How LiveArea and NGP Will Affect Handheld Gaming

Sony’s new NGP handheld features a host of GPS features, and if you’re tracking with all these acronyms you probably want to know what it all means.

Sony wants you to get to know the people you pass on the street. All NGPs will come with built in GPS technology and software called LiveArea. LiveArea sounds a bit like a glorified UI since it boots up with the system and is the gateway from which users will be able to jump into their games or the PlayStation store. LiveArea also allows users to communicate with other players, or see what other NGP owners are up to. With LiveArea you can comment on your friend’s activities or messages back and forth in real time.

Another software feature is Near. Near shows users where they’ve traveled throughout town, and will track their usage, so they’ll be able to see the most popular titles they’ve played in specific area of town. Near also detects what others are playing and doing in the local vicinity, and if players see others playing a game that looks like fun, they can buy the game directly out of the Near interface.

These all sound like exciting features and we look forward to seeing how they might impact our handheld gaming habits.