State, Future Of Portable Gaming Probed

Thanks to Boomtown for completing their earlier article on the history of portable gaming with a second and third, final part, in which they check out the Sega Game Gear ("...one of the finest handhelds ever crafted, but also one of the most problematic") and Neo Geo Pocket Color ("caught by the same thing that killed the Lynx - lack of third-party support"), before moving on to the all-conquering, frontlit Game Boy Advance SP ("so much better, it's uncanny"), the GP32 ("...an amazing idea"), and into the future with Sony's "bulkier, multifunctional" PSP.

well ...

[Dreadlord]

I used to have a GameBoy when it was released several years back, it was lots of fun to play Tetris, a Mario game (don't actually remember its name), and some other games.
Right now, I just prefer my laptop, it's true that it's huge when compared with protable consoles, but on the other hand, I always have it anyway, so I don't need to carry anything else arround, and it supports the same games I get for the PC, with all their features (multiplayer, save/load PC saved games ...)
Bottom line: after getting a l

Re:well ...

[StocDred]

Except for the market that drives portable consoles: kids.

I just get incredibly annoyed when a news article gets posted and some high-and-mighty dork has to immediately chime in with "well, that's all very nice, but MY opinion completely discounts this article's intent."

GP32

[exick]

I have a GP32. Right now, it isn't quite as nice as having something like Gameboy (which I also have) but the community development is starting to pick up some steam and there are games available for it. It's a pretty neat little toy and there are some unique games available for it, though maybe not always as polished as for other consoles and handhelds. There are also a ton of emulators available and in development.

Ok....and while you're developing on the GP32

[Anonymous Coward]

...the development community for the GBA is blooming as well now that you can learn to develop for the price of a flash cart and loader (not to mention all the other "benefits" of the cart and loader).

So when a good community app comes to fruitition, it's more likely to come to greatness on a platform many people are already using.

Re:Ok....and while you're developing on the GP32

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

I also own one. The GBA dev scene has many disadvantages, such as: - Limit storage space, even with a 512mbit card, you cant store an entire 2 hour movie like you can on a cheap 128mb smart media card. - Gamepark ENCOURAGES home development, unlike nintendo who are trying to make it illegal! - The GP32 is much faster, and is capable of emulating more machines and running more ports. Compare the GBA version of Doom/Doom 2 to the GP32 version to see what I mean, the GBA version pales in comparison, and do

what no Ngage?

[darkmayo]

I think todays penny-arcade gives insight on this...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3

Tomorrow on Slashdot:

[Thedalek]

N-Gage! It's still stupid!

Re:Tomorrow on Slashdot:

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

N-Gage: 3 out of 5 gamers agree...

It's a better cell phone than the Game Boy Advance

Image is everything

[August_zero]

Well, judging by the way that the device is getting marketed, i would say that Nokia fully expects people to take it as a portable games console. Now it may very well have a butt-load of nice features like the aforementioned MP3 playability, phone service and so on, but thats not what you here about on the comercials and its certainly not what you see in the paper adverts either.

maybe they have created a nifty electronic device, but the public is never going to know that. All most of us see is a large co

Other Portable Gaming Left out..

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets see the Lynx and Lynx II were highly superior to the GameGear.

The TurboExpress is a great game system that had the gretest idea...uses the same turbochip games on the TG-16 as it did on the turbo Express....Of course no company would do that nowadays cause thats potential revune loss

Re:Other Portable Gaming Left out..

[31 Flavas]

But they were all too large in size, had too high of a purchase price, and ate *6* AA sized batteries in under 3 hours. Nintendo's Gameboy would have flopped as well if it had any of these problems as well.

But instead of praising Nintendo for avoiding these pitfalls, people blast them for it. Go figure.

Is it any wonder why N-Gadge and PSP will fail as well?

Re:Other Portable Gaming Left out..

[h0mer]

potential revune loss

Think about this for a moment. Putting aside technical problems such as screen formatting and control, what if GameCube and GameBoy Advance used the same games? You see, it's all about market share. You get more developers and it's easier to get exclusivity to key games. Which in turn, makes a sound not unlike KA-CHING! I don't think that would happen for the next few generations of console, but when the technology is there, it'll be the standard.

It would be a most great revenue incr

Umm..

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

the all-conquering, backlit Game Boy Advance SP

GBA SP isn't backlit, it's frontlit

Re:Umm..

[simoniker]

Woops, thanks for that, now fixed - I foolishly Googled for 'backlit GBA SP' to doublecheck, and got lots of people who don't know what they're talking about :)

Tapwave Zodiac

[aliens]

The Zodiac [tapwave.com] is poised to become the next big homebrew device. Many GP32 programmers are already looking at it as it is also based on an ARM9 CPU, but has many more features.

It costs a little more up front but its ability to act as a PDA and its design out do the GP32 on all fronts.

Give it a look see and check out Zodiac Gamer [zodiacgamer] for a good deal of info.

I myself just got a GBA SP, and am loving it. Haven't had this much fun since the original SNES (DC comes close). Just wish it was a lil bigger, too small for my hands.

Re:Tapwave Zodiac

[Anonymous Coward]

Haven't had this much fun since the original SNES

That's because you're playing the same games.

Re:Tapwave Zodiac

[aliens]

This is true, Metroid Fusion really is just Super Metroid 2.

But Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is totally new to me, Advance Wars 2 will probably be my next purchase. Supernifty hardware still doesn't make good games.

Re:Tapwave Zodiac

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

I may buy it when the price comes down, its pretty damn expensive at the moment. But like gamepark, they support open development, that makes me happy.

Re:Tapwave Zodiac

[aliens]

I am currently in a discussion with some people over what tapwave plans for the next year.

Some sources say they will be releasing a new Zodiac next year around the time of the PSP. This strikes me as amazingly stupid.

I to will wait, and I pray that tapwave wouldn't be so moronic as to release another handheld just a year after the first.

PSP Flaws

[M3wThr33]

I find it odd they commented heavily equally on all handhelds except the PSP. They failed to mention any inherent flaws with its design, ignoring battery life, moving parts, and numerous other problems altogether.

They also failed to focus on a lot of handhelds like the Game Boy Light, Turbo Express(Hardly mentioned) or the Game.com/Game.com Pocket Pro.

N-Gage

[Drakker]

I always wondered... what use is the phone and pda options of the n-gage if you drained the battery after 2 hours of playing some fancy 3d game? I mean, the phone cant work with no battery... and with a punny 3 hours of battery life (less when playing intensive 3d games)...