Has there been any talk of a portable device with the power of the PS2 or game cube / XBOX? Do you think they will be released in the next couple years? I would love to have some portable games from the prior console gen.

Other then recent refreshes of the current DS and PSP, I don't think a new generation will be out for another 2+ years.

You mean like the PSP? It's pretty comparable to the PS2 in horse power, especially now the CPU has been unlocked. Also it doesn't have to render in as high a resolution as the original PS2 did on a TV. I really can't see any incentive to bring out a handheld with more power than the PSP. Also, the only thing stopping the PSP being able to get ports of basically any last gen game is the lack of a second analog stick.

With more powerful systems and prettier games comes longer load times which does not make for a good time on a portable system.

Not to mention there's little incentive when Nintendo is selling a half million DSs a month.

Yeah with Nintendo pushing those kinds of number and Sony starting to see some major PSP activity I don't think they are concerned with a new hand held just yet. Also, hand held power usually lags pretty far behind the home consoles so in terms of what it can do, using PSP as an example, I think we will see the next gen of hand helds have capabilities somewhere in between the PSX and the PS2. I would be utterly shocked if they could cram any more power into the next gen.

The PSP is more in line with the PSX than the PS2. The fact it renders at a reasonable resolution on a substantially smaller screen makes it look somewhat better than it otherwise would. But it is absolutely nowhere close to the PS2.

The big thing they need now is better battery life, the PSPs is a joke. Hopefully they find a way to get those dell 9 cell laptop batteries onto a gaming platform . The DS is up to 55 million. That's just insane.

I don't see the need for Nintendo to bring out a "better" DS... It's pretty much ideal and I would compare it to the SNES: its technical limitations only limited it in certain types of games.

I'm still waiting on a PSP2, and here's what I would suggest from Sony:

Mini BD discs. Not UMDs, or UMD-IIs, but BDs in the smaller format. That way any movies released in this format would play at DVD or above resolution: potentially up to 720P. An 80mm BD would probably hold 14GB or more.

Dual analog sticks.

Motion sensing a la Sixaxis.

Screen with 160 ppi resolution like the iPhone.

Exactly. Nintendo sold more than 600k DS's just last week alone in north america.

No way in hell. I've played several PS1 games on the PSP and they (well, the 3D ones) look like shit. There's no way you can play something like Ratchet and Clank or Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles and try to claim that they're at anywhere near a PS1 level. I can knock a lot of things about the PSP.. but the graphical capabilities of the system are outstanding.

I said more in line. The thing is nowhere near the PS2 and I would still rank it closer to the PSX than the PS2.

But fuck it, whatever.

You really think they'll try movies again?

The DS is going to be around for a good long while. There are too many units in the wild for Nintendo to even think about pushing out something new. Look how long the GB and GBA stuck around. Even with competition, the DS is probably going to iterate and iterate until it can't iterate anymore.

The mistake was that UMD wasn't too useful. They could at least sell Sony movies on mini-Blu-Rays that you can also play at home.

I'd love a PSP with a decent internal memory... at least 8 Gb. And if they are going to go with the multipurpose device route I wish they would include some basics apps with the system... calculator, text viewer, calendar, etc. They are simple things that would be great in such a device, but only seem to be available with homebrew apps. I'd also love if they included native support for file formats like Xvid, but that's a big pipe dream.

Considering how cheap memory cards are getting, I think it would be a better idea for Sony to go solid-state next time around. By the time the PSP2 comes out (say in 2 years), DVD-sized memory cards (4GB) will easily cost under $10, with the option of very cheap 1GB or more expensive 8GB or 16GB depending on the needs of the game.

yeah, but if you consider optical media will always be much cheaper like 25c you see why they would still want to stick with optical disks.

Actually there was a rumor that Nintendo already has another DS iteration ready to go (at least design wise) supposedly it has built in internal memory, a larger screen and no GBA slot.

I might actually go for this iteration (still have a DS phat). I could see big potential for this. They could have built in memory or even a slot for a micro SD card so they can sell old GB and GBA games or brand new stuff! via download either in a store or through the Wii. Since the penetration of both systems is so great I can see this happening. Maybe this is why they haven't even said a peep about putting game boy games on the virtual console. I would also like some applications built in like a personal calendar, calculator, etc. Nothing too fancy just a few things for on the go.

I have no idea what their timeline would be though. Right now the DS lite is selling so well that it could be a couple years. Or they might want to release it soon and then release the next gameboy a few years after that. Or they may skip a reiteration all together and just release a completely new system in a few years (least likely scenario IMO).

I wouldn't be surprised if we see five versions of the DS before Nintendo introduces an entirely "new" handheld. And if they do give us a new handheld within three years, it will definitely play current DS games.

To be honest, I think you'll have trouble finding anyone to agree with your opinion, especially in the industry. Look at games like Silent Hill Origins, Jeanne D'Arc etc. I hear God of War looks phenomenal although I haven't seen it myself.

One of the things I like most about the PSP is the quality of the graphics, but I really don't feel the need for anything beyond that right now.