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[Callibretto]

Pretty doubtful. If there was some huge amount of money to be made selling PS2 games on PSN, they would have kept the BC chips in the new PS3s and started selling the games already.

I mean, I'm not saying it's inconceivable that the device will support PS2 emulation (though that'd still be a mean feat), but I don't see any strong case that it must or they're leaving money on the table.

the problem with bc ps3 is that people will rather buy the game used for cheap then buying it from psn even if it's cheap. Unless they provide value like hd port, it's a tough sell for consumer.

With ngp, just being portable is a value by itself, and people will have to buy the game again because they can't use the disc they already own.

 

[IrrelevantNotch]

The 3D LCD is what's so special about the 3DS screen, duh And while OLED is awesome in some ways (brightness/color), it tends to be worse than LCD in others (contrast). Regardless, my point was the devices mentioned in no way have "crappy" screens.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

We did, but remember, in that era in the West videogames were seen as primarily for kids. Portable systems weren't really for taking anywhere outside the house, they were for playing in our bedrooms or livingrooms, and possibly the car. There's no way a person would take a game system to school back then. If you did take it somewhere you threw it in your backpack.

These days a good portable game system is something you take everywhere with you. And I don't take a bag with me everywhere I go. If I want to play a quick game at the theater before a movie starts, I want a game system that can comfortably fit in my pants pocket.

I'm looking forward to the NGP, but damn I'll miss the portability of my PSPGo.

You know... I appreciate that a lot of people say this, but I honestly rarely if ever see someone pocketing a DS, let alone PSP/Go. GBAsp yes, OG GBA, not even then.

It's always carrying cases, bags, clips, or just carrying it to the car/the destination.

 

[Baki]

Not making the device as soon as it's viable (whenever they switch over to 22nm) would be akin to turning down free money though. Think about it, every PSP2, Sony can get away with charging with, $299 at most. They could easily sell the Xperia play for $699 (reduced to $299 with a two year contract) and gamers would lap it up.

They get $400 for every device sold, plus $15 on every NGP cartrage sold for the device. Why would Sony turn that down? Unless Sony hates money. Sony would have a lot of leverage when creating such a device. They could see to it that $300 of the $400 goes direcly to SCE, and of course, all profits from game cartrages would go to SCE as well.

I mean seriously, if you were in the market for a cellphone, would you pass up a device that looks like this...


...packing a quad core cortex A9, a SGX543MP4 gpu, a high resolution (960x544) OLED screen, and capable of playing all NGP games.

I seriously think 90% of gamers would be interested in picking up such a device for their next cell phone. The only aspects lacking with the current Xperia Play is the use of a touch panel instead of dual analog nubs, and the lack of games for it that truly feel next gen. This would address both issues.

The fact that it runs Android OS may mean that it probably won't be able to run NGP games. Simply because the Android OS is a much greater resource hog than the gaming specific OS for the NGP.

 

[Takao]

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/02/22/nomura_dengeki_interview/

KH:BBS on PSN?
Nomura's game on NGP?

"I want to upres the graphics and include a remake of a spinoff game I've yet to announce so that I can release a physical version too."

 

[yencid]

"I want to upres the graphics and include a remake of a spinoff game I've yet to announce so that I can release a physical version too."

sounds like nomura alright. Complicating a simple plot.

 

[H_Prestige]

Pretty doubtful. If there was some huge amount of money to be made selling PS2 games on PSN, they would have kept the BC chips in the new PS3s and started selling the games already.

I mean, I'm not saying it's inconceivable that the device will support PS2 emulation (though that'd still be a mean feat), but I don't see any strong case that it must or they're leaving money on the table.

Probably not enough money to justify keeping the ps2 chip inside the ps3, but if they can make money selling ps1 classics then they are definitely leaving money on the table. HD classics are cool, but there are hardly any of them and they take forever to release.

I still don't know why Sony doesn't do what MS does with Xbox emulation. They can make a ps2 emulator for all ps3's and then just patch whatever games they sell through PSN. For the end user their would be no difference and they can still use their original ps2 discs and save files if they want.

