E3 2009: Best of the handhelds (PSP & DS)

E3 2009 has come and gone in a fluster of press conferences, announcements and releases. Now’s a good time to sit back and regroup, taking time to process the new wealth of information we possess.

The handheld consoles did particularly well this year. The DS had quite a few interesting game announcements that surely delighted the system’s fans. The PSP also had quite a few big name game announcements, as well as a whole new model debut.

Join Gamertell as we revisit what we felt were some of the biggest handheld E3 announcements.

DS

• Golden Sun DS: The Golden Sun series that began on the GBA returns to the DS in 2010.
• WarioWare DIY: People will be able to create their own WarioWare microgames, share them and play games created by others.
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: Square Enix shows gamers what Roxas’ life was like with Organization XIII in the DS exclusive game due out September 29, 2009.

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• Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box: Nintendo hasn’t forgotten about the Professor Layton series, and the second entry will be released on August 24, 2009 in North America. It promises a new mystery and new puzzles.
• Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks: It appeared at E3 2009 in trailers, screenshots and a playable demo. It’ll be out for the 2009 holiday season.

PSP

• PSP Go: The smaller, UMD-less PSP is set to arrive October 1, 2009 and cost $249. To compare, the PSP-3000 Ratchet and Clank bundle, which includes a PSP, memory card, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters game and National Treasure 2 UMD costs $199.99
• Little Big Planet PSP: A demo level was displayed at E3, showing the portable version will retain many of the elements from the original PS3 game.
• Resident Evil Portable: A new, original Resident Evil is headed to the PSP.
• Persona: The first entry in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series gets a remake, with a whole new script, new animated sequences, new music and more. Plus, this time the Snow Queen scenario will be available and it will come with a soundtrack.
• Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines: It’ll be out November 10, 2009 and will connect to the Assassin’s Creed 2 PS3 game, allowing items and upgrades to be unlocked in both games.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Nintendo] Site [Sony]