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.

[23:00:18] <+Overlord> Today at its E3 booth, Sega revealed it is working on a new Phantasy Star game, an action RPG entitled Phantasy Star Universe.
[23:00:20] <+Overlord> The publisher made no mention of Phantasy Star Universe at its "surprise" press announcement this morning, where the only thing shown was a multiplayer demo of the Matrix Online. It didn't divulge much more information about the early-in-development game at its booth, either, other than show a trailer for Universe. No info on platforms or release date were made available.
[23:00:20] <+Overlord> That's IT

Nintendo announces 100 DS developers, 40-plus games

Massive game-maker touts its portable's growing catalog, massive third-party support.
Today in the Japanese press, Nintendo announced it has shipped DS software development kits to more than 100 companies worldwide. That figure puts the DS a nose ahead of the PSP for third-party support: Sony claims 99 developers are on board for its new handheld.

So far, the DS game catalog is a varied bunch. First-party games are a perennial strength for Nintendo, and it's not surprising that they are the cornerstone of its new platform's catalog. So far, Nintendo has announced the following DS games:

Nintendo
Animal Crossing DS
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters*
Nintendogs
PictoChat (software that lets players send instant messages and drawings using the DS's wireless capabilities.)*
Super Mario 64x4
Super Mario Bros. DS
WarioWare Inc. DS

Nintendo has a solid lineup of third party titles as well; here's a complete list, drawn from Japanese and American sources:

Activision
Spider-Man 2

Atari
(One title in development)

Bandai
Dragonball Z
One Piece
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed*

Banpresto
Dragonball Z

Capcom
Gyakutensaiban (a.k.a. Reversal of Judgment)
MegaMan Battle Network
Viewtiful Joe

Electronic Arts
Need for Speed

From Software
(multiple titles in development)

Hudson
Bomberman*
(multiple titles in development)

Koei
Dynasty Warriors

Konami
Frogger 2005
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Nightmare Troubador (tentative title)

Majesco
(One title in development)

Namco
Mr. Driller
Pac-Pix*
Pac 'n-Roll*
Unnamed RPG

Sega
Project Rub
Sonic DS (tentative title)*

Square Enix
Dragon Quest Monsters
Egg Monster Heroes*
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

THQ
SpongeBob SquarePants DS

Tecmo
Monster Rancher
Team Ninja game (name has not been released)

Ubisoft
Rayman

VU Games
(One title in development)