Well Apple has filed some patents recently, just like Microsoft did in 1999 for gaming devices. Doesn't mean anything will come, but gaming involves so much money it is worth the entrance costs to the few who can afford it.
As for PSP, look at Japan, hardware sales fluctuate wildly regardless of big game releases in many cases. Software sales aren't as bad as people think they are given the userbase, but the hardware is still used for many other purposes than gaming, and I think Apple would handle that part of a portable better than Sony, while Nintendo would handle the game side better, which is why I have Apple's product coming in second. For all of PSP's sales, Nintendo portable sales have not really dropped. DS will pass GBA in late 2008 or 2009. It will probably pass Game Boy + Game Boy Color sales around the time its successor is unveiled, which means Sony's entrance didn't really really shrink Nintendo's portable sales like Sony's console entrance had.
I know Sony's gaming sector is profitable, but its likely because PS2 is so profitable, rather than because PS3 is so cheap to make now. Its not like PS2 is going to remain as profitable as it is going forward, and PS3 still has a few major price cuts ahead of it.
People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
When there are more laws, there are more criminals.
- Lao Tzu
