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[Baki]

Some middleware announcements ahead of GDC.

Vision Game Engine to Support the Next Generation Portable Entertainment System from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc



Don't expect any public demos though, it'll be behind closed doors.



Firelight Technologies announces its support for the next generation portable entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.



NGP has a separate audio or 'media' chip?



edit -

and another:

NaturalMotion joins PSP2 race



edit 2 -

and for good measure:

Now Blitz updates tech for PSP2



I guess all these middleware companies decided on a whim to put out their NGP press releases today

Wow, quite a few middleware solutions announced already. They probably regret not capitalising on the PS360 middleware market, which means we might see an "arms" race for NGP middleware. (possibly cross-platform support with 3DS?)

 

[gofreak]

Audiokinetic is bringing their Wwise tool to PSP2 too, it being already used in some upcoming projects. For both them and Firelight it's apparently the first time they've brought their tools to a handheld.

Firelight's comment about a NGP 'media engine' is intriguing though. It sounds like maybe a separate dsp processor for audio and such which would leave a little more room for other things on the CPU.

 

[deathkiller]

NGP has a separate audio or 'media' chip?

May be it has the same one as the PSP since emulating only by software hardware accelerated decoding could be too costly.

Specs of the PSP one:
Media Engine Chip:

* Sony CXD1876 CPU
* Based on MIPS R4000 32-bit Core
* 90 nm Semiconductor CMOS Process
* 1-333 MHz (set at 222 MHz by default) @ 1.2 V
* 16 KB Instruction Cache / 16 KB Data Cache
* SiP:

* 2 MB eDRAM @ 2.6 Gbps
* Embedded Virtual Mobile Engine (VME) Sound Core

* Reconfigurable DSP Engine
* 1-166 MHz (set at 166 MHz by default) @ 1.2 V
* 128-bit Bus
* 24-bit Data Path
* 5 GFlops

* Embedded MPEG-4 (H.264/AVC) hardware decoder
* Embedded FPU

* 128-bit Bus @ 2.6 Gbit/s

 

[gofreak]

Interesting. It's certainly possible, although I might have thought that if they were going to include any hardware from PSP, it'd be stuff relating to the GPU perhaps rather than the Media Engine block.

Or maybe it's a new version of that media engine or something.

 

[Dead Prince]

gotta say. loving the early supporters for NGP. hopefully everyone stays aboard after it launch. Hoping to see more!

 

[thehillissilent]

I assume the Unity Engine will be avaialble on the system since it's on everything else. That would actually be very cool not only for full games, but web games that use it as well.

 

[Takao]

I'm sure we'll hear of some more engines compatible with NGP as GDC starts, like Vicious Engine 2,etc.

 

[yencid]

im guessing Gravity Daze is using phyre engine? (total wild guess here)

 

[neptunes]

All we need now is for square to port their Crystal tools to the PSP2

 

[WillyFive]

I can't wait to hear more about the system's OS.

 

[Kintaro]

Kohler just hates everything lately.

Opinion: Sony’s Portable Game Strategy Lacks Vision

 

[Totobeni]

Some middleware announcements ahead of GDC.

Vision Game Engine to Support the Next Generation Portable Entertainment System from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc

Don't expect any public demos though, it'll be behind closed doors.

Firelight Technologies announces its support for the next generation portable entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

NGP has a separate audio or 'media' chip?

edit -

and another:

NaturalMotion joins PSP2 race



edit 2 -

and for good measure:

Now Blitz updates tech for PSP2

I guess all these middleware companies decided on a whim to put out their NGP press releases today

What about Sony's own PhyreEngine? do we have any info if that will support the NGP?

 

[StealthGoblin]

im guessing Gravity Daze is using phyre engine? (total wild guess here)

Probably. They need to turn down the bloom/blur/smudge on that game.

 

[Deku]

Kohler just hates everything lately.

Opinion: Sony’s Portable Game Strategy Lacks Vision

That's the pessimistic point of view. Sony could certianly fall into a trap similar to Sega, and though they are financially much stronger, coming back from years of losses has sapped quite a bit of strength from them. So there could be a game changing exit from some markets if NGP and the broader 'put PlayStation on everything' initiative fails.

That said, I was one of the few people who speculated on exactly this strategy as far back as before E3 last year, because is the obvious strategy -- it plays to Sony's strenghs, vision or no vision, Sony can't possibly redo PSP and hope to win against Nintendo. Or launch a challenger to iPhone/Android in an already crowded smartphone market that saw the wholesale surrender of Nokia.

