News conferences from Nintendo and Sony that rocked the world in 2011, the legacy of the Gameboy is so far away.  In the last week we have had two big news conferences that are going to change our hand held gaming world. Not only are we going to game in 3D with no glasses, we are going to hold in our hands a machine that will have as much power as the last generation of full consoles. We present both shows in full here so you can judge for your self where we are going next.

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Sony Event

PlayStation Suite
A “cross platform.” Described as a “hardware neutral game framework”– it offers emulation of PSOne games on phones– so the gamer no longer has to be abided by hardware. To ensure this, Sony has also created the program, PlayStation Certified, to ensure quality across the board. The games are scheduled to be available this year. In addition, it will also be compatible in the NGP.

Next Generation Portable (Codenamed: NGP) (aka, the new PSP)

“Location-based Entertainment”
Two analog sticks, six access controls, front and rear cameras, front and rear touchbads, “big big screen”, flash memory based, with 3g and wifi. The graphics are PS3 quality. You may use the analog sticks, in addition to the touchpad in the back to navigate characters (You may use one or two fingers). (The touchpad in the front is the screen, so you can alternate screen use). The design is very similar to the PSP. In addition, it will also feature the sixaxis.

LiveArea
Essentially, a user interface on the NGP that will have easily accessible info on other games and publishers. Players can basically find out more information on games. It also has a communication function, and a live feed that shows what your friends are up to. It can also connect with mobile networks, the first game portable to do so.

“Near” Application on LiveArea
In addition, the application “Near” lets players see what other game players are talking about in the area around you. Just think on a subway. This is again, to be able to enhance the “Location-Based Entertainment”. The Near app is to be able to connect players essentially– you can check out what titles different players have played recently, and thus maybe even the popular title in the area. If you like a game you see on Near, you can buy it in the PS Store!

It has been promised a 2011 HOLIDAY release.

Games planning to be released: Hot Shots Golf, Gravity Daze, Killzone (!), Hustle Kings, Reality Fighters, Smart As, Broken, Little Big Planet(!), Little Deviants, Wipeout, Resistance(!), Uncharted (!), Call of Duty installment (!)

In addition, there were demoes featuring the power and the performance of the NGP,
*a demoed one was a downloadable version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. (Funny quote from Takeuchi, Vice president of Capcom, upon playing MHP on the NPG– “The stick feels great, you can quote me”). In addition, Lost Planet was also demoed on the NGP from Capcom. However, that is all the info from Capcom.
*In addition it seems that it’ll be easy to port PS3 games to the NPG (a Yakuza 4 demo was featured).
* A Dynasty Warriors demo was also featured, showing off new controls with the NGP.
*Kojima showcased a Metal Gear Solid 4 cutscene, ported on the NPG. *Tim Sweeney of Epic Games showcased “Dungeon Defenders”, a game developed for the PS3, but now is moved to NGP (in a week’s time nonetheless!).

Source : WireBot Blog

Nintendo Event

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed a $249.99 price point and a March 27 release date for the 3DS handheld in the U.S., along with titles including a 3DS version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The confirmation of the March U.S. release date is in line with Nintendo’s promise to release the handheld during the current fiscal year. The device, which allows for 3D stereoscopic effects without the need of glasses, arrives in Japan at the end of next month.

Speaking at a Gamasutra-attended press conference in New York, Fils-Aime said the 3DS will have an unprecedented level of third-party publisher support, compared to any previous Nintendo platforms.

In all, there will be over 30 games in the handheld’s “launch window,” Fils-Aime said, or between launch and E3 2011 in June.

Nintendo officially confirmed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS, a 3D stereoscopic version of the revered N64 game from 1998. Reports of its existence first emerged at E3 last year, but Nintendo’s announcement makes the game official for U.S. audiences.

Other confirmed titles include previously announced games such as Kid Icarus, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Tecmo’s Dead or Alive: Dimensions.

On Nintendo’s digital storefront, it will offer a steady progression of Game Boy and Game Boy Color hit titles on virtual console, in addition to new downloadable titles.

The 3DS, as previously revealed, will also have 3D video playback for pre-produced 3D videos and built-in augmented reality games.

Fils-Aime added that the 3DS will also have a built-in activity log that tracks a user’s personal movement and virtual activity. The log will track which games users play and how long, and will also include a pedometer that encourages users to walk — movement earns play coins gamers can spend to buy bonus content.

Fils-Aime also said there’s an important change in way Friend Codes are implemented. With 3DS, only one code necessary and players only register once. They will never have to input code to play with friends online. Gamers will see who’s playing, what they’re playing and can join them much more easily than what was possible before with Nintendo’s oft-criticized current Friend Code system.
Source : Gamesutra

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This is followup review of PSP2 vs PSPGO / PSP3000 :

The original PlayStation Portable was released by Sony back in 2004 and redefined what people expected from a portable games console, with PS2-quality graphics bringing games like Ridge Racer to life on a handheld like never before.

