Sony has been slowly letting out details about its brand new Next Generation Portable device, this time talking about backwards compatibility and how it is pushing developers to bring games released on UMD to the NGP through memory cards.
Sony's
Next Generation Portable (aka the PSP2) has been detailed a lot recently, with the biggest news saying that it will get retail games through the use of
special memory cards, just like the Nintendo DS, dropping the old UMD format from the original PSP and the digital-only system used by the newer PSP Go.
The Next Generation Portable will also have backwards compatibility, meaning new owners will be able to download the games they already bought from the PlayStation Network for the PSP onto the new device, as long as they are within the download limits imposed by the service.
What's more, Sony promised that it is currently asking developers to release their previous PSP games as digital downloads onto the PSN so that everyone can get them, no matter the versions of their device.
In preparation for the launch of the NGP, Sony is also asking developers that games released only in the UMD format to try and launch them through the device's special memory card format, so that more people can enjoy them.
Sony said that it is still working out deals and overcoming legal hurdles, but that it won't release something like an external UMD reader, which was rumored for the previous PSP Go.
This may annoy current PSP owners who have a large collection of games on the UMD format and want to play those titles on the Next Generation Portable.
Still, the features and specifications of the new devices are more than enough to warrant a new investment, even if its own price is still just a rumor at this stage.
The Next Generation Portable is set to be one of the most powerful handheld consoles on the market, with Sony hyping it up by saying that it is as powerful as a PlayStation 3.
The device may start rolling out onto specific territories at the end of the year.
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