by Isaac 'PTT' Dickey

2001 can safely be dubbed 'The Year of the Gamer' with all the exciting new software and systems being released. Sony continues trying to hold the masses in awe of their PS2, the $300 DVD player that moonlights as a game console... Sega still looks to be a major player with all the quality software planned for the Dreamcast. Nintendo silently prepares their Gamecube in the fashion they are famous for. Finally, Microsoft is hyping their Xbox like a madman, in a frantic attempt to be accepted as the serious gamers' platform. With all that tension brewing on the surface, it's quite easy for most to miss the competition on the handheld level. If you think about it, The handheld next-gen revolution is actually more important than all those polygon-pushing uber-systems receiving so much hype today. After all, handhelds are there with you no matter where you go!... And you'd look plain silly with an Xbox in your pocket!

Gameboy Advance - Nintendo: Nintendo's Gameboy Color takes its next evolution with grace, not to mention a 32 bit processor. Still in preparations for its release, the GBA has already earned the moniker 'The Portable SNES'. As such, we can expect to see many GBA ports of the best SNES games, notably so, the planned launch titles Mario Kart Advance and F-Zero Advance. Don't think the GBA will become merely a shovel-ware platform, however! With many promising titles, such as Golden Sun from Camelot software, and Magical Vacation from Ex-Square employees 'Team Brownie Brown', The Gameboy Advance has a great chance of dominating the handheld market, just as its ancestors did.

Wonderswan Color - Bandai: Bandai's entrant into the mix is the Wonderswan Color, a color upgrade to the original black and white screened device. The original Wonderswan couldn't beat the Gameboy Color in sales, but the new and improved 16-bit WScolor seems to be gaining  in the handheld market since its release in Japan, packaged with the classic game Final Fantasy 1. Many have stated the hardware's popularity lies primarily in Square's support for the system. If this is the case, the WSC could be quickly cut down if ever another handheld lures them away. That situation aside, Bandai could pull through to become a major player in the handheld market, especially if the United States welcomes the release as much as Japan has. The final word however, as with any quality system, is the games. Keep an eye out for this handheld, it may just prove its mettle to us all.

X-boy - Microsoft: The Mega-corporation Microsoft seems to be attempting a total monopoly in video gaming as well with their offering, a device tentatively, though unsurprisingly, named the X-boy. At this time, nothing is known about this mysterious handheld system, which is understandable: It's still in the planning stage. However, you can pretty much bet that Microsoft's development team will try their hardest to rain down on Gameboy's and Wonderswan's parade once it is released. Likewise, its a safe bet it will receive the same 'shiny thing' mentality hype both the PS2 and Xbox are receiving now. We won't really know for sure whether it is a worthy opponent until some information is released, but it is something to think about.

With the right games, any one of these systems could reign supreme over the market. Nintendo's Gameboy holds a reputation for quality 10 years old, while WonderSwan Color shows promise, and the Xboy remains shaded for now. To try and predict the future of the handhelds would be superhuman, and gamers sadly, are but mere mortals. My recommendation, is for the gamers to do their own research, and to do what your hearts tell you to do. -PTT-

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