Topic: PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) - previously known as NGP

[nickmitch]

Well, if it only takes developers 2 weeks to port over a PS3 game, the PSP2 might get some good support, but only if maufactoring costs are cheap. The only concern would be canabalization of software sales, which a publisher shouldn't mind if they get paid either way.

For PSN specifically, I suppose it depends on how many units Sony is able to sell. Since you'll just be able to buy whatever's there, devs can see if it's boosting sales and push more content through PSN.

[Chozo Ghost]

I doubt it, most publishers are going to enter that portable gen in the "Sony lost before, they'll lose again" mindset, especially since the sales failure of the PSP was mostly on the software side, the hardware did move after all.

I think Japanese developers are going to have a different perspective on things, because the PSP right now is very much alive and kicking in Japan. So much so that its actually dominating the charts for some reason. No less than half of the games on the charts this week are PSP games.

[Stogi]

PSP is so jailbroken it's ridiculous. You can put whatever games you want on it, plus movies, plus music. It's like an ipod with great game controls. That's why it's popular. I don't know the software stats, but I doubt they resemble the hardware.

[BlackNMild2k1]

PSP Software has been getting better in Japan ever since the NGP reveal. I don't know if the 2 are related, but PSP does have 10 of the Top 20 in this weeks MC.

[BranDonk Kong]

Apparently some time of leaked GameStop memo has this thing priced at $299. Also, while this looks awesome, having no TV output (for obvious reasons though, it would hurt PS3 sales), I'm not that interested in it. I was hoping for a badass portable system that would get hacked so I could use it as a portable media center, but for gaming, I'd rather just use a 3DS.

[Shorty McNostril]

Apparently some time of leaked GameStop memo has this thing priced at $299.

Wow.  Sony must really hate money.

[KDR_11k]

I doubt it, most publishers are going to enter that portable gen in the "Sony lost before, they'll lose again" mindset, especially since the sales failure of the PSP was mostly on the software side, the hardware did move after all.

I think Japanese developers are going to have a different perspective on things, because the PSP right now is very much alive and kicking in Japan. So much so that its actually dominating the charts for some reason. No less than half of the games on the charts this week are PSP games.

Aren't most of the games that sell on the PSP dating sims and Monster hunter?

[that Baby guy]

Apparently some time of leaked GameStop memo has this thing priced at $299. Also, while this looks awesome, having no TV output (for obvious reasons though, it would hurt PS3 sales), I'm not that interested in it. I was hoping for a badass portable system that would get hacked so I could use it as a portable media center, but for gaming, I'd rather just use a 3DS.

While there's an image of it out there, it's still pretty unconfirmed.  It's possible the shot was faked or a GameStop employee manually altered the price.  As of now, GameStops still price the device at $999.99, the highest their system allows them to price an item, as they don't have an official price.  When a GameStop employee looks up the device, $999.99 is the price they see, still, except, apparently, in that one place where the photo was taken.

[TGM]

How to Make the NGP:

1. Inject steroids into the PSP for near-PS3 graphical capabilities. Sure, it would make it fatter, but who cares about size anyway? Just look at the iPad!
2. Put a touchpad on the back. Why? Because Sony has a great track record with innovative gimmicks, as opposed to Nintendo.
3. PlayStation Network, because nobody would prefer to play CoD on their home console.
4. Market NGP games as bringing the home console experience to handhelds. That worked so well in the past.
5. Add a second thumbstick because of reasons that would take a whole other list to describe.
6. Pray that Nintendo doesn't release New Super Mario Bros. 3DS, Paper Mario 3D, and Mario Kart 3DS around your launch date.

[KDR_11k]

Meh, considering the 3DS is just a DS on steroids I don't think the NGP has as much of a disadvantage as the PSP had.

[Chozo Ghost]

Having a touchscreen on the back is something that still doesn't really make much sense to me. If you can't see what you're touching then how can you know you're touching the right thing?

(that's what she said)

[BranDonk Kong]

Did you watch the uncharted video? The front touchscreen is for seeing what you're touching, the rear touchpad is used for controls, like a touchpad on a laptop, etc. I'm sure it will have some cool uses aside from climbing a rope, though, which does seem kind of lame (and is completely unnecessary).

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think Little Deviants is the rear touch panel showcase game at this point.

[nickmitch]

Yeah, doesn't that game use both touch areas? The back for the ground and the front for something else?

[MaryJane]

So no new information has come out on the NGP just yet, but some of the games being shown at GDC are quite impressive.

This post however, is to ask what people think about subsidizing the NGP through 3G access? It will allow Sony to bring the cost of this monster in the $300 range, but I think it's asking a lot for people to pay monthly just for mobile gaming. Sure you can also browse the internet, but so can the smartphone you're already paying for.

 I'm probably still going to buy one (next year, because I want to buy myself a 3DTV around the holidays) but I'm not sure about signing up for a contract. There'll be a Wifi-only version probably, but how much more expensive will that be?

