It’s clear that this is the company’s first real attempt at the cheap downloadable mobile games market, as minis have in many peoples eyes been a colossal failure. Despite it being highly unlikely that they’ll give Apple any real competition, I think it’s the right tactic for Sony and their ambitions in mobile gaming to be using.

It’s a but strange that they chose to announce the service at this event, but they held back the announcement of the much talked about Xperia Play (rumoured name) until most likely the world mobile event in Barcelona in February.

The announcement of PS Suite all but guarantees the device is definitely coming and soon, but I suppose they just didn’t want to confuse everyone by showing two new pieces of hardware on the same day.

Hopefully we’ll get more info on the service including how and when it will be made available, the games and hardware soon.

• Two analogue sticks, and from what I’ve seen so far, they appear to be actual sticks and not nubs as before, making them hopefully much more usable.
• It’s not download only. This is a big deal. The go was a disaster, not because downloading isn’t the future, it was just implemented terribly and was also before its time. Adapted memory cards will feel familiar to Nintendo players and is the right thing for Sony to be doing now as it keeps them a big firmly placed in retail stores.
• It has a huge 5 inch touch OLED screen, but when you look at it next to the 3000, it doesn’t actually look that big. While it’s not as portable as before in terms of pocketing it, most people would likely put their PSP in their bag anyway so I don’t see it as a problem whatsoever.
• The touch panel on the back I was worried would be too big a part of the product, but I feel that it’s most likely going to be a gimmick like the sixaxis and hardly used. It will be good but will only give additional options to developers, just as the current gimmick started by Apple and now adopted by Nintendo and Sony of sensors and gyroscopes won’t feature in most games.
• It’s casual friendly. The interface looks very Apple inspired. The bubbles on each “home screen” change the formula around from the grid style Apple pioneered, but you can see where they got their inspiration from, especially when you look at the dots at the bottom which indicate what home screen you’re on. The array of sensors and that big touch screen really make this a device that can eventually have mass appeal. Like the 3DS is positioned predominantly to target hardcore gamers at first, Sony are doing the same here, but admittedly with far less chance of broadening the appeal later on. They won’t be too worried about that though as they know their market well.
• They have crammed in everything but the kitchen sink. The device has almost everything you could want. 3G, GPS, quad-core processing and PS3 like graphics as well the obvious things like wi-fi and bluetooth. This makes Nintendo’s SpotPass and StreetPass look very basic by comparison.
• Playstation Network is fully integrated, meaning we’ll probably get to see our online friends, message them, invite them to games, maybe even voice chat. This would all be in addition to trophy support. Even though I don’t chase trophies like I used to, it’s still nice to get them when I’m not trying and it’s a feature that a lot of people want so I’m happy about that too.

That is about all I can think to mention about the system. Normally, after events like these from Sony and other companies, in recent times I’ve often felt disappointed and always left pondering where they could have improved. This time it’s hard to find fault with the NGP.

While it’s essentially the same strategy as the PSP was launched with, of pure power and the promise of console style gaming on a handheld. This time Sony are in a much better position to truly fulfil that premise and give Nintendo a better run for their money.

The only remaining question everyone has is how much it will cost. Of course, all of the great news today could be undone if they announce it at £300 or more, and you could easily see them doing so considering the specs the machine boasts. You just have to hope that they’ve either found a way to produce it fairly cheaply, or are willing to take a hit on the system to make it back on game sales. Perhaps a combination of these is likely.

Another point to bear in mind is that Sony are desperate to put the failure of the PSP go and the PS3 launch price behind them, and therefore they may be considering being aggressive on price straight away to try to avoid damaging their reputation again. They will want to keep things going steadily as they have been with PS3 for the last two to three years.

Related Articles

• Sony’s next PSP (codename NGP): a closer look (engadget.com)

I found the game on Amazon, Play.com, Zavvi and GAME for around £5. GAME were the most expensive at £5.99. Zavvi just pipped Play.com as the cheapest by 4 pence at £4.95 while Amazon only had it in stock from other sellers on the site and now Amazon themselves.

The point is that the game which retailed officially for £24.99 (which, let’s be honest, considering iPhone’s success at lower prices is still considerably too much) is being sold now at a very reasonable £5 at retail.

I decided to take a look at Media Go to check what Sony were charging for the download version of the game which PSP go owners have to buy if they want the game. I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw that it was still £23.99. Yes, you read that right. The reason why I say almost couldn’t believe it is because I know how this industry works in such ridiculous ways and how downloadable games and add-on content are seen as opportunities to absolutely disrespect loyal customers by charging so much more. When in theory, downloadable games should be cheaper for multiple reasons.

It all doesn’t make sense, and my personal view is that Sony and anyone else allowing this to happen, should be investigated for taking advantage of a monopoly on the spending habits of PSP go owners. It’s anti-competitive and this is on top of the ridiculous price of the dated looking system.

I wish Sony had never introduced the PSP go and just waited until the PSP2. They should have really thought more about how they were going to approach digital distribution in a way that made sense. PSP go doesn’t make sense.