 

[Stephen Colbert]

The fact that it runs Android OS may mean that it probably won't be able to run NGP games. Simply because the Android OS is a much greater resource hog than the gaming specific OS for the NGP.

Do you have any basis to claim that AndriodOS is a greater resource hog than the OS that the PSP2 is currently running. I would guess they are fairly similar.

Even if AndriodOS is a greater resource hog, all it would take is for Sony to include a little bit of extra ram, and maybe run the cpu cores of the Xperia Play 2 at a slightly higher clockspeed than the NGP to compensate for this.

No matter what technical hinderances exist that make the Xperia Play 2 unviable right now, I assure you that they will disappear by the time Sony switches over to 22nm, sometime in 2013 if I were a betting man. Cutting the size and power requirements of a chipset to half of what it was tends to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

So the only question you should be asking yourself is, would you be willing to pay $200-300 and sign a two year contract in order buy a quad cpu/gpu smartphone with a 4.3 inch OLED screen that looks like this...

and is fully capable of playing all NGP games (except the one or two games like Little Deviants that are completely dependent on the rear touchpad)?

 

[Graphics Horse]

Why wouldn't this theoretical device have a rear touchpad? Little Deviants demo involved no buttons, so may be able to be played with the controls slid away, which was probably the idea before they dropped the slide design.

 

[Baki]

Do you have any basis to claim that AndriodOS is a greater resource hog than the OS that the PSP2 is currently running. I would guess they are fairly similar.

Even if AndriodOS is a greater resource hog, all it would take is for Sony to include a little bit of extra ram, and maybe run the cpu cores of the Xperia Play 2 at a slightly higher clockspeed than the NGP to compensate for this.

No matter what technical hinderances exist that make the Xperia Play 2 unviable right now, I assure you that they will disappear by the time Sony switches over to 22nm, sometime in 2013 if I were a betting man.

So the only question you should be asking yourself is, would you be willing to pay $200-300 and sign a two year contract in order buy a quad cpu/gpu smartphone with a 4.3 inch OLED screen that looks like this...

and is fully capable of playing all NGP games (except the one or two games like Little Deviants that are completely dependent on the rear touchpad)?

Not saying it won't happen. Just not with the same specs as NGP.

 

[Stephen Colbert]

True, it might not have identical specs to the current PSP2. The specs could well be higher (more ram and the cores running at a slightly higher clockspeed). Higher theoretical clockspeeds are almost a given when you go from 64nm/40nm all the way down to 22nm.

The important point is that it's able to play PSP2 games natively.

Why wouldn't this theoretical device have a rear touchpad? Little Deviants demo involved no buttons, so may be able to be played with the controls slid away, which was probably the idea before they dropped the slide design.

You're right, there's no reason why the device can't have a rear touchpad. I was keeping the design as traditional and as much like most smartphones on the market as I could.

But yes, if the rear touchpad proves useful and is used effectively by games aside from Little Deviants, it could easily find it's way onto the PSP2Phone.

 

[googleplex]

I still don't know why Sony doesn't do what MS does with Xbox emulation. They can make a ps2 emulator for all ps3's and then just patch whatever games they sell through PSN. For the end user their would be no difference and they can still use their original ps2 discs and save files if they want.

Because its just not technically possible to emulate the PS2's crazy ass GPU on the PS3. RSX just doesn't have enough bandwidth. Pure software emulation on the PS3 would literally be a slide show.

 

[FoxSpirit]

The 3D LCD is what's so special about the 3DS screen, duh And while OLED is awesome in some ways (brightness/color), it tends to be worse than LCD in others (contrast). Regardless, my point was the devices mentioned in no way have "crappy" screens.

*cough, cough*
*hack*

I'm sorry, let me look into your brain

*starts rummaging*

Where's the factsheets about contrast stored in there? I think you mixed a few while sorting them into the drawers ;-)

 

[KAL2006]

I find the NGP screen way better than the 3DS screen. The only thing 3DS screen has over NGP screen is that it is 3D. With the NGP screen it has a much higher resolution (which would be also great web browsing), it is a multi touch screen (3DS main screen doesn't even have touch), it is OLED and my favorite reason why I like it so much is that it's 5".

