NGP 2011 launch ‘confirmed’

The upcoming Sony NGP handheld is set for a 2011 launch, reaffirming previous reports it will arrive this year.

That’s according to US investment company Lazard Capital Markets which has published a report on Sony’s successor to the PSP.

The group claims it attended a Sony PlayStation analyst day where SCEA ‘reconfirmed’ a 2011 launch for the US, although it says Sony was less clear on launch details for international markets including the UK and Europe.

Online leaks previously suggested the console will launch on Friday, November 11th.

Sony showcased a number of NGP games during the analyst event including Uncharted, Socom 4, Twisted Metal, Resistance 3 and Infamous 2.

The report also revealed that PSN now has 75m registered accounts worldwide, half of which are North American accounts. 1.4bn pieces of content have been downloaded since launch.

A 2011 launch for NGP was reconfirmed, although we expect pricing will be unveiled around the E3 conference,” read a statement from Lazard Capital Markets.

We remain somewhat concerned that an initially high price point could limit the market opportunity for NGP, since Sony continues to balance profitability goals with unit sales.

"We note that Uncharted for NGP looks impressive vs. some of the early PSP games, which lacked differentiation in many respects.”