Last October, electronics giant Panasonic announced the Jungle, a handheld device that aimed to put massively multiplayer games into the palms of gamers' hands. The device resembled a small laptop, with a full QWERTY keyboard and touch pad, in addition to more standard gaming controls, such as a D pad and shoulder buttons.

　　Panasonic's Jungle ended up being stillborn.

　　At the time of the announcement, only one massively multiplayer online role-playing game--the browser-based Battlestar Galactica--was announced for the handheld, raising some skepticism about its viability. That skepticism proved justified today, as Panasonic has canceled the launch of the Jungle.

　　"Panasonic decided to suspend further development due to changes in the market and in our own strategic direction," the company said in a statement provided to Reuters. The news service reported that the project "appeared to be at odds with [Panasonic] president Fumio Ohtsubo's strategy of pursuing growth in areas like environmental technology and healthcare."

　　Had the Jungle launched this year, it would've had some very stiff competition from established players in the portable gaming sector. In just over three weeks, Nintendo will launch the 3DS, a new version of its wildly popular handheld, which offers glasses-free 3D visuals and 18 launch games. Later this year, Sony plans to launch its Next Generation Portable, which offers dual thumbsticks and front and rear touch screens.