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Sony Explains Why NGP Isn't Actually As Powerful As A PS3

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by Phil Kollar on March 03, 2011 at 02:36 PM
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There was a lot of hype about the incredibly powerful technology behind Sony's upcoming NGP handheld when the device was first shown off a little over a month ago. One of the biggest pieces of speculation -- aided by the fact that they showed several PS3 demos running on the system -- was that this pocket-sized device had as much power as a PlayStation 3. Sony has now clarified that this is not quite the case.

Speaking during an NGP panel at the Game Developer's Conference, Sony platform research manager David Coombes explained why having a handheld with the same level of technology as the PS3 would not work:

"Well, it's not going to run at 2 GHz because the battery would last five minutes... and it would probably set fire to your pants."

While setting your pants on fire would surely make for a great icebreaker for whoever is sitting next to you on the bus or plane, it's probably not ideal for gaming. Coombes still promised an impressive device, though, noting that the NGP will have four CPU cores and an amount of RAM much closer to the PS3 than the PSP.

If you want to know more about the NGP's every detail, you can check out the full hardware specs or read Meagan's write-up of the GDC NGP panel.

[via Kotaku]

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Comments
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  • by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:41 PM
    Dear Amazon, Please cancel my order for fire resistant trousers. Thank you.
  • by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:43 PM
    im excited about this system 5 minutes...?man that wouldnt even get you half way through the beginning cutscene of mgs4 which they showed running on the ngp
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:45 PM
    Awwww oh well...Sony please note I care less about it being a PS3,MUCH rather see 20-30 amazing games for it instead thank you.
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:45 PM

    Well hell it doesn't need to be.  What I've seen already is impressive enough.

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:46 PM
    I can never follow the hype for these things. (first announcement) "It's gonna be Awesome!" (2 months later) "Well, not quite THAT awesome, but still pretty awesome." (a month later) "Did we mention this is gonna be the BEST!? Start your pre-orders people!" (actual release) "Well, it's just about a little less than you expected."
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:49 PM
    I want a PSP that makes your pants go on fire now.
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:52 PM
    Later on during the panel, David Coombes also goes on to explain why his mom drops him off at school in a 1987 Chevy Cavalier even though he tells everyone at recess his parents own 3 Lamborghinis.
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:54 PM

    That is a great quote!

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:56 PM

    Makes sense, plus I don't want my five minutes handheld to set my pants on fire either.

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 02:57 PM
    Both the NGP, and the 3DS are looking pretty awesome.

    See Fanboys? There's no reason to pick sides, love both!
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:01 PM
    i want great games! not great graphics! actually both would be pretty nice
  • by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:07 PM

    hmm well oh well, might get this later depending on how much sony wants for this

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:11 PM

    I love that quote, "It would probably set fire to your pants"  Oh Sony lol

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:16 PM

    That makes sense, flaming pants is rarely a good thing

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:24 PM
    It's ok. I didn't expect it to be as powerful as the greatest console in the world.

    Kinda hard to make sense of all this stuff unless you work with it. I think i read that the PS3 has 1 core with 8 Synergistic Processing Units, but it only really uses 6 of them for games since one is a backup and another is used for the xmb so how does that compare to a NGP which has 4 cores? And is it more powerful than a 360 which has 3?

    It's interesting to look at for the features, but i wish someone would explain in layman's terms what all the technical stuff meant.
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:27 PM

    Hmm... If my pants were on fire, I'd certainly have a good excuse to chat with that cute girl in my AP Econ class... Sony, make this happen! lol jk.

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:27 PM
    That's ok Sony I wasn't expectin it to be. If I want to play on a PS3 I would play mine. It doesn't look too bad either,I'm kinda a lil excited for this a bit. This and the 3DS are soundin pretty good & I haven't even picked up a handheld since my Gameboy color (I had a PSP but it wasn't mine & it broke within a few days of borrowing it).
  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:28 PM

    I'm still really excited about the NGP.  Did anyone actually think this hand held would be ask powerful as a PS3?

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:39 PM

    im still very impressed and excited

  •
    by Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 03:39 PM
    Micorsoft's big portable reveal must be happening tomorrow then. You know the one that is as powerful as the 360.
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