Nintendo DS to Feature Wireless Connectivity?

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "As reported by GameSpot, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata indicated in a recent interview (Japanese-language) that the company's upcoming dual-screen portable (previously covered on Slashdot) will feature wireless Bluetooth-esque connectivity for multiplayer gaming. Iwata goes on in the interview to describe the Nintendo DS as a 'unique' machine, noting that 'not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at the E3, but they'll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console.'" Although we've covered Iwata interviews recently, this now makes a little more sense given the context of the DS announcement.

Comments

Re:So many handheld from same company

[Matchstick]

Bad comparison. The GBC doesn't "fight with" the GBA any more than the PS1 fights with the PS2.

Re:So many handheld from same company

[burns210]

o please. that is like saying the super nintedo was released to compete with the regular nintendo. it wasn't, it was released to REPLACE IT. Just like the gb color(pocket?) replaced the gb pocket, the advanced replaced the color, the advanced SP replaced the advanced. Each being a better handheld system than the one before it.

NOW, for the first time, Nintendo is releasing a system that is unlike any handheld we have see, and they do this in such a way that, if all hell falls on them, they can 'revert' to the amazingly great gameboy advanced sp.

And no, the sony handheld won't kick anyone's ass. A $200-250 consol versus a sub $100 with a library of games 100 times the size of sony's new system? Please.

Re:So many handheld from same company

[BigDork1001]

The DS isn't being made to compete with the PSP. I'm sure that Nintendo is also working on a next generation handheld as well that will be released to compete with the PSP.

The DS is probably going to be from the GBA generation.

It's been posted before

[metroid composite]

And I've lost the original post, but there's theories that this is an attempt to bully the PSP out of the market. Suppose Nintendo releases nothing and it looks something like this

GBA: 80%
PSP: 18%
other: 2%

Looks like Sony's eating into the market share. However, if they release the DS at the same time as the PSP taking the wind out of their launch sails it might come out more like:

GBA: 80%
PSP: 11%
DS: 7%
other: 2%

Now things look a lot more shaky for the PSP, and Nintendo has said themselves that the GBA will not be replaced so PSP and DS both fail and GBA continues its dominance.

It's a kamakazie system that tries a lot new ideas, and if those ideas take off then great, and if they don't...well it still served its purpose.

Re:Cost?

[FortissimoWily]

"It will probably fail because I don't see how they will keep the cost down enough to justify it."
Well, going by what Japanese retailers have said recently, the DS will cost around $150 to $180. That's a pretty good price compared to what will be it's closest 'rival', the Sony PSP (despite the DS not being put out to compete with it), which has been confirmed (by Japanese retailer speculations, but more importantly, by Sony Europe) to cost between $350 to $450.

"I realize I'm just reiterating everything that was said the last time this came up, but I think we're now starting to see how feature-packed this may become."
Indeed. The touch-screen also sounds interesting - I'd like to see what developers can pull off with that.

"So the question is, will it be bloated?"
The question is, has there ever been a bloated Nintendo handheld? They've all been good at what they do, and as small as comfortably possible given the technology of the times (although, in retrospect, the original Game Boy looks large, it will still fit in a pocket).

I reserve comment

[tprime]

Honestly, over the time that Nintendo has been in existance and in gaming they have established quite a track record. I am willing to give them a chance because nothing they have done in their console/handheld history has been really bad (Virtual Boy was revolutionary, but was just released before the technology was ready). The marketing folks at Nintendo are smart, I am sure that the new DS will NOT compete with the GBA, but will occupy any market share that Sony was aiming at. In that case, even if the handheld sells slowly, it will take a lot of people out of the market for the PSP before it gains steam.

Nintendo knows that the worst thing that can happen in the next year is for Sony to gain a foothold in the mobile market with the PSP, NOA's monopoly of the handheld market is what kept them around when the Gamecube wasn't selling well.