Sony PSP 2 - Pie in the Sky?

With Sony's official announcement of the PSP 2...or NGP, or whatever you want to call it, we're finally seeing a feature list. But still no pricing to speak of. Today's Penny Arcade strip made a very good point. (Click for big)

Maybe they are afraid. I mean, it's not going to be cheap. We know this. Let's take a look at the features for a second.

ARM Cortex A9 Quad core processor
Multi-touch OLED display
Multi-touch panel on the rear
3G capability
GPS antenna
Six axis motion sensing
Wifi and bluetooth
2 cameras, front and rear

If this thing comes in under $500 I will consider it a fucking miracle. I can't help but feel bad for Sony sometimes. Have they really learned nothing? The DS and the Wii were much less powerful, and Nintendo soundly kicked their ass on both fronts. $500-$600 for a console was just too much for most people, and Nintendo has proven that you don't need incredibly powerful hardware to produce a system that people will want to buy.

Not to mention they are going up against the iphone/pad/pod/scrod which share many of these features. I think for people that already own one of these, unless the PSP 2 can provide a radically different experience, it's going to remain a ridiculously expensive game machine.

I mean, I already have a PSP. It can play movies, and music, and browse the internet. But who cares, I have an ipod for that. Unless they revamp PSP minis in a big way, I don't see it competing with the app store either. Why would I want to pay double for my Angry Birds?

I hope the PSP 2 comes in at a realistic pricepoint, because I really do want to see it succeed. It sounds like a fantastic piece of hardware and an incredibly ambitious project. I just think sometimes they are too ambitious for their on good. Hey guys, maybe start a bit smaller...like, a PSP with 2 analogue sticks? Just sayin'.