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The Wireless Arcade

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the waitin-in-line dept.

KeelSpawn writes "Techreiview has an article on Wireless gaming through handhelds. Quoted from article: "They don't have fancy 3-D graphics, but video games for handheld devices stand poised to capture a huge U.S. market. Why? Because we all have to wait." There are a lot of "Small" games that could be great time killers in lines if ported to cel phones, and made multiplayer, and cheap. Perhaps something like the Game Boy's Pokemon Crystal, but with hooks to play perhaps the people within X miles of you ;)

6 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Great! by MacGod · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wonderful! Now, not only do we have people yakking all day walking down the street on their phones, they're alsso playing Pokemon! Just when you thought big-city life couldn't get more annoying, comes the daily squeek of "Pikachu!" from a hundred thousand cell phones!!

    FP BTW

    --
    "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
  2. MAME, NES Emulators vs. Graphics by FortKnox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People run MAME and NES Emulators (even Atari Emulators). Graphics do *NOT* define the game!

    Take Doom3 for example. Sure it looks pretty, but if its just another FPS DM game, no one will enjoy it. Its all about gameplay and innovation. These wireless games could become very popular as long as they have good gameplay and innovate the game for the new platform.

    I hope this sparks gameplay and innovation on all platforms...

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
  3. If you are writing these games, by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    please include a pause button. The first person who holds up my grocery line while he finishes up a level will get beaten to death with a baguette.

  4. Great, as long as it doesn't eat up minutes... by systmc · · Score: 4, Informative

    The particular Sprint phone I have doesn't have any games preloaded on it - you must use their wireless web to access games. Problem is, it's billed as a call the entire time you play. Not very fun.

  5. Multiplayer? by RaboKrabekian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure multiplayer as described would be that big of a hit. My guess is that most people who'd play games on their cell phones want something they can pick and put down quickly, with a minimum of hassle. Unless you can streamline a matchmaking interface so that it takes less than 30 seconds, I doubt you'll see much use for it. If you only have five minutes to play a game, and 3 of those are spent finding someone to play with, you're not going to bother.

    --
    "Moderate drinking can help prevent amputated limbs" -- Abigail Zuger, NYTimes, 12/31/02
  6. Been here for years. by Monthenor · · Score: 5, Informative
    I don't know about all you gee-whiz PDA users, but my number one game of ALL time on ANY system, the one I've spent the MOST time on in my 17 years of gaming, is ZTetris3.0 for the TI-85.

    It has everything this article mentioned except wireless: portability, cheap graphics, multiplayer, and the air of dignity from my sleek black calc. It is also (IMO) the greatest version of Tetris ever made.

    It has gotten me through the most boring classes and the longest waits. It doesn't eat batteries like some other TI games I could mention *coughbreakoutcough*, yet it is still endlessly fast and challenging. The two-player battle mode is perfectly balanced, with all sorts of different tactics my Chemistry buddies and I developed in high school. I would seriously consider teaching a class on Tetris Theory if someone would pay me.

    So I'll leave my phone in my pocket, thank you. TI has me covered.

    --
    Co-founder of GerbilMechs