This is a rather unique position we are in. The E3 is nearing, and yet we've got just about the biggest surge we've had the past couple of months. Okay, that might well be an exaggeration, but still. You gotta agree with me when I say it was a busy past week, yes? Rumors, confirmation of rumors, and surprising - yet at the same time not-so-surprising - NPD results for this month all proved to be the cherry on top for this game-filled, fun-filled week. Hmmm.. imagine all those cherries on top.... Dig in, then.

Analyst firm iSuppli is predicting that come 2013, handheld shipments would have ballooned to 63.5 million. It is also their belief that no new handheld technology will be released by either Sony or Nintendo until 2011 at the earliest.

As many previous articles have reported, we all know by now that the Wii has achieved a level of success  in console gaming arena over the other leading console platforms, the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. Another group of analysts, iSuppli, agrees and provides proof that Nintendo's success managed to spread into the software gaming market as well.

iSuppli reported that Nintendo managed to gain US$ 1.2 billion in worldwide revenue for the Wii and DS in this year's third quarter. On the other hand, Sony's combined third-quarter revenue for the PS2, PS3 and the PSP games amounted to US$ 1 billion, and Microsoft managed to net US$ 317 million for their gaming software.

Somehow echoing the results of current gaming polls such as Japan's Media Create, iSuppli said that a "lack of compelling titles" hurt PlayStation 3's software sales. Meanwhile, Nintendo managed to win gamer's hearts (and pockets) with their chart-topping titles. However, Sony is moving to fix this problem by trying to win over third-party game developers.

If iSuppli is right, Nintendo's winning streak isn't over yet. The analyst group expects Wii software revenue to reach US$ 1.1 billion in next year's fourth quarter. "Nintendo is likely to maintain its lead in this area, as it expects by the end of 2007 to ship about 200 additional titles," said iSuppli's vice president of multimedia content and distribution, David Carnevale.