Topic: Opinions of PSP2 (NGP)

I predict around $350-400 for this thing

That doesn't count!

It plays games, therefore it's a gaming device.

But wait! It's a multimedia player....just like the PSP Are you also implying that the PSP isn't a gaming device?

I had forgotten about the Kindle.

Given the specs, the PSP2 is already going to be pricy. 3G has to be paid for somehow too. Without a plan, the cost for 3G will be built into cost of the device and more heavily onto PSN game prices (that's what Amazon does with the Kindle). However, I don't think they'll go this route because:

1) Games are much larger than books. Even paying for unlimited data, I cannot download apps over a certain size direct to my iPhone over 3G. There are full sized PSP games on the PSN store. The markup on game prices to cover the cost of their 3G data load would be huge. Ebook files are much smaller.

2) Online play also has the potential to take up LOTS of bandwidth (PS3 quality games are advertised). There's no possible revenue stream to pay for the 3G either, unless Sony moves to an Xbox Live subscription service for online play, which would suck.

3) Let's say you are on the train and finish a game. Are you going to download a new game? You're likely to have at least one puzzle game you can replay or other carts in your bag. However, you probably won't reread a book over again - you'd need a new one. Amazon would have more book sales over 3G than Sony would have game sales. Games take longer to download, many are replayable, and game carts are easier to carry around than spare books. Amazon's free 3G more than pays for itself with these extra sales. I don't think Sony could pull that off.

They'd have to mark up prices SIGNIFICANTLY for this to be a viable method and really limit what you can use 3G networks for. It costs a lot less for Amazon to give out their subscriptions than it would for Sony, so ebook prices can stay reasonable. The PSP2 will need a separate data plan with a possible prepaid option, unless Sony really likes bleeding money.

It's all well and good classing the inclusion of 3G on a gaming device as a good thing, but when you live in a country where the government shafted the mobile providers for the licences to use the 3G airwaves and as a result the mobile providers shaft their customers for every byte of data they download, then you aren't in any hurry to have any device that comes with an additional cost just to put the thing online.

insert witty comeback No matter what happens though, I can guarantee this, that if it isn't the wait for the 3DS and NGP that kills us, it will certainly be the price

Well my prediction just jumped up. I now bet it'll be around $450

Touch screen on the front - I don't notice the smudges on my DS or iPad, or iPod or iPhone unless it's turned off.
Touch pad on the back - Works reasonably well. I've recently had to add support to a PSP2 game for this and it's reasonably usable. Not sure how well it'd work in an action intensive situation, but for what I was doing, it was pretty good.
Price - Nintendo didn't announce the price of the 3DS this far in advance of launch.

@ImDiggerDan I'd personally prefer to use a stylus on a touchscreen device, simply because I can't stand smudges on screens. But if u say it doesn't smudge very well, then that's fair enough. I also doubt that the back touch pad would get much use out of action/shooter games, but would work well with casual titles.

@irks: Well you can buy a glasses-cleaning cloth for smudges, and it shouldn't scratch the screen at all

This is true, I use one to dust off my laptop screen.

Most modern phones play games. Does that make Nokia and Motorola video game companies? Think not.

Good one mate. You canned him clean and square!

This

It does make them gaming devices so in a way they are partially video game companies even if its not their main focus, they don't have to make the games themselves to profit from the industry, just enable it to take place on their product.

I just noticed something. Why is this in the 3DS section?

Wait, what I said makes no sense actually. Thanks Reala for opening my eyes, they don't make it, companies like Ubisoft and Gameloft port their games on to phone platforms. Dang, I'm stupid.

@catcher82611 - (crickets chirp)

It's spying on the competition

What Reala said

Here's my thoughts on the PSP2.

Positives:
Almost as powerful as a PS3.
3G Connectivity, I ALWAYS wanted to see this in a handheld. I don't care if you have to pay for it either.
Dual analouge sticks.
Similar in design to the PSP1.
New media looks like it will be better than UMDs.
Trophies in games.

Negatives:
I bet the battery life will be very short.
No backwards compatibility with UMDs, what the heck Sony?
I bet it will be very expensive.
Not surprisingly, so far there are not that many games that I am intrested in. [That MGS4 tech demo looks SWEET though.]

Conclusion:
I am going to buy one of the 3G models, that itself seals the deal for me.

I know this is probably going to start a whole other debate, but I use my phone for one thing only. Making PHONE calls. I don't use it to play games. There's a difference between a multimedia device with gaming capabilities (cell phones) and a gaming device with multimedia capabilities (psp)