Three years later, Sony introduced a new model – the PSP 2000 (also known as the PSP Slim) – which was 33% lighter and 19% slimmer. This was followed a year after by the PSP 3000 which added an improved LCD screen with five times the contrast ratio and a built-in microphone. A completely redesigned and smaller model, the PSP Go, was launched in 2009 which removed the UMD drive and instead focused on downloading games.

And now there’s the new PSP 2, codenamed the Sony NGP, announced by the company on 26th January 2011. It’s all set to again redefine what people expect from a portable games console with the promise of PS3-quality graphics and an exciting range of games, among them Killzone and Uncharted. But how does this new hardware, set to go head-to-head with the Nintendo 3DS, compare with the PSP 3000 and PSP Go consoles available now?

How Good are the PSP 2 Graphics and Sound?
The PSP 2 is such a generational leap over previous versions of the PlayStation Portable that it can achieve PS3-quality graphics for the first time on a handheld. As well as a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, performance is also boosted by a quad-core PowerVR graphics processor and together they power 960 x 544 pixels to the super-detailed and bright 5-inch OLED touchscreen display in 16 million colours. In other words, seriously impressive!

By comparison, the PSP 3000 and PSP Go are based on technology introduced in the original model back in 2004. With two obsolete CPUs that both run at a paltry 333MHz and a GPU running at just half that, the older PSP models can’t compete on either speed or graphics quality. Plus, they only run at a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels (a quarter that of the PSP 2) and have much less impressive LCD display, with the PSP 3000 measured at 4.3-inches and the PSP Go at just 3.8-inches.

All PSP models have built-in stereo speakers.

What’s the Most Portable PSP to Fit in Your Pocket?
The PSP Go is the most portable version with a width of 5-inches and a height of just 2.7-inches, thanks to its smaller display and reliance on game downloaded from the PlayStation Store to its built-in memory. At less than 160 grams, it’s also very light. The PSP-3000 is much wider at 6.7-inches but with with a height only larger than the PSP Go at 2.8-inches. It’s also heavier at 189 grams.

The PSP 2, however, is considerably bigger and has a width of 7.2-inches – since the display alone is the same size as a PSP Go – and a height of 3.3-inches. Amazingly though, it’s thinner than a PSP-3000. There’s no information yet on weight but it’s expected to be heavier the current models.

The Kotaku Web site has a useful comparison showing the PSP-3000 besides the other PlayStation Portable devices, plus the Apple iPhone and Nintendo 3DS and DSi.

Another important portability factor is battery life. Both the PSP 3000 and PSP Go can last 4-7 hours on a single charge, depending on usage. No official information has yet been released for the PSP 2 but a source has told Eurogamer that the battery life will be 4-5 hours.

Are there any PSP Games Compatibility Problems?
The PSP 3000, like the two versions before it, uses Sony’s proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format so it’s fully compatible with all PSP games. In addition to that, many games can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store and stored on a memory stick. The PSP Go has no UMD drive at all so relies completely on digital games distribution from the PlayStation Store, with storage provided by either the 16GB of internal flash memory or memory stick. Unfortunately, although the PSP Go hardware is essentially the same as the PSP 3000, not all games are available for download so it has a more limited library of games, although newer titles like Gran Turismo are available.

The PSP 2 has entirely new hardware so games written for it won’t run on either the PSP 3000 or PSP Go but it is backwards compatible with any existing PSP games, providing they are available from the PlayStation Store as the PSP 2 has no UMD drive.
What are the Other PlayStation Portable Features?

All PSP models have built-in Wi Fi which allow for connectivity with the PlayStation Store and Web sites via a built-in browser. They also all have built-in microphones for Skype.

The PSP 2 adds a touchscreen and a touchpad on the rear, plus Sixaxis motion control and a built-in GPS for location-based gaming. It’s also the only PSP model to have front and rear cameras and two analogue sticks, instead of one, which is something that many gamers have been missing. A version will also be available with built-in 3G.

What’s the Best Value PSP to Buy?
The PSP 3000 is the cheapest model as the basic pack can be purchased today for around $170, while the PSP Go is slightly more expensive at $200. No price has yet been announced for the PSP 2 but with the new Nintendo 3DS retailing at $250, a price of more than $300 should be expected.

But deciding which PSP is the best value to buy is not just about price as the PSP 2 offers far superior capabilities to the other models and so will likely offer a better price/performance ratio.