Variations On A Theme: Interesting Lit And Other Bits

This blog post references my design feature, 'Variations on a theme: Handheld game systems proliferate, touting varied features and price tags' in the January 19, 2006 issue of EDN.

As was the case last month, I'll spend the next few days/weeks/months wading through the voluminous archive of RSS feeds, press releases and other emails I used as my research material for my article. If I find any diamonds among the coal, I'll alert you to them via follow-up blog posts. Until then, I hope the following links are enough to whet your appetite.

Many of the links provided in my livingroom console article's 'interesting lit and other bits' overview post, such as Ars Technica, Slashdot and the gaming-focused websites, are equally valid for portable consoles. The November/December 2005 issue of the IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications journal includes a great article, 'Designing Graphics Programming Interfaces For Mobile Devices'.For the Nintendo DS, you should also visit the DS Fanboy and NDSUpdates sites, and CNET and IGN both host comprehensive sets of FAQs. If you'd like to see what the DS looks like inside, check out the Lik-Sang writeup.

For the Sony PSP, see PSP Fanboy, PSPHacking101 and PSPUpdates, and CNET and IGN both host comprehensive sets of FAQs. If you'd like to see what the PSP looks like inside, check out the Informit Network and Lik-Sang writeups. Engadget published a comprehensive console review in late December 2004. The December 2005 article of Widescreen Review magazine contains a writeup on the PSP's UMD optical disc format. I also highly recommend you check out 'Hovering On A Handheld: The Physics Behind WipEout Pure', a great case study piece in the November 2005 issue of Game Developer magazine, on the development and optimization of a popular PSP title.