It will not be a surprise if droves of video gamers and parents of video gamers flood the aisles of stores nationwide Thursday.
A new gaming system, the PlayStation Portable, will be released to the public. It's far from being an upgrade of current PlayStation models, but it could be classified as an upgrade of technology itself.
It's a video game console. It's a music player. It's a movie player. It can store photos. It can connect to the Web. And it's handheld.
"There's been a lot of questions as far as whether we've got them," said Chris Walser, who works in the electronics department at Meijer, 2055 W. Grand River Ave. in Okemos.
"They were very excited about the new products, but that goes across with any new product," he said.
The release of the PlayStation Portable, or PSP, marks the latest in the trend of these everything-but-the-kitchensink gadgets that micromanage consumers' daily lives.
"The multifunctionality effects on it go a long way," said Patrick Seybold, a spokesman for Sony.
Seybold said because of current trends, this is the best time to release this "ultimate entertainment convergence."
"The main element of any technology is you need to wait until the consumers are ready for it," he said. "Portable entertainment is definitely on the upswing."
This type of technology is most popular in the 18-25 age range, but also in the "13-17 market, who have more and more disposable income," Seybold said.
Seybold said the PSP will have a market with not only gamers, but people who might not play video games at all.
Offering the all-in-one package allows companies such as Sony to rely on crossover success.
Things do seem to be getting smaller, too. Take for instance the Mac Mini, the 6.5-inch wide, 2-inch tall CPU introduced by Apple earlier this year. There's also the Windows XP Tablet, which looks like a supersized PDA, but has all the capability of a PC.
John Ellenich, a campus representative for Apple, said when this type of technology was first introduced, most consumers stopped using the products because they were too cumbersome or confusing.
The biggest influence of this philosophy can be seen in cellular phones. Just years ago most phones had a large battery in the back, but devices such as the Motorola Razr V3 are super slim and weigh only a few ounces.
Those bulky cell phones, however, didn't double as music players, either.
Keith Nowak, a media relations manager for Nokia, said he didn't expect the ringtone trend to take off as it did.
"We think it's awesome," he said. "When (ringtones) were kind of new, we provided ringtones ourselves. We did it knowing it wouldn't last forever."
Although Apple is "focusing primarily on music," Ellenich said, companies across the board are always working to improve upon what's already out there - even if it means putting multiple things together.
"Five years ago, we had PDAs, MP3 players, cell phones, laptops ... all of those devices add up to a lot of volume when you try to carry them around," he said.
But how badly do customers need, for example, the M:Robe, a combination MP3 player and digital camera offered by Olympus?
"I'm actually kind of against the all-in-one utility," Elkus said.
"You lose the quality, I guess," he said. "If you have one company that makes just a phone, it will be just a phone. If you have just an MP3 player, it will be an awesome MP3 player.
"But when you combine the two, you lose the quality," he said.
That's one issue most companies face when putting out these new products, Ellenich said.
"They're kind of like a jack of all trades, but they don't necessarily perform very well," Ellenich said.
The interface, or the structure and technology behind the actual product, also can be confusing for consumers. "There's so many things you have to learn how to use."
Despite the challenges, this is something that won't go away.
"As far as technology can go, who's to say what will happen in five to 10 years," Seybold said.
