it will be backwards compatible.

Image - http://www.andriasang.com/galleries/2011/01/27/ngp_images/2132438636_full.jpg
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[Max Payne]

yawn

 

[DrakeClawfang]

Ya know if you don't care, no one is forcing you to reply.

 

[Hisako]

http://www.andriasang.com/galleries/2011/01/27/ngp_images/2132438636_full.jpg​

In other words, what the original concept design for the first PSP should have been.

I hope "backwards compatability" is another term describing a UMD reader

EDIT: So, it seems downloads only? I really do hope they aren't going to go for the digital-downloads-only option, because it would be the stupidest move for them to make since the PSP Go.

 

[DrakeClawfang]

If they're gonna go with the downloads-only road, they need to release some type of product code when you buy a UMD game so you can download the game for free from the PSN. Give people more incentive to move to the new handheld if they can get their UMD games downloaded for free since they've already paid for them.

 

[Hisako]

Interesting idea. In all honesty, I really don't think the physical media should die out. There's a tangibility to physical media, even something as paltry as the UMD. It's something physically solid to own which feels more like actual property than some digital bleeps and bloops on some silicon storage device.

I dunno, this seems to be something really personal for me as well.

 

[Tetsujin]

"New Game Medium
NGP uses a new game medium, small flash memory cards that are dedicated for NGP software titles. The cards can store the full game along with save data content and add-on game content. The flash format will also allow sony to provide higher capacity in the future."

^This instead of UMDs?

 

[Interslicery]

just make the games better.

 

[Hisako]

To be quite honest, half the problem of PSP games seem to be in the controls of the PSP itself. I can't say it's a causal thing, but most of the games considered to be "good" on the PSP either aren't hampered by the lack of a 2nd stick or the game comes up with some way to substitute.

 

[Jocalyn]

"New Game Medium
NGP uses a new game medium, small flash memory cards that are dedicated for NGP software titles. The cards can store the full game along with save data content and add-on game content. The flash format will also allow sony to provide higher capacity in the future."

^This instead of UMDs?

So this is just like the memory cards we have now, only flash enabled and with more memory? That doesn't seem like such a big technological leap to me...

I'm with Hideo, I like my UMD drive. But what I don't get is how can they say it's backwards compatible if its download only?

 

[X-SOLDIER]

So there's a LOT of things that I'm very excited about with the NGP that I got from watching the conference and live blog last night. Some of which isn't explicitly mentioned in the articles. It's gonna be a long read, so get ready.

One of which was the statement made by Hideo Kojima:

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima showed a demonstration of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots running on the PSP2, looking almost as good as its console counterpart. "This game used the model data and environments from PS3, and it was exported directly to NGP," Kojima said, adding "On NGP, we can enjoy the same quality as the PS3."

During the press conference he mentioned that the Model data and environments from a PS3 title were incredibly easy to export to the NGP. In simple terms that means that developers who have made games for the PS3 should be able to make ones for the NGP fairly easily, especially with tie-in games that will use almost the same level of graphics as their PS3.

While Kojima also mentioned that he wasn't announcing MSG4 for the NGP, he did state that he'd like to be able to have a single fluid gaming experience that moves directly from the PS3 to the NGP, and that he'd be announcing this at E3. This makes me very interested in what Square will be doing with it, since they seem to love the PSP, and this could mean that we could get a game that's Console AND Portable from them.

The dual analog sticks are, by everyone's review: absolutely fantastic, and makes it gaming just like you'd expect, without thinking of it as a portable system. Miles better than the one on the original PSP.

The Dual Cameras are going to be nice for it as a more capable media device, which is something that I like for it as just a media device in general, along with the Wifi, 3G, and other feature supports.

On to the new feature that I wasn't expection the Touchscreens. The interactivity oft he front touchscreen is something that I was hesitant about, but the handson review from Bashcraft seems to feel that most of the applications (at least in Uncharted), feel very natural, which I was quite glad to hear. The REAR touchpad was something that completely confused me until I heard about and saw the footage of Little Deviants. It's like matching your fingers on either side of a table, and it's something I'm surprised hasn't been implimented earlier. It's now something I'm super excited about.

The implimentation of Sixaxis controls to be able to switch into a first person view and actually look around the world is something else that interests me. I'm sure that there are games that will use the feature brilliantly, as it's something I'm quite fond of in my PS3, though for games that don't rely on it as a key feature, I'm hoping they make alternate methods, so I'm not swooping around with my NGP in front of my face on the bus or something.

More Hands on reports mention that the system is light, despite its size, assisted because of the lack of a UMD drive. The battery is also sealed in, like an iPhone, because of the rear touchpad. Not a worry for me, as I've never needed to replace one on any portable systems I've owned. The battery life was discussed afterwards, and it's listed to be 4-6 hours, AKA the same as the PSP-3000, which should be helped by not having to run physical media, as well as an OLED screen.

