That doesn't make sense. 3G really is just an extension of wifi.

If you have a smartphone you can see this. If you're on the browser at home and continue to be playing around with it while leaving your house, it will eventually leave the wifi and seemlessly switch to 3G.

This is all it is, an open data connection.

So a dev only has to utilize the built in tools that are specified for network connections and the phone handles which one is being used, 3G or wifi. The reason there are different skus as 3G won't be available to everyone. Sony tends to not do much with Verizon and its 3G network is CDMA vs GSM. So there is a big chance that the US versions of the NGP won't work on Verizon's 3G and as such a person buying on who uses Verizon (there are a lot) would be better off saving the $50 to $100 and buying the wifi only model.

I'm just gonna copy/paste whate I replied to someone else already

First I should say the comment I made was tongue in cheek to make sure this thread had the right amount of unsolicited anti-NGP in it.

But there is also a bit of truth to what I said. Sony are billing the "asychronous multiplayer" thing which from what I can tell kind of needs 3G for low bandwith "connect anywhere" gameplay. But if only one SKU has 3G and only, for example, 20% of buyers purchase that sku, then what incentive is there for the developer to even attempt to include that kind of experience? 

I imagine the response from someone to this will be "but wi-fi hotspots are everywhere".

They are not and the type of extension of gameplay they are talking about requires an always on connection.

3G access will only be available to those paying a monthly subscription fee.

Ergo, anyone who wants that functionality, will be paying for it. Those who don't, won't have access regardless of whether their device is 3G enabled or not.

Anyone who thinks such access is available for free probably doesn't have a firm grasp of how these services work.

The developer decision to create a program that depends upon mobile 3G access is based upon a variety of factors, including the fact that only a percentage of NGP users will be paying subscribers.

If only a percentage of SKUs are 3G enabled, and only a percentage of 3G enabled SKUs have people subscribing to the service, where is the incentive for a developer to invest in that?

I'm fully aware that 3G requires a monthly outlay however they are limiting themselves buy only offering that option to the one SKU that will likely be the most expensive. Monthly outlay over and above the existing higher cost means people will go for the 3G-less option which means, as I said above, lack of developer support for that particular aspect of the console.

My point really is, the "asynchronous gaming" idea is a really good selling point and its a shame that it will likely go largely untapped.

Um. The question is what are developers investing in? Online connectivity? Wifi can handle that just as well if not better than 3G. Asynchronous gaming can be handle also by both 3G and Wifi. I can't possibly understand why people want 3G in their PSP2 in the first place, even if wifi is not 'everywhere'. Wifi solutions are appearing everwhere. Cars, businesses, cell phones, etc.

This is what I'm talking about

Andrew House: It might depend on the game. One area that I'm particularly excited about is the idea of asynchronous gaming, whereby the game experience is existing either on a PS3 or on your NGP, and then the 3G ability is the real-time, you know, "you're under attack, you've got to go do something"; messaging, just keeping that link with you, which clearly is not very heavy in terms of data traffic, but creates a whole different sense to the experience.

Continuous link to a game running on your PS3 wherever you are. I travel a lot for work and often to places that are in the middle of the countryside where I have periods with nothing to do for a few hours sometimes. This kind of functionality would be awesome for me but will probably be unlikely for the reasons I have stated above. I hope developers do account for people that may not have access to wi-fi but have 3G, I really do, but I can see them not wanting to waste time or money on it.

I guess I'm in the minority but you can't deny, if there is a lack of userbase there is a lack of investment and as I said what would be the point of having the 3G enabled device at all then.