Opinion: Nintendo 3DS vs Sony NGP—FIGHT!

In the blue corner: Sony NGP!

What is it?

The NGP (Next Generation Portable) is a codename for the device that Sony plans to use to replace the PSP. For all we know, the thing may end up being called the PSP2, given Sony’s decidedly imaginative way of naming their consoles and devices, but we’re being instructed to call it the NGP until their naming committee inevitably eventually settles on PSP2.

The NGP features mindblowingly fancy technology, including an OLED, capacitive multi-touch screen, a multi-touch pad on the rear of the device, dual analog nubs, quad-core graphics and central processors (for comparison sake, the PS3 contains 8 processing cores, and most newer smartphones and devices contain a single processing core), front and rear cameras (no word on the resolution of these cameras), Wi-Fi (support for 802.11b,g, and n), accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, GPS, Bluetooth, 3G (in selected models), and the standard D-pad, shoulder buttons, and X, O, circle, and square control buttons. Software wise, the NGP drops support for the XrossMediaBar used on the PS3 and PSP, and instead uses a touch interface that Sony is calling LiveArea, which uses the PlayStation Network (PSN). Sony claims that the NGP will support PSN trophies and traditional PSP online purchases.

Where did it come from?

The NGP is the natural upgrade to the PSP, and Sony is making the same claims with this device as they did for the PSP: think of it as a PS3, just portable, and as with the PSP, there are many claims of being able to take your gaming with you seamlessly from the PS3 to the NGP. This is almost exactly what we’d have expected as an upgrade to the PSP, really, with several toots and ding dongs attached. Sony’s expertise is always in sheer hardware power, and the NGP is absolute proof of the amazing power that can be packed into such a small device.

Why?

Beyond the “because the PSP is hacked 28 ways from next Monday” excuse, the reason that the NGP exists is to replace the PSP, and to take a bite out of the mobile gaming market currently inhabited by iOS and Android devices. The touch screen and touch pad on the NGP are proof of that. I suspect, in addition to the games developed exclusively for the NGP, Sony wants to see Android and iOS apps developed and ported onto its device in tandem with those devices, and taking the crown as portable power-gaming device of choice.

Despite all the raw power, there are some parts of the device that show that Sony has learned a lot from the design problems that plagued the PSP, and is now allowing developers a veritable bushel of options—such as the touch screed and touch pad—to deliver innovative gameplay.

So what’s the strategy?

Because there are so few details about the NGP, it’s difficult to tell where Sony will go with it. Sony’s answer to everything seems to be along the lines of “throw as much power as reasonably possible at it, and hope it works”. It worked in the case of the PS3 (eventually), and we can hope that it works for the NGP, too. I will make this statement abundantly clear, however: if the NGP is to succeed—and I very much want it to succeed—it cannot follow the footsteps of its predecessor.

The big problem is that since the launch of the original PSP, the face of on-the-go gaming has changed. Not just a little nip-n-tuck here and there: we’re talking about a John Travolta “Face|Off” style change. Gamers want to be able to play something for the 3 to 5 minutes it takes to get to the front of the queue in a grocery store, or get through a good four- or five levels while waiting for the pizza to be delivered. Or defeat a few puzzles in the time it takes for the wife to choose new winter boots. Portable gaming is about being able to play in very small chunks at a time, and unless developers for the NGP get this right, the powerful machine will just become another PSP. That’s not to say that longer, 3-course meal type titles don’t have their place; they do, and the Monster Hunter series that was so popular in Japan is proof of that.

A big selling point that Sony might lose out on would be the ability to use the NGP as a controller for the PS3, and use the screen to present extra information to the player. This was the kind of thing promised about the PSP for the PS2, but this feature sadly never materialized. I know that if we were allowed to use the NGP as a controller, I’d be first in line to buy one. I know it’s probably asking a little too much of it to act as a primary display for the PS3 as well, but it is nice to dream.

The portable console’s largest detractor will be its price tag, and this is going to plague it until the price becomes feasible for the impulse-buyer, much in the same way the PS3 was initially off-putting for the same reason. I do not see the NGP retailing at anything less than US $350 for the non-3G version (which comes to around ZAR 2,530 at a straight conversion. Expect it to double by the time it hits us) . Between the late time to market, the US $100 difference between it and the 3DS, and the sheer glut of iOS and Android devices in abundance, it’s going to face very stiff competition in the mobile gaming market.

Will it work?

It might. The sheer raw power of the NGP, along with all those toots and ding dongs, might just be ballsy enough to push it to the front of the mobile gaming market. To be honest, beyond the turbocharged oomph, the NGP does not seem to offer gamers anything new and exciting, beyond the ability to play PS3-quality games on the go, and from the history lesson we can take from the PSP, that did not go down too well. We’ve seen everything it has to offer before, and that might be its downfall.

On the positive side, however, the combination of touch screen, touch pad, cameras, GPS, and motion control might just usher in a new era of ultra-realistic augmented-reality gaming, and that possibility gets me more excited about the NGP than anything else it has to offer. If I knew for certain that Sony would offer the ability to use the NGP as a controller for the PS3, that would be an amazing pulling point, and the proverbial rabbit in the hat. By making the NGP a must-have for every PS3 owner out there, Sony can almost guarantee sales. As it is, however, with so little information about it, it is going to be difficult to call until closer to the time.

Fight!

I hate to sound like a welcher after all this, but it’s too close and too early to call the winner of this battle. My suspicion is that this round is going to play out exactly like the PSP/Nintendo DS round: as much as I want the NGP to succeed, the 3DS will probably take firm sales leadership, at least initially. The factors are all so similar it’s almost spooky: price (DS won), desirability (DS won by a narrow margin initially, and this widened eventually), power (PSP by a massive margin), innovation (DS again), battery life (the PSP’s UMD drive was a major power drain), games library (DS, once more, with backward compatibility with the GameBoy Advanced a huge advantage. That, and the whole gaming in small chunks thing made the DS a more attractive purchase), and convenience (DS again—the UMD was the PSP’s proverbial final nail). I have the distinct feeling we’re back in the early 2000s again, and this distresses me, because those were the worst years of my life.

I have one hidden contender that might very well bury both devices: the Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, also known as the PlayStation Phone. If it’s anything as good as the initial reports are saying, it is going to be one awesome little device, not to mention that it’s based on the Android operating system. The biggest advantage it has here is the already-existing library of Android games, and if that is not a wonderful selling point, I don’t know what is. I doubt it will stand much chance against the massive installed user base of the iOS market, but I have seen these kinds of battles turn faster than I can blink.

Either way, good luck to both the 3DS and the NGP! May you both live long and prosper within your respective fan bases. Expect a more comprehensive report when both devices are freely available to the market.