By now we've all heard the buzz around Microsoft entering the handheld realm with a device that will make the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS extinct. The company has officially confirmed the existence of a handheld project called Zune. But the device looks more like an "iPod Killer" if anything.
At first, Zune will be a music player for people who like music. But according to an interview in Billboard Magazine, "additional Zune-branded devices will follow, including a portable video player and, potentially, a portable game device."
This is a little disappointing. Microsoft will most likely base their decision about producing a gaming device on the success of the music player. It's not that I don't like music. I just think that innovation is important. The iPod innovated the crap out of mobile music player and left little room for Microsoft's creativity. When it comes to innovating with entertainment, I think games are where it's at.
[via engadget]
I agree with your thoughts about the music players. Not only has Apple created a more than sufficient portable music player and made it easy to get a hold of. But there are many other devices that delve into areas that the iPod doesn't if thats what your looking for. In other words, I feel like that market is covered.
The portable gaming industry does need a lot of work in my opinion, the PSP and DS are great but they both only touch areas that could use A LOT of improving. Especially in the marketing area. Personally I feel like the PSP would be far more popular if it had a nice selection of GAMES (not just UMD movies) at launch. It's a little too late now because people have stereotyped it. Personally I would heavily consider a PSP if there were more gaming options available to it, until then I think people will find its “home-brewing” options more attractive.
Once the hand held gaming industry has developed more, I think we'll see another expansion. I think that people are going to be walking around with cell phones, wallets, keys, PDAs, iPods, Gaming Devices, etc. And they're going to want to combine them all because there sick of lugging around so much stuff. So I think we'll be seeing some hybrids after that.