NGP adds upscaling to PSP games

Sony's upcoming NGP handheld will be fully backwards compatible with downloadable PSP games. And it will offer upscaling, to boot.

Andrew Yoon

June 2, 2011 6:30 PM

While UMDs won't be able to make the leap into the NGP generation, PSP owners that own games available on the PlayStation Network will be able to take advantage of NGP's backwards compatibility support. A report on Eurogamer confirms that NGP will be able to play all PSP games currently available on the PlayStation Network.

(Not all PSP games are available to download. Some noteworthy exceptions include Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and Lumines.)

Legacy games that are re-downloaded onto a NGP will be launched via an emulator, one that will allow upscaling of games. As with Sony's PS1 and PS2 emulator on PS3 systems, users will be given the option to enable and disable the feature any time.

Resistance Retribution was shown working on the NGP, and as with Monster Hunter, the NGP version allows the second analog stick to be used to control the camera. It'll be interesting to see how many other classic games will be updated to take advantage of other NGP-unique features.

Andrew Yoon

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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June 2, 2011 6:30 PM

Andrew Yoon posted a new article, NGP adds upscaling to PSP games.

Sony's upcoming NGP handheld will be fully backwards compatible with downloadable PSP games. And it will offer upscaling, to boot.
- Chandler55
  
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  June 2, 2011 6:31 PM
  
  makes sense as the lcd is 4x the psp screen, RETINA DISPLAY
- roushimsx
  
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  June 2, 2011 6:33 PM
  
  Screw upscaling, I want them to render them at the higher resolutions :(
  - dpgagnon
    
     reply
    June 2, 2011 9:50 PM
    
    Sadly I'm sure that would be a compatibility nightmare. Lots of games likely make assumptions about the PSP's resolution.
- TEXIT
  
   reply
  June 2, 2011 6:36 PM
  
  Everything about the NGP looks and sounds fantastic. Day 1 buy.
  - snot3353
    
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    June 2, 2011 6:44 PM
    
    I don't know about "day 1 buy" but this is definitely the most interested I've been in a Sony console since the PS2.
  - derelict515
    
     reply
    June 2, 2011 6:45 PM
    
    At $350? $299? Games at what price?
- capt tripps
  
   reply
  June 2, 2011 6:52 PM
  
  This is almost useless for me since most of my games are UMDs (not supported).
  - Me77111
    
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    June 2, 2011 7:14 PM
    
    If I am reading this right, it is saying you can download your PSP games even if you own them as UMDs... Maybe I am misinterpreting this, but if I am correct this would be amazing! And it would also make me wonder why they don't let GO users do this. But then, they have probably already forgotten about the GO.
    - capt tripps
      
       reply
      June 2, 2011 7:31 PM
      
      I'm reading the exact opposite way. If you bought a PSP game on the PSN, you will be albe to play it on the NGP as well.
  - roushimsx
    
     reply
    June 2, 2011 7:33 PM
    
    I'm honestly glad they're not hobbling the thing with a UMD drive. It might be nice if they created a transfer kit of sorts, but that's not a realistic proposition since it would just encourage rampant piracy (sucks when your copy protection revolves around using a non-standard format)
- fauljosh
  
   reply
  June 2, 2011 7:29 PM
  
  I had almost zero interest in the NGP until today. I'm seriously thinking of getting one now. I really hope they can launch at $250. If they can, it'll be a day one purchase. If not I'll probably wait 6 months to a year or until there's some sort of game pack-in.
- HisDivineOrder
  
   reply
  June 5, 2011 8:23 AM
  
  Just adding the second stick for camera control will make so many PSP games a LOT more entertaining...