Rebellion: PSP Still "Kicking Arse"

Chris Kingsley is CTO of Rebellion, who's done so many PSP titles he's got good reason to wax optimistic about the platform's future prospects. But wax he does, as part of a GamesIndustry interview in which he says that even though PSP has been "in the shadow" of the DS, the girl's still got life in her:

"But there's still very good business to be done on the less glamorous platforms - look at PlayStation 2, it's still selling bucket-loads of consoles and bucket-loads of games, though they've got to be the right games for the right platform."

He noted that the PSP is "kicking the arse of pretty much every other system out there" in Japan because the right games have come out - with a bit of luck, he thinks that some of those games will come out in Europe and be just as successful.

Seems to me, though, that as the most technically sophisticated handheld on the market, it's no compliment at all for the PSP if one of its mainstay UK developers is comparing it to a last-gen console.

PSP has a good few years left in it still, says Kingsley [GamesIndustry.biz]

This Portable NES Is Legit, Works

Rumors of Apple gunning to enter the handheld games market have been circulating for a while, but a new trademark application discovered by Trademork dated Feb. 5th seems to lend credence to the rumor mill. According to the application, Apple is upping its trademark to include "Toys, games and playthings, namely, hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand alone video game machines; electronic games other than those adapted for use with television receivers only; LCD game machines; electronic educational game machines; toys, namely battery-powered computer games."

With the enormous popularity of the iPhone and the phenomenal success of the iPod, anything handheld from Apple seems like a sure fire hit. But on the other hand you have Apple's inability to bring a lot of quality games to their platforms. If this gaming device does come to fruition, will it end up being the next DS or just another Gizmondo?

Apple Trademark Application [TARR via Trademork]

Gizmondo Rising Again In 2008? Yes, Says Plextek

Despite yesterdays excellent rumor smash performed by our sister site Gizmodo, it seems like the doomed Gizmondo handheld is destined to return to the market, thanks to the efforts of UK electronics design firm Plextek. Eurogamer spoke this morning with Plextek's technical director Ian Murphy, who confirmed the rumored resurrection.

"There are a few things to do, and it will be a while before that happens," Murphy continued. "But yes, the product has been recovered from the liquidators and we are bringing it back to market."

Gizmondo is coming back - it's official [Eurogamer]

Could You Handle Shaky, Cloverfield-Style Gaming?

Seeing Cloverfield last weekend really piqued my interest. I was more impressed by the film than I'd expected to be, finding the documentary-style handheld shooting to be far more intrinsic to the narrative experience than some mere Blair Witch clone. And it got me thinking, while games like Gears of War have already experimented with shakier camera systems, could we stand a full handheld onslaught throughout 10-12 hours of gaming?

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Bach On The PS3, Profits, And Handheld Possibilities

The Edmonton Journal caught up with Microsoft Entertainment and Devices president Robbie "Xbachs" Bach at CES this week to discuss the success of the Xbox 360. They revisit an interview from four years ago, when the original Xbox was trailing behind the PlayStation 2, where Bach promised that Microsoft would be ready for the next generation.

"Well! There you go, prophetic," Bach said enthusiastically. "In fact it has been a role reversal. We were on first this time like they were last time, we had a product that was more price-competitive this time, and we had a higher attach rate."

New iPod Nano Brings on Cramped, Squinty Gaming

A two-inch color LCD display isn't very big, no matter how you slice it (though it's large enough for Nintendo to make a jeans pocket-sized game system around, its Game Boy Micro). The clarity of the 320-by-240 display is remarkable, and the brightness is also quite good. Still, I can't quite get past the size. It's too small to see a lot of detail in the games. I was already a bit put off by Ms. Pac-Man's tiny dimensions on the larger iPod's display; here it's almost to the point of being ridiculous... Because of the overall tiny dimensions of the new iPod nano, I found my hand cramping up during long gaming sessions — it was just a tad awkward to have the iPod nano perched in my hand with my thumb on the Click Wheel all the time.

Nintendo Backing Handheld Learning Conference

The Dark Age of Handheld Gaming

Shane Kim Talks Portable Gaming

Will Microsoft ever enter the portable game space? Says Micosoft's Shane Kim:

We're going to let Sony and Nintendo beat the hell out of each other [in the portable arena]. When you launch a portable device, you are launching a new platform. So, you're fighting a war on two fronts.

Original DS Browser For Online Retail Only

The Atari Lynx... Pillow

Spore Spreading EVERYWHERE

Gates Talks Portable Gaming (Vaguely)

Microsoft Handheld: Reverse Engineered iPod?

Nuclear Plant Gamer Leads to Possible Ban

iRiver's Handheld Up and Running

Brain Game Reign Proclaimed