PSVita (Successor to PSP, was PSP2 then NGP)

[Neon Ignition]

I imagine the rear touch panel is going to be the Sixasis of the PSP. A feature added to make it seem more distinct as a product but quickly gets dropped by devs through being impractical and of no use.

There's always room for a shock but it would be a genuine surprise if games wise this or the 3DS differed much from the releases their predecessors had. Given the likely price tag and lack of 3D (which will make a big difference to the casual gamer) Sony should follow the console model of pursuing the core gamer and then chasing the casuals when the price is better pitched later on. Plus, it would mean more 'proper' games for the rest of us which the last handhelds sorely missed

[Lebowski]

I'm really disappointed by the design of this it just looks like another psp revision, I'm sure it will be great for playing games on but this and the 3ds have phoned it in design wise.

The original psp had a real wow factor to it, it looked like a real cutting edge piece of kit this could be mistaken for four year old tech.

[Tig]

Yeah... this is definitely not the same old PSP, in my opinion.


Consider that this thing has got the same interface as the iPhone.
In future, any developer making an iPhone game could potentially put it out on PSP2 too.
And with the same distribution method as an iPhone, alongside the retirement of UMDs, this is better suited for portable play than the PSP ever was.

but its interesting that a few people seem to be saying this, yet i see it totally the opposite way. 3DS is a DS with more power, and a 3D screen that i can see me turning off after initial excitement/wonder. this psp2 is way more than just a power upgrade of the original psp... more controls, touch pad, touch screen, sixaxis controls. very obviously not 'same old'

I agree, it looks like the PSP2 could be every bit as innovative as the 3DS, which is rather surprising.


The number of control inputs is killer: a multitouch screen, dual analogues, a gyroscope which is precise enough to aim with in Uncharted (and is apparently the same one used in the Move controller)... and an analogue touchpad which covers the entire reverse of the machine. It's pretty exciting to imagine the number of ways those could be combined.

[Brad]

The touch pad could be used to move an aiming reticle faster and more accurately than with an analog stick but without obscuring the display. Or, how about using it to control zoom level e.g. left analog = move, right analog = aim, left trigger = iron sights, right trigger = fire and right middle finger on rear touchpad zooms the scope?

Proper game designers should have no trouble incorporating it into their games.

[nonny]

Any word on battery life yet? After the 3DS news this has me wondering.

[Ajay1986]

WANT!!! I've always loved the psp and this looks like a beast of a new machine. But as I said earlier the price is gonna crazy which won't put some of us off but will for the majority of people.

[STAPLES]

So how powerfull is the psp2 then?

Im old school so what, more powerfull than a ps2?

Were the rumours true that it will have about 50% of the raw power of a ps3(which to be honest, i found very hard to believe)

Im excited by both but like everything, price is the crucial aspect for me.

[Brad]

Any word on battery life yet? After the 3DS news this has me wondering.

Few pages back mate - 4 to 5 hours. Better than the 3DS.

That's enough for me I think. Wonder if the battery is user-replaceable?

[CMcK]

The number of control inputs is killer: a multitouch screen, dual analogues, a gyroscope which is precise enough to aim with in Uncharted (and is apparently the same one used in the Move controller)... and an analogue touchpad which covers the entire reverse of the machine. It's pretty exciting to imagine the number of ways those could be combined.

The number of potential inputs is a killer for the mass-market that bought into the simplicity of operation presented by the DS. All those forms of input suggests Sony is after the same core gamer crowd as the PSP and PS3. It does look a bit like they have chucked everything at the NGP and they are waiting to see what sticks.

Also it is a very large system for a handheld which was something I wasn't keen on with the original PSP. I was honestly expecting something around the size of a smartphone but with a slider form factor.
Hats off to Sony for the dual quad core setup though. That should keep them ahead of the smartphone gang for a couple of years yet. I'm guessing they have yet to unveil the clock speeds of the hardware as it doesn't actually exist on the process node they are intending to use at release. My guess wold be that the clocks will be relatively low to preserve battery life with the multiple cores making up for it.

[Nisa]

Will be in Japan when this launches so it's day 1 for me. Wipeout, Monster Hunter and Uncharted are enough to convince me to pick one up. Not looking forward to the price though, it's going to be crazy expensive.

[wakka]

It's great that Sony seem to have literally answered the call of everyone on forums, ever, asking for proper dual analogue sticks, a touchscreen, flash storage for games etc. I just can't help feel that the design is ugly and dull, when I saw it I was a bit 'meh, is that it?'. If anything I actually prefer the design of the original PSP, it was quite distinctive. This looks a lot like an Android smartphone with buttons either side of the screen :|

[Brad]

The point with the DS is that it was presented simply. Sony could present this new device simply too. In some ways the DS was a very confusing device. 2 screens, only one of them a touch screen, internet access built in, game sharing etc. There was a bunch of (at the time) pretty new features going on there. Without looking too much into it this new device appears to be a PSP with a bigger screen. Under the hood and round the back there's all kinds of cool gubbins but it's not like every game is going to use all the features.

All that said, I don't think this will tempt those that have migrated to iPhone gaming and I don't think 3ds will either.

[Nisa]

I think the fact that almost every major aspect of the console was leaked before the conference drained most of the excitement out of the official announcement. When proper HQ game footage comes up the hype will increase quite significantly I'd imagine.

[CMcK]

All that said, I don't thins will tempt those that have migrated to iPhone gaming and I don't think 3ds will either.

I think that you are spot on there. I basically stopped using the DS and PSP when the App Store opened. Carrying a handheld with me when travelling seemed silly when I already had a more versatile phone with me anyway.

The market for mobile gaming has changed a great deal since the PSP launched. It's all about convenience and cheap games now. And mobile web browsing is itself a killer app for smart phones.

[ItsThere]

Few pages back mate - 4 to 5 hours. Better than the 3DS.

That's enough for me I think. Wonder if the battery is user-replaceable?

Nicked from Kotaku:

"The entire handheld is sealed like an iPhone, so players will not be able to change the battery. The reason for this, Yoshida says, is because of the rear touch pad. It's apparently not possible to have a rear touch pad and changeable battery like on the current PSP-3000."