The PS suite experiment is clever, though I question the strength and appeal of the PS1 titles they want to launch with and wonder why developers would want to put games on PS suite exclusively when NGP isn't market leader in the portable space, and they could play the Apps lottery in the iOS market

We'll see how this shakes out in the next few years. fun stuff.

 

[tzare]

i really do not see them going after the iphone market with NGP, i mean, a phone is different prom a console. A fair comparison would be itouch market for example.
But is cool that they can have the same games other platforms have, as it gives them a wider appeal.

 

[KAL2006]

That's the pessimistic point of view. Sony could certianly fall into a trap similar to Sega, and though they are financially much stronger, coming back from years of losses has sapped quite a bit of strength from them. So there could be a game changing exit from some markets if NGP and the broader 'put PlayStation on everything' initiative fails.

That said, I was one of the few people who speculated on exactly this strategy as far back as before E3 last year, because is the obvious strategy -- it plays to Sony's strenghs, vision or no vision, Sony can't possibly redo PSP and hope to win against Nintendo. Or launch a challenger to iPhone/Android in an already crowded smartphone market that saw the wholesale surrender of Nokia.

The PS suite experiment is clever, though I question the strength and appeal of the PS1 titles they want to launch with and wonder why developers would want to put games on PS suite exclusively when NGP isn't market leader in the portable space, and they could play the Apps lottery in the iOS market

We'll see how this shakes out in the next few years. fun stuff.

I don't think the Xperia Play will be successful at all, however I do think PS Suite will do pretty good, it will start off slow, but soon as more android phones support PS Suite (which will take some time), then PS Suite will take off.

As for NGP I think it will do great as long as it does not cost more than $350, they seem to have learnt from all the mistakes of the original PSP. It will not do better than 3DS, but it will do good in it's own right (definitely better than PSP).

 

[Future]

Kohler just hates everything lately.

Opinion: Sony’s Portable Game Strategy Lacks Vision

Kohler is right. Sony is fragmenting themselves before giving each individual product a chance to succeed.

Compare to apple. Earned our trust with the original ipod. Transitioned to iphone and made that a bigger success. Then brought that success iPad. Sony is releasing the Xperia play, possibly a tablet, and then a NGP. Off the heels of the PSP, which was not a complete failure (That would be the PSPGo) but obviously does not warrant this grand evolution.

I feel like they have to start smaller. Focus on one portable with one suite of games. Make it irresistable. THEN expand. Because who really is gonna buy all these products

 

[evolution]

Kohler is right. Sony is fragmenting themselves before giving each individual product a chance to succeed.

Compare to apple. Earned our trust with the original ipod. Transitioned to iphone and made that a bigger success. Then brought that success iPad. Sony is releasing the Xperia play, possibly a tablet, and then a NGP. Off the heels of the PSP, which was not a complete failure (That would be the PSPGo) but obviously does not warrant this grand evolution.

I feel like they have to start smaller. Focus on one portable with one suite of games. Make it irresistable. THEN expand. Because who really is gonna buy all these products

Im not sure there is time for such a strategy, There already late to the party.

 

[chubigans]

Kohler is right. Sony is fragmenting themselves before giving each individual product a chance to succeed.

It's not SCE's job to make sure the tablets and Xperia play succeed. It has absolutely nothing to do with them or the PSP2.

 

[Future]

It's not SCE's job to make sure the tablets and Xperia play succeed. It has absolutely nothing to do with them or the PSP2.

It is Sony's job as whole to make sure their various products don't conflict, fragment the market, and succeed. Further, the Play is under the playstation brand, meaning the consumer is still gonna think the products are related regardless.

Unless they explicitly want particular products to fail, they would be better suited focusing all consumer attention on one portable. When this proves successful, then they can expand

 

[brain_stew]

Interesting. It's certainly possible, although I might have thought that if they were going to include any hardware from PSP, it'd be stuff relating to the GPU perhaps rather than the Media Engine block.

Or maybe it's a new version of that media engine or something.

NEON is often refered to as a "media engine" and that's almost certainly what they're referring to.

 

[Takao]

It is Sony's job as whole to make sure their various products don't conflict, fragment the market, and succeed. Further, the Play is under the playstation brand, meaning the consumer is still gonna think the products are related regardless.

Unless they explicitly want particular products to fail, they would be better suited focusing all consumer attention on one portable. When this proves successful, then they can expand

Xperia Play is not part of the PlayStation brand.

