Halo on Gizmondo rumours spread at CES

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates reaffirmed the company's pledge not to enter the handheld games console market at CES yesterday - but the company may be about to give a major boost to one of the PlayStation Portable's direct competitors.

Industry rumours circulating since before Christmas and enjoying a resurgence at CES suggest that Bungie's massively successful Halo may be on its way to Tiger Telematics' Gizmondo console, joining a number of other Microsoft Game Studios titles already announced for the system.

The console, which offers high quality 3D gaming features as well as GPRS communications, GSM positioning and media playback functions, launched quietly in the UK before Christmas and is expected to arrive in North America around March.

According to gaming blog Kotaku, the Halo deal isn't the only major franchise heading to Gizmondo - with announcements from Electronic Arts and Sega about support for the console expected at CES.

Rumours regarding Halo on Gizmondo first surfaced before Christmas, when audience members at corporate presentations of the device said that salespeople had mentioned that the science fiction blockbuster was on its way to the handheld - a rumour which Gizmondo PR representatives declined to comment on at the time, saying only that the firm was in ongoing negotiations with a number of publishers to bring titles to the device, but that the company "would love" to have Halo on the platform.