Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian stated that while the NGP has a strong software lineup, it’s “unlikely to hit the mass market.” The hardcore lineup may not appeal to consumers like the iPhone apps have. Mike Hickey of Janco Partners expected the device to be at minimum $250 (which is the launch price of Nintendo’s new handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS), and while he was “naturally excited over the muscular hardware specs including: two analog sticks, 3G connection, touch screen, OLED display and developer support”, he didn’t feel the features would translate to sales.
It all comes down to money in the end, of course. Both analysts noted that part of the popularity of the iPhone was the fact it had a massive lineup of strong games that cost $0.99-$2.99, while the Nintendo 3DS had an attractive gimmick (3D images that don’t require glasses), and that the NGP would be a hard sell for people, especially if it was $250 or higher.
Hickey told Industry Gamers, “We believe Sony’s PSP and PSP Go failed to resonate with today’s mobile gamers; and view the NGP as an evolution not a revolution from the aforementioned. The mobile gaming market moved aggressively away from Sony’s interpretation of a mobile game experience, and it’s not clear to us that the NGP is mapping to that new market.”
More info revealed about the Sony NGP is that there will be two SKUs - one will feature 3G, the other will feature just Wi-Fi connectivity, which may be an option for people who don’t like whomever the 3G carrier may be, ie. AT&T. The NGP will also have 4-5 hours of battery life, according to Sony Europe CEO Andrew House.
