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Palm OS Based Gaming Device Nears Release
Sokie writes "During the past few weeks Tapwave, a startup founded by a couple former Palm employees, has been slowly unveiling the features of their upcoming Helix (Flash heavy link) handheld gaming device. So far, the specs include a 480x320 16-bit color display, dual Secure Digital (SD) slots, Bluetooth connectivity for wireless multiplayer (Wi-Fi available through SDIO), multiple analog controls including triggers, ATI Imageon graphics, and dual rechargable lithium ion batteries (no word yet on battery life). In addition to some cool sounding hardware, several prominent game companies are already signed on to develop games for the Helix, including Activision and Midway. It will also run traditional Palm apps like Calendar and Address Book. Tapwave will continue to unveil a new feature each week for the next few weeks, and the product is supposed to launch in September or October and retail for about $299. PC World has some additional info."
Have they ever produced a single game that didn't suck? All I can remember is bad 80's arcade games, and Mortal Kombat.
Activision is better, producing Wolfenstein/Enemy Territory and the like, but we're going to need some serious muscle here to fight with the likes of Sony and Nintendo.
IMHO, this is going to be another WonderSwan/Atari Lynx/NeoGeo Pocket Color. Some good ideas, but without developer support you're not going to get any market penetration. Period.