Sony pins NGP for a 2011 release, more details surface

Sony has hinted some new information regarding NGP, at an event held in London. The event was mainly attended by UK based developers. According to a source, Sony discussed about its future strategy for the NGP and also provided some new details about its hardware.

According to Eurogamer, Sony wants to focus on mainstream audience in the first year before going back to its hardcore gamers club.

Some of the titles, namely Uncharted, Little Deviants, and Wipeout HD were demoed at the event . Sony confirmed that Wipeout was running on its original PS3 engine . It means that the NGP will, in fact be able to produce the same quality and shader effects, the PS3 has to offer. Sony is being cautious with the games submitted by the developers as it wants the game to be developed for both PS3 and the NGP through single submission but wants a “reason” to release it on the NGP. Sony demands interactivity between the two versions and has asked the developers to include extras in the NGP version.Also, the game titles available at the NGP launch on the  flash format  will also be made available on PSN as well.

Regarding hardware, the source revealed that NGP will comprise of three gyroscopes with front and back multi-touch. To add more accuracy, both these touch screens will be having a Six-point multi touch capability. Also, the rumored “cloud-saving” feature still remains unconfirmed.The NGP will have two variants, one with WiFi only and the other model will contain 3G connectivity as well. Though exact date and the prices haven’t been disclosed, the WiFi version is expected to be released this year with the 3G model coming next year.

EEDAR has estimated that the WiFi-capable NGP would be priced between $299 and $349, while Sony has promised that it will be “affordable”. Only time will reveal true price and until then, your guess is as good as any of ours.