Rumor: Sony Cutting NGP Power

[Demon_Skeith]

It is rumoured that the power of the entry-level NGP has been reduced to keep down cost.

According to unconfirmed reports by IndustryGamers -- stemming from French tech site 01net, who correctly revealed Project Cafe as the code name for the Wii's successor -- the RAM of the NGP base model has been halved, from 512MB to 256MB. And it will no longer contain 16GB of internal flash memory, using an external memory device instead.

But rest assured, the 128MB graphics capability is said to be untouched.

If true, these cost-saving measures could have been introduced to keep the NGP competitive with the Nintendo 3DS.

The NGP is expected to be released before the end of the year.

source

If sony is really cutting the power of the NGP just to stay on the same level of price for the 3DS, then that's just sad.

 

[GracefulAssassin]

Why is it sad? Because they are trying to profit?

 

[Demon_Skeith]

that they got to cut back on power to make a profit, it means sony don't have faith in their fans or the product.

 

[GracefulAssassin]

Or maybe they made it so strong that it was hard to make/pay for?

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Or maybe they made it so strong that it was hard to make/pay for?

I believe sony said they kept the launching of the PS3 in mind when making the NGP, clearly they have no faith that NGP can out shine the 3DS without matching them in price.

 

[GracefulAssassin]

I don't know, 3DS sales are below lackluster. People can see straight through the gimmick of 3D, plus it's expensive, with no good games until the summer. And besides, there is a reason why rumors are rumors.

 

[hissae2]

the 3ds will always be better for me because nintendo games are better for me. well, when they actually release some >_> probably won't get the ngp.

 

[froggyboy604]

Maybe 256MB of RAM is fast enough to play all games, but have a slightly slower loading times, and allowing the user the choice to pick their own external memory card size with enough storage for some games is good enough for many users since a lot of people probably be interested only in playing a few games then paying for the increase storage which they will unlikely use, and rather pay less for a portable console.

Plus, with less RAM, the battery life would be longer since 256MB of RAM uses less power then 512mb.

Giving the consumer more choice on what they want to buy is a good thing since people can save a little money on a portable console, and use the money they save on games, accessories, and a PSN plus membership instead.

The Xbox 360 arcade and Xbox 360 4GB slim is a popular example of paying less for less storage space for game saves, but having a console which is just as fast as the Elite and Premium versions when it comes to graphics, sound, and load times for games.

 

[GracefulAssassin]

This rumor has been debunked by Sony.