When I think of a successful handheld gaming platform, Nintendo’s GameBoy immediately comes to mind. Way back in 1989 it proved that a simple and cheap portable game system could become immensely popular. After selling millions of units and with hundreds of games available, it is still the most popular handheld game unit. There are quite a variety of games available, and a lot of them are every bit as entertaining as high-end PC games. While they might not have gorgeous 3d graphics, it’s the gameplay and portability that made it a success.

Let’s face it, PDAs weren’t meant to play games. But then again, neither was the PC. It can be argued that games were the catalyst for the current computer revolution. Obviously you don’t need a PIII-600 to write email or do your taxes. The computer at the office might be used for business, but at the home it's mainly for entertainment. The PDA seems to be the perfect device for a gaming platform. Think about it… This is a computer that you take with you wherever you go. It’s there when you need to remember a phone number or make an appointment. But it’s also there when you’re standing in line or even in a boring business meeting. It’s for this reason that entertainment software will be getting a larger share of the PDA software market in the near future, just like what happened with the PC.

This isn’t to say that PDAs will eventually replace the GameBoy. Just like there are game-dedicated console systems such as Sony’s PlayStation, the GameBoy will always have a large market of people only interested in games. But for people who wish to use their devices for both business and pleasure, PDAs are the way to go.

So what makes for a good gaming PDA platform? In this article I will explore the currently available options as well as thoughts about the future.