Getting Back Into the Game: Panasonic Tests Handheld Gaming Device
Panasonic (PC) is gearing up to challenge Nintendo (NTDOY) and Sony (SNE) with a new handheld video-game player code-named "Jungle," Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
Panasonic is testing the device in the U.S., spokesman Akira Kadota told Bloomberg. The Japanese company didn't disclose details on pricing or a possible release date.
Panasonic, which last made handheld gaming devices more than a decade ago, hopes to get back into the game as overall video-game sales have declined. In the first 10 months of the year, U.S. sales of gaming hardware and software fell 8% from the same period a year earlier to $11.1 billion, according to the NPD Group. The gap appeared to be narrowing, however, with a decline of just 4% in October.
The Jungle, which will include both a touchpad and a keyboard, will be "very different" from other companies' handheld products, Panasonic told Bloomberg.
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