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PlayStation Vita gets a content management app, plays nice with PS3 and PC
Worried your PlayStation Vita is going to be so full of repurchased PSP content that you won't be be able to store it all? Yeah, neither are we -- but if you want another place to keep your Vita's picture, video, music and game content, Sony says your PC and PS3 will do nicely. An application page on the Japanese PlayStation website details a Vita app that lets users transfer data between the three platforms, noting that content can be purchased on the PC or PS3, and then transferred to the Vita for use later. Gamers looking to save scratch on that not-so-optional memory card will be able to use this content sharing feature to get the most out of whatever size storage they can afford. Sure, 4GB of storage the cheapest Vita memory card offers isn't ideal, but at least Sony is throwing you a bone to make it work.
Sony PlayStation Vita's removable memory looks like it's an SD card, but it isn't
Sony's seen fit to tell us many of the PlayStation Vita's specs, how much it'll cost ($249 for WiFi, $299 for 3G), and who gets it (everyone). Amidst all the hullabaloo at E3 2011, however, we missed seeing that Sony was showing off the new handheld's internal memory cards. Good thing an eagle-eyed member of the public snapped a pic of the 4, 8, 16, and 32GB cards on the show floor. They look awfully similar to garden variety SD cards, only there's a little notch in the side confirming they hew to Sony's unfortunate habit of using proprietary storage formats. The cost of the cards remains shrouded in secrecy, but life's more fun when a little mystery's involved, right?
Live from Sony's E3 2011 keynote!
The world hasn't been kind to Sony as of late, but today is Sony's day to shine -- we're reporting live from E3 2011 this evening, where the company is about to show off its latest toys. There's little doubt we'll hear about that fancy new Next Generation Portable, but what might it be called? And might there be a pair of PlayStation-certified tablets alongside the monster handheld? How about a library full of PSOne titles to make the Xperia Play relevant, or a price drop for Sony's venerable PlayStation 3 console? Find out for yourself right here, in this very post, when our live coverage kicks off at the times below. 2:00PM - Hawaii 5:00PM - Pacific 6:00PM - Mountain 7:00PM - Central 8:00PM - Eastern 1:00AM - London (June 7th) 2:00AM - Paris (June 7th) 4:00AM - Moscow (June 7th) 9:00AM - Tokyo (June 7th)
Rumor: NGP to be officially named 'PS Vita,' renamed at E3
Sony's second handheld console will undoubtedly be given the star treatment during the company's hours-long June 6 press conference at E3, but one particular rumor began circulating this morning and has been making the rounds rather quickly. According to anonymous sources speaking with two separate, unknown sites, the NGP will officially become the "PS Vita" as of just a few weeks from now, during the aforementioned E3 presser. Two images were initially posted to one of the sites yesterday -- a Blogspot site owned by someone named Hugo Miramontes -- though the shots were later taken down along with the post. In its place, a note now sits, which reads, "This has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry. I really am." We reached out to Miramontes for comment, and had yet to hear back as of publishing. A cached version of another now deleted post, which originally indicated just the "PS Vita" name, has comments from the blog's author, explaining that the images are "prepared graphics for E3." That said, all of this could be little more than a well-crafted hoax. Lest you forget, before the NGP was officially confirmed, multiple rumors pegged the system as being codenamed "Vita" and/or "Veta." Of course, Sony could've just stuck with the name, but it could also be that there are folks on the internet with plenty of extra time on their hands. Hit the poll below the break and let us know what you think of the images and the name. And hey, if you're real into Photoshop and wanna tear apart those shots for the obvious hoaxes they are (are they?), we'd love to hear from you!
