The portable market has exploded remarkably over the past year. Think about it. There was a time that we were all comfortable playing our Game Boy Advance SP's and basking in the sunlight that Nintendo's classic library provided. But then the Nintendo DS arrived on the scene and slowly began to build up steam, becoming something of a contender with its reasonable $130 price and its growing library of quality software.

Not to be outdone, Sony has managed to provide some muscle for the PlayStation Portable, also known as the PSP. Despite its somewhat weak launch, the portable system has seen a number of superb releases, from classics like Ridge Racer and Lumines to terrific new games such as Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Daxter. In its one year of age on the market, it's grown quite well.

So now the two systems are coming to a head, because they both seem to offer a lot to gamers. Both offer link-up with other gamers wirelessly for multiplayer bouts (Nintendo through Wireless Play, Sony through AdHoc), and some even offer boundless multiplayer across the nation through Internet hook-up (Nintendo with Wi-Fi Connection, Sony through Infrastructure). But more can be done in this ongoing war, and this article talks about what both companies are doing right, and what they can do to be just a little better. Let's look at both sides of the story.

Nintendo DS

What they're doing right: The Nintendo Wi-Fi nationwide service, free to anyone who can find an Internet connection or uses the DS Wi-Fi USB hook-up, is outstanding. The fact that it's free is a major benefit, and it's pretty consistent in terms of keeping connected with other gamers.

The company is also keeping on track with a number of strengthened releases, culminating last month with the arrival of Metroid Prime Hunters and Tetris DS, two games that are major weapons in the online war. Of course, before then, we already had Mario Kart DS, one of the best entries in the long-running racing series.

What they need to do: PictoChat is a decent feature, to be sure, but they could expand on it a little, kind of like Ping Pals did, but with more emphasis on features that would come in handy. True, you can set up a Friend list, but how about working more on clans or maybe even some customizations to give your friends a bit of flair? This is just a small idea, not that it really needs any fixing. After all, you don't really buy a game machine to "chat", do you?

Nintendo should also offer some kind of online download service. They've got the right idea with their game support, but maybe it's time to step up and offer up some classic game downloads, maybe even with the capability of online multiplayer. I mean, me and a friend duking it out in a versus round of Ice Climber? It's a novel idea, with the only thing being that you can't really store the games onto your system or into some kind of flash memory card. Oh, well, sometimes temporary still works. Just look at the Game Boy Reader for the Game Boy Advance. Swipe a few cards, play, turn the machine off, and come back later and do it again.

This could easily tie in with the Revolution's Virtual Console service, maybe offering some kind of connection that not only shows the DS as an alternate controlling device, but has some kind of "feed" off the game in question on the Revolution that allows a download to the DS. This kind of compatibility is something Sony would dream of between their PSP and PS2, and Nintendo should really do something to make it work.

Also, Nintendo should push a little bit for tournaments and some more celebrity play. Reggie Fils-Aime hopped on Mario Kart DS for a day and still garnered a lot of attention. So why not offer the chance to take on Shigeru Miyamoto or members of the Mario Kart design team? Why not be given a chance to show off your Tetris skills to Alexei Pajitnov? How about showing the Metroid design team just how ass-kicking your skills get? As for tournaments and leaderboards, they could easily be sponsored and have some prizes on the side, which would garner a great deal of interest for the company.

Finally, more Hot Spots, please. It's great that Nintendo's pushing for download stations in game stores, and that you can really nail opponents with a Wi-Fi connection at a McDonald's, but come on, Nintendo. We need more specific places where we can hook up with other people in our matches if we don't have access to an online network. How about arcades or malls? Movie theatres would be ideal, too, while people wait to watch a screening of Ice Age 2 or whatever.

Overall, Nintendo's done very good, they just need to push it a little further. Let's see what gets announced next month at E3.

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