 

[Vic]

Xperia Play is not part of the PlayStation brand.

It's a Playstation Certified device which will be able to play Playstation Suite titles.

 

[Dead Prince]

It's a Playstation Certified device witch will be able to play Playstation Suite titles.

but it's still not a playstation brand system.

 

[Mr_Brit]

It's a Playstation Certified device witch will be able to play Playstation Suite titles.

So will any other Android device but I don't see people saying the latest Samsung or HTC devices are 'Playstation' devices.

 

[Future]

Christ, the damn thing looks like Playstation Controller and it will have access to the Playstation Suite. If even I am confused as to what the playstation brand is, imagine someone at best buy looking at it for the first time.

 

[Noshino]

It's a Playstation Certified device which will be able to play Playstation Suite titles.

And Playstation Suite is part of their NGP plan....

I still don't get what's so wrong about this....its just another way to generate income while increasing their consumer base and game library without losing much focus on the NGP

 

[KAL2006]

Christ, the damn thing looks like Playstation Controller and it will have access to the Playstation Suite. If even I am confused as to what the playstation brand is, imagine someone at best buy looking at it for the first time.

I think most people will know the difference, Xperia play has the buttons hidden, so it basically looks like a phone, where as PSP2 looks like a monster with it's dual analogs and insane graphics. Let's not forget Xperia play will be sold in phone stores and in the mobile section, where as PSP2 will be sold in the game section next to 3DS and etc.

 

[Jinfash]

Kohler just hates everything lately.

Opinion: Sony’s Portable Game Strategy Lacks Vision

New thread please. Someone do the honors.

 

[Dead Prince]

New thread please. Someone do the honors.

Wait for good news about NGP first To counter it.

 

[Vic]

So will any other Android device but I don't see people saying the latest Samsung or HTC devices are 'Playstation' devices.

The Playstation logo will be plastered on these devices boxes. Ads will boast about how these devices can play Playstation games. This might create a little bit of confusion to the less informed.

 

[Vic]

dp

 

[somuchwater]

Kohler may have a point, but the idea of a software-based, hardware agnostic platform isn't a terrible one. It expands the reach of the brand in a way that makes a lot more sense than Sony trying to create their own ecosystem like Apple did.

I also think the gaming aspect of the tablet is being talked about too much. I'd hope that even Sony aren't insane enough to think they'd sell a $600 tablet based on its gaming capability. Games will be one feature among many, just as they are on iOS.

But there definitely is cause for concern. I'm sure some people will simply be confused by the fact that the Xperia Play looks a lot like the PSP Go.

 

[gofreak]

I commented on the article directly there, but to summarise: there's nothing more fragmented about this approach than the two prongs of - say - PSP games and mini games.

Sony should (I think we all agree) and already did try to cater to the small-scale, lower-end of the market, with a separate platform focussed on that. Suite is just another new attempt at such a platform that isn't limited to PSP - which is a good thing if they really want to have a go at that market.

I don't see how it 'lacks vision' to take your platform for serving that market and bringing it to the types of device where said content is actually being played rather than expecting the market to come to your narrow-focus device. It shows a bit of realism and humility on Sony's part, and to be honest, is quite broad and sweeping as visions go. The suggestion they might do something like this was scoffed at in some quarters not-very-long-ago.

After his article on Nintendo, as I understood it, I thought he'd be fullsome with praise for Sony's approach.

On the 'confusion' side of things, if Joe Mass-Market sees a PlayStation certified device and thinks this is the extent of PlayStation mobile gaming now - i.e. thinks there's nothing more to NGP - so what? NGP is aimed at the hardcore side of the market, and as long as THAT end of the market understands what more NGP offers vs PlayStation Suite devices, it'll be fine. And I think that crowd will pretty readily know of and understand the difference, if it doesn't already.

NEON is often refered to as a "media engine" and that's almost certainly what they're referring to.

That could definitely be it too, although it's strange they'd talk about 'offloading' to that, to lessen CPU impact, when probably most would consider NEON units part of the CPU. But perhaps they don't consider it that way.

 

[spwolf]

if customers can pick between 300 Android phones, I dont see why would they be confused between NGP and PS Certified phones.

and Sony is not an startup, they are huge company with thousands of products... they certainly do not need to start small.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Christ, the damn thing looks like Playstation Controller and it will have access to the Playstation Suite. If even I am confused as to what the playstation brand is, imagine someone at best buy looking at it for the first time.