 

[pharmboy044]

Can we expect any new info to come out of GDC? I would love to know more about the OS and what type of connectivity it wil have with the PS3.

 

[Spiegel]

Can we expect any new info to come out of GDC? I would love to know more about the OS and what type of connectivity it wil have with the PS3.

Yes. David Coombes (SCEA’s platform research manager) will give a lecture about the NGP at the GDC

http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/12598

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

...wow, the nubs look terrible on tht thing.

 

[IonicSnake]

I think the NGP design is spot-on. I really hope they stick with it.

 

[pharmboy044]

Yes. David Coombes (SCEA’s platform research manager) will give a lecture about the NGP at the GDC

http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/12598

Ah, that's great to see that Sony is talking about it at GDC instead of wainting until E3.

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

I think the NGP design is spot-on. I really hope they stick with it.

Pretty much this. Only problem I have with it is that the analog sticks might get stuck on something if I try to put it in my pocket and break off (yes, I have big pockets).

 

[yencid]

Ah, that's great to see that Sony is talking about it at GDC instead of wainting until E3.

makes a lot of sense since they have taken the "please/listen to developers" route

 

[zoukka]

I find the NGP screen way better than the 3DS screen. The only thing 3DS screen has over NGP screen is that it is 3D. With the NGP screen it has a much higher resolution (which would be also great web browsing), it is a multi touch screen (3DS main screen doesn't even have touch), it is OLED and my favorite reason why I like it so much is that it's 5".

Too bad there's only one

 

[ViolentP]

...wow, the nubs look terrible on tht thing.

Agreed. I just rubbed my fingers over them and you can't even feel them. Totally flat. Bad design choice.

 

[legacyzero]

Ah, that's great to see that Sony is talking about it at GDC instead of wainting until E3.

Hoping for some real killer apps @ E3.

 

[pharmboy044]

Hoping for some real killer apps @ E3.

Yeah me too. I'm very interested in what Kojima might show at E3.

 

[spats]

Yeah me too. I'm very interested in what Kojima might show at E3.

Please don't shoot me for saying this, but I'd even gladly take a mgs4 port.

 

[ViolentP]

Please don't shoot me for saying this, but I'd even gladly take a mgs4 port.

I'd take an MGS trilogy.

 

[legacyzero]

Please don't shoot me for saying this, but I'd even gladly take a mgs4 port.

AT LEAST this.

 

[brain_stew]

This actually uses a Samsung made AMOLED screen, anyway what difference does it make. A phone selling for £99 made money and had an OLED screen. That fits all the required criteria.

And 512MB of RAM. Posting from mine now, the screen is just fantastic.

 

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

Hoping for some real killer apps @ E3.

TGS moreso E3, IMO.

 

[SamBishop]

Ah, that's great to see that Sony is talking about it at GDC instead of wainting until E3.

Well, they're talking about it to developers, so don't expect any huge reveals, just re-iteration and expansion of the information out there with a few tech tidbits and perhaps an example or two. Remember, GDC isn't for consumers, it's for the guys making the game to trade info. That so much outside of GDC has become an E3-like circus has meant we've gotta run around to hotels and such around the Moscone Center, but inside it's still very much talk by devs, for devs, and that's the way it should stay.

 

[gofreak]

Well, they're talking about it to developers, so don't expect any huge reveals, just re-iteration and expansion of the information out there with a few tech tidbits and perhaps an example or two. Remember, GDC isn't for consumers, it's for the guys making the game to trade info. That so much outside of GDC has become an E3-like circus has meant we've gotta run around to hotels and such around the Moscone Center, but inside it's still very much talk by devs, for devs, and that's the way it should stay.

Certainly would expect that from the lecture, but I wonder if Sony will divulge anything more substantial, from a consumer POV, at a press conference. I presume they're having one this year?

(That said, even at a GDC press conference I wouldn't expect very much...perhaps some new demos or such.)

 

[SamBishop]

Certainly would expect that from the lecture, but I wonder if Sony will divulge anything more substantial, from a consumer POV, at a press conference. I presume they're having one this year?