There's a lot of buzz on the interwebs because of the NGPs power, but what about it's practicality?

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think they should ditch 3G and go for "4G" instead. Every network is gonna have 4G up and running by the time this thing comes out and my experience with 3G tells me it's not really suited for internet gaming anyway... atleast not on the level NGP will be using it. I imagine 3G is fine for web browsing and turn based multiplayer games like chess, checkers & pokemon and what not, but not suitable for past paced reaction based gaming like Killzone and whatever else Sony has planned for this thing.

If you are gonna be paying a monthly contract (~$30mo) for the thing, you should atleast get the most out of it.
And in the long run, it might be cheaper to just root/pay extra to turn your phone into a wifi hotspot and keep your phone plugged in as often as possible.

[TJ Spyke]

Not too surprising, but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Andrew House has confirmed that not all NGP games will see retail releases. Only larger games will see retail releases. However, he did say that all retail games will be available as digital games too (so I guess this means you technically never need to buy physical NGP games if you don't want too).

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/sony-only-triple-a-ngp-titles-will-see-simultaneous-digital-and-physical-releases/

[lolmonade]

Not too surprising, but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Andrew House has confirmed that not all NGP games will see retail releases. Only larger games will see retail releases. However, he did say that all retail games will be available as digital games too (so I guess this means you technically never need to buy physical NGP games if you don't want too).

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/sony-only-triple-a-ngp-titles-will-see-simultaneous-digital-and-physical-releases/

Huh..I would have expected the opposite (All games receiving a retail release, with only AAA titles getting digital release).  To be honest, that's enough for me to squash the idea of having a NGP for a few yeras.  When it has come to Sony, the only thing digital releases have done is falsely keep prices of games such as inFamous, Burnout Paradise, and most of their PSP1 lineup at retail price while you can find the disc copy for half the price.
 
Squashing the used market like that makes it difficult to justify the purchase right now, at least until the system goes down in price.

[Ian Sane]

It's funny how at first companies were incredibly hesitant to sell anything in a downloadable format.  It took a long time for us to get a good model for buying and downloading music for example.  And yet recently Sony has been super gung ho about downloading games.  First they try the PSP Go which bombed and now they're acting like retail releases will be rare.  It is such a complete turnaround.

But as lolmonade points out, this lets them squash the used market.  Yeah, when the public demands downloading because of convenience they drag their feet.  But the ability to prevent totally legal used purchases?  They are on that faster than lightning.  The thing is I don't think we're at that point yet where the market is ready for it.  We haven't even really had a good taste of games being available on both formats and they're already phasing phyiscal copies out?  I don't think it's going to work.  They're forcing it.  PC gamers are ready but handheld/console gamers need a transition first.

This approach would be like if one day the store was all VHS and the next day it was all DVDs.  There has to be a period where everything is on both the old and new.  I think they think this will force fencesitters to go with the download because that's all they can get.  I think the fencesitters will just not buy the game outright.

[lolmonade]

So no new information has come out on the NGP just yet, but some of the games being shown at GDC are quite impressive.

This post however, is to ask what people think about subsidizing the NGP through 3G access? It will allow Sony to bring the cost of this monster in the $300 range, but I think it's asking a lot for people to pay monthly just for mobile gaming. Sure you can also browse the internet, but so can the smartphone you're already paying for.

 I'm probably still going to buy one (next year, because I want to buy myself a 3DTV around the holidays) but I'm not sure about signing up for a contract. There'll be a Wifi-only version probably, but how much more expensive will that be?

There's a lot of buzz on the interwebs because of the NGPs power, but what about it's practicality?

My wish:
Non-3G Price: $300
3G Price $350
 
Realistically:
Non-3G Price $350-400 range
3G Price: $400-450 range
 
In all actuality, I expect the 3G model to cost more, similar to the Ipad or Nook e-reader.
 
If Sony was wanting to stay price competitive with the 3DS, they would only allow themselves to price it at $50 more for the non-3g model.  But I think it's pretty fair to assume they're going to take a decent sized loss on this product regardless, and I could see them starting with a price range closer to $400/$450 for the sake of wringing out every possible penny for the early adopters.  This would also make it so they have a lower price to go to if it stagnates over the initial release.
 
 
In terms of practicality, it seems as if both the 3DS and NGP are built around the assumption that someone may buy this handheld console, and it be their only or main console for gaming.  I think the 3DS is at a good in-between point price-wise that it could still hit mass market appeal (at the very least when they hit the $200 mark), but I think the NGP is going to be a hard sell for the mass market. 
 
 

[BlackNMild2k1]

Ian, I think you're reading it wrong (or maybe I am), but it sounds like all he is saying is that ALL games will be available digitally, including those that were traditionally retail only.

