Sony and Microsoft working on handhelds?
Sure they are, but what about dedicated gaming devices
A report on The Register this morning focuses on a new report by stock market watcher Nikko Salomon Smith Barney, who in examining the GameBoy Advance have apparently commented on likely opposition from both Sony and Microsoft in this field. Considering the failure of SNK's foray into pocket gaming it's more than likely, says El Reg, that both companies will use existing palmtop computers as the basis for any such device. For example, Sony's Clié, or Microsoft's PocketPC platform. For the former, the Clié has always been a mobile entertainment platform, and for the latter, porting a subset of DirectX to Windows CE shouldn't be too difficult. Keep in mind the fact that the Xbox will use a version of Windows 2000, so using the two to communicate would be child's play. Although this is all just rumour and speculation, we, like The Register, would be surprised to find out that neither company is considering its option. In fact, with the opposition now out in the open, it will be even more tempting. In our opinion however, Sony will more likely push its connections in mobile phone circles (e.g. Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo) with regard to loading its mobiles with gaming options. The work Dreamcast sympathisers Imagination Technologies have been doing with ARM and the PowerVR MBX must also be tempting. We heard today that the MBX will be capable of displaying Quake III in full 3D with T&L and the like at a quarter VGA. That's got to be an incentive.