The Next Generation Portable is an amazing little machine. I was quite impressed with it. But it could've been even more amazing — amazinger! Not to mention more expensive, too.
"There were elements that we found pretty cool, but had to set aside to remain on target," Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide studios boss Shuhei Yoshida told Edge. "It's a big lesson we learnt from the PS3. There's no point putting everything you want into a device and doing the math later."
It's not uncommon for companies to remove elements during R&D. What made the PS3 different was that Sony started doing this when the console was still on sale. When the PS3 was first revealed, the console had an array of features, which were eventually removed during the console's life in order to make the machine a money-maker.
For the NGP, Yoshida said that Sony always had the price and the player in mind. "We had to sell something that people could buy," said Yoshida, adding that Sony "can't sell the NGP for the same price as a PSP".
If Sony is going to want to compete with the 3DS — which no matter what Sony says, the company is doing — then it'll need to price the NGP between US$250 and $300. The closer to $250, the better. If it's above $300, forget it.
News: Sony NGP features dropped to keep handheld affordable [CVG]