Mock it up, talk it up and leak it out all you want, only Sony has the power to actually bring the so-called "PSP2" into the world -- and that moment has come. The "sequel" to the PlayStation Portable was made official today (like, just now!) during a press event in Japan, looking every bit as -- well, that thing looks like the PSP, doesn't it?
Codenamed "NGP" -- that's "Next Generation Portable" Entertainment System -- the device has been designed with five core tenets buzz phrases in mind, according to Sony: Revolutionary User Interface; Social Connectivity; Location-based Entertainment; Converging Real and Virtual; and PlayStation Suite Compatibility.
But what does that mean? For starters, the new hardware features dual analog sticks; a 5-inch OLED display (with 960x544 resolution -- four times the PSP's); a front touchscreen and rear touchpad (woah!); 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS; and, for good measure, the same six-axis motion system that propels the Move, plus a three-axis compass -- oh, and we can't forget the front and rear cameras (those come standard these days). Of course, the NGP plays games, too, which will be offered on new flash memory–based cards (so long UMD!) that feature added storage for DLC and game saves.
The NGP is coming this holiday season.
Update: Complete hardware specs, provided by Sony, are posted after the break.
"Next Generation Portable Entertainment System" Hardware Specs
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) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
Screen: 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED
Touchscreen: Multi-touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear touchpad: 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 and left sticks; 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)