Of course, the reason the price gap in this case is so huge is because Beaterator is a lesser known game that went under the radar so to speak. It probably didn’t move a huge number of copies and Sony must have just forgot to keep the price in line with the retail channels. I say Sony, but in the end, it may not be their fault because the publishers I believe have control over the Playstation Store prices and not Sony themselves. They can only guide them.

But at the end of the day, Sony should be doing more to force the publishers to set and maintain reasonable prices for their games. By doing a price review every few months or so, they could help themselves and PSP go owners because it will give them something to play. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t be paying almost 5 times the amount for a game no matter how much I wanted to play it. Surely the publisher would rather sell some games at a lower price, than presumably none or very few.

I should also mention that I looked up GTA Chinatown Wars on the store. On the sites mentioned earlier, I saw the game for around £15. On Playstation Store I found it for £29.99. It may not be as large in proportion as the price difference for Beaterator, but it’s still doube for the same game. Plus, this is a much more high profile game, and people are going to notice it a lot more. There’s no denying it’s an awful rip-off, but in the end it really comes down to whether or not people can vote with their wallets and spend their money on the UMD version, or even get the DS or iPhone versions.

The problem for PSP go owners is that they can’t buy the UMD, and if they vote with their wallets, they’ll have very little to play on their shiny overpriced systems.

Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

Best Action Game - Patapon 2

Patapon was a great PSP game. The sequel takes what you loved about the first one and multiplies it. It’s definitely worth playing whether or not you played the first.

Also notable:

Best Music Game - Rock Band Unplugged

Rock Band Unplugged might not have the same lasting appeal that the console versions have but it does provide an excellent way to spend a few minutes when you want to rock. Because you play with just the buttons, it can make you feel great if you nail a tricky solo or other satisfyingly tough part of a song because the notes are faster than on the normal game, but also easier to hit. Instrument switching takes some getting used to but it is fun after some practice.

Best Platform Game - LittleBigPlanet PSP

LBP PSP is a great portable version of the original PS3 hit game LBP, lovingly downsized to fit the PSP perfectly. You don’t lose much of the experience either, making it an astounding technological achievement.

Best Puzzle Game - PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

PJ Monsters Deluxe is essentially the collectors’ edition of the hit PS3 tower defence game. It’s a game that was perfectly suited to the handheld from the beginning and it is really fun to play.

Also notable: LocoRoco 2

Best Racing Game - Gran Turismo PSP

GT PSP might not be technically quite up to speed with MotorStorm but in the end, I had more fun playing this overall. The lack of a career mode is a bit disappointing but it is a handheld game so I can accept that omission. Collecting cars will keep you playing for a while and the promise of being able to transfer the cars to GT5 when it comes out will please quite a few players.

Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

Best Visual Quality - LittleBigPlanet PSP

This game will make you marvel at the 4 year old PSP and marvel at how this game is really pushing it and unlocking it’s untapped potential.

Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

Best Use of Sound - MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

I could have given this to LBP as well, but I think MotorStorm definitely deserves an award. It has a great soundtrack, great effects and provides the same brutal off-road racing experience you will find on the PS3 versions of the series.

Also notable: LittleBigPlanet PSP, Gran Turismo PSP

Best Story - Resistance: Retribution

I must admit that U bought RR mainly for the multiplayer. With that said though, the story that is there, is actually well done and for a PSP game and is worth a look if you’re into the gameplay.

Best Multiplayer - Resistance: Retribution

Resistance PSP really comes alive online. By far the best online shooter on the system, it feels console quality in its setup and really run exceptionally well considering the hardware. You can tell that Bend Studio made use of all their expertise from creating the Syphon Filter PSP series in creating this game’s online component.

Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, Gran Turismo PSP

PSP Game of the Year - LittleBigPlanet PSP

I’m a big fan of Patapon 2, but I couldn’t put it ahead of LBP because of how LBP does something that’s never been done before on a handheld. The way you can create levels and share them online works extremely well so you cold conceivably never run out of new levels to play. Of course, the story levels are fantastic as you would expect too. They seem to be a bit tricky for a handheld but they’re fun and challenging without being overly tough. The lack of ad-hoc multiplayer is a shame but the game offers so much that you almost forget about it.

Also notable: Patapon 2, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, GT PSP, Resistance: Retribution

Coming Soon: iPod / iPhone and overall awards.

When I saw the sale I instantly thought of my brother rather than myself. The reason for this was that he has only a few UMD games that he plays at the moment. Those are Resistance: Retribution and a couple of others. He recently made the decision to go totally digital and only buy from PSN, and put up with the price increase over traditional media.

Myself, on the other hand, since the PSP go was launched, have stuck even more rigidly to UMD based games, despite the fact in general I am a huge fan of digital downloads of games. I buy almost all my PC games on steam unless they’ aren’t available there and I buy a lot of PSN and iPod touch games.

In other words, Sony screwed up the great concept of PSP go so much that it turned me, a huge digital download supporter off it almost entirely. Yeah, that’s a massive screw up by them.

