Do you remember when the PS3 was first announced in 2005? It was supposed to be so damned powerful that it featured two HDMI ports – and you would be able to play “splitscreen†multiplayer using two separate screens. It would also have 3 Ethernet ports (god knows why) and 6 USB ports. Just a year later, that dream was crushed when the console’s specs were revised to just one HDMI, just one Ethernet, and 4 USB ports.
It looks like they’ve crushed dreams again; Sony’s next handheld, the NGP has apparently similarly just had its specs slashed.
According to French site 01net, the the NGP will have its RAM halved from 512MB to 256MB. It’ll apparently also have its internal 16GB storage nixed, and only have support for external memory – much like current PSP’s reliance on memory sticks. Right now, the 128Mb’s of V-ram aren’t in jeopardy – so NGP games will still be purdy.
This was all done, according to the site, to bring its the entry level, no-3G model’s price closer to that of Nintendo’s 3DS, a system that’s not doing as well at the moment as anybody had hoped. Personally, I hope this isn’t true. Confusing the marketplace with too many SKU’s is generally a bad idea; though it worked ok with the Xbox 360 and PS3..I guess.
Source : Industry Gamers (via 01net)
Last Updated: May 27, 2011