Sony: every NGP game will be available to download, some might not even make it to physical release
We're filling the time between now and the NGP's holiday season release the best way we know how: by hunting down yet more information about it. Andrew House, the man in charge of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has delivered the latest tidbit in an interview with MCV, where he states unequivocally that every game on the next PlayStation Portable will be available to buy as a download. Notably, he also expresses Sony's desire to have simultaneous distribution in both digital and physical channels, but that sounds a lot less concrete than his promise that every game will be downloadable. Digital-only games also figure prominently in Andrew's vision of the NGP's future, as he expects them to diversify choice for consumers alongside the big time titles like Uncharted. To learn more about Sony's replacement of UMDs with flash memory and the reasoning behind the PlayStation Suite, follow the source link below for the full interview.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: NGP will be 'dead on arrival,' says ngmoco boss
In all honesty, you would expect the leader of a team concerned exclusively with producing games for smartphone platforms like iOS and Android to be dismissive of a new dedicated handheld console's chances, but it's still jarring to hear such a strident dismissal of the Sony NGP's chances. In an interview at GDC this year -- yes, the same place where we were treated to some very impressive demos of the NGP's performance -- ngmoco CEO Neil Young has expressed his belief that Sony's next PSP will be "dead on arrival." Claiming that the new portable will be incapable of competing with the rich ecosystems and affordable pricing models that smartphones now offer, Young says not even the crazy specs or PS3-like gaming will help the NGP survive. This echoes comments from Satoru Iwata last year saying that Apple, not Sony, is the "enemy of the future" for handheld consoles, though Young does close off on a positive note, saying that he sees brighter prospects for the 3DS thanks to Nintendo's rich collection of own-brand franchises and reserves of fan loyalty. So that's it, folks, better start selling those Sony shares while they're still worth something! Or not, it's up to you. [Thanks, Dominick]
Sony's NGP at GDC 2011: more video of the quad-core marvel in action
The headline just about says it all -- we've got some new footage (as opposed to what we've seen before) of Sony's NGP for all you gamers to drool over. Today at GDC 2011, we saw a live demo of Uncharted, Little Deviants, and the NGP's augmented reality capabilities. We were, once again, impressed by Sony's latest piece of gaming hardware, but don't take our word for it, see for yourself in video footage above and after the break. And, oh-by-the-way, we gleaned a few new tidbits about the handheld powerhouse that developers may want to know -- retail game cartridges will be only 2GB or 4GB in size (notable because the average PS3 title is 9GB), and Sony recommends that devs looking to port PS3 titles to the NGP should simplify their models, shaders and textures to make them work. Now if only Sony would spill the beans about how much the thing'll cost. Update: We didn't completely care for how our original Uncharted footage looked, so we uploaded a slightly higher-quality version. Enjoy!
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida drops some NGP knowledge: PSP sticking around, PS3 games easy to port
Details about Sony's next-gen portable Playstation, the NGP, have been scarce since we spoke with SCEA President-CEO Jack Tretton about the new device. However, in an interview in the forthcoming issue of Edge, Shuhei Yoshida --who happens to be president of SCEA Worldwide Studios -- revealed a few more tidbits about Sony's NGP strategy (alas, still no official price). Apparently, the PSP will stick around even after NGP's release because of high demand for the older handheld, not to mention a lower price. For those of you concerned about a dearth of titles upon the NGP's debut -- a la the PS3 -- fear not, as Yoshida stated that porting PS3 games was a goal from the very beginning and the process will be simple (relatively speaking, of course). Combine that with a push to make the NGP's development environment "as easy as possible," and we'll hopefully see plenty of available titles upon the device's release. Oh yeah, Yoshida-san also said that NGP is just the console's codename, and the real name will be announced later this year -- PSP2 just rolls off the tongue, now doesn't it?
Sony's official NGP announcement video hits the web
Sure, you followed along with our Tokyo liveblog and breathless posts announcing Sony's Next Generation Portable (codename: NGP, get it?) successor to the PSP. But nothing's quite like viewing a video posted 48-hours after the event to get a true feel for the historic occasion... historic to nerds like us anyway. The power is now in your hands -- use it wisely to watch a thrilling three-part trilogy after the break. More videos at the source link below.
