Game Gear 2.0: Sega Announces Portable Console

Game Gear, in the early 1990s it was the pinnacle of portable entertainment. Essentially a portable Sega Master System, the bulky system featured full colour graphics and even had a VHF TV tuner accessory. The Game Gear got a smack down from Nintendo’s Game Boy due to its major flaws. The Game Gear was bulky and ate batteries like they were going out of style. The thing took six AAs and only offered 4-6hrs gameplay maximum. This was before high capacity rechargeable batteries came out. The last 13 years have been pretty rough for Sega. After the success of the Genesis/Mega Drive, the Saturn was a dismal failure. The Dreamcast, widely regarded as one of the best consoles of all time, also sold poorly. Sega exited the hardware market all together with the exception of their arcade systems.

Well, it seems Sega is going to take another stab at home systems with a new portable. The new portable is being marketed as a PMP. Along with music and movie playback, the system also includes a built in digital TV tuner for watching live broadcasts. Furthermore, the system has a built in camera for taking still pictures or video. Other features include an e-book reader, voice recorder, and of course games. Some units have been spotted on display at a London UK arcade. So far no tech specs have been revealed though it has been said the device is about the size of a credit card. Sega is really downplaying the system’s gaming ability and it has been suggested that it only plays Java based mini games. The screen also presents some problems because it’s a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I really don’t know if this is a good idea on Sega’s part. Their days as a hardware maker are long over and their games lately have been less than spectacular. The device still boasts many useful features but the PMP market is already crowded as it is. Can this thing really compete with the iPod Touch and Archos’s media power houses. Probably not.

Source: The Register