Anthony1
12-27-2004, 02:08 AM
I really think that all video game system manufacturers should really take a page from Sony's book.
When Sony released the re-designed playstation as the PSone, they definitely knew what they were doing. They made it incredibly small and compact and very light as well. They also included the little holes for the screws of a LCD screen to attatch to.
Then they released their own LCD screen that perfectly matched the PSone.
So they definitely had semi-portability in mind. Then there was a 3rd party battery pack, and the PSone was actually fully portable, although much more bulky and heavier than was originally the idea. The battery life also left quite a bit to be desired, but the PSone can be made into a truly portable machine. Pretty freaking sweet if you ask me.
Then you have the Nintendo GameCube. Here is the second system that may have been designed with the thought of a LCD screen in mind. The system is so small and compact, that a LCD screen just made perfect sense, but Nintendo never came out with their own screen, they just allowed 3rd parties to do it. But now you have GameCube screens and GameCube battery packs.
So with the GameCube, you can have it totally portable as well. Certainly when you add the Battery Pack, the Cube becomes a small but very tall Cube, but it is indeed a portable.
Now you have the release of the new PStwo slimline version. And coincedentally, there are two little screw holes on the back of it. The PStwo is incredibly small, and incredibly thin and lightweight, so it's only natural that a LCD screen a battery pack are on the way.
It really is a shame that the Dreamcast wasn't more successfull, because Sega possibly could have done the same thing with that system. They could have made it much smaller and more compact, and then come out with a little lcd screen for it.
Looking at the XBOX, I'm not so sure that Microsoft will ever try to radically shrink the original XBOX. I wonder if they could somehow make an XBOX that didn't use a hard drive. Certain games might no longer work with this particular XBOX, but I don't think that would be too big a deal. The XBOX in it's current form is a freaking tank, so it would take a small miracle for Microsoft to shrink it enough to make it a feasable system to be portable, with a screen and a battery pack.
I guess anything is possible, but I'm not expecting a super small XBOX anytime soon. I'm sure that Microsoft will eventually have a redesign of the original XBOX, and I'm sure it will be quite a bit smaller, but certainly it can't get anywhere as small as the PStwo is.
But looking to the next wave of systems, I really hope that Microsoft and Nintendo take a look at what Sony is doing, in coming out with re-releases of their systems to make them much smaller and compact. This allows the system to take up much less space, fit into areas that maybe was impossible before, and ultimately much more portable with a possible LCD screen and Battery Pack.
When Sony released the re-designed playstation as the PSone, they definitely knew what they were doing. They made it incredibly small and compact and very light as well. They also included the little holes for the screws of a LCD screen to attatch to.
Then they released their own LCD screen that perfectly matched the PSone.
So they definitely had semi-portability in mind. Then there was a 3rd party battery pack, and the PSone was actually fully portable, although much more bulky and heavier than was originally the idea. The battery life also left quite a bit to be desired, but the PSone can be made into a truly portable machine. Pretty freaking sweet if you ask me.
Then you have the Nintendo GameCube. Here is the second system that may have been designed with the thought of a LCD screen in mind. The system is so small and compact, that a LCD screen just made perfect sense, but Nintendo never came out with their own screen, they just allowed 3rd parties to do it. But now you have GameCube screens and GameCube battery packs.
So with the GameCube, you can have it totally portable as well. Certainly when you add the Battery Pack, the Cube becomes a small but very tall Cube, but it is indeed a portable.
Now you have the release of the new PStwo slimline version. And coincedentally, there are two little screw holes on the back of it. The PStwo is incredibly small, and incredibly thin and lightweight, so it's only natural that a LCD screen a battery pack are on the way.
It really is a shame that the Dreamcast wasn't more successfull, because Sega possibly could have done the same thing with that system. They could have made it much smaller and more compact, and then come out with a little lcd screen for it.
Looking at the XBOX, I'm not so sure that Microsoft will ever try to radically shrink the original XBOX. I wonder if they could somehow make an XBOX that didn't use a hard drive. Certain games might no longer work with this particular XBOX, but I don't think that would be too big a deal. The XBOX in it's current form is a freaking tank, so it would take a small miracle for Microsoft to shrink it enough to make it a feasable system to be portable, with a screen and a battery pack.
I guess anything is possible, but I'm not expecting a super small XBOX anytime soon. I'm sure that Microsoft will eventually have a redesign of the original XBOX, and I'm sure it will be quite a bit smaller, but certainly it can't get anywhere as small as the PStwo is.
But looking to the next wave of systems, I really hope that Microsoft and Nintendo take a look at what Sony is doing, in coming out with re-releases of their systems to make them much smaller and compact. This allows the system to take up much less space, fit into areas that maybe was impossible before, and ultimately much more portable with a possible LCD screen and Battery Pack.