Sony Unveils Its Next Generation Portable, the NGP

PSP2 is codenamed NGP, features large OLED touch screen, 3G, flash memory based games.

It's real, and it's not named PSP2. Sony took the wraps off of its next generation portable, codename: NGP, at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan last night, promising to deliver an unparalleled interactive portable entertainment experience.

Sony says it will deliver "deep and immersive gaming" on the long-rumored new portable device through a 5-inch OLED touchscreen display (compared to the PSP's 4.2-inch and PSPGo's 3.8-inch), Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, rear multi-touch pad, dual analog sticks, games on flash memory based cards, PlayStation Network and PlayStation Suite (Sony's new Android mobile gaming distribution system), and battery life comparable to current PSPs (anywhere from 4 to 10 hours depending on use).

"When PSP first launched in 2005 in North America it changed the way people thought of portable gaming and raised expectations in regards to the variety and quality of games users expected to access while on the go," Sony America President Jack Tretton said in a statement. "With NGP we carry on this rich history of redefining industry standards and raising the bar for consumer expectations for what portable gaming can deliver."

 

At the press conference, a number of third-party developers announced their support for the NGP, and live tech demos on the device included Epic Citadel, Metal Gear Solid 4, Yakuza 4, Lost Planet 2, and Dungeon Defenders. Though it was unclear if or when any of those games will become fully developed NGP titles, Sony did reveal a list of game franchises that will appear on the NPG, including:

-- Killzone
-- Uncharted
-- WipEout
-- LittleBigPlanet
-- Call of Duty
-- Resistance
-- Little Deviants
-- Hot Shots Golf
-- Reality Fighters
-- Gravity Daze
-- Smart As
-- Broken
-- Hustle Kings

Sony did not announce the NGP's price, and as for a release date, the company only said it will be ready for launch by the end of 2011.

The spec rundown on the NGP:

CPU: ARM Cortex™-A9 core (4 core)

GPU: SGX543MP4+

External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth)
Screen 
(Touchscreen): 5-inch (16:9), 960 x 544, approx. 16 million colors, OLED multi-touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear touch pad: Multi-touch pad (capacitive type)
Cameras: Front camera, rear camera
Sound: Built-in stereo speakers, built-in microphone
Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass
Location: Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support
Keys / Switches: PS button, power button, directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left), action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), shoulder buttons (Right/Left), right stick, left stick, start button, select button, volume buttons (+/-)
Wireless communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1x1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)

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