As for the method of media storage, I was momentarily reluctant to give up physical media, until I realized something: I have a little over 100 games installed on my PS3 right now, including some full titles. Especially the idea that some of these titles will be able to flow seamlessly from my PS3 to my NGP, a "media-less" format makes sense to me.



As if that all wasn't enough, the PlayStation Suite was announced, as a hardware-less platform for PlayStation games coming to Android devices, including emulated PSOne games, and new PlayStation Certified titles. This is undoubtedly what the Xperia Play is going to be set up for, but the fact that I own an Android Device makes me glad that te integration of the devices I own will be more complete. Also - the prospect of taking PS1 games with me on my phone is a plus, since I have an unrooted Nexus One. This was the big selling point to making the NGP work, because they're providing an outlet for the less technically impressive casual games to still be distributed into a market where that type of gaming is swiftly becoming commonplace. Although I don't think it's explicitly stated, but I'd assume that you could play the PlayStation Suite games on the NGP, just like the Minis for the PS3. That lets them have a super handheld device, and not lose anything to the more casual gaming. It's an excellent business model.

Lastly, here's a brief video recap of footage that everyone should appreciate.

All I know is that I'll absolutely be getting one.

Here's a couple more useful links for people looking for lots of details and images.

• Kotaku easy guide for info.
• All atricles tagged as NGP for later updates.



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[Max Payne]

Ya know if you don't care, no one is forcing you to reply.

Who said I didn't care nancy?

Obviously hating portables means I care to some degree.

 

[Super Mario]

Aigooo... WHY in god's name do they have to make this?? it gives Square Enix an opportunity to continually lick the hand held genre's assholes in a stupid attempt to have coin flow for profit =/

 

[DrakeClawfang]

Who said I didn't care nancy?

Obviously hating portables means I care to some degree.

Then say something besides, quote, "yawn". As the pic says.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Aigooo... WHY in god's name do they have to make this?? it gives Square Enix an opportunity to continually lick the hand held genre's assholes in a stupid attempt to have coin flow for profit =/

If you look at my post, the development for the NGP & PS3 are essentially identical, so they should be developing for both, instead of holding out for just making games for a less powerful handheld system. It might also mean that they just make games that can be played on either system.

Also: PlayStation Suite means that there shouldn't be any more Japan-only cell phone games. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, BEFORE CRISIS!


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[Super Mario]

Still bro, I feel I distrust it until something good presents itself. I'm more worried about SE abandoning their cause to consoles for this. ;(

 

[Max Payne]

Then say something besides, quote, "yawn". As the pic says.

Hah no. I'm not obligated to make any kind of post to satisfy anyone, warnings or no.

I hope you guys enjoy your portable FF7 remake lawl.

 

[Super Mario]

In 3D no less =/ I have lost all hope for SE due to how they butchered 3rd birthday. But I still hold small hope for Duodecim, still this new handheld poses a threat to any hopeful good FF title.

 

[LunarSkye]

I hope you guys enjoy your portable FF7 remake lawl.

;~; Don't want.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I hope you guys enjoy your portable FF7 remake lawl.

Honestly, if that happened, all FFVII for NGP would mean is that it's running on a system that's utilizing the same model data and environments as a PS3, and has a control scheme that's almost exactly the same as the PS3 (minus L2 & R2, plus touch interfaces). I'd be more than happy to be able to play a new FFVII where ever I am, and not only when I'm limited to sitting in front of my tv at home. I don't really see any downside here, given what the NGP has shown to be capable of, aside from generic, "It's not on a console system, BAWWWWW!!"

But it doesn't seem to matter to your comment, cause:

For those interested, here's an article on why it's not using 3D, among other things. Also, there's some footage of the other games that were shown in a trailer at the conference.

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[Tetsujin]

Can you connect that thing to the tv?

 

[Max Payne]

This thing obv isn't as powerful as an actual ps3, look at the tech demo for MGS4. It's just bullshit propaganda people are buying into as usual.

Handheld games rarely have the same quality or production values as consoles. I'm not going to get excited for more of the same shit just with better graphics. It's ridiculous. The whole point of the draw of handhelds is they can produce games faster with decent quality as opposed to consoles.

If you really think you can see an FF7 remake utilizing the same technology a console could on a handheld, you need a reality check. It will not be able to use as advanced shaders, textures, or lighting systems because you simple CANNOT produce that kind of quality on a handheld without making it big and heft at this point and time. Same goes for the model data. They will still be limited as far as the amount of polygons go compared to consoles. Really powerful processors and GPUs just cannot be produced in a small size.You can see it in all of the videos. But yes, let's buy into Sony's bullshit once again.

