JORDAN BOLT
Arts Writer

It was expected that Sony would announce either the rumoured PlayStation Portable 2 or PlayStation Phone at its Tokyo event on Jan. 27. It turned out the event’s purpose was to showcase the PSP2, except that Sony, for the time being, is determined that the system be known as the Next Generation Portable.

The look and feel of the NGP are very similar to the PSP handheld, but there are several key upgrades that justify the NGP’s validity in today’s gaming world. Sony plans to remedy the widely criticized single control nub of the PSP by having two analog sticks present on NGP, which will allow for control more like that of a PlayStation 3 controller. Dual analog sticks are big news for a handheld system because it means that the controllability of certain types of games, such as shooters, will be vastly improved.

The NGP’s screen boasts a high resolution due to its high quality Organic Light-Emiting Diode (OLED) screen and Sony has stated that NGP’s power and graphics rival that of the PS3. Front and rear facing cameras will be an additional feature added to the new portable system.

An expected touch sensitive function has been added to the front screen, which is wise considering how prevalent touch screens are in today’s society. More interesting though is the inclusion of a touch sensitive pad on the back panel of the system. The rear touch pad will allow gamers to control games without having their fingers obscure the screen. In addition to touch capabilities, tilt sensitive controls will be included in the handheld.

Sony has done away with the UMD disks of the PSP era and will sell games on proprietary flash-based memory cards. The NGP will allow for backwards compatibility with downloadable PSP games and will be able to play downloadable PlayStation One games.

It has been confirmed that game franchises such as Call of Duty and Uncharted will find their way onto the NGP. Many game developers have pledged their support towards the handheld, including but not limited to: Activision, Capcom, Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Epic Games, and Rockstar.

NGP will be WiFi and 3G ready, which will be used by Sony’s new services known as LiveArea and Near. LiveArea will be a system hub for the NGP akin to PS3 and PSP’s cross media bar. Near is a social service that allows people to see what other people in the area are playing on their NGP, compare game rankings and chat with other NGP owners.

No pricing details have been released yet, but if Sony can keep the price competitive with the $250 price tag of the 3DS then Nintendo might be in for some serious competition this holiday season when the NGP is scheduled to be released.