(That said, even at a GDC press conference I wouldn't expect very much...perhaps some new demos or such.)

Nope, no press conference. There's the Lounge where they'll have multiple developer presentations that are very much geared toward the consumer and the press, and hands-on time with a ton of stuff, but they're not treating this like E3 or anything in terms of big-time reveals. E3 and GDC still very much take up all their time/budget for stuff like that. This is more to get the local press (and people that flew out) a good dozen or so titles to write up previews on.

The Coombes thing is entirely separate and completely off-site from where Sony's doing their press thing (which is at a hotel). I just didn't want people thinking it was some kind of press-oriented showcase; it's not, that's what the Lounge is for, and the Lounge isn't actually part of GDC, just happening at the same time. Props to all the publishers for keeping this about devs and using the adjacent hotels to do their press stuff.

 

[consoul]

Well, it was a similar GDC talk back around the original PSP launch in which Sony revealed that they were locking down the the clockspeed to two-thirds of its potential (to be unlocked many years later). I'm hoping for some interesting details to come out of David Coombes' presentation.

 

[gofreak]

Nope, no press conference. There's the Lounge where they'll have multiple developer presentations that are very much geared toward the consumer and the press, and hands-on time with a ton of stuff, but they're not treating this like E3 or anything in terms of big-time reveals. E3 and GDC still very much take up all their time/budget for stuff like that. This is more to get the local press (and people that flew out) a good dozen or so titles to write up previews on.

The Coombes thing is entirely separate and completely off-site from where Sony's doing their press thing (which is at a hotel). I just didn't want people thinking it was some kind of press-oriented showcase; it's not, that's what the Lounge is for, and the Lounge isn't actually part of GDC, just happening at the same time. Props to all the publishers for keeping this about devs and using the adjacent hotels to do their press stuff.

That's unusual. When was the last time they didn't have a press conference at GDC? No Starhawk reveal imminently either then, I guess

edit - or is it that unusual? I was trying to look back to see if they've had a conference every year, but I think they've been on and off. Not talking just about keynotes here, but conferences in general, either as keynote or offsite. Still, shame if there's none this year, if that's the case I'd expect virtually nothing more on NGP til E3.

 

[Deadly Monk]

Even though it's way to early to discuss this, I hope the system is region-free. That would be amazing for me.

 

[H_Prestige]

Because its just not technically possible to emulate the PS2's crazy ass GPU on the PS3. RSX just doesn't have enough bandwidth. Pure software emulation on the PS3 would literally be a slide show.

But would it be possible to patch the games that don't work on the emulator to make them run at normal speed? Doesn't MS do this with their Xbox emulator?

 

[Lesiroth]

I'm not sure why you guys are speculating over Xperia Play successors given that we still don't know if it is going to succeed or not. I just hope the whole NGP and PlayStation Suite since this is Sony's last stand in the portable gaming race.

 

[googleplex]

But would it be possible to patch the games that don't work on the emulator to make them run at normal speed? Doesn't MS do this with their Xbox emulator?

Unfortunately it's not possible. For ps2 emulation you ether need "some" ps2 hardware. Some PS3's have the ps2's GS (graphics synthesizer) on board. Or you need enough power to "brute force" software emulation like on the pc. The PS3 would need about 4 times more RAM and much more powerful gpu to do it the pc way.

 

[yurinka]

I'd take an MGS trilogy.

Mgs4 substance, mgs trilogy and Peace Walker. Both with savefiles shareable with their PS3 versions. And a sandwich.

 

[FoxSpirit]

people in this thread never had a original gameboy or even a game gear for that matter.

Oh, I had both.
But seriously, the GameGear was only semi-portable at best even if it had been small. Dat battery life >.<

Still loved Shinobi on it.

And 512MB of RAM. Posting from mine now, the screen is just fantastic.

I hope the PSP will use a normal RGB subpixel structure and not the pentile of the Galaxy S. Would be awesome if they used the new Super AMOLED plus for the device.

