PSP World

Panasonic Jungle: 1998 Called, Wants Game System Back

Here's an unexpected blast from the past: Panasonic, makers of the abortive 3DO home console those many years ago, has decided to try its hand at making a portable game system. But it seems that they've employed many of the same engineers from the 3DO era, because the new Panasonic Jungle looks like it shares a lot with 1990s technology.

From the flip-up clamshell design to the name, which evokes visions of Atari's Jaguar and Lynx jungle cat game systems, the Panasonic device would look perfectly at home in the 1998 Sears catalog.

We shouldn't be too hard on the machine though. Because once we get past its retro design, there are a number of modern innovations hidden within its black plastic case. First, the device combines touch-screen input, dual analog touchpads and a full QWERTY keyboard. It also sports a mini-HDMI connector, so whatever you are playing on the small screen, you can view on an HDTV. Unlike the PSP or Nintendo DS, games will not be sold on physical media, but rather stored in the cloud.

The reason why the machine comes with a full keyboard is because Panasonic says it is geared towards the MMORPG market. In those games, players often like to chat with their clan members, so having a keyboard and/or voice input is an absolute necessity. Panasonic claims that one of the titles currently in development is Battlestar Galactica Online (drool).

Even with sci-fi nerd credentials like that, will the Panasonic Jungle stand any chance of beating Sony or Nintendo in North America? Probably not. But with its unique architecture, the right lineup of games and its MMORPG focus, we could see this thing becoming a major success in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.

The Panasonic Jungle is one ugly beast.