Sony says NGP will be 'affordable,' won't cost $599, WiFi-only version also coming
We had quite the interview with Sony's Jack Tretton, but we certainly didn't corner the market on hot new NGP details -- Eurogamer and Game Informer quizzed the company's Andrew House and Shuhei Yoshida, respectively, and came out with some important tidbits about the quad-core gaming handheld, particularly regarding pricing. Though Tretton seemed to suggest we'll see a price somewhere northward of the Nintendo 3DS's $250, Yoshida was quoted as saying "It's not going to be $599," laughing off the idea that the system would cost as much as the PlayStation 3's infamous appraisal at launch, and House said that Sony "will shoot for an affordable price that's appropriate for the handheld gaming space." While none were willing to cough up a real ballpark estimate, the SCEE president revealed one way that the cost might come down: pushing out a lesser model, a strategy we've seen before. House said that while all devices come with WiFi, "a separate SKU will have 3G," making us wonder which of the handheld's other groundbreaking features might carry a premium. After all, OLED screens don't come cheap. Find the rest of Eurogamer's excellent interview (including a bit about how Sony will prioritize downloadable content over physical media) at our source link.
Engadget interview: SCEA's Jack Tretton talks Sony NGP, announces (and then un-announces) PlayStation Suite for PS3
Ever since his candid and humorous E3 2009 Sony keynote introduction -- wherein he thanked the audience for showing up despite the big news (PSP Go) having already been leaked -- we've always had something of a soft spot for Jack Tretton. We managed to have a sit-down with the SCEA President-CEO following the company's big Tokyo meeting, a non-working NGP unit in tow. For a brief moment, Tretton "confirmed" that PlayStation Suite games (currently slated for Android devices) would work on PlayStation 3. We asked rather directly, to which he responded, "Yes, they will. Yeah." By the next question, however, he explained that he might've misspoken and wanted to clarify that Suite is only NGP right now. It should come as no surprise, then, that there was no talk of Suite for any other devices, be it Bravia sets or Google TV. Tretton said there was at least one compatible Android device currently on the market but wouldn't elaborate -- given the 2.3 requirement, we're presuming he meant the Nexus S. We weren't able to get him to budge on the issue of the NGP's price, but we did ask him to opine on the Nintendo 3DS's $250 tag. Instead of offering friendly competitive jabs, he said only, "I think if the quality's there, then the people will find a way to buy it, within reason... I think that if you could create content that consumers see as compelling, they'll find money that they didn't think they had." A bit too reminiscent of former boss Ken Kutaragi's old adages, but hey, it's not like we expected a sub-$300 sticker, anyway. Some other highlights: Tretton wouldn't definitively say whether or not original PSP titles are in Suite's future -- "at this point, it's PlayStation One games, but I think it can go in a number of directions." This runs a bit counter to what Kaz Hirai said earlier in the day, but either he might've misspoken or the translator erred. The controller overlay we saw used as an example at the event was just that -- an example, with no guarantee of future use. That "holiday 2011" launch applies to at least one territory, but Sony was "ambiguous for a reason" (i.e. simultaneous global rollout is a dream but far from a promise.) We probably won't have a clearer image until fall rolls around, sometime after E3. No discussion on battery life, but Sony is "certainly look to improve upon [original PSP]." For what it's worth, that one measured about 4.5 to 7 hours at launch, and Sony eventually sold an extended-life pack. PS Suite will have non-gaming apps. A WiFi-only version? "We haven't made any determination on models yet," which is infinitely more vague than the confirmation of non-3G SKUs from SCEE president Andrew House. Will Sony or a Sony partner make a flagship device to show off the Suite? A, dare we say, PlayStation phone? "Stay tuned" was all Tretton would say, followed by a laugh. Hey, at least we acknowledged the elephant in the room. Full transcription after the break. %Gallery-115252%
Sony's next PSP (codename NGP): a closer look
Following the unveil of its bodacious next generation portable (NGP) PlayStation device, Sony let a swarm of journalists (including us) on stage to get a closer look at the PSP's dual-stick, quad-core successor. No touching, but we were able to direct our lens mighty close and compare the NXP with a PSP and PSP Go before the on-hand staff shooed us away. Enjoy the pictures! Update: And now we've got video for you as well! You know where it's at. %Gallery-115201% %Gallery-115205%
