Well hard to discuss it so far, but given the recent PSP2/NGP announcement I can say what I see as some notable pros and cons of the system.
I'd definitely say the pros include a lot of the functionality it will have. Going to be a multi-purpose device, much like the PSP 1 was. Issue here is it'll be a much different market than when PSP1 came, as competition in other products from Apple and Nintendo, will have already been on the market for sometime with most of the features this will have. The other obvious pro is the capabilities of the system which are quite a bit higher than that of the 3DS (and be able to output more than things on smart phones). However, like PSP1 which was in similar position, it'll be about gaining developer support with those capabilities which we won't know about for some time although support does look decent so far.
Cons of course are going to be a higher pricetag than that of 3DS. I think most minimum estimates from analysts have been $300, and if I had to guess that'll probably be the pricetag. Highest probably being $400, but I think that would be a terrible decision on Sony's part. Another con I can see is trying to find its own "niche" in the gaming world. 3DS has 3D and Nintendo backing and smart phones have cheap on the go games as their backing. Where is the NGP going to fit in all of this? Especially in NA where PSP1 has severely tanked in popularity. As of now, there isn't much that stands out about the system that can really get it the attention it would need to take off. I think it can build off brand alone in Japan to have a good start, and in certain areas of Europe as well, but in the largest market in the world, it is going to need more than that.
Thus which leads me to my final note on NGP, is it is going to be all about software support. It can't create a niche as a multi-purpose device anymore as they all are now and there isn't a single feature announced that really makes it something its own (or at least not like 3D does for the 3DS) which makes it a rather "safe" release of a new system. That's not all bad, but it does mean a lot more focus is going to be on what software comes out on the system than usual. Sony is going to need to provide big time software for the system while getting huge support from its 3rd parties. This may be a little more difficult as 3DS has already garnered a lot of support and non-3D ports/multi-plat games from/with the 3DS isn't going to do it. But if ease of development for the NGP exists, then I really think this is somewhere they can thrive, but it is going to take a very aggressive attitude from Sony, especially in gaining back key western support that PSP1 lost over the last few years.
So with the early lowdown on NGP, that is what I see thus far and I guess it is about a 50/50 assessment. Main thing I noticed and as stated, is it does seem to be a very "safe" strategy which isn't a bad thing. But obviously not taking a large risk like Nintendo is doing which lays its success on the success of 3D gaming. May end up working in Sony's favor by playing a more safe approach, although we saw how the "safer" release of Move compared with that of Kinect.
Who will win? Well right now I don't think many doubt that 3DS is going to be tough for NGP to compete with. 3DS has huge developer support, a unique feature in 3D, and the leading brand going in. Even more so, that Nintendo brand goes a long way with younger gamers and female gamers which is something NGP will need to obtain if it wants to compete and something that didn't seem to be present in this early presentation. Sony is going to need to actively go after that in the pursuit of strong software support mainly through western software support who make most of the games for younger gamers and female gamers. It's a viable market that Sony definitely needs to consider with NGP as we saw how massive it was with success of the dance games in 2010.
But let's reserve all judgement on who will win not only after we see how the 3DS takes off but as we see the games and support NGP has come E3 along with 3DS's continued support. And obviously the price tag for NGP. But it is good to see two strong competitors as competition is good for the gamers. Also having that push from Apple just makes it better as it has proved to give both systems some pretty strong features to make them multi-purpose. As for me, I'll definitely get a 3DS (on launch actually) and I'm considering an NGP (note I never considered getting a PSP1).
