Where's Sony?

I was pretty surprised that Sony didn't have a booth on the main show floor. It seems they decided to show their wares behind closed doors; I was really hoping to get a chance to play with the PSP at the show. Happily there was a company called Marvel in the South Hall that makes embedded technology. Their Wi-Fi chip is in the PSP and they had a few PSP's on hand in their booth.

I was very impressed with the device; if they're able to launch these in the US for $199 there is no question that they're going to sell millions of them. It's a great design, with lots of beautiful details. Sure it will scratch easily; yes it shows fingerprints like glass, but you will want one. It's gorgeous. Oh yeah, the games look pretty impressive too. This isn't an iPod killer -- it's way too big for that, but it's not going to be pretty for Nintendo. As with the N64 and Gamecube (two great products), I'm sure there will continue to be an appetite for Nintendo's unique spin on gaming, but the PSP is going to be the 1,000 lb gorilla.