A major missing player of this year's E3 was the rumored "PSP2". Sony may be holding the system back for an announcement at the Tokyo Game Show (seeing how the PSP is much more popular there), but with the Nintendo 3DS out of the bag, Sony is going to have to make a move soon or be left behind.
Now, while the current PSP is not the #1 selling handheld like the DS, it certainly is not a failure(with the exception of the PSPGo). It has sold nearly 60 million units worldwide, which is a TON of units! I think there are five major things that Sony would need to improve on the PSP2 not only to recapture the PSP audience, but also to compete with the 3DS.
1. Multimedia power - hey, I thought the PSP was the multimedia device! And what's this? Now Nintendo 3DS will let you take 3D pictures and watch 3D movies? Sony is going to have to really bring its best to the table in order to compete with the multimedia capabilities of the 3DS. Perhaps blu-ray quality movies? Instant online streaming and web-browsing? Who knows? All I know is that Nintendo really pulled out all the stops for the 3DS's multimedia capabilities, and the PSP2 is going to have to compete.
2. Gaming power - have you seen the 3DS graphics? They look great, and that's not just my opinion. Many professionals in the gaming market are saying the 3DS graphics are on par with the Gamecube or even the Wii. The PSP brand has always been known to have "better graphics", so Sony will need to step it up in order to put the 3DS to shame. Oh, and another thing: let's have some games for the PSP. The 3DS is getting a ton, and I'd hate to see the PSP2 get nothing but ports like the PSP.
3. Online power - the PSP's online was better than the DS, sure, but it's wasn't anything to write home about. With all of the online features that the 3DS will be getting, the PSP has an opportunity to speed ahead and make an impression. I'd hope for online functionality that can support multiplayer along the likes of the PS3 or 360.
4. Controlling power - A Second analog nub, and for that matter, don't make it a nub! The "Playstation controller" setup is familiar to more gamers around the world than any other gaming platform (based on console sales). So, why fix what ain't broken? Well, the PSP isn't quite there yet. We need better shoulder buttons and another analog stick. Sony really needs to get the PSP2's control scheme perfect if it plans to compete with the 3DS's analog "slider", touch screen, motion controls, and gyro controls.
5. The "it" power - the 3DS is...well...3D! What will the PSP2 bring to the table? A touch screen isn't going to be enough. Sony is really going to need to think about what the PSP2 can contribute to the gaming world. Will its online be unmatched? Will it have graphics that rival current-gen systems? What will it be? I can guarantee you that the 3DS is finally going to shed the "it's a kiddie toy" stereotype that plagued the DS, so Sony will need more than a marketing campaign to compete.
What do you think the PSP2 will bring to the gaming world when it is finally revealed?
Tom Lee, Creative Director, Team Ninja: "We’re excited to announce that The Two Masters DLC for Ninja Gaiden 4 will be released to ninjas of all skill levels on March 4, 2026! This story-driven expansion continues Yakumo and Ryu’s battle against fiends that once again threaten to take over the world. After completing the main story, players will unlock new story chapters that push both characters into battles against even deadlier enemies, challenging bosses, and new trials that will test the skills of even the most seasoned master ninja."
Kotaku writes: "A Resident Evil Requiem review published by long-standing UK gaming news site Videogamer has been removed from Metacritic after readers pointed out it was written by a fake AI journalist who doesn’t actually exist. Videogamer‘s human masthead was gutted last week, sources tell Kotaku, and the site has been publishing apparent genAI slop ever since."
Genuinely well done on metacritic for taking such an immediate hard stance. Not often, if at all, you see that these days. Credit where it’s due.
This is really sad on so many levels. Not least of all the fact that all the human lost their jobs to a language model. Can we block all content coming from Videogamer site. Can we make a rule that content sumitted to N4G must be greated by a human being.
I'm gonna report every Videogamer article I see on N4G from now on so just putting it out there.
New York attorney general Letitia James called loot boxes 'quintessential gambling.'
Software. Nintendo always has so much more 1st and 3rd party software for their hand held systems.
I sold my PSP over a year ago because it just lacked quality titles, I mean it would have something nice here or there but overall it wasn't really much more then a way for me to watch movies on the go or listen to music. I hardly used it as a gaming device.
I was hoping that a new Hardcore hand held would come on the market and to my surprise the 3DS look's like it might do just that. Always online, free DLC, lots of titles. It will be hard for Sony to really compete with that. Frankly I was happy they didn't try to announce a PSP2 at E3 because they might have gotten themselves embarrassed a bit. Not trying to sound harsh, but the 3DS was just that impressive.
Software, online, voice chat, better interface, no more Digital Downloads.
Helluva luck they need if you ask me, considering how impressive the 3DS GPU is, they would have to aim for a custom high range PowerVR series, as rumoured.
It's funny though, that vertex power seems to be still lagging behind PSP in some aspects,(33m polygons/s against 15.4m polygons/s) but it almost does not matter in this case, the modern power of the rest of things in its GPU is just astounding.
I am sure the PSP 2 will be more powerful than the 3DS. The extra power may not be as noticeable as with the PSP and the DS but I reckon sony will make it pretty beastly for a handheld. Better controller layout is a guarantee (2 analogs and L2/R2) and a touch screen is likely, hopefully HD.
What they need to do is include 3G online connection and all of the PSN features like friends list and trophies. That would be a great start.
The real 'it' power would be the ability to Port PS2 games to your PSP2. That would secure Sony domination in the handheld war. Ah man I really hope they do that.
Yes! That's what we need!
more powerful than the 3ds and PS2
being able to update adobe for web browser
trophies
internal 30gb memory
L2 and R2 buttons right under the R1 and L1 buttons
hd screen
music section in PS store
4g online connection if you have playstation plus
camera
DLC gifting like nintendo wii
hardcore games like
Motorstrom
call of duty
Uncharted
killzone
Little Big Planet
Granturismo
Modnation racers
Metal Gear
GOW
Medal of honor
dead space
ghost recon
resistance
street fighter