 

[BeEatNU]

Oh, I had both.
But seriously, the GameGear was only semi-portable at best even if it had been small. Dat battery life >.<

Still loved Shinobi on it.

haha I had a Nomad son!

in all seriousness, even today I always have a backpack of some sort when I goto work, it seems to be a thing these days.

People carry some kind of pack.

 

[Ephemeris]

haha I had a Nomad son!

You get 1 point.

 

[ViolentP]

Mgs4 substance, mgs trilogy and Peace Walker. Both with savefiles shareable with their PS3 versions. And a sandwich.

Whisper not of Xanadu.

 

[perfectnight]

NGP might be the first gaming hardware that I get on release. Don't really care for the current line up on neither the NGP nor the 3DS, but the NGP hardware is just so amazing it makes me want to be an early adopter. Hoping to see a lot PSP franchises back on this machine. Maybe we'll even see that canceled Level 5 PSP game on the NGP. Haha.

 

[SamBishop]

That's unusual. When was the last time they didn't have a press conference at GDC? No Starhawk reveal imminently either then, I guess

edit - or is it that unusual? I was trying to look back to see if they've had a conference every year, but I think they've been on and off. Not talking just about keynotes here, but conferences in general, either as keynote or offsite. Still, shame if there's none this year, if that's the case I'd expect virtually nothing more on NGP til E3.

Naw, I think the last one was the infamous Killzone 2 reveal that had me killing people's dreams. They've certainly had a presence outside the Conference, but aside from keynotes, they've shied away from doing any E3-style big reveals. Mostly it's just been hands-on time with a few select titles.

Oh, wait, last year was the big Move reveal. Scratch that, they've definitely done some bigger stuff, but this is going back to previous years' showings. Decent, and certainly worth looking forward to, but nothing like a full-on showcase where they try to pull in people from around the world. If you're there, they're gonna take care of you, but yeah, E3 is definitely the next big push.

 

[Lonely1]

And 512MB of RAM. Posting from mine now, the screen is just fantastic.

Hey, off topic, but does it supports the Android Market Place?

Naw, I think the last one was the infamous Killzone 2 reveal that had me killing people's dreams. They've certainly had a presence outside the Conference, but aside from keynotes, they've shied away from doing any E3-style big reveals. Mostly it's just been hands-on time with a few select titles.

Oh, wait, last year was the big Move reveal. Scratch that, they've definitely done some bigger stuff, but this is going back to previous years' showings. Decent, and certainly worth looking forward to, but nothing like a full-on showcase where they try to pull in people from around the world. If you're there, they're gonna take care of you, but yeah, E3 is definitely the next big push.

Wasn't the actual reveal at the E3 the year before that?

 

[Takao]

NGP might be the first gaming hardware that I get on release. Don't really care for the current line up on neither the NGP nor the 3DS, but the NGP hardware is just so amazing it makes me want to be an early adopter. Hoping to see a lot PSP franchises back on this machine. Maybe we'll even see that canceled Level 5 PSP game on the NGP. Haha.

Ushiro, the cancelled Level-5 PSP game appears to have turned into The Time Travelers for the 3DS. It could go multi-platform I suppose.

 

[Mrbob]

Those slide screen mock ups look terrible compared to the PSP2 design. Plus you could not have analog sticks on those so no thanks. Any reason to get away from the terrible nub the better the device is off.

Not every portable device has to fit in your pocket. I think the PSP2 is better off being a little bigger than making game play concessions for being a slide screen device.

 

[rollingstart]

As much as I like ultra portable game devices, and I do because I think the GB Micro and PSP Go are fantastic, I'm very happy with how the PSP2 is turning out. Large screen and real controls, no compromises for portability like an analog slider or whatever, better suits how I play portable games these days. I like to lounge around on my sofa, bed and play some games.

I don't carry around a gameboy or any game device with me because I have my phone. If I'm going to take the portable system with me for a flight or something, I put it in my bag. At the end of the day the benefits of the size and design more than makes up for portability. DS XL kinda had the right idea too, just faltered in the execution.

And it has real analog sticks! I was expecting two sliding nubs, possibly better designed like they are on the 3DS. But they completely surprised me by putting real analog sticks on the PSP2. Sliding may look cool but real analog sticks!