Features PSP2/NGP may be lacking

Posted by Charbax – January 30, 2011

So the PSP2 seems to be the most powerful ARM Powered device ever announced and demonstrated thus far, Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 is awesome, 5″ capacitive OLED touch screen sounds fun. But the device does seem to lack some features which I think Sony could have “simply” decided not to purposefully hold back from including on this device:

- Why not use Honeycomb OS instead of a new proprietary OS? I feel it may be a sad thing to have such extremely powerful hardware and not have the software to go with it to fully take advantage of that hardware. Sony should have developed their whole platform based on PlayStation Suite, have it work on all other Android devices and use Honeycomb OS on the PSP2/NGP for full third party applications, UI and web browser support.

- No SD Card storage? Why introduce yet another proprietary storage media? Sony does this far too often, please stick to standards, there are billions of SD cards out there on the market, they could even have provided dual-SD card slots for even more storage expansion capability.

- A fold-out hardware keyboard would be cool. The PSP2 does have a proprietary connector underneath which in theory could be used to connect a folding keyboard add-on, so this may be considered just a feature request. I’m afraid Sony wants to facilitate expensive procrastination rather than cheap productivity.

- No HDMI output? Sony should have included a standard Mini-HDMI, Micro-HDMI or full sized HDMI connector on the side of the device. Since it is as powerful as the PS3, they should allow for connecting it easily to any HDTV to turn the device into a home console.

- Is the SIM card slot unlocked HSDPA? I think it needs to be. And eventually Sony could collaborate with carriers around the world to provide “free” bandwidth on a Sony SIM card that would work internationally and not require a daily/monthly subscription, but may charge by the GB or may be totally free when used for services that can be monetized elsewhere, same way as the 3G connecting in the International Kindle. Even more perfectly, it would have included a dual sim card slot, thus offering also the possibility to have a voice/sms SIM and a data SIM or a local data SIM and the international Sony SIM at the same time without having to swap them in and out too often.

- Does PlayStation Suite include a full unlimited access subscription plan? I think a sub-$20 monthly subscription plan should give gamers access to unlimited amounts of game downloads and online play, including the complete catalog of PS, PS2, PSP games and if possible more. In a perfect world, Sony would find a way to licence access and include all Nintendo NES/SNES/N64/GB/GBC games in the same subscription plan.

Which features do you wish PSP2/NGP included? You can post in the comments.

Here is the official PSP2/NGP announcement keynote video:

  • http://twitter.com/NapoEz3 Ezequiel

    Open Sorce OS!? Come on, get real! If the PSP is so easy to hack imagine what would happen with Android! For the rest you have a point.

    The HDMI output could be via USB, I have hope in that possibility!

    Free 3G… ufff that would be awesome. But I think it’s asking to much. Maybe some thing like what they done with the CR-48 (100MB free per month)

    Nintendo retro games in a SONY game console… I see it impossible. Nintendo is trying to see them in the new DS 3D and they won’t help the competition.

  • http://ARMdevices.net/ Charbax

    Android is Open Source, but that does not mean users can take it change it and install it on the device. What it means is Sony can take it, customize it, add all their gaming features on top and provide a device that has all the same VOIP, IM, Social Networking and other apps, same multi-tasking perhaps even working in parallel with the games having a way to see Android notifications and other on top of the games or in parallel, instant pause and resume of any game.

    I think the main reason Sony would have to not want to use Honeycomb as their PSP2 OS, would be to not let their users play other Android games for free or for cheap instead of spending their time playing the $50 PSP2 games. But in that case, I think Sony should have been ambitious, since as the manufacturer they get 25% or whatever share in Google Marketplace sales, and if they are worried users spend too much time on free Angry Birds and the like, they would then simply have to make the PSP2 games and PlayStation Suite even more convincing so it doesn’t matter how much Android distractions there would be, gamers would still spend lots of money on Sony’s own contents.

  • http://ARMdevices.net/ Charbax

    Nintendo has to make a Nintendo Suite like game store for Android in any ways. It’s not a question about Nintendo “helping” the competition, it’s an opportunity for them to literally make billions of dollars in extra revenues by allowing users to legally pay for their games on Android devices. Look at Angry Birds for example, that game is barely more advanced than the type of games Nintendo did 16 years ago on the SNES. If Nintendo simply provided a legal Nintendo Game Store for Android, they could be selling dozens of SNES games for all Android users, and at $1 per game, or all inclusive in a $5/month subscription plan, Nintendo could be making tons and tons of money.

    And I don’t think it would slow their 3DS and Wii-HD sales, as part of the Nintendo Game Store for Android, they would be able to advertise for their own current consoles. That Game Store does not need to include all the newest games released in the last 5-10 years, those would still only work on the actual new Nintendo consoles. This way, for each Android user paying $1 for Yoshi’s Island or Super Mario 2, they get new potential customers for 3DS and Wii-HD as well.

  • Bob

    We can only dream. Sony probably thinks Android and SD cards would make piracy too easy and scare off developers while HDMI would cannibalize PS3 sales. At least they’re taking chances with Xperia Play and Playstation Suite, the two most open things they’ve ever done since the compact disk.

  • http://twitter.com/NapoEz3 Ezequiel

    An Android device should be easier to jailbreak. More people know how to program some thing to do so. If it’s a new OS people have to learn from a scratch.

  • http://ARMdevices.net/ Charbax

    Playing backups, it can be prevented if coded the right way. And nobody can prevent an Android device from playing backup roms on Android emulators. Yet the point is Sony should have an attractive subscription plan and affordable game downloads making it more attractive to pay than to pirate, most people not bothering with the hacks against easy streaming access to all games at a good price per month.

    The thing is, companies like Sony, Apple, don’t want to precipitate their own disruption faster than they think is necessary. But sometimes auto-disruption can lead to even greater market dominance in the new business opportunities that can come forward.