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NGP games will come on 2GB and 4GB cards, with room for save data, patches
This slide, shown during Sony's Next Generation Portable GDC panel, shed some light on NGP's still-mysterious storage details. Unlike the experimental PSP Go, the NGP doesn't sport any internal storage. Things like save data and patches will be stored on the actual game cards themselves which, notably, will be offered in both 2GB and 4GB varieties, with 5 to 10 percent of the storage allocated to the aforementioned data. On a 2GB card, that leaves 1.8GB to 1.9GB for game data; on a 4GB card, that leaves 3.6GB to 3.8GB. That puts the NGP's game media storage size between that of the PSP's, whose UMD discs range from 900MB to 1.8GB, and the PS3's, whose Blu-ray discs hold up to 50GB, though "many PS3 games" (i.e., multiplatform titles) remain around 9GB, thanks to the Xbox 360's DVD-ROM size limitation. Of course, as pointed out in a second slide (afer the break), this leaves the NGP with far more storage per game than a "10MB phone game." But that's not all! As previously suggested, the NGP has another storage option, simply called "removable memory" in this presentation. "Cards will be large to support a variety of downloaded content," the slide says. This includes games available over PlayStation Network; and, thankfully, Sony says it's implementing a "single submission for both formats" to streamline the process of getting games approved for both card-based and downloadable releases. We're hopeful this streamlined process obviates current embarassments like the continued absence of high-profile games in the PSN catalog of PSP titles, which has crippled the appeal of Sony's PSP Go handheld.
PSP UMD games could be re-released on NGP game cards
Backwards compatibility with legacy game formats isn't the sort of make-or-break feature that determines the fate of a new hardware system, but it does score major bonus points with the manufacturer's fan base when it does work -- and elicits plenty of groans when it doesn't. When it comes to Sony's next (generation) portable the answer to "will it play my UMD games" is clearly "no" -- not even the PSP Go supports the original hardware's disc format -- but UMD owners are still hoping the company will do something about it. Speaking with Japanese tech site Gigazine (as translated by Andriasang), a PlayStation representative reiterated that NGP will support the growing list of PSP games available in digital format from the PlayStation Store. Unsurprisingly, Sony has no plans to develop an attachable "UMD reader" for NGP (despite filing a patent that leaves open the possibility), and the UMD-to-digital "good will program" has been dead for 16 months now. Gigazine does report that Sony mentioned plans to re-release original PSP games on the NGP's new game media (flash memory-based cards), though the representative did not detail the possibility further. Certainly, it would be a no-brainer -- even if card-based re-releases could generate some "ill will" from existing UMD owners -- and the expanded storage size of the proposed new card format suggests that old PSP games could be sold in single-card collections or added to NGP game cards as bonuses. Or how about PSP re-releases with "NGP" treatment? Admit it -- you'd buy Peace Walker again if dual-analog and touch controls were added, not to mention some MGS4-ish graphics.
NGP features two proprietary card slots for memory storage, games
The NGP's memory storage capabilities are puzzlingly absent from the hardware specifications released by Sony today. During the PlayStation Meeting 2011 press conference, the company briefly introduced a "new game media" format, a flash memory-based card on which retail titles will be sold (replacing the clunky, power-sucking UMD). These SD-looking game cards -- said to be proprietary -- will feature extra storage for relevant data, including games saves and add-ons. "NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles," a Sony press release later confirmed. "Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games." But where will users store non-game data? The NGP's LiveArea UI suggests that multimedia applications will be integral to the handheld, and many of these apps will obviously require data storage -- not to mention the storage requirements for downloadable games. While Sony has not mentioned an internal flash memory component of the NGP, SCE Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida revealed to Game Informer that the device will feature "two slots" for memory cards; one for the new game card format (which Yoshida confirmed would be proprietary -- not SD) and a second port for additional storage. Whether the additional slot has been designed for Sony's existing proprietary Memory Stick (the "Micro" version is used for PSP Go memory expansion) has not been specified. "At this point, all we're saying is it is proprietary storage capabilities," SCEA boss Jack Tretton told Engadget, "we're not getting into defining what it is yet." [Update: In an interview with GameSpot, Yoshida said that the secondary slot is for "the media card that we are developing" (in addition to the game card), suggesting that NGP might use a proprietary media card other than an existing Memory Stick format.]
