The Next Generation Portable (NGP) is the next PlayStation Portable (PSP) to be released by Sony. It is, in a word, powerful. However, will this famed new portable gaming machine be able to play its older brother’s games?

According to Gigazine, Sony is planning to introduce backwards compatibility in the NGP. Specifically, the downloadable versions of PSP games can be emulated on this console just as the original PlayStation 3 emulated the PlayStation 2′s games. Since the NGP is obviously tied to the PlayStation Network, you can directly download the games on your account on the NGP and start playing instantly. It is still unknown whether the second analog stick will be used for directional aiming.

However, there is as of now no news regarding the conversion of Universal Media Discs (UMDs), the proprietary gaming disc format for the PSP, into an NGP-readable format. It seems that Sony is content with saying that they are looking around for ways to solve this problem. A similar problem arose when the PSP Go was unveiled, and Sony did not make a UMD reader of any sort for those who wanted to play games from their UMD library on the system.

Nevertheless this is heartening news for all PSP lovers. We can sell our old faithful consoles before buying the spanking new one, and not worry overmuch on the compatibility. However, I will be waiting for a Homebrew Enabler for the NGP before I buy mine!