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Nintendo DS to Feature Instant Messaging?
Decaffeinated Jedi writes "Following rumors of wireless connectivity, movie playback, and a touch-screen interface, CNN/Money reports today that Nintendo's upcoming dual-screen portable will also incorporate instant messaging into its ever-growing feature set. The DS would most likely offer local IM service via its radio-frequency wireless networking hardware, with users typing messages on the portable's touch screen using a stylus. The article also discusses physical design of the DS: 'The form factor will feature two three-inch screens that fold together, similar to that of the Game Boy Advance,' says one industry analyst quoted in the article. 'There will be two flipper controls, two directional pads, and an 'A' and 'B' button. The stylus will be used for gaming, Instant Messaging, and other multimedia functionalities.' The Nintendo DS: it slices, it dices, it juliennes!"
With the evergrowing list of capabilities of the DS, it seems like it's reaching well beyond being a supposed "third pillar" of the Nintendo empire.
Originally it was pitched as a machine that you'd want to have ALONGSIDE your Gamecube and Gameboy, that it'd provide some seperate function which the other two didn't and vice versa and versa vice. But what it sounds like is an all-around superior portable gaming machine to the GBA... why would you want a GBA when you have a more powerful, more versatile machine available? That smells of 'replacement' to me, not 'supplemental'.
The only problem is, there have been no press releases from Nintendo about this product since they announced it. Most of it has been speculation from CNN analysts.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Just out of curiosity, is this thing going to play games, too? ;)
DecafJedi
my weblog: apropos of something
It seems to me that Nintendo leaked small bits of vague information about the DS (2 screens, etc...) and scoured the 'net reading all of the fan speculation regarding it, only to incorporate the most popular ideas. ("Let's say it has TWO screens and see if any of them has an idea about how to use them effectively")
/crackpot theory
We still have no idea just what the DS -is-. Everything's very vague at first, and it's taking definition pretty-well along the lines of the rumours.
Free market research == teh awesome.
Oh yea, I heard that the DS has a special feature that steals your credit card number and sends it to some slashdot user named Schezar. ^_~
GeekNights!
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I'm wondering if it will get to the point when we can just buy a 'Game Card' so to speak. Somewhat like an Xbox/PS2/GC PCI/AGP card containing the console itself, otherwise our living rooms are just going to get more and more clustered. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for touchscreens, IM, etc.. but we already have most of the hardware needed for it sitting at home now.
Anyone else think pcs/consoles will ever become one? Or am I just crazy...
If this is true, which I'm suspicious of, because, frankly, Nintendo is not a very leaky company, but if this is true, it looks like the speculation that Nintendo was going for some place between the GBA and the cube. That is to say, this is not something you whip out and play a few rounds of at the bus stop, but it is something that you can bring over to your friend's house and play with - it doesn't require a TV and a bunch of wiring.
I wonder if we're dealing with something that's portable in the same way that a laptop is portable - that is to say, usually going to be run off an outlet, and rather bulky, but still movable.
It would certainly be a new type of gaming device.
Philip Sandifer's academic website
Perhaps it is included as a way to start a multiplayer gaming round. Maybe some people don't want to connect to just any person, they want to ask them first, and see how long they can play. They can use the instant messenger for that. And they can talk smack with it, too.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
The problem with the N-Gage is it was made by a cell phone company. They had no previous experience in the hand held (or even console) arena. This is blatantly obviously when you look at the ergonomics (or lack there of) of the unit. Furthermore, it really had no games.
Nintendo, however, DOES have experience in this area. They have many years of experience to bring to the table, as well as good gaming title backing. I expect they will come out with a unit very comfortable to use, as opposed to the N-Gage. They KNOW how to design the interface. I would go so far as to argue, that IMHO, the controller for the GC is the best that has ever been made... but that is getting off topic.
The DS will show some success, if for no other reason than for being made by Nintendo. If the DS turns into a must have hit, only time will tell. But if anyone were to pull it off, it would be Nintendo.
At first, I was going to go on a rant about how all I want is a game system, none of this instant messaging, movie playing etc... but then I read the line about it only having A and B buttons!
For Gods sake Nintendo: PUT MORE THAN TWO FACE BUTTONS ON YOUR HANDHELD! Seriously! One of the biggest problems with the GBA in my opinion is that there simply aren't enough buttons to do proper ports of SNES games. I know Nintendo wants to make games simpler and all, but this is only going to hurt the possibilities! Forget about that second D-Pad and give me X and Y buttons!
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
Say what you will about Nintendo's inept marketing department, but they've got it right this time. Analysts are creaming over what this thing will do. Look at all of the free publicity that's come by simply announcing the product and the fact that it has two screens.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
How? Nintendo holds a veritable monopoly on handheld gaming devices that far, far exceeds Nokia and which I doubt wil be tempered by Sony's PSP. There has been little that has challenged Nintendo's crown. Even when Sega and Turbo-Grafx was busy pushing 16-bit portables that played Genesis and TG-16 games respectively, the ancient GB with its olive-colored monochromatic screen chugged along unfazed. Nintendo has little to fear. They continue to be the most profitable of the "big three."
As it is, the console market is moving away from them, with the next generation of consoles almost certainly focused more on media center features instead of only games.
Not necessarily. Recall that Sony recently released the PSX in Japan to lukewarm response. It was a DVD burner and played PS2 games. Rather than incorporate all of that technology into the PS3, Sony decided to test the waters. Suffice it to say, it doesn't seem as though they liked what they saw. Sony has already remarked that the PS3 would be heavily focused on gaming rather than multifunctional wizardry.
Microsoft has also announced plans to not include the built-in hard drive for the Xbox 2, potentially opting for an approach involving exchangable flash memory instead.
