Gaming : Sony Announces New, Super-Powered PlayStation Portable

Let's be honest. The PSP Go was a bit of a letdown as a follow-up to the original PSP. And, while most of the attention has been focused on the upcoming "PlayStation" phone (which has yet to appear with any PlayStation branding on it), Sony has been quietly working on a proper sequel to the PlayStation Portable. Codenamed NGP, the next-gen PSP packs an impressive array of hardware that would make any other portable device hang its head in shame. A quad-core ARM processor and a quad-core graphics processor will be found inside (and we're still giddy about upcoming phones packing dual-core). And that's not to mention the Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope for motion gaming, compass, and both front-facing and rear-facing cameras. The 3DS and your smartphone are probably looking a little underpowered at the moment.

There is also no shortage of control options. The NGP sports dual analog sticks (which should make current PSP owners very happy), as well as a traditional directional pad, a five-inch OLED touch screen with an impressive 960 x 544 resolution, and a touchpad on the back of the device, similar to what you would find on the Motorola Backflip.

PSP NGP

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As for games, there should be no shortage of content. The NGP will be backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games, and will also work with the newly announced PlayStation Suite, a game store and development framework that will bring PlayStation-branded gaming to Android phones. There will also be games available on physical media, although Sony hasn't specified what that media might be. (We're pretty sure it won't be a new version of UMD.) Sadly, the NGP won't be landing until the holiday season, and Sony wouldn't give a price. However, the company has said that the handheld will be "affordable." Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to go start berating our current handhelds in hopes that they'll sprout a few new processor cores.