Square Enix has made a surprisingly coy reaction to Sony’s PlayStation Portable, or PSP, with company president Yoichi Wada refusing to make any commitment to the machine.

When asked at last week’s Final Fantasy XII conference if Square Enix had any significant plans for the stunning little machine, he said, “I can't comment on whether we plan to support PSP. However, we believe Sony's handheld will be totally unique. It won't be in direct competition with Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, and I don't expect the same types of software on both units.”

Which makes us think that Sony, a major shareholder in Square, had already decided to answer this question somewhat in advance.

To say that the PSP is not a competitor to the Game Boy Advance is quite simply a lie. The fact that it will, in terms of power and functionality, massively outstrip what Nintendo can offer, has no bearing on the fact that Sony is well and truly after Nintendo's lucrative pocket gaming market. And if it succeeds, make no mistake that Nintendo will have little choice in how its future pans out, becoming a third-party developer/publisher and following in the (successful if somewhat unfortunate) footsteps of Sega.

Of course SE is developing for PSP. And it will be very interesting to see what it offers to the new machine’s library.

Stay tuned for full updates as they break.