Considering the Xperia will be a MSRP $500 smartphone and most likely only found at the cellphone department with an activation and subsidized pricing incentive for a 2-year cellular contract like any other smartphone, I don't see the issue. Places like Best Buy have a dedicated cellphone department because it's their biggest margin makers and aren't going to confuse it in place of the gaming department, that's another section of the store.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

Kohler just hates everything lately.

Opinion: Sony’s Portable Game Strategy Lacks Vision

Time to take old buddy out back and bring in some less jaded types.

 

[DiscoJer]

It is Sony's job as whole to make sure their various products don't conflict, fragment the market, and succeed. Further, the Play is under the playstation brand, meaning the consumer is still gonna think the products are related regardless.

Unless they explicitly want particular products to fail, they would be better suited focusing all consumer attention on one portable. When this proves successful, then they can expand

Sony just can't work that way. It's not a corporate dictatorship like Apple or MS or even Nintendo where 1 (or 2) people call all the shots, it's a huge company with way too many divisions, all like separate kingdoms. They don't even entirely own Sony Ericson, it's 50/50.

Beyond that, Sony absolutely had to do something about the cheap games available on iOS and Android. People are just not going to pay $5-35 more just for the privilege of playing the same game on a Sony console. They have no leverage over 3rd parties anymore to have them lower prices. So having Android support is about the only thing they can do, and PS Suite gives them some control over that.

 

[tzare]

hopefully all this popular sony is doomed and will be defeated by apple nintendo will end just like those predictions that also said nds was doomed against psp

 

[Takao]

hopefully all this popular sony is doomed and will be defeated by apple nintendo will end just like those predictions that also said nds was doomed against psp

They don't need to beat Nintendo or Apple to be successful. In fact, I actually don't think the NGP will outsell the PSP, but I think at the end of the day it'll be viewed as a larger success, as I suspect the software market will be a lot more healthier worldwide than the PSP's was.

 

[Dead Prince]

hopefully all this popular sony is doomed and will be defeated by apple nintendo will end just like those predictions that also said nds was doomed against psp

Lolwut

 

[tzare]

They don't need to beat Nintendo or Apple to be successful. In fact, I actually don't think the NGP will outsell the PSP, but I think at the end of the day it'll be viewed as a larger success, as I suspect the software market will be a lot more healthier worldwide than the PSP's was.

oh i am sure that if they manage to keep the system piracy-free for a couple of years and final price is around 250-350 they will do well on the software side.developers seem pleased so far, and many potential buyers also seem excited. And agree, as seen with home consoles, no need to be first in the imaginary race of console wars. And it will probably will be difficult to beat psp numbers, and i also think that will also happen with 3Ds regarding DS

 

[FoxSpirit]

oh i am sure that if they manage to keep the system piracy-free for a couple of years and final price is around 250-350 they will do well on the software side.developers seem pleased so far, and many potential buyers also seem excited. And agree, as seen with home consoles, no need to be first in the imaginary race of console wars. And it will probably will be difficult to beat psp numbers, and i also think that will also happen with 3Ds regarding DS

I'm sure they will be able to keep piracy out for a good amount of time. You had to invest quite some effort with the later PSPs and the pandora battery thing.

And why is piracy mentioned as the PSP killer? DS, buy a special microflash adapter and boom, play all games. So much more easy yet nobody complained like they did with the PSP.

 

[Always-honest]

hopefully all this popular sony is doomed and will be defeated by apple nintendo will end just like those predictions that also said nds was doomed against psp

iwasreadingthisandithoughttomyselfwhatthehellareyousaying?

 

[Quasar]

The Playstation logo will be plastered on these devices boxes. Ads will boast about how these devices can play Playstation games. This might create a little bit of confusion to the less informed.

Do current Windows Phones have Xbox or Xbox Live logos on them?

 

[StealthGoblin]

Do current Windows Phones have Xbox or Xbox Live logos on them?

Ads do. I saw one that was an avatar, his GF walks over, accuses him of playing XBOX games on his phone etc.

 

[Jinfash]

hopefully all this popular sony is doomed and will be defeated by apple nintendo will end just like those predictions that also said nds was doomed against psp

 

[AranhaHunter]

I hope this thing supports Custom Soundtracks at the OS level. I don't think MS patent mentions anything about mobile devices.

 

[FoxSpirit]

I hope this thing supports Custom Soundtracks at the OS level. I don't think MS patent mentions anything about mobile devices.

How you can even patent something like that is mindboggling.

 

[Leckan]

Is that for real?

I think I have a new role-model.