As it is now, anything that is too big to to be considered a downloadable game gets a retail release, I don't suspect that this will change.
Smaller, experimental & indie efforts will not likely see retail releases and neither will smaller, experimental 'big publisher' side projects. Those titles will be solely available on PSN like they are now.

All this sounds like to me is that NGP is gonna be Sony's attempt at a Steam-like service where all titles are available for download, so you will always be able to find a copy. Retail stores now have the limited selection of only those titles that the publishers thought would make it in a retail environment. It's a strategy that someone needed to implement sooner or later if they are to phase out the importance of retailers like GameStop who undermine their ability to make a profit by not just selling second hand software, but selling it in place of new retail copies whenever possible.

[Ian Sane]

Ian, I think you're reading it wrong (or maybe I am), but it sounds like all he is saying is that ALL games will be available digitally, including those that were traditionally retail only.

Yeah, I was ready what TJ wrote but didn't look at the link.  I had heard about this thing on Penny Arcade's forums as well so I just figured it was the same thing.
 
All titles will be available digitally but not necessarily all titles will be retail.  That's clearly what the guy from Sony is saying.  But that could mean different things.  If you made every Wii game available digitally then you could have a situation where not all games were available at retail because WiiWare titles wouldn't be.  But is he saying that or is he saying that there will be a lot of digital titles and that retail titles will only be exceptional titles?  It could be interpreted either way.
 

In terms of practicality, it seems as if both the 3DS and NGP are built around the assumption that someone may buy this handheld console, and it be their only or main console for gaming.

My greatest fear is that the 3DS is the Wii successor.  I'm fine with Nintendo and Sony doing this provided they let me hook these up to a TV.  No one buys stereos anymore but you can buy docking stations for iPods for when you want to fill the room with music, instead of going through headphones.  I just ask for the ability to enjoy my portable device at home in comfort.

[Razorkid]

My personal dilemma with the NGP is whether or not I should pick up a PSP 3000 with an awesome library at dirt cheap (used) prices, or wait for the new system and experience most of the PSP back catalog digitally (though paying full price for those games) as well as whatever new hotness they got cooking up.


I really want to be excited for this system, but there is just nothing software wise that I have to look forward to, or even to speculate looking forward to.  I'm more tempted at picking up even a GO (which has been getting the fire sale treatment lately selling for under $100) and just experience all the great games I missed out on the PSP than even care about what games the NGP will offer.


Am I alone in this? Maybe it's the proximity of the 3DS launch with software that I actually care about, or maybe it's the fact that besides the great titles that have been named by Nintendo and 3rd parties to be coming out later for 3DS, I can imagine so many games that I would want to see on the system. 


For the NGP, all I can think that I want is......PSP and PSN titles on my system. That's kinda sad considering I can already have the former for around $100 and I already have the latter on my PS3 sans portability.  Outside the occasional exclusive, I rarely play a lot of disc based games on my PS3, there's just not a lot that interests me there.  Hell, I play and own more PSN titles than actual disc based games for the system! So when the prospect of getting a PS3 made portable appears, I just can't drum up any excitement for it despite absolutely digging the tech.  I really want Sony to convince me why I shouldn't miss out on this thing because that price is gonna be a whopping doozy.


And speaking of price, to MaryJane's question on subsidizing the NGP's price with 3G contracts, I think it's a terrible idea that's only gonna make an already expensive piece of tech cost more money.  Sure I'll save, what? $50-$100 off the unit? But then (speculating of course but this is how it is for the majority of 3G enabled devices that are expected to transfer large amounts of data at once) I'm locked into a contract paying anywhere from $10-$25 a month for X years.  Why? An always connected portable system is great for the gaming community, but outside of notifications and maybe chat, you are not gonna be able to game across the internet on 3G like you can over WiFi with the type of games that are popular with online multiplayer today (FPS's, Racers, Fighting games, etc.)  So if you can't play nearly lag free gaming on the go over 3G, what's the point?


  The NGP is not a phone and I'm positive anybody who will purchase one will also already own a smartphone and be paying for a data plan.  I just don't see the reasoning to even release a 3G enabled one at all if only to make the WiFi only version to appear cheaper than it really is?

[BranDonk Kong]

 PSP 3000 is a piece of ****. I've got 3 of them I need to fix now (for customers) because of the shitty little switches that they have on them that signal when the tray is closed, and because of the sorry excuse for securing the door on the back. The switch breaks, you can't play games (on UMD), and you have to completely disassemble the ENTIRE system to replace this piece of **** that is surely going to break again. I would recommend ANY model of PSP EXCEPT for the 3000.

[Morari]

They're forcing it.  PC gamers are ready but handheld/console gamers need a transition first.

Actually, I think that the handheld market is the only place where a strict digital distribution really makes sense. No one likes carrying around a case full of cartridges, that's not portable. Having everything downloaded to your GameBoy and ready to go though...