First big announcement comes from Sony that will join the portable gaming consoles battle, the "PSP" won't be released until next year's 4th quarter though, so this is more of a next-generation console not meant to compete with the GBA and other consoles coming out this year.
The foundation of this new platform is Universal Media Disc (UMD), which comprises of a 60mm optical disc (1.8 GB) in a cartridge, developed by the Sony Group, utilizing its latest disc technologies.
"PSP" will be equipped with a wide screen 480 x 272 pixel (16 by 9) TFT LCD monitor with a backlight, and powered by super chipsets utilizing the latest 90 nm semiconductor technology. For graphics, 3D rendering will be enhanced by the employment of curved surfaces (NURBS) along with conventional polygons. Video quality will also be enhanced with MPEG4, which delivers quality equivalent to DVD video at a low data rate.
Now onto more PC related news, Epic Games has announced that Unreal Tournament 2004 will be released this fall, featuring all the content of Unreal Tournament 2003 + bonus packs, as well as twenty new maps, new modes and vehicle based combat.
A playable demo of Tony Hawk 4 is now available. The 133mb demo showcases gameplay and improved graphics of this console port. Mirror 1, 2.
Rockstar Games announced the release dates for Midnight Club II for Xbox and the PC. The PC version will be available on June 25 in North America and June 27 in Europe. Midnight Club II provides both online and LAN support for the PC and Xbox Live.
'Banned' Xbox Hacking Book Selling Fast. Too hot for tech publishers, Andrew Huang self-published his comprehensive guide to hacking Microsoft's game console. Weeks before publication, he's already pre-sold half of his initial print run.