Sony Is Not Ready To Discuss NGP Price Or Skype, But Portable 3D Is Another Story

The NGP, Sony's new gaming portable, might seem like a great machine. But there are things that Sony isn't quite ready to talk about. That doesn't mean I didn't ask after I saw the NGP in Tokyo.

This evening, I had a sit down with Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, who worked very closely with Sony's hardware engineers to create the NGP. We talked a great deal about games and the hardware itself. But with the press conference today lacking many specific details, I followed up.

Price
When I asked about price, Yoshida replied, "We are not talking about price yet, but I hope that when we announce the price, people will say it makes sense."

I asked Yoshida what he thought about the 3DS's US$250 price tag, to which he replied, "The 3DS is pricier than what Nintendo typically launched their hardware for." He said he thought the 3DS was "pretty interesting", adding that it feels like a more powerful DS.

3D
Sony, a champion of 3D, is not bringing 3D to its NGP. Why? "We evaluated the 3DS screens that are available and the costs," Yoshida said. "And there are lots of trade-offs. This [the NGP] is what we want to do."

When pressed further, Yoshida continued, "The portable is a totally different beast. It's still emerging and in a transitional stage. We are developing a platform to last a long time." So Sony, Yoshida said, made a very careful choice about what is important to them. Apparently, that's not putting 3D in a portable.

PlayStation Phone
There are pictures of what's reportedly a PlayStation Phone being taken apart on the internet and videos of people using it. But Sony didn't reveal a PlayStation Phone today. What gives? Where is it?

"I don't know where that's coming from," Yoshida said. "There are lots of cell phones on the internet."

Continuing, he added, "I can say that's not NGP." So that's something separate? Yes, he said: "That's something totally separate."

Skype
The current PSP has Skype. But will the NGP? Because if it does, that could render a phone utterly meaningless. Sony was not willing to comment with Yoshida saying, "So, we are working on providing more than games — networked servies on the NGP. And we'll be able to talk more about these services later."

Making Them
Sony had working models available to play tonight. Which would mean that conceivably, Sony could go into production soon and start churning them out for everyone to buy and enjoy. "Hardware takes lots of steps. So the answer is 'no'. No, we cannot manufacture in mass production today or tomorrow. But we can later this year."

No doubt Sony will be able to answer more questions then, too.

source: kotaku.com

I secretly think that unless there are gameplay elements that require you to be in 3D mode for the 3DS, I won't have it in 3D mode for too long.

No way!! I mean, nothing was told in the unveiling and was pretty much confirmed not to be in but still!!! O_o

That's how I feel.  I've been over 3D for a while now.  Mind you, I was kind of drunk when I played the 3DS at E3 last year and I was distracted by the women attached to the systems but I was more so excited about the games coming out for the 3DS rather than the actual 3D.  It was novel but I'm sure I'll get over it real quick just like I did the Wii's motion controls.  MGS 3 did look pretty amazing though...I remember being super impressed.

Man of course 3D wasn't implemented. Sony hinted they would not be following Nintendo along time ago. Honestly I don't care that Sony is not implementing 3D it would just bump the cost of the system higher, mean no touch screen and not to mention it would be a rip off of 3DS.

I want my NGP to offer unique experiances I can't find on my 3DS, if it offered the exact same experiance why would I purchase the NGP? Honestly the track pad on the back is one of my favorite features, can't wait to try the thing in person!

Thank goodness there is no 3D.

Not on this iteration, you can bet your hairy ass that 2 years down the line it will though on PSP2 2000. That is, if the Sony doesn't kill the machine before then due to lack of sales/interest.

I should also add that the (very expensive) OLED screen the PSP2 is using and the power behind the machine DOES allow for stereoscopic  3D which is superior to the 3D on the 3DS. The catch is, you'd either have to buy U$100 glasses or a similarly priced sheet to put over the device's screen.

mna i really see PSP2 got not slightly a change against the 3DS...im not a supporter of 3D but i know the casuals...first of all the lower price tag...of course 90% of the casuals buy the cheaper option and then the 3D..."oh its cheaper and got 3D...fukk the PSP"...i mean casuals specially little kids,mothers and girls would prefer buying "Hannah Montana rides a Pony 3D" than "Little Big Planet not 3D" on a system that is double the price of the 3DS...and the core gamers arent enough...only look at this generation...

3D doesn't work with touch screen. Sony can't really include 3D without removing the multi touch interface.