Chris_D

Actually, I find the two devices highly complementary. The iDevices do touch screen casual experiences (better than DS IMO) while the PSP does those meatier game experiences with tactile controls. If anything, the 3DS is getting squeezed between the 2, jack of all trades master of none.

I can't imagine the PSP2 replacing anyones iPod as a music/podcast device. It's simply too big.

Nausicaa

Wow, this thing has really impressed me, probably more so than the original PSP, which was a pretty steller piece of hardware back in 2004 (wow, it's been that long?). Nice, 5 inch touch screen with dual analogue STICKS (not like that crappy nub), and a rear five inch touch panel for even more control possibilities. And based on the screen shots, it can really pump out some beautiful visuals.

I do wonder about the cost, but if they can get it in the $200-300 range (definitely possible if it won't be out for another year - since the hardware isn't too next-gen), it will sell. I'm also a bit concerned about the battery life. But the device seems physically large enough that this hopefully won't be an issue.

I waited a few years and bought a used PSP, because the game library just wasn't that great for a long time after the devices launch, and a lot of the best titles were only released in the last few years. So I hope they get better developer support with this. It will be tricky since the machine is powerful enough to run large, graphically impressive games with console-style development cycles and costs, but the platform kind of requires cheaper games. We'll see. If the launch line-up looks good (Uncharted, MGS, please), I will pick it up on day one. Otherwise I may wait and see. It also depends on the game delivery method. I'm happy there's no UMDs, but I'm curious what kind of storage formats they will use.

Amazing how the 3DS already looks kind of gimmicky and dated. Although I will probably pick one of those up as well. It's been a long time since I played a handheld device and I kind of miss it.

Anubis2005X

Yeah, I'm actually thinking of cancelling my 3DS pre-order now on Amazon, wait until a solid list of games are out for it and maybe a "lite" version.

Decker

I'm probably not getting either until a price-drop. But given a choice between a blurry, dark, smaller 3D image and a large, vibrant, high-definition 2D one, I know which side I'll pick every time.

The problem with the PSP that they clearly haven't addressed here (and the one are that the DS has all over the PSP) is portability. There's no way to casually carry the PSP. It's too big to put in your pocket and the screen is exposed so you can't just toss it in a bag. I rarely travel with my line of work so my PSP rarely sees the light of day unless I take it with me on vacation (which is pretty infrequent). I can't see spending that kind of money on a device I'm primarily going to use in my house. I'd rather buy a second PS3. But that's just me.

Nausicaa

This is true, although I would say, for me, it's just as true with the 3DS (even if it is a bit smaller). I just don't have the opportunity to play many portable games. And at home, I generally stick to my consoles or the PC.

I still think these systems are best for kids and high school/college students. People who spend a lot of time being driven around, have lots of downtime, and generally don't have much space of their own.

fujishig

Isn't this just the final nail in the coffin for UMD game sales? They already convinced me never to buy a UMD again when I got a relatively cheap Go... which is bad, because I've been tempted a few times by sales.

I'm a little surprised they are going to offer backward compatibility with PSP downloads... I thought since that had been hacked to pieces with the recent PS3 key exploits, that it would be a vulnerability, but I guess (hope?) they locked it down.

As for the 3Ds: it will eventually get a revision and become the same price as the DS, at which point the DS would be discontinued, I'd think... and it seems like the casual gamer lapped up the DS lite, the DSi, and the XL, which didn't really hold that much of an upgrade on the previous versions to the casual gamer (at least for the latter 2). And once the next Dragon Quest comes out on the 3Ds...

Back to the PSP2: what's the speculation on price (system and games)?

As an aside, I have no idea how they convinced retailers to carry the Go in the first place... make a little bit of money on console sales and then never see a dime from software sales. There's physical media for this, sure, but I can see it ticking off retailers if software sales move mainly online...

edited to add:

Ah Gamestop... always jumping the gun:
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/Prod...KnuBVAh7yFI44A

Anubis2005X

^^
$1,000??? Bwahahaah. You wish, Gamestop...

Liver&Onions

Since when is 960x544 considered HD?

daniel18

So no more UMD is confirmed?

Liver&Onions

Looks that way, releases have no mention of a UMD loading area.

Which both sucks, and is fine by me. Maybe loading times will finally be shorter than Estranged.

daniel18

Damn. Hardware backwards compability would have been nice since I never bought a PSP.

orangecrush

Until the iphone or PSP2 gets Pokémon and a few other franchises, the 3DS is the master of portable gaming w/ IPs that sell like nobody's business.

Tracer Bullet

That remains to be seen. I don't think the 3DS is going to sell anywhere near as well as people think it will. It's myopia-- it's more of the same, how could it fail?

kgrogers1979

Well, Sony wanted us to get a second job to be able to afford the $599 PS3. Now maybe they want us to get a third job to afford the NGP.

orangecrush

Another thing they could do right: allow any digital PSP purchases work on your new PSP2 a la ipod apps. It would be a very nice gesture to current PSP owners.

stingermck

Looks nice, but I will need some nice games to make me jump from the GO.

fujishig

I thought this is exactly what they are allowing. Which is why it wouldn't make sense for anyone to buy UMDs anymore, since the only backward compatibility you'll get is from PSN downloads. Or did I read that wrong.

Decker

Yeah. Per the press conference last night. Full BC with downloadable PSP titles. Just no UMDs.

orangecrush

I think it will outsell the PSP2, but certainly not the ipod touch (counting all the generations). I don't think it will ultimately come close to the DS either (unless they drop the price often). That said, I think that Nintendo has been the king of handheld gaming for over 20 years now and they know what they are doing. How many people thought the DS would be a failure when it was first announced? Granted, Nintendo didn't think it would be as wildly sucessful as it was, but its worldwide sales are insane.

orangecrush

Did they explictly say that anything you buy now will work on your new hardware?

Tracer Bullet

The same thing could have been said about Nintendo in 1995...

fujishig

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/...tation.Blog%29

I guess it doesn't technically say "all."

Seems odd to have a rear touchscreen (a touchpad I could understand, but you can't look at both screens at the same time, why would you need a screen?)

edited to add: I guess it is just a touchpad in the back, which makes more sense.

chuckd21

I don't know what to think of this until the kid from the commercials tells me.

Fanboy

I just look at all this tech and I don't see how this could possibly come in under $300. We might be looking at a $500 portable game system, at least until the early adopters are rooked.

fumanstan

All the tech seems like a smartphone on steroids.

We're just getting dual core ARM CPU's, so a quad at the end of the year seems reasonable. The Galaxy S line of phones use the SGX540 GPU, so that looks like an evolution on that. Touch screen, front and rear cameras are all standard. Even a rear touch pad is something that Motorola has tried before.

It seems like it's got to be at least $300, right?