The PSP hasn't had much acceptance and has proved to not make much of a dent in iPod sales -- despite being an .mp3 player that also plays movies and games (depending on your perspective).

Can Microsoft do something amazing? possibly. I'm really liking my xbox 360, but i don't need another mp3 player or game system. I have the best of both (currently. when ps3 comes out i may get that too).

if MS does make a PSP competitor, it had better come with games that people actually want to play (unlike psp right now)

My fears of Microsoft coming out with anything that will seriously challenge the iPod are now put to rest. This sounds much more like competition for the PSP, which is fine by me. Any device that includes gaming is going to be mostly oriented towards gaming (see PSP) with other features tacked on. Apple has the upper hand when it comes to music and is positioned well for the looming explosion in video. A Microsoft device of this nature will probably compete enough with the iPod to make sure Apple keeps innovating, which I'm all for. But it probably won't be enough of a threat to seriously erode the iPod's dominance. Microsoft or not, I'm not going to buy a portable gaming console just to listen to music and maybe watch the occasional video. Most consumers are probably in that boat as well.

Microsoft does not know games.

Yet another iPod-killer. What a joke. With M$'s design skills, this is going to be an ergonomic and visual cluster f**k.

I thought PSP sales were doing fine, and the games are about where I'd expect any console to be after launch. It's a great little GAMES machine. (Actually I have some iPhoto slideshows on mine).

It's main audience probably also have one or more iPods - in fact all 3 people I know at work with a PSP also have 20G iPods.

If MS make an XBox portable - it will do well. If they try and also make it 'the only portable you'll need' it will do less well. Sony don't advertise that the PSP plays media.

Really, you'd think analysts would learn to look at the whole business model rather than the hardware. No doubt they'll be calling the touchscreen iPod a PSP killer because it can run simple Javascript games.

PSP sales are almost equal to the NDS in the US and it's getting buried by the NDS in Japan. There should be _way_ more quality games out for it by now as launch was a long time ago. Daxter looks great, but that's about it IMHO.

Sony does advertise the PSP as a media platform. I can't turn on the TV without hearing an ad for a movie that's, "Coming soon to DVD and PSP.".

I "love" it when writers and PR baloney shooters simultaneously lump the PSP along side the iPod, completely ignore the Nintendo DS (not to mention the number 1 game machine of all time, the GBA), all the while calling the PSP a gaming machine.

That behavior guarantees the source a spot on the "this guys nothing but a tool" list.