battle of the portables

I mentioned the PSP in passing a couple weeks ago. Since I don't really think the Playstation or PS2 is that great of a system, I generally don't pay attention to any news that Sony offers up about its new gaming hardware. However, I had the chance to check out the PSP's full list of specs, and let me just stop for a second here and say holy shit. Let's forget for a second the fact that it uses large-capacity optical media and sports dual processors. The integrated 802.11b wireless protocol and USB 2.0 just blows me away. Now here is a system that is designed with the future in mind. It will be able to play MP3s. It will be able to use additional memory sticks. The more I read about it the more it is sounding like a truly versitile gaming platform. The discussion continues over at 8-bit joystick where some fake pictures of the PSP have also surfaced, which are laughable at best. Still, it keeps the hype going.

A email discussion with Jake led me to the Tapwave Zodiac, which is yet another portable gaming device whose features haven't even been fully revealed yet. I gather that this is supposed to be some sort of dedicated gaming PDA; a good idea, but so many people are already tweaking out their Pocket PCs to do just that. The control pad and screen orientation will be the selling point here, I think. The Tapwave site is also a bit shitty, as the details of the device are hidden by the dreaded mystery meat navigation. Seriously, it's a cute gimmick revealing a new feature every couple of weeks but I swear to Christ I spent a good 30 minutes on that site trying to find the "hot spots" so I could read about each of the device's features. (For a more easier to read list of specs, check out the post at this forum). Two things that caught my eye were the ATI graphics accelerator and the integrated Bluetooth networking. This is definitely the right way to go - they need to embrace existing PC/PDA technology and adapt it for gaming as opposed to building a device from scratch. I doubt developers will be hard to find for this reason, although they won't exactly be hiding from the PSP either.

I won't bother with the N-gage; by now it's obvious I think it's crappy. Suffice it to say that in theory it probably would have made a good gaming device, what with it being completely wireless. Give it a few decent games and maybe it might have a chance with people who have $300 lying around somewhere. Now it appears that Sprint PCS wants in on the action. They're offering up a "gaming" attachment (via 8-bit joystick) for their Samsung handsets. Not to mention of course Samsung's own game phone, which seems to be taking some tips from Nokia and is also marketed at today's "eXtreme" youth. I mean what the fuck. The only thing extreme about those game phones are the extreme pains you'll feel after extended play on their shitty controls. Unless of course the nausea induced by the lackluster games gets you first.

I'm going to end on a good note here, because I really think the market for portable gaming devices is heating up. There is a need for this stuff; no one wants to sit in front of their TV to game anymore. (Notice how I didn't say PC, since there will always be room for LAN parties. There will just be less wires). I don't want a stand-alone experience - I want to be able to take my gaming device over to a friend's and be able to plug in and play. Especially in an Action/RPG setting like Shining Soul where your created character is central to the experience.

I'd like to briefly mention a few things I've read on the next Game Boy, mostly gleaned from gbnext. It is so far known only as "Game Boy Elite". It will have a 64-bit processor and will be capable of displaying 260,000 colors at 300x200. Nintendo plans on making it available some time in 2005. This definitely caught my attention, although the question begs to be asked: will it be wireless? I should think so, since there is no way that Nintendo would allow an inferior product to ship a full year after the PSP. I feel a little dirty in saying this, but if Sony pulls it off they may have a Game Boy killer in their hands. Either way, it's terrific news for the portable gaming scene.