Panasonic Announces New Jungle Portable Gaming Console

Consumer electronics company Panasonic has announced that it is creating a new portable gaming consoles, called Jungle, which is set to focus on allowing gamers to access online video games and MMOs on the go.

The Jungle has a full QWERTY type keyboard alongside a D pad and a touchpad, meaning that players will have more input methods than on the Nintendo DS family or the PlayStation Portable.

A report on Gizmodo quotes a test gamer who has said that, “The screen resolution is bananas. Everyone was freaking out about it,” suggesting that the new device might be powered by some pretty powerful chips.

Panasonic has not revealed the full specifications for the device but it seems that it will have both Wi Fi capabilities and some form of 3G access to make sure that MMO and online game fans can access their favorite titles wherever they are.

The first title which will support gaming on the Jungle will be the soon to come Battlestar Galactica MMO that is under development at BigPoint, with Panasonic probably looking for support from other big MMO creators..

The device has no clear launch date at the moment and Panasonic will probably opt for a date in 2011 which comes after the launch sequence for the Nintendo 3DS, which promises three dimensional experiences without any glasses.

Panasonic has some experience with gaming hardware, having launched the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer at the beginning of the '90's.

The device has pretty good on the tech side but was held back by its price and by the limited original video games that were created for it.

The Battlestar Galactica MMO is set to run in a browser but will offer three dimensional space, allowing players to experience the drama that surrounds the rag tag fleet of human survivors who are on the run from the Cylon.