The PSP2

If it's backward compatible, I'll eventually buy one.  I completely skipped out on the PSP and know that I missed some stellar games, but I just could never justify the purchase.  The Go looked sexy and I liked the design in some ways, but the cost didn't justify the featureset.

Any guesses on price/release/games?  I'm going to say October/November, $250-300, Uncharted/Killzone at or near launch.  I'm trying to think of games that could use the dual sticks and touch capabilities, so I think more console-style games (like FPS games) would work well.  Maybe it will allow you to play PS2 games (like how the PSP can play PS1 games)?

On that note, I'm predicting that they'll announce the addition of PS2 games to the PSN.

I'm guessing that Sony is going to make something more like the PSPgo for the phone and something brand new and different for the PSP2.  They will want to use the PSP2 to go against the iTouch and 3DS and the phone to go against the iPhone and such.

Also, the PSP2 supposed has a touch-sensitive back to it.  I'm hoping that, if true, they show some examples of how this could be useful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley 

If it's backward compatible...

It's not.

They haven't announced it yet....how do you know?  I'm assuming it's not going to be compatible with the UMDs from the PSP but might still be capable of playing the games that are on the PSN.  This is the same company that made the PS2 and PS3 (initially) backwards compatible and introduced the concept to the gaming market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Dalek 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley 

If it's backward compatible...

It's not.

Turns out, it actually is.  PSOne and PSP games that are downloaded from the PSN will play on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Dalek 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley 

If it's backward compatible...

It's not.

Turns out, it actually is.  PSOne and PSP games that are downloaded from the PSN will play on it.

The PSN network is not the same thing as being backwards compatible. Its essentially emulation. 

The PS3 can play PS1 games through emulation, but does that mean it's not backwards compatible?  I'd agree that there's a difference between playing PSP games on UMDs and ones downloaded from the PSN, but since the rumors leading up to the announcement today were that the PSP2 wouldn't have a UMD drive at all I said "backwards compatible" as referring to playing games from the PSN.

I guess the price for this will have to be under $300.  If Nintendo is releasing an X-Box 360 equivalent handheld with a 3D screen and a touch screen at $250 and has a 6+ month head start worldwide, then Sony has to meet that price or be lower.  This handheld seems to have a lot of hardware power and neat abilities, but doesn't have quite the wow factor of being 3D.  Big screen?  Some cameras?  A rear touch panel?  3G?  Neat ideas, but people are used to these from other existing devices (except for the rear touch pad).

I'm kind of disappointed with this, actually.  If they can provide a console-quality experience on a handheld...then why not release those games for the consoles?  I feel like Nintendo is offering something truly unique with the DS, DSi, and 3DS with the double screen/touch screen setup.  The PSP2 seems to be just a beefier PSP.

I'm still holding out for the ability to play PSP games on my PS3.  I don't want to pay for a PSP if I'd rather just play the games on my TV.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley 

The PS3 can play PS1 games through emulation, but does that mean it's not backwards compatible?  I'd agree that there's a difference between playing PSP games on UMDs and ones downloaded from the PSN, but since the rumors leading up to the announcement today were that the PSP2 wouldn't have a UMD drive at all I said "backwards compatible" as referring to playing games from the PSN.

Well the problem with you're saying is that backwards compatibility refers to physical media not stuff like virtual console. The 3DS is going to be backwards compatible with the DS because it has a place for the previous units SD Card type things. Likewise the DS could play GBA cartridges, the GBA could play GB, etc. The NGE does not support UMD at all, so owners of the PSP 1000-3000 are left with two choices.

A: Rebuy the games they already bought using the internet and very slow download times. TRANSLATION: a ripoff.

B: Start from scratch.

C: Don't bother at all.

This is the domino effect from the original mistake of the UMD format coming into existence in the first place. The PSPGo bombed largely because of it.

It's good for guys like, Morgan, though.  I'm into physical media, so this may not be true, but I'm under the impression that every or almost every PSP game is available on the network.  So, if Morgan picks up the new unit, he can download some cool stuff he missed like Castlevania X, the Ghouls and Ghost game, or whatever interests him.  You're right that it would be an annoyance for me, as a PSP owner, to not be able to play the games I have without laying out some extra cash.  For the moment, it's not an issue as I don't plan to buy the new PSP. 

A lot of PSP games are on the PSN but not all.  They've been trying to do same day releases with new stuff but haven't for quite everything.  I think the big example of this was the newest PSP Kingdom Hearts game not being available on the PSN for the foreseeable future.

That said, the new PSP2 (or, as Sony calls it, the NGP) still uses physical media.  Games come on memory sticks that can also be used to store software updates, save files, downloadable content, etc. in addition to games being available for download.  I think this was a smart move, but will only pay off if the games that can be downloaded are cheaper.  If you're not paying for the physical stick, packaging, manual, etc. then why should you pay for it?  I don't think there is a price difference right now with the downloadable titles.

Joel - I understand your argument.  My point was that when I said "backwards compatible" I already was assuming that the new hardware wasn't going to include a UMD drive and was referring to playing PSP games.  Maybe I didn't pick the correct term but what I said was still true.  Also, as a sidenote, it's usually handy to disagree with someone by following their comment with a short explanation rather than just 2 words.  Makes discussion go by quicker.

I...kind of agree with everything in that article.  Each of those reasons, flipped on its head, is what makes the 3DS unique.

This will have 32gb of onboard memory won't it? And each game will be about 4gb? I dont like the idea of running out of space and picking and choosing which purchased games to keep. I guess you could buy a memory card to hold old games on, but its not a very elegant solution. I think I might miss having something physical.

Why would you expect each game to be 4 GB in size?  Some PS3 games would fit on a DVD and others completely fill a BD-ROM.

They will be selling games on memory sticks in stores as well as online through the PSN Store.  The games on sticks will also be made so you can download patches/updates and DLC onto the sticks, along with save data.

If the game is retailed on a memory stick then great, but it seems like some games, especially those made independently, will only be available to download. I think a few weeks ago Sony announced that developers could either package their games on a 2gb or 4gb card, depending on the size of their game. Does anyone know if the memory card slot will accept blank memory cards? So maybe you could add a 32gb card to give you a total of 64gb.

Again, just because a card is 4 GB doesn't mean the game is actually 4 GB.  In the case of games that are downloadable only, I doubt that many will exceed 1 GB.  Anything big enough to fill a lot of space probably cost a lot of money, had a real studio involved, and would want to reach the largest audience possible by getting a retail release.  The memory cards are also a new proprietary format so I'm not sure if they'll release blank ones, simply to prevent piracy. but it's possible.

Ye, I thought I had read somewhere that they would be proprietary. I wonder if we will see a difference in price between the physical and digital formats like we often do with the PSP. In my experience PSP games are much cheaper to buy on UMD than to download. Maybe thats just because UMDs are on the way out.

I'd expect them to release games online and in store at the same price.  If anything, the motivation for retailers to lower the price on hardcopies of games is to clear space for other stuff, but if it's available for download then they will only change the price if the number of sales decreases significantly and they want to boost it.  Any full game on PSN (for PS3 or PSP) or on XBLA is released at full price if it comes out anywhere near the release of the retail copy.

I can see Sony pulling some Apple like price fixing to make sure that their online downloads don't lose out though really, and I'm not sure to what extent they're allowed to do it. Will be interesting to see though.