I pose to you a question. Does anyone feel like it’s 2003/2004 all over again??? It feels like it was only a short time ago that the Nintendo DS and PSP were going head to head in an all out portable war. The PSP was new to the portable scene and everyone was curious who would reign supreme. Well over time DS in overall sales and popularity body slammed the PSP. But why was this? Where did did Sony fall short? Price? Features? Or maybe the world wasn’t ready for the PSP just yet. But it has been a few years and Sony has established itself into the portable market. The PSP even had a few facelifts over time and even a little brother in the PSP GO. Nintendo DS even had a few remakes itself. DS, DS Lite, DS XL.
It is now 2011, and we are ready to ring the bell for Round 2 of the portable war. Let’s take a look a look at the Sony NGP (unoffically PSP2) and the Nintendo 3DS. Ref…ring the bell!!! *DING DING*
In this corner, weighing in at 230 grams and having a width of 134mm, we have the Nintendo 3DS:
- Screen Size: (Top) 3.53in. LCD Display at 800 x 240 Pixels (Bottom) 3.02in. LCD at 320 x 240 pixels
- Controls: D-Pad, Slide Pad, Motion Sensor and Gyro Sensor
- Price: $250USD
- Features: Microphone, two 0.3 megapixel back camera’s (stereoscopic) and one front camera, Stereo Speakers, Game Cartride Slot and SD Card Slot
- Network: Wi-Fi
- Opening Line-up: Super Street Fighter 4, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 2 Resident Evil Games, Star Fox 64, Kid Icarus Sequal, Metal Gear Solid 3, Frogger, Contra…
- Other Specs: The 3DS will be backwards compatible with the orignal DS games and any downloads from the online store. Also boasts a “3D Volume” switch which allows you to control the visual depth of the 3D screen. Easilty transfer information with other 3Ds’s using the “Street Pass” and “Spot Pass” functionality. Maximum SD Card size it can accept is 2 gigs.
And in this corner, we have the challenger. Weighing in at an unknown weight and a width of a whopping 182 mm, we have Sony’s Next Geneneration Portable (NGP)!
- Screen Size: 5 in. OLED Display boasting 16 Million Colors and a 16:9 Widescreen HD Display
- Controls: D-Pad, 2 Thumb Sticks, rear touch panel, gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, touch-screen OLED
- Price: Unknown (Estimated $300-$350)
- Features: 2x Microphones, 2x Cameras(Front & Back), built-in GPS
- Network: 3G Cellular, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth
- Opening Line-up: Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, WipeOut, LittleBigPlanet, Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid 4 and more…
- Other Specs: Arm Cortex-A9 core (4 Core) CPU, Small flash based memory game cards (No More UMD), Full trophy system, NEAR App to find other NGP’s near your location.
And the Winner is….well, that’s for time to tell, but we can take an honest look at how both machines stack up. In my opinion we are going to see the same war we saw last time High Tech and Pricey VS. Gimmick and Affordable. nintendo has proved that what many people might consider a gimmick, is actually now a new form of gaming. Motion gaming and 3D gaming are now almost common place. Sony even released the Move to compete directly with the Wii. Sony initiallized the new 3D gaming system before anyone else, now Nintendo has answered back.
So what can Sony do to remain competitive against Nintendo? The big thing here is that Sony absolutely need to keep the price reasonable. $299 would be the best they could possibly offer, but in all honesty will hit the market with a $350-$400 price tag. Nintendo is already more affordable at $250. Both Systems boast a powerful line-up of games. Solid Classic names that have survived the sands of gaming time. I think where Sony needs to be is Apps. Netflix, Skype, Facebook, etc. This would be absolutely huge for the NGP as it may actually justify a reason to have the 3G Cellular functionality. All if this stuff would be accessable in that network. you could download a new game on the fly, make a quick call, check you Facebook status. The 3DS is already boasting an internet browser, which would allow access to some of this stuff, but is completely restricted to a local Wi-Fi network to access it. Something else to consider is the actual portability of the device. The NGP is significantly bigger than the 3DS, but that may be justified based on what is offer to utilize it’s size. **AHEM** NETFLIX **AHEM**.
In the end, time will tell. We have a release date in March for the 3DS and reservations for this little bad boy are flying out the doors. NGP has no release date as of yet, but is rumored to hit the market late this year. Smart move by Sony, since this will give the 3DS time to die down and for everyone to develop new excitement for the NGP. (and get more money back in the consumer Wallet for Christmas). Put on the boxing gloves, and let’s see how this battle of epically small proportions pans out.
Comment below and express your thoughts. Who do you think will ulimately come out on top?
-Dustin VanCour AKA Dustimus_Prime -
