Sony Announces PSP 2

This morning Sony announced their codenamed project NGP this morning which is next generation PSP, something we've been begging for for years.  Finally, we've got our first looks at it and its specs, and it looks awesome.

It's Beautiful

Engadget reports that the system specs "include a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks (not nubs as on the current generation), 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, the same accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing as in the PlayStation Move, an electronic compass, and cameras on both the front and back. Available this holiday season."

The dual analog sticks are the game changer here.  One of the key problems that games on the PSP experiences is that the developers want to make their games similar to those on the consoles, and the control scheme on the PSP just doesn't allow for it.  With two sticks now, gamers will be able to control their games just as well as they can on the consoles.

Game wise, Sony impressed the crowd by running a cut scene from Metal Gear Solid 4, taken directly from the PS3 version, and ran it at a smooth 20 frames per second.  Nintendo may have their 3D gimmick going for it this holiday season, but if Sony can keep competitive with their price (and I mean actual competitive, not what Sony says is competitive), they have the opportunity to crush Nintendo's standing in the hand held market.

We're rooting for Sony.