Topic: The Panasonic Jungle

[MaryJane]

Its a new portable gaming system from Panasonic. Its a clamshell device with a full QWERTY keyboard, and touch panel D-Pad and button configuration. It was apparently built with MMORPG's in mind, and its fugly... I would post a link but copy/paste function on my phone is not coorperating right now, so Google it.

[Adrock]

Source: Engadget
Yeah, good luck with that, Panasonic....

[Guitar Smasher]

If it's ever released, it'll provide stiff competition for PSP Go.

Mind you, the idea of quality MMOs on a portable is actually smart (from a business standpoint, not an ethical one).  Think social-Tamogotchi for adults.  However, after seeing just a single image of the unit, I judge this to be lacking in execution.

[Stogi]

This is a terrible idea. It supposedly has hella guts and hella screen resolution, which means hella terrible battery. Good luck with that!

And yes, it's terribly ugly.

[BlackNMild2k1]

You know what I'm thinking?

Atari Jaguar.

and where are Jaguars found...?

in the Jungle.

do you see where I'm going with this?

[Chozo Ghost]

Panasonic actually has prior experience manufacturing video game consoles. First off, they were the ones that manufactured the Q, which was just a Gamecube with a DVD player built in. Before that they were one of two companies that manufactured 3DOs.

But in both those cases the hardware they created didn't really go anywhere sales wise. I'm sure this handheld will be the same way. Tomagatchi for grownups is a concept that just won't fly, mainly because, unlike kids, Adults just don't have the time for it.

[TJ Spyke]

Before that they were one of two companies that manufactured 3DOs.

Not that it matters, but three companies made their own versions: Panasonic, Goldstar, and Sanyo.

There have been many Japanese-only systems, I wouldn't be surprised if this never gets released internationally.

[Chozo Ghost]

Not that it matters, but three companies made their own versions: Panasonic, Goldstar, and Sanyo.

My bad. I remember Panasonic and Goldstar did, but Sanyo I didn't recall. But my point that they have prior experience with gaming hardware is what I was getting at.

[MaryJane]

I agree with Guitar Smasher in that the concept of portable MMOing is a good idea. If this thing plays WoW I bet there would be a lot of people willing to play in between their home sessions and cubicle sessions. I just can't see this being a mass market device, it's too big and fugly (and dare I say complicated) to attract women buyers, and those same things will make it unpopular with tweens and kids who's fingers won't be able to reach across the thing. So all that's left is men with big hands who don't get embarassed by ugly hardware. What saved the DSPhat from being hidden away despite its heft, was that once open having two screens made you and onlookers forget the aesthetics, and by the time the novelty of two screens wore out the DSLite launched. If the Jungle had a 3D screen that might save it, because of how high res the screen is supposed to be and its assumed multimedia capabilities, but its far too plebian imo to even take market share from the PSP.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I wonder if these two are related?

New game console in the works, I wonder whose console it could be.....

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/30/marvells-quad-core-armada-processor-wont-see-tablets-or-phones/#disqus_thread

Looks like that quad-core Armada processor won't be having apps for breakfast after all -- confronting Marvell's Jack Kang at Mobilize 2010, he told us the chips proved too power-hungry for devices without a dedicated cord. That doesn't mean we won't see them soon, however, as the man let slip that it's actually the quad-core chip that will appear in a new game system, though we can probably rule out the Nintendo 3DS for the same reason as the phones.

So it's a low power chip, that was just a little too power hungry for a handheld device, but is making it's way into a gaming console....
That rules out any involvement with the 3DS and the PSP2 (or does it!? dun dun duuun), so what do we have left...
I doubt Sony would stray away from PS3 BC and I'm sure 360 would love some Kinect/360 BC of it's own and that chip isn't anywhere near powerful enough to emulate those systems, so could it be the potential CPU for the Wii2H3D?


Then again, it could be something completely out of left-field, like a new competitor entering the ring, or something like OnLive the set-top box.

[KDR_11k]

Didn't Panasonic also make the CDi?

[Chozo Ghost]

Didn't Panasonic also make the CDi?

I think that was Phillips... could be wrong though.

[BlackNMild2k1]

it was Phillips.

[BranDonk Kong]

Nope. It was Philips.

[BlackNMild2k1]

uh huh. it was too phillips.

[Chozo Ghost]

And to think BnM accuses me of double posting. What the hell do you call this?

[BlackNMild2k1]

let's see, where did I post 2 times in a row within minutes of each other?

[TJ Spyke]

uh huh. it was too phillips.

I think brandogg was correcting you by letting you know it was Philips (with 1 "L", you wrote it with 2 "L"'s).

[BlackNMild2k1]

HD-DVD, Gameboy, Phillips

whatever

[Stogi]

When did these boards become so anal?

[TJ Spyke]

Did someone smite me for that? All I did was speculate on what brandogg did.

Anyways, Philips and Phillips are two different companies.

I wonder what the odds of this actually releasing are.

[Chozo Ghost]

let's see, where did I post 2 times in a row within minutes of each other?

You didn't, but you and several others said the same thing over and over again. Its been established Phillips made CDi so there was no reason for it to be repeated four times...

Let's just move on now, please?

[Ian Sane]

But my point that they have prior experience with gaming hardware is what I was getting at.

Prior experience with incredibly unsuccessful hardware that remains the butt of jokes over ten years later for anyone who has even heard of the hardware in the first place.  With that sort of "experience" you might as well be brand new at this unless they learned what not to do.  But looking at the Jungle they did not.
 
It's for MMOs.  Does it have World or Warcraft?  No?  Well then it is fucked.  Plus if I want to play MMOs on the go can't I just use a laptop?

[MaryJane]

I think TJ was trying to move on, and btw TJ it is definitely being released, at least in Japan.

Also, the Jungle is reported to be powered by Tegra, no mention of which version.

One other thing is that it seems like it's only able to play browser-based MMO's that could either be its bread and butter, or its demise. The games could be free, or really cheap, and it may have 3G which means contracts, and low launch price.

[Guitar Smasher]

It's for MMOs.  Does it have World or Warcraft?  No?  Well then it is fucked.

There's always room for new killer apps.  I think the MMO community is ready for a new game that makes WoW look old.

Plus if I want to play MMOs on the go can't I just use a laptop?

So that's why mp3 players never took off... how enlightened.

Sorry if I'm giving you attitude, but it seems you didn't put too much thought into your post.