Sony's next PSP, codenamed NGP
Betcha didn't think this day would come, but it finally has. Sony has just come clean with its next-generation PlayStation Portable. It's actually codenamed NGP and will revolve around five key concepts: Revolutionary User Interface, Social Connectivity, Location-based Entertainment, Converging Real and Virtual (augmented) Reality. It will be compatible with the PlayStation Suite and is backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games and content from Sony's PlayStation Store. Specs include a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks (not nubs as on the current generation), 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, the same accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing as in the PlayStation Move, an electronic compass, and cameras on both the front and back. Available this holiday season. Wait... what?! %Gallery-115252% Games will come on "new media," not UMD anymore, but we're unclear on what sort of flash memory is being used. Sony's rather proud of the fact it's offering the world's first dual analog stick combo on a portable device, though we're more geeked about the quadrupling of pixel count from the original PSP. Sony's live event has been graced by demos of some pretty popular games, including Killzone, Resistance, Little Big Planet, and Uncharted -- with the latter serving as a demo platform to show off how the NGP's rear touchpad can be used to more intuitively climb up some vines. That touch panel on the back is the same size and positioned directly under the front OLED touchscreen, which allows for some pretty sophisticated controls when using the two simultaneously. The new console's UI will be called LiveArea, which has a bunch of vertically navigable home screens and built-in social networking through PlayStation Network. You can jump between games and the LiveArea without losing your progress and comment on your buddies' great feats of mobile gaming. %Gallery-115187% In closing its presentation, Sony trotted out Hideo Kojima to show off a cutscene from MGS 4 rendered in real time on the NGP. It was pulled directly from the PS3 version of the game and ran at 20fps, which looked very smooth indeed to our liveblogging eyes. Videos and Sony's full PR are now available below. %Gallery-115199%
Live from Sony's Tokyo event
<div style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.engadget.com/liveblog/live-from-sonys-tokyo-event/"><img alt="" border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/01/sony-tokyo-event-1254.jpg" vspace="4"/> </a></div>We're gonna level with you, we're not entirely sure what (if anything) Sony will show off at its <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/sony-to-announce-psp2-at-january-27th-tokyo-meeting/">Tokyo meeting today</a> -- other than "business [overview] and strategy," of course. All the same, with the rumor mill in high gear about a possible <a href="http://www.engadget.com/tag/PSP2/">PSP2</a> debut, we decided to take a chance and fly halfway across the world. Will it end up a worthy excursion with <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/kaz-hirai-non-confirms-the-playstation-phone-and-tablet/">momentous payoff</a>? Some fiscal and corporate chatter? A new Japanese ad campaign featuring a terribly dubbed Kevin Butler? Follow along!
Reminder: we'll be live from Sony's Tokyo event tonight at 1AM ET!
Heads up: we're the sort of people who'll drop everything and get on a 12-hour flight (sometimes longer) to Japan just in case Sony's "business strategies" meeting turns out to be the platform from which the company unveils its oft-rumored PSP2. If you happen to be awake, the fun starts around 1AM ET tonight (which is actually tomorrow, but hey, you get the message). Link to our impending liveblog? Why, we never thought you'd ask: here you go!
Report: PSP2 features OLED screen, will offer 3G data
We're expecting Sony to officially announce and detail the successor to the PSP later this week. In the meantime, Japanese newspaper Nikkei is alleging a few early details. Firstly, the portable will supposedly feature an OLED screen. Secondly (and more importantly!), the system will support 3G data, enabling over-the-air multiplayer and video and game downloads. In Japan, the service will be offered by NTT DoCoMo. And although the PSP2 will connect to cellular service, it won't make phone calls -- that's left for the PSP Phone to handle. The report doesn't detail possible charges for the 3G service and doesn't state whether there will be an option for a Wi-Fi only version. We'll be grilling Sony for all the details later this week.
