I was waiting for this bomb to be dropped, can't say I'm suprised now that is has been...
However, I am dissapointed. With the way Nintendo treated handheld to console connectivity, I fear the worst now that all three companies are joining both markets. What I fear specifically is that console games will require, in some way, to connect to it's handheld counterpart to get the "full" experience. This is something I have absolutely no tolerance for. With the price of the next gen consoles being what they are, and with the price of handhelds also on the rise (due to their multiple functions) and with the price of actual games going up, I hope that connectivity is not in the mind of developers. I do not want to have to buy a $500 system, plus a $350 handheld, plus a $70 game (all Canadian prices) just to get my money's worth out of that $70 game. Part of the reason I was drawn to the Xbox during the last generation was because they seemed to be focusing solely on their console, and making that experience the best they could. Now that they're coming out with a handheld, I can't help but feel their console will not be getting as much attention as it deserves.
And just on a personal sidenote, is all this competition a good thing? I mean really, the console industry for the first time, in the generation that has just passed, managed to support three big name competitiors, something that simply was not possible a generation ago. Is there really enough room for another big name handheld competitor too? Microsoft better have something up their sleeve, because with the handheld market becoming even more crowded, it's not gonna be easy to break into. Likewise Nintendo better have something up their sleeves, because their long time cash cow of the handheld market is coming under direct fire.