But as far as this sale goes, it made me realise that £150 may just be the magic price point that Sony need to get to in order to sell a lot of these devices, rather than marketing it as a premium device when it clearly lacks the premium qualities of the iPod touch, while certainly not skimping on the price tag.

£150 may be the magic price point, but I think it will be for only a select group of people unless they can work out a way to let people copy their UMDs over to the go. For someone like me, it’s hard to really imagine myself splashing out on a go at any price because I want all my games on the system’s memory, and until that’s a possibility the device in general is useless to me.

What I really wish Sony had done is simply kept with the 3000 until the PSP 2, and roll out the digital content alongside UMD (which they are doing now) for the current system rather than introducing a whole new one which would sour the whole PSP brand, in a similar way to how the PS3 originally made people dislike Playstation.

Now that I can go online, I can tell you that this is one of the best PSP games yet made and you should definitely own it. As a big fan of the PS3 game that Media Molecule made last year which was amazing, this one surprisingly doesn’t feel diluted to a point where it spoils the experience. With a game like this, you have to accept that to fit the game on a PSP you have to cut some corners, it’s inevitable. With that said, there are some corners cut. Most notably multiplayer of any kind. This is disappointing because I’m sure my brother would have bought the game if it did have ad-hoc play.

If you asked the question, which would you rather have? Online community level sharing or ad-hoc multiplayer, I think about 90% of people would take the former, because not only does it extend the life of the game endlessly but because most people play their PSPs alone anyway, it would seem like a far better idea to have a constant stream of user created levels.

The graphics and game play both feel like the PS3 game which I’m sure was no easy feat for Studio Cambridge to achieve. I think this game is surely going to put them on the map as a high level PSP developer and it is very well deserved. I’m interested to see what they do in the future.

While we wait though, go and grab yourself a copy of this game. Oh and before I forget, I paid £20 at GAME for the UMD, well technically I got it free with my saved up reward points. The PSN downloadable version is £21.99 I think, so £2 extra which is weak really, but it may be worth it for you, especially if you have a PSP go and have no other option. I think it’s worth taking. What you might want to do though is buy a PSN card from GAME first. That way you get reward points on the card before you redeem it and buy the game.

To be honest, my thoughts on the PSP at the moment are still about 30% positive and 70% negative, and that’s being generous.

Here are the good points currently:

• Looks nice
• Digital only is cool / the future of handheld gaming

The bad points:

• Price of system is still too high
• No UMD solution
• Selection of games on PSN is limited
• PSN releases are sometimes later after UMD release
• PSN downloads are more expensive than UMD
• No reward points from PSN purchases
• The device itself is low-tech for today’s market considering the price (lack of touch screen, not as much memory as other devices available.
• MiniS have been poor to average quality and expensive so far and that doesn’t look to be changing.
• Lack of competition price wise means Sony can charge whatever they want on PSN.

So, essentially this list isn’t too dissimilar to the one I did after the launch of the system back in October. Possibly even worse because of how MiniS have been disappointing, in a similar way to how Nintendo’s download services always succeed in disappointing hardcore fans.

Every time I look at the PSN store update, in the PSP section it seems like a few UMD legacy games are being released each week which practically no-one cares about. Sony need to make sure that all the best PSP games are on the store as quickly as possible and it seems like they don’t care to do this most obvious of things. It’s weird how they seem to lack any sense of urgency. I just want them to focus on blowing our socks off each week with tons of new content. That isn’t happening. How hard can it possibly be for a company as large as Sony to produce content to excite people?

So with that said, what can Sony do to reinvigorate the PSP go and make people excited for that device? Well, here’s some obvious tips I hope they realise.

• UMD solution: This is even more important than the price cut. The PSP 3000 was a rip off for the paltry amount of stuff it added. If you tell people that they can make digital copies of all their games and have them with them everywhere on a smaller, sleeker device, they will sell a ton of them. This is the biggest roadblock Sony have at the moment.
• Lower the price. £175, £179, £150 even? They don’t cost a lot to make, I’m sure they could do this. I suppose maybe they’re worried they won’t make any loss back on game sales because people aren’t aware of what’s out there.
• Release games day and date with the retail versions.
• Make downloads cheaper. They may be limited by retailers wanting to protect their business, but there are other options, for example the following suggestion.
• A loyalty scheme where you get money off or bonus content for buying digital games from the store.
• Get every major PSP back-catalogue game on the store quickly.
• Make better miniS

If they did some of those things the PSP go could be a very attractive product. If they did all of them, it would be a massive success. Too bad they might have tarnished the brand by releasing it in the state that it’s in now, unfinished and rough around the edges in many ways.

It’s definitely a true representation of LBP. It looks and feels just like the PS3 game which is really impressive on the PSP. It’s clear that this game is only possible on PSP, something Sony like to mention quite a lot for their games.

It’s clear though that even though the online level sharing looks impressive, in the end, the lack of multiplayer of any kind, in a similar way to rock band unplugged, will really hurt this game a lot in terms of its longevity.

Full review soon, not to mention reviews of new super mario brothers wii, F1 2009 and critter crunch.