Placing such a huge emphasis on handheld gaming is retarded when the consoles themselves haven't been utilized to their fullest.

But go ahead and relegate a valid opinion to such an immature dismissal. I am disappoint X.

They only good thing I see about this is the control scheme, which means I may finally play Peace Walker and the God of War games.

 

[Hisako]

I find the sudden huge abundance of control options almost odd for a series of handhelds so restricted in the past. It's like "SHIT WE HAVE TO GIVE THE PEOPLE AS MANY WAYS TO CONTROL THEIR GAMES SO LET'S HAVE TWO TOUCH SCREENS AND A FULL CONTROLLER LAYOUT BOOYAH",

still this new handheld poses a threat to any hopeful good FF title.

What the heck is this supposed to mean?

 

[Max Payne]

I don't understand what was so hard about putting analog sticks on the damn things to begin with.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

This thing obv isn't as powerful as an actual ps3, look at the tech demo for MGS4. It's just bullshit propaganda people are buying into as usual.

Handheld games rarely have the same quality or production values as consoles. I'm not going to get excited for more of the same shit just with better graphics. It's ridiculous.

I never claimed that the NGP would be as powerful as the PS3. Look more carefully at what I said. It's capable of utilizing the same model data and environments as a PS3, and the development processes are similiar enough that it's very easy to translate games between the two systems. If it was as powerful as a PS3, the tech demos would look exactly the same as the PS3 version - which they don't, but they DO look quite impressive.

The whole point of the draw of handhelds is they can produce games faster with decent quality as opposed to consoles.

This is your key misconception here, and is also something that I addressed in the fact that Sont prefaced the NGP announcement with the PlayStation Suite & PlayStation Certified games. The more lightweight games are being passed over to this system of distribution, similiarly to how PlayStation 3 handles Minis, and other downloadable titles that don't need to be utilizing the full capacity of the hardware that's requiring a dedicated system with precise specifications. That's the whole reason for making an extremely advanced portable system with the NGP, is because they're still not losing out on that easier-to-make games, which will be reaching a wider audience that will be more interested in them anyway. The whole press conference is very clearly showing that this is absolutely not what the portable systems are about.

If you really think you can see an FF7 remake utilizing the same technology a console could on a handheld, you need a reality check. It will not be able to use as advanced shaders, textures, or lighting systems because you simple CANNOT produce that kind of quality on a handheld without making it big and heft at this point and time. Same goes for the model data. They will still be limited as far as the amount of polygons go compared to consoles. Really powerful processors and GPUs just cannot be produced in a small size.You can see it in all of the videos. But yes, let's buy into Sony's bullshit once again.

To quote you from just before this, "I'm not going to get excited for more of the same shit just with better graphics." If FFVII is remade in a version with graphics that allow it to be played at full capacity on the NGP, and the controls are the same, what exactly makes an NGP version of FFVII any less compelling? Not to mention, if anything that Hideo Kojima is illuding to with a complete experience for a game to transition from the PS3 to the NGP is possible, and they use the same models and environments, albiet at a slightly lesser polygon count when on the NGP, what exactly is bad about this? (In answer to Tets' question, my PSP connected to a full TV, so I don't see why the NGP would be utilizing that technology as well).

Placing such a huge emphasis on handheld gaming is retarded when the consoles themselves haven't been utilized to their fullest.

Not at all. The Playstation is supposed to have a total lifespan of 10 years according to Sony. The ideas behind the NGP are going to strengthen that, by looking at the symbiotic relationship that they provide each other. In development terms, both consoles are similiar to develop for, and where a good number of games com across multi-platform as is, there will be a bigger initiative to create an NGP-compatible version of a game. It's a significant innovation in what handhelds are. If, rather than splitting up the developments between the PS3 and the NGP, they're similiar enough that the developers can essentially accomplish both simultaneously, it will encourage cross compatibility between the systems even moreso than the PSP & PS3 had, and it will be good for both systems overall.

You're also immediately dismissing the fact that a good number of people enjoy and use handheld systems, and that more people would be interested, if you could bring a more complete gaming experience with you wherever you go. If you could have one that would offer a very similiar experience to what the PS3 currently brings in some basic capabilities, in addition to the other technologies that are involved, a lot of people would be interested in that. Like I stated before. I can't reiterate enough that the model that Sony set up here isn't splitting up resources as much as the current PSP / PS3 model is now.

But go ahead and relegate a valid opinion to such an immature dismissal. I am disappoint X.

Yes, because, "yawn." is SO much proof of your valid opinion on the matter before now.

They only good thing I see about this is the control scheme, which means I may finally play Peace Walker and the God of War games.

If that's the only good thing that you see, then you have clearly not looked into this enough to dismiss it so easily as "just another handheld with better graphics."


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