While there’s no doubt Sony’s successor to the PSP – temporarily labelled the Next Generation Portable – possesses a stellar tech spec sheet, one hot feature is noticeable by its absence.

When the quad-core, 5-inch touchscreen NGP eventually touches down across the world in late 2011 / early 2012, it will, of course, go head-to-head with Nintendo’s 3DS, set to launch globally next month.

And despite Sony’s aggressive backing of the third dimension in the television, laptop, and PlayStation 3 spheres, the Japanese manufacturer was reluctant to embrace stereoscopic 3D in its upcoming portable console.

2D only, please

In an interview with Eurogamer after the NGP’s unveiling, SCEE president and CEO Andrew House elaborated on this stance:

"We view 3D as having the greatest potential, in the near term, in what I would call a dedicated entertainment environment,” said House.

"And that's in the home, around the television, and where it's a shared experience. I think that's really important. We struggle a little bit to see how that 3D, shared experience translates to portable devices as they currently stand."

Later on, Sony gave a further statement confirming it had toyed with the idea of 3D on the NGP, yet “after careful consideration of our goal of offering users the ultimate portable entertainment experience with a revolutionary user interface we have decided to focus on the features and specs announced today first.”

On the menu?

A man prone to extrapolation might conclude that “as they currently stand” and “announced today first” read in conjunction means that 3D isn’t necessarily off the NGP’s menu in the foreseeable future.

With the 3DS going on sale in under 60 days, we’ll soon be able to gauge the public’s appetite for the glasses-free 3D approach and whether Sony may yet live to regret its omission.

[source: Eurogamer]