Sony to announce PSP2 at January 27th Tokyo meeting?
Sony has a January 27th meeting in Tokyo to discuss "business [overview] and strategy." That much is true (and confirmed by Joystiq to Sony). What we don't know is whether MCV and VG247's sources are worth their weight in Lucida Grande. Both sites claim to have heard this meeting will be the launch platform for the PSP2. (VG247, for its part, has previously published pictures of an apparent PSP2 dev kit.) No major trade show debut, just a Tokyo meeting of unknown spectacle... then again, 3DS' unveil was a random press release, so stranger things have happened. We'd wager on another PlayStation Phone non-confirmation at the very least, but we'll have to wait and see.
Sony's Kaz Hirai talks up virtues of touch controls, weighs in on PlayStation phone
The PlayStation phone keeps popping up time and again, and still no one at Sony is going to flat-out admit anything -- but that hasn't stopped playful speculation. Even SCE chief Kaz Hirai is joining in the fun. "We don't want gamers to be asking, what's the difference between that [a PS phone] and a PSP... we have to come up with a message that users will understand," he told The New York Times. "It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact." So that's the issue, then, differentiating a new PSP and a variant with phone capabilities -- nothing a good marketing campaign can't fix, if you ask us. But enough about the phone, what of the PlayStation's portable brand in general? Hirai seems to fancy touch controls, actually. "Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel," he said, adding that "immersive games" -- the ones he think are Sony's focus, vs. the more casual fare offered by Apple and Android -- do well with physical buttons, and that some games work well with the two. We can't help but notice he said touch panel and not touch screen, which reminds us of the touchpad we saw on the PS phone leaks, but we wouldn't want to harp too much.
Sony fires barrage of touchscreen patent applications, only one points at new PSP
Lawyers for Sony Computer Entertainment America must have been mighty busy last October, hatching the wild scheme that came to light this week -- a series of eight intertwining patent applications all describing a single device with an intriguing touchscreen interface. Though it's hard to tell what form the final device might take -- the apps suggest sliders, clamshells and slates -- a few distinct ideas bubble to the surface, and we'll knock them out one by one. First, the inventors seem to be rather particular about having a touchpad that's separate from the main screen -- perhaps even on its back like the rumored PSP2 -- and Sony's trying to patent a way to manipulate objects through the screen as well. Second, there's a lot of mumbo-jumbo about being able to "enhance" or "transform" the user interface in response to different forms of input, which seems to boil down to this: Sony's trying to get some multitouch up in there, especially pinch-to-zoom. Last but not least, the company's looking to cordon off a section of touchscreen buttons, including a 'paste' command, and patent a "prediction engine" that would dynamically change the onscreen layout based on your past behavior. If most of these ideas sound more at home in a new tablet computer rather than a gaming handheld, then great minds think alike. Still, SCEA is Sony's gaming division -- forlorn Linux computing aside -- so consider us stumped for now.
Early PSP2 dev kit in the wild?
Well, this is interesting. VG247 has published what it says are pics from an early Sony PSP2 development kit. There isn't much to go by in terms of back story, and in many ways it looks more like a KIRF from Mr. Blurrycam's vintage collection than something for software testing, but let's hear what the site has to say: HD screen, two cameras (front and rear), microphone, two thumbsticks, and a rear "trackpad" of sorts, presumably akin to what we've seen on the PS Phone leak. VG247 later updated to say that a source claims it's an earlier version of the kit and that a revision has since been developed without a sliding screen -- a move to perhaps deal with (also rumored) overheating concerns. We know a PSP2 exists in some form, so this can go one of two ways -- either cleaner shots will be found, or an entirely different leak will surface later. Given the suspect Fall 2011 debut, we have plenty of time to wait around and see. [Thanks, Ross M -- no relation]
