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Sony NGP to be ''Less Investment Heavy''

- By - Source : Wall Street Journal

Does this mean less of an investment for the consumer too?

Most of the time, developing a new device means pumping money into research and development for new chips and other hardware. However, it seems Sony will be skipping those costs with the launch of its new PSP, codenamed NGP, as the company’s CFO says it will be ‘less investment heavy’ than other platforms. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, finance chief Masaru Kato said that the platform would be less of an investment but failed to elaborate on the details.

Announced in January, the PSP2/NGP will feature a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, a 5-inch touchscreen OLED display (960x544), a rear touchpad, dual analog sticks, a gyroscope and accelerometer, dual cameras, an integrated mic and stereo speakers, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G. There will also be a whole new UI, dubbed LiveArea, which will allow for multiple homescreens and integrated social networking.

Sony hasn’t named any price for the NGP, which is thought to be launching in some territories in time for the holidays, but the fact that the company may use already-available parts, or turn to contract manufacturers, will mean a much smaller bill for the new PSP and hopefully a lower price.

How much would you pay for the PSP2/NGP?

Further Reading

Sony PlayStation to Mind Budget

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memadmax 06/01/2011 5:26 AM
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-6+

Despite the hacking on sony, I would like to buy this.

It's like a frickin swiss army knife...

ben850 06/01/2011 5:28 AM
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Very tempting.

plznote 06/01/2011 5:32 AM
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$250.

dragonsqrrl 06/01/2011 6:30 AM
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I'd say up to $300. I just can't see them successfully selling any for a higher price. Although given the specs in comparison to current high-end smart phones, which can cost ~$500 alone and ~$200 with a 2 yr contract, $300 seems perfectly reasonable for a high-end portable media/gaming device.

theshonen8899 06/01/2011 6:51 AM
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$300.

gerchokas 06/01/2011 6:53 AM
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"less investment heavy"?? They recycled the original PSP 1000 concept THREE times since *2004* on the 2000/3000 series and then on the crappy PSP Go!! Seven years producing the same device doesnt seem much of an investment to me.!

tacoslave 06/01/2011 7:06 AM
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Less than $200 and they will CRUSH the competition.

RisnDevil 06/01/2011 7:22 AM
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Would LOVE for this to be no more than $300, but expecting a $350-$400 pricepoint.

The smart phone arguement is valid, except for your extrapolated answer. The arguement would be more valid if you said the cost of current smart phones, which are less full featured or powerful, would justify a $500 tag.

It will be interesting to see the "fallout" due to this launching so closely to the 3DS, with each device having its own....."gimmicks"....

zulutech 06/01/2011 7:22 AM
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tacoslave :
Less than $200 and they will CRUSH the competition.


I agree, wholeheartedly.

alidan 06/01/2011 7:46 AM
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gerchokas :
"less investment heavy"?? They recycled the original PSP 1000 concept THREE times since *2004* on the 2000/3000 series and then on the crappy PSP Go!! Seven years producing the same device doesnt seem much of an investment to me.!



a single cpu for a console can cost over 1 billion to develop, and usually with a handhold they need a gpu developed or customized for it too, instead of taking a custom current or next gen model.

r&d for this crap is expensive as hell. im guessing they got the whole thing for under 1 billion.

all that said, i could see paying 400 for it if it can run games on hdtv some how, if it cant, than 300.

neiroatopelcc 06/01/2011 9:34 AM
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gerchokas :
"less investment heavy"?? They recycled the original PSP 1000 concept THREE times since *2004* on the 2000/3000 series and then on the crappy PSP Go!! Seven years producing the same device doesnt seem much of an investment to me.!


Porche's done the same since they stopped making 356 in favor of the 911. Yet they've managed to grow big enough to purchase VAG (means they sort of own volkswagen, audi, lambo, bugatti, skoda & seat).
So it's kinda not that bad a strategy. Attempt to improve what already looks to be a working concept.

That being said, I don't own any of the items mentioned.

Thunderfox 06/01/2011 1:25 PM
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Smartphones don't cost anywhere near $600 to build, they just charge that because they can. A powerful handheld could be sold for $300 or less, it's just a question of how much money Sony wants to make on each one they sell. Hopefully they learned a lesson from doing too much too fast with the PSP and charging an arm and a leg for it. Nobody bought them until the price dropped.

Even so, $300 is a lot for a handheld. Sony isn't Nintendo, who own the kids market, but I would not want my kid to be carrying around a $300 toy in their pocket.

Thunderfox 06/01/2011 1:29 PM
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Err... that should be, too much too fast with the PS3.

nexus9113 06/01/2011 3:28 PM
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I see a launch price at least the same as the original ($300), but if it is more than $350 I'll probably extend my wait.

