here goes:
I know this is old news, but anyway,.... might be new to some...Sega to launch new handheld device.
E3 2004 will surely be remembered as the year of the portable gaming device. With Sony's PSP announcement and Nintendo's DS unveiling, this year's
show has already had more than its fair share of portable goodness - but Sega's shock revelation that it is developing its own device must top the
lot.
However, according to Yuji Naka, who unveiled the machine to shocked games industry representatives at a Sega E3 press briefing held just half an
hour ago, with their new creation (code- named 'Prometheus') Sega are not attempting to directly compete with either Sony or Nintendo. 'Prometheus'
is instead being billed by Sega as "the videogame equivalent of the iPod", and with the machine's pearl-white colour scheme it is obvious to see
that the company wish to invoke the design- chic of Steve Jobs' ultra-popular music-playing machine. The similarities do not end there, however:
rather than purchasing games from their local GameStop, gamers will download 'Prometheus' titles (called 'gamebits') from a special Sega online
service which, Sega said, will operate in a similar way to Apple's iTunes software. With the use of a supplied USB cable (also white) users may then
transfer up to twenty 'gamebits' on to their 'Prometheus' system's 15GB hard drive for play any time, any place.
The 'Prometheus' is roughly the same width as a CD case, and half the height. It will operate on a rechargeable battery (as yet unconfirmed as
being lithium) which Sega say will last up to twenty hours. In a surprising move, in order to conserve battery power, the 'Prometheus' screen will
not be backlit: a decision which we believe likely to alienate many gamers, and one inexplicable in lieu of recent technological developments which
should negate such problems. Nevertheless, with the power, according to Sega, of "the Dreamcast, plus a little extra", and a genuinely innovative
and cost- effective approach to game distribution, the 'Prometheus' certainly shows promise - and if the jubilant cheers and applause from the
assembled journos are anything to go by, Sega's return to hardware is more than welcome.
Expect more tomorrow at the official Sega press conference where we hope to see at least footage of several potential launch titles.
If there is another topic on this, i apologise again, if not, please post any info related to this issue here!
Thanx