Nintendo can't afford to let the handheld market move away from them in a similar way.
I think this is in some part true. There's little doubt that of Nintendo's profitable ventures, the Game Boy line is probably the one on top. Nintendo would definitely be hurting if their uncontested reign in portables is lost to the extent their GameCube has. But there are reasons people like the Game Boy and consoles in general. You plop in cartridges and they work. The controls are basic. The machine is built to withstand a 2-story fall onto concrete. And it does one thing really well - it plays games. It is simple. I don't think the average consumer for a portable gaming system really thinks about having a PDA that happens to play video games. And given that the "Pokemon market" characterizes perhaps the majority of Game Boy consumers, would you want to give a 10-year old a PDA and a stylus?
I don't think the push is there for a portable gaming device so laden with additional add-ons and features. Otherwise, the N-Gage should have sold like hotcakes. Nintendo couldn't have kept Game Boy Cameras and Printers on the shelves. And we'd see a host of keyboard and mouse and storage technologies using the EXT port. I just don't see it happening. A console, especially a portable one, is not a PC and is not designed to be.
As long as we're posting wild speculation and rumors, why not take a look at this *achem* "mock-up" of the DS?
You probably shouldn't click this.
The Nintendo DS will have wireless multiplayer! And instant messaging! And a stylus, and handwriting recognition!
And of course, backwards-compatibility with the Gamecube, with the second screen acting as connected GBA! (Why do you think they made the Gamecube discs so small?)
Also, they are porting the three Zelda games created for the Philips CD-I to the DS, and releasing them exclusively, one-game-per-box, with new systems!
The OS is going to be an open-source BSD variant!
It'll have a built-in hard drive like an iPod, and the games will be distributed from wireless point-of-sale terminals in stores!
It actually has seven screens! Nintendo's just fucking with you!
Anonymous sources from Nintendo tell me that it comes with its own remote-controlled robot with speech recognition! Nintendo feels this provides "unique game design opportunities."
The Nintendo DS will give you the power to fly! Like Superman!
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!
The Photos were in the current issue of GMR, currently linked to the EBWorld EDGE club. Under the picture, it said "artists concept only." It was fake, but it wasn't trying to mislead.
More likely the next Tapwave. Except unlike Tapwave, they'll have more than 2 or 3 mediocre exclusive games for it, and it won't have a controller that breaks within a week after you buy it.
Unfortunately, unlike the Tapwave, it won't run any emulators, at least not unlicensed ones. Maybe this is the real reason Nintendo went after that emulator?
Anyway, back to my point... if the rumors we've been hearing are true then this system is fixing up to be a combination PDA/entertainment device, like the Tapwave. It's got movie and mp3 playing, game playing, and probably a touch sensitive screen. All that you need to add is the PDA software.
The N-Gage failed because as you said it didn't have good games, and it had a bad interface. However, there's no inherent reason a combination PDA and gaming device must have bad games and a bad interface. (Many PDA's devices already have a control disk that looks suspiciously like a gaming contoller). Adding a phone to the mix, however, doesn't really work though. The form factors are just incompatible.
Is there a market for such a beast? I don't know. With the PDA functionality, and higher price, they would be going after an older demographic than the GBA. Unlike the Tapwave, this sounds more like a game playing first, PDA second kind of machine. (I viewed the Tapwave as a PDA first, and a game machine second, since it ran the Palm OS). In other words the market for this are those people who want a gaming device, but could be swayed to buy this one by the additional gaming features.
I thought the Tapwave had a chance, but the lack of games, poor marketing, and the poor quality of the controller is going to be the end of them. Nintendo is unlikely to make these mistakes, but they may fail to have good PDA applications. I think the product really is an experiment to test the market, and they know it.
DS Mock-Up / Bounty
This magazine (see link) is offering a bounty for photos. They put up their own Mock-up. I say it looks good, but it needs about a ton more buttons. 2 was insane for the GBA, let alone the generation after.
--Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
There will be two flipper controls, two directional pads, and an 'A' and 'B' button.
Interesting that this describes the Virtual Boy *exactly*.
Sounds like some "industry analyst" is playing a joke.
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
"Please. A DVD player option wasn't useful to you. But it was to everyone else, who figured for an extra $50 they'd get one for free. They weren't cheap then"
Yes, they were more expensive. I remember that. I even personally considered getting one for that. However, at best, it caused an interest in the system when there were no interesting launch titles for it. Now Sony's paying for it. The extra $50 or so is making the PS2 the most expensive yet least powerful system. Nintendo's strategy is paying off. The question is, whether it did for Sony. Did the DVD player feature of the PS2 sell many units? Personally, I don't think so. I think it was the expectation that there'd be a zillion games for it. That came true. So people are happy.
"I'd say a lot more people watch movies than chat over IM."
Heh. Okay. The difference is that IM can be part of the gaming experience.
"The point is not that Nintendo didn't have a DVD player. That's fine if they chose that. Their console was $50 less. But at the time, they were taking a very arrogant stance about it: "This is a pure game machine; it doesn't need a DVD!"."
That's arrogance? It's true! And they've provided a console for a LOT less than a PS2. If Nintendo had gone with a DVD based system, the price would be about where Sony is right now. Nintendo would be #3 instead of #2. Arrogant? More like "correct'.
The real issue here is that you are trying to paint Nintendo as being hypocritical. Sorry, they're not. Wireless Communications == multiplayer gaming. (Notice how most modern consoles have 4 controller ports now? Gee, I wonder who started that?) Stylus == More sophisticated input device. This isn't a gaming need? A touch screen wouldn't widen the bredth of gaming availalbe on this machine? IM == Chat with other players. That's not a gaming need?
Use your imagination man.
"Derp de derp."