Sony Computer Entertainment Inc is planning to take on Nintendo and Bandai with a new portable games machine. In this ever more competitive market, Sony is hoping to win out by enabling not only PlayStation games but also other software to be downloaded onto the handheld unit. In interview with the Nikkkei Industrial Daily, Shinichi Okamoto, head of software development, said that the new machine was targeted at office workers and that the company felt that the device would be competitive since it can run software other than games, although he gave no details on what this software might be. When we spoke to Sony it said that the new device, simply referred to as the PDA at the moment, will be available early next year in the US and Europe, priced at below 50 pounds ($84). However, the PDA will face stiff competition from Bandai’s new games-only handheld, due in the fall, priced between $30-40 (CI No 3,385) and Nintendo’s color Game Boy (CI No 3,366). A Nintendo spokesman could not confirm pricing on the unit but said that it should be available in the US and Europe in October or November of this year. Neither of the rival units offer a color display.
