We get very excited about new handheld gaming systems here at Pocket Gamer (as you'd rightly expect), so we're a bit down in the mouth knowing our Christmas stocking won't be filled with the Gamepark Wiz or Pandora.

Both systems have apparently been pushed back until next year. Gamepark Holdings has reportedly had to fire the third party hired to develop a 3D Flash-driven menu for its new system due to missing deadlines and flunking on the spec. According to a post on the GP32X.com forums, the system is reverting to a 2D Flash menu instead, though a 'higher' version of the software framework will now be used instead.

On top of this we hear that after selling out the initial run of Pandora units pretty much straight away, the manufacturer is experiencing problems with delivery of the LCD screens (just as the UK PSP did when that was launched, they point out on the official blog), with no way of knowing when they can even expect the screens to land.

So it seems this Christmas might well be console free, though the silver lining here is that, between the lines of bad news, we can read that both systems are well on their way to being with us. The news could have been worse.

Watch this space.