NGP: The Essentials

Sony announced its long-rumoured successor to its PSP handheld gaming console this morning.

Codenamed NGP, or Next Generation Portable, the device was unveiled officially by Kaz "Ridge Racer" Hirai this morning at a conference in Tokyo. The handheld will be released before the end of 2011, though its unconfirmed yet if that will be a simultaneous worldwide release. Pricing has yet to be detailed.

THE LOOK

NGP carries a similar shape and style to the PSP, rather than its successor the PSP Go. The external dimensions are around 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm, if you want to put your tape measure against your existing PSP as a comparison. The unit colour is still black, with steel trimmings top and bottom.

However, it's more rounded, its curved frame labelled as the "Super Oval Design" by its creator. The unit touts a 5 inch front multi-touch display able to handle 16 million colours and has a screen resolution four times that of the original PSP.

Similar to iPhone it'll allow you to enter commands through a variety of different strokes and swipes, though by the sounds of it this will be an optional control scheme along side the traditional button controls for many games.

An analog stick is positioned either side of the screen, at the lower third of the unit. Each is slightly raised from the case, and looks a step up from the 'nub' design of the PSP.

The unit still carries a D-Pad on the top-left, sitting in a concave design which is mirrored by the four face buttons to the right. The Triangle, Square, Circle and X buttons sit raised atop the four compass points of their concave holding, and the each button's face is curved upwards. the L and R shoulder buttons are still very much in evidence. Select and Start buttons sit flush with the case, and are situated at the bottom right of the front of the NGP.

Running along the back of the machine is the rear touch pad, mirroring the size, shape and position of the front screen. Trace your fingers along it, and the action will be mirrored on the front screen.

Running along the bottom of the build is a connection point, obviously doubling as both charger and link to external devices, and a headphone socket. On the flip side on the unit's top rests the power button to the left, the volume controls - two separate buttons for up and down - to the right.

Built into the unit are two cameras, one front, one rear. Games will be pumping out their sounds through the two stereo speakers built into the unit.

THE TECH

The unit has is powered by a ARM® Cortex-A9 core (4 core) CPU, with a SGX543MP4+ GPU. The system will have 3G network connectivity and bluetooth.

For games, it'll will support new flash-based card, which the company state will be able to carry higher capacities in the future, but the company will also offer digital downloads onto the machine.

The NGP comes with a Six-axis motion sensor (that's a three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer) and a three-axis electronic compass. There's a built-in GPS system and microphone.

The GPS will seemingly form the basis of a service called "Near". Similar to the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass, the pre-installed software will allow players to share their game and information data with friends in the vicinity, letting you see what friends have been, and are playing. This new App utilises the PlayStation Network.

Every game will have a live-enabled element. LiveArea will keep players updated with info about the game, as well as tracking and displaying other players progress in the same title.

The unit will also share connectivity with PlayStation Suite, a service the company also unveiled which will deliver PSOne titles to Android-operated mobile devices, and there's the chance of cross-platform support.

The rear touch pad will work in parallel with the front screen. As you move or stroke the pad, those movements will be replicated on the main screen. Sony demoed this in a new version of Naughty Dog's Uncharted it showed off at the event. By stroking up or down on the pad, they managed to make Drake climb or descend a series of vines. The company has talked about using the two touch interfaces simultaneously, but no examples were given.

THE GAMES

There was a series of tech demos showcasing the power under the NGP's hood. Epic was on hand to present a new version of its Citadel title which has rocked the iPhone in recent past with Epic founder Tim Sweeney stating the unit was four times as powerful as any other handheld. As stated previously, Sony also had a new Uncharted title playing during the event - the game is confirmed as part of the console's initial game line up (see below).

Kojima made an appearance to show off Metal Gear Solid 4 on the machine, and stated a brand new title would be unveiled at this year's E3. Capcom showed off Monster Hunter Portable 3 and demoed Lost Planet 2's opening in-game cinematic to prove the NGP's power.

As for actual games, Activision's Senior VP Philip Earl was at hand to announce a Call of Duty title was in development for the console, meaning the FPS brand was added to the list released by Sony of games currently in development for the NGP. They are:

Killzone
Uncharted
WipEout
LittleBigPlanet
Call of Duty
Resistance
Little Deviants
Hot Shots Golf
Reality Fighters
Gravity Daze
Smart As
Broken
Hustle Kings

NGP will be able to play PSP titles, Minis, PSOne classics, video and comics from the PlayStation Store.