Honestly, the deciding factor for me nowadays is what games will be available at launch. If they pull a 3DS and have nothing but shovelware (especially at their launch since it will be around the holiday season), I would probably end up waiting a year, year and half to let a library build up to see if the investment was worth it. Kinda made that mistake with the original PSP as most of the good games didn't start hitting the shelves 'till after that time period.

Sony you need to learn from the Big N's blunder and wait for at least half of the big games you'll be promising at E3 to be ready before launch, and not just one (SSFIV, if you consider that "big").

cknobman 06/01/2011 3:30 PM
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>=$250 and I just may bite!!!

zak_mckraken 06/01/2011 4:11 PM
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What was the last price Bob? $250$? Then I'll say $249.

pozaks 06/01/2011 4:51 PM
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$250? lol

Try $399 for the base model, and they'll try to make you feel bad for expecting anything less.

Parsian 06/01/2011 5:30 PM
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Judging from the picture, it looks a bit bulky. I dont know why there is no Tegra 3 device. I wish MSFT design its only platform with Tegra 3.

cakster 06/01/2011 7:13 PM
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Do i sense an Android custom firmware in near future after the release for this device?

captaincharisma 06/01/2011 9:07 PM
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250 starting price seems right. but they already said they are putting it up against the 3DS so it will be around the same price as that

sceen311 06/02/2011 1:35 AM
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how about tree-fitty?

Djhg2000 06/02/2011 4:15 AM
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I'd guess $449 for the high end model, $399 for the mid end and $349 for the basic model.
At launch of course.

mman74 06/02/2011 5:08 AM
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Yes I know Sony have been bad to us on occasions, but I have stuck with them on gaming consoles from the Playstation One. Funnily enough I was hoping that would crash and burn as I bought the Sega Saturn first, but since realized that they actually got pretty decent games, I have stuck with them through the PS2, the PSP and the PS3 getting all of these within months of release.
I will definitely get this. I think they are right - R&D is going to be less, similar hardware is available in smartphones and tablet but not necessarily geared towards gaming. My big wish for this is to have HDMI outputs so I can play on a big screen, with at least 720p.

Razor512 06/02/2011 5:33 AM
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$150 at most

Thunderfox 06/02/2011 12:07 PM
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djhg2000 :
I'd guess $449 for the high end model, $399 for the mid end and $349 for the basic model.At launch of course.



Why would there be different versions of it? The only reason the consoles did it was because they cost a fortune anyway and you could save some money by not buying a hard drive. This was a mandatory option for MS to provide considering how they violate you anally with a cactus with the price of the hard drive and all of their other accessories.

Djhg2000 06/02/2011 1:37 PM
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Thunderfox :
Why would there be different versions of it? The only reason the consoles did it was because they cost a fortune anyway and you could save some money by not buying a hard drive. This was a mandatory option for MS to provide considering how they violate you anally with a cactus with the price of the hard drive and all of their other accessories.



You don't remember the original PSP, do you?

They had a basic pack, which was basically the unit, charger, headphones and a demo disc.
Then there were a value pack, which also contained a 32MB memory stick and a soft cover.
Then they had the mega pack, which also contained two games and a 2GB memory stick instead of 32MB.

It had absolutely nothing to do with Microsoft, my guess would be it was because of one of it's competitors, such as the Nintendo DS.

fir_ser 06/03/2011 2:46 AM
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Between $250 and $300 will be the maximum price that I’ll pay for this portable gaming device.

eddieroolz 06/03/2011 3:39 AM
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For me, $250 is the magical number. Any higher and it is encroaching on other, more viable purchases like a dSLR, phone or laptop.

6joshh6 06/04/2011 10:49 PM
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neiroatopelcc :
Porche's done the same since they stopped making 356 in favor of the 911. Yet they've managed to grow big enough to purchase VAG (means they sort of own volkswagen, audi, lambo, bugatti, skoda & seat).So it's kinda not that bad a strategy. Attempt to improve what already looks to be a working concept. That being said, I don't own any of the items mentioned.



Actualy Porsche ran out of funds when the recession hit and their stocks collapsed. They agreed to a mearger with VW being the dominant partner. It's a bit like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnlULOjUhSQ

dragonsqrrl 06/07/2011 5:48 AM
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The official prices and models have been revealed. The "Vita" will come in a wifi only version ($250) and a wifi/3G model ($300). These are ideal prices in my opinion, and it looks like my prediction was pretty accurate. I just couldn't imagine them going much higher or much lower...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/117/1173228p1.html

Launch is Q4 2011