With 3DS officially on its way, eyes are understandably turning to Sony's corner. Let's be honest, much as I love my PSP Go, it's been a pretty monumental failure. Sony will almost certainly NOT launch a PSP2 witha 3D autostereoscopic (I learned a new word today) screen - that would just be a 'me too' approach and we highly doubt it would have had the same idea as Nintendo at exactly the same time.
If they would just release a console with more power than a PS2, give it a second analog stick, built-in hard drive with a slot for physical media of some description (games on Pro Duo-style memory sticks, perhaps?), they'd undoubtedly get the hardcore gamers' attention.
Above: It'll be six years old this year. Time enough to get a successor
PSP has sold very impressively considering you almost never see anyone playing one, but it's been a bumpy ride since it launchedin 2004. A new PSP would be a great way to draw a line under the PSP 1 and say 'Hey, we're doing it right this time'.
Wii HD
You know how Reggie Fils-Aime keeps saying 'HD alone is not reason enough to bring out a new console'? He's probably right. With new handheld hardware to launch, Nintendo will want to wait a little longer before muddying the PR water with another new console. DS was given proper attention as Gamecube began to die out, then Wii came along and complemented that direction even more.
But if Nintendo is known for anything, it's for telling us things without telling us them. Remember Miyamoto hinting at about Pikmin when we thought he was just mumbling about gardening? Miyamoto himself has said he's intrigued by HD and is keen to get into it, so why not just do it? How? With a firmware update. The console already has component leads and if Xbox 360 can get an HDMI version of the hardware years after launch, then Wii certainly can too.
Imagine if Super Mario Galaxy 2 was shown off at this year's E3 in 720p. We'd sit up and take notice, that's for sure. Those emulated images on the net of the original game look waaay too good to be reserved for hackers and pirates alone.
What does that leave?
Well, forgetting the iPad for the moment, Apple is rumoured to have a new iPhone coming this summer. If that's got increased gaming-related specs then it'll undoubtedly surpass the existing PSP's capabilities, making it the most powerful handheld console. Well, at least until 3DS comes along.
The answers will undoubtedly come this June at E3. For the last couple of E3 shows we haven't had any major hardware announcements to get excited about.If even half the above come true, we'll have loads of new hardware to save up for.
Exciting times indeed.
24 Mar, 2010
