Xbox handheld and solid PSP2 rumours do the rounds

PS3/PSP
It seems Nintendo's strategy of delivering unique gaming devices has already started to pay off, with news that the Nintendo DS is out selling Sony's PSP by a ratio of 3 to 1.

Sony will be hoping that a revised PSP will bring it back into contention.

Rumours of a PSP2 have been circling for what seems like an eternity, but there seems to be some further substance to recent murmurings.

Shortly after Kotaku got the games press hot under the collar with 'confirmation from sources' that the PSP2 was coming, which looked oddly similar to what we saw last year, Sony popped up to confirm the rumours.

SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire has confirmed Sony's intentions to release a redesigned version of the PSP.

Speaking at the national launch of Sony's PSP in Education initiative, Maguire said that the current PSP is just the "first iteration".

Apparently, in line with the firm's strategy for previous consoles, a "smaller, lighter" system will be introduced in the future.

This was backed up by another high profile executive at Sony.

Speaking with John Koller, the Senior Marketing Manager for the PSP, at the Game Developers Conference last week, 1UP received further confirmation.

According to Koller, Sony is in the process of reducing parts and potentially adjusting the size - similar to what's been done with the PS1 and PS2. "I can at least say this much, the screen won't be changing in size," he said.

Further good news for fans of Sony, came from the second PS3 at the chart-topping number one position, in the, er, charts.

Koei's Gundam Musou has taken the top position in the latest Japanese charts, selling over 170,000 copies and giving the PlayStation 3 its second number one since the system launched last November.

As reported last week, it seems the Sixaxis pad on the PS3 will receive rumble at some point. It's been confirmed by the developers behind God of War - a third iteration is expected to be delivered on Sony's newer console.

For the full low-down on the Playstation Home service, visit Joystiq here.

Wii/DS
Not only content in beating Sony over the head with DS shipment figures, Nintendo has also received good news via its web-site viewing figures.

It seems the Playstation.com site has taken an online beating.

Nintendo's online traffic rose from 856,000 in February 2006 to 1.6 million in February 2007, whilst traffic to Playstation.com dropped 8 percent in the same period, from 1.1 million to 1.0 million unique visitors.

Xbox.com also saw significant year-over-year growth in February, increasing 47 percent from a unique audience of 827,000 to 1.2 million, according to NetRatings.

Maybe this sharp rise in figures can be explained by the fact that consumers are still searching desperately for a Wii - Nintendo has admitted that the company is still struggling to meet demand.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are slated for an April 23 launch, which is when a new Nintendo DS headset will also begin making its way to stores, for around $15

Though about two dozen DS games have taken advantage of the DS online capabilities, Nintendo has restricted the use of voice chatting. Diamond and Pearl will pioneer that feature next month.

The two Pokemon titles are also breaking ground by being the first DS games to have connectivity with the Wii. Users will be able to link up the DS cartridge and use the system to control the corresponding Wii game, Pokemon Battle Revolution.

It's possible that the Wii Pokemon title could make use of the rumoured Wii mic, which allegedly attaches to the Wii-mote.

Maybe you'd prefer to LED-up your Wii-mote nunchuck?

Speaking of online DS games, the Legend of Zelda DS iteration will be the first to go on-line, Nintendo announced.

If you love Zelda as much as we do, you may wish to view (or buy) this amazingly Zelda-modded Wii, being sold for charity.

Rumour has it that Sega Saturn games might make it to the Wii virtual console at some point - which has prompted other rumour-mongering suggesting that NiGHTS may make a much anticipated return to the new console.

Mega64 contributed a few new skits to the Game Developers Choice Awards last week to much applause and laughter, but someone ruined one of their later ones. Check it out via this Joystiq link.

Xbox 360
Despite Xbox handheld rumours having gone on onger than rumours of the PSP2, further speculation of a new portable Xbox device was fuelled by AMD's 'Xbox 360 graphics on handheld' statements

Reportedly, AMD is planning to bring "Xbox 360 quality graphics to handheld devices" by utilising the company's next-generation mobile graphics technologies, formally part ofATI technology.

Not content with the early death of the original Xbox, it seems the 360 Core package is on its last knees, and rumour has it that retailers are expecting to drop the SKU within the next few months, to make way for the new beefier black-Xbox 360.

Spong report that the HDMI-equipped 120GB black Xbox 360 rumours are gathering pace, with retailers selling off Core SKUs to make shelf-space for the new unit.

If you're wondering what is actually inside the three SKUs for the new release of Halo 3, 1UP has the full details.

Ever fancied a quick peek inside the Xbox headquaters? Check out these videos from Xbox-scene. µ

See also
Wii mod-chip works
PS3 and wii shortages reviewed
Wii DVD playback enabled by chip
Signs of an Xbox 360 price-drop spotted