About the size of a chunky iPod, the Vision is an MP4/MP3 player, radio/TV tuner, voice recorder, eBook reader and camera. OK, not games, but not bad, right? That's until you realize that it's only got 2GB of storage, that TV tuner is analog (soon obsolete) and the camera is a measly 1.3MP.

The Vision was once going to play simple flash games, but Sega didn't want people to think they were trying to compete with Sony and Nintendo. So now it's just an overpriced European PMP (expected to go for $100 or more) and a novelty prize for Sega's UFO catcher arcade machines.

Remember, these are the same guys who once released the Genesis and the Dreamcast. [Sega Nerds via Kotaku]

As the comments about this device over at the Register suggest, this is one butt-ugly portable that probably shouldn't have been compared to the PSP, let alone a DS. The "games" it plays are actually Java-based affairs, and its strengths, should they materialize in 2009, would be as a portable TV, movie player, camera, and even an eBook reader.

It's a device you should probably watch in the dark or after a few pints, but it does in fact mark a return to the hardware business for Sega after two generations away from the game. We're just having trouble figuring out what the hook is. Consumers aren't likely to be swayed by simple branding, Sega's storied history or not.

[The Register]