Topic: Opinions of PSP2 (NGP)

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Ok so I'm an open Nintendo fanboy. I admit it and am perfectly ok with it. But I do like to think I can at least somewhat judge the competition's offerings fairly. So here is what I think of the "NGP"

RIght off the bat, Damn that thing is bulky! I just saw a comparison shot of it with other popular handhelds (DSi, 3DS, iThing) and Oh my goodness, its gigantic! So basically this thing is a large PSP with a touch screen, motion sensitivity, better graphics, 3G connectivity, and a camera...I think. That is the NGP in a basic nutshell. So, lets start picking this thing apart. Its got a touch screen. Who didn't expect this one? Sony would have been pretty dumb to leave this out. Would I have respected them for it? sure, but I'm quite sure they are not out to get my respect. I don't consider this a particularly compelling feature because its just sort of expected to be there. The motion sensor isn't really a shocker either. Although it is quite humorous that Sony continues support of a control method that they completely mocked when Nintendo brought it mainstream. Anyway, everyone kind of expected some type of motion sensing so that is also not particularly compelling. Next, the thing has...wait for it....better graphics. Of course it does. Again, this is obviously something very important to Sony so not really shocking that it has graphics on par-ish with the PS3. Do they look nice? of course! Is that what makes a game? In my opinion, not in the least. So next is the 3G connectivity. This one was definitely not a sure thing like touch, motion, and graphics were but still not particularly new as the iPhone has this and has had it for quite some time. Plus, there is the threat that 3G implamentaion will cost some monthly fee and that is definitely a red flag. If this thing is sold by a phone company with a contract instead of like a gaming device then I'm quite certain it will fail. Now I think that thing in the upper right is a camera. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if it was. Again, We've seen cameras for years on iThings and DSi/3DS so not exactly shocking. So up to this point, the feature set is kind of a ho-hum been there, done that kind of thing. Now for some features that are a little more on the innovative side. Its got a touch panel on the back.....kind of a strange thing for sure. I'm sure some games will come along that will smartly impliment this but I really don't see this as being all that great although some great software could prove me wrong. but such software has yet to be seen. Its got dual analog sticks. Here is something that is somewhat obvious but has still yet to be seen on a handheld until now. The only thing is.....There is a reason the original PSP had a nub instead of a stick. There is a reason the 3DS had a pad instead of a stick. There is a reason no handheld before has had an analog stick on it. An analog stick just straight up doesn't mix with a handheld. Have you noticed that although they are short-ish they still petrude out from the thing. This is guaranteed, along with the size, to make putting the thing in your pocket a hassle at best. Really, I believe this is one of the stupidest things the NGP does. It'll be great to have them there when you're playing but what about when you wanna travel with the thing? It is a portable device after all. Anyway, good idea, awful implimentation. As far as I know, battery life has not been made known but I think we can safely assume its very likely not gonna be pretty when Sony does finally cough up some details. Given that is has a presumably bright screen, a very high res screen, and 3G connectivity, there is just no way the battery is gonna be anything short of disappointing. Again, I am assuming this but it is a fairly likely assumption. Next, the price. You can bet that this thing is gonna have a high price tag. With the horsepower it appears to be pushing, its pretty much inevitable. I read in an article that Sony claimed it would not be 600 dollars. That kind of tells me that it will be somewhere in between 500 and 600. Son has stated that they want the thing to be priced profitably and affordably. I do have to question though what Sony would consider to be "affordable." I can guarantee that their interpretaion of the word is just a little different from the average consumer. So lets say best case scenario, it costs 400 bucks. That is really alot of money for a handheld. I mean, people thought the 250 price tag on the 3DS was a little much. So to sum this up, I don't think this device has a very bright future. Based on what is known currently, it just doesn't look like a winner. If you combine the obese size, redundant features, little in the way of any truly new features, the likely suck-ish battery, the likely outrageous price point, and even the possibility of a monthly charge, the chances of success become fairly clear. You may have noticed I don't really have much in the way of nice things to say. Well, that's because I don't really see anything really worth complimenting. I guess if I had to raise good points about it it would be: good looking graphics(although they are little more than added eye candy), very nice high res screen, a pretty good looking line up of games(although not really my personal cup of tea), and presumably very crisp speakers. That is literally everything nice I can think of about this thing. It would appear Sony has learned very little about the handheld arena and that they simply don't "get" handheld gaming. Is it a nice device? Sure, I'll give it that. Is it a marketable device? Is it a smartly designed device? Is it a consumer friendly device? Is it a device that will likely crush competitors? No, no, no, and very likely no.

EDIT: I just watched the vid posted by JumpMad. That is actually quite a good implimentaion of the back panel. I admit that this thing does now appear to be probably the most compelling thing about the NGP. Although, this one feature is simply not enough to save the NGP in my opinion. It appears very cool but it takes more than one cool thing.