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Nintendo DS Gets Sleeker Final Design, Same Name
Ravi Hiranand writes "Nintendo has announced the final name of their Nintendo DS handheld, and it will be called... Nintendo DS. The final design of the system is viewable on their official site (screenshot) - looks sleeker and far less chunky, but still a bit awkward. There's also an English-language press release full of waffly language, but the only things you need to know are that there are 120 DS games in development (20 from Nintendo) and that the price, release date and launch lineup will be announced later."
Offering 100+ games in the early stages of this things life is going to cement them a damn nice seat in customer heaven. They must have a lot of faith and support from the devs that this thing will be a hit. Good for them.
Of course that's probably the exact reason Nintendo hasn't said anything (if they haven't).
Schnapple
Because we all know how the NGage outsold the GBA...
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
you buy 2 shitty handhelds and then call it quits?
Why don't you do some research into the *games* you want to play, and then get the handheld that plays those games. At this rate, your next handheld purchase will be the NeoGeo pocket.
Sony may have 100 developers but only a few of them will actually make good games. It's been that way since PS1. Quantity over Quality.
Wha? Are you just a Sony fanboy, or do you have some logic to back up that statement?
... Nintendo has complete dominance of the handheld gaming market. They have 120 games in development for the DS already.
Let's see
So why will the PSP "mop the floor"? Because it can do so many polys per second? Or has such-and-such megahertz chip? The PSP has *zero* backwards compatibility with earlier PSone and PS2 discs. So they're basically starting from scratch to compete with the player who already has complete dominance *AND* is building in backwards compatibility with older GBA carts.
Care to rethink your statement?
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It's not so much the number of games, as the type. I suspect Sony will go for older gamers, the way the PS1 did when the NES was the market leader.
I have a GBA, and there are some great games, but 90% of what's out there seems to be targeted at 8-14 year olds. Nintendo has pretty much ignored the adult market on the GBA, and if they do the same with the DS it may prove a costly mistake.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I know many people whose phones can play mp3s, and none of those people listen to mp3s on their phones. Similarly I know many people whose phones can take pictures, and once the novelty wore off (and it did, quickly) they stopped taking pictures with their phones.
Give me a game machine that plays good games, a phone that makes good connections and a camera that takes good pictures and I'll be happy. A hybrid device that does all three poorly is useless.
Do not confuse games currently in development with games available at launch. Besides, Do you really think that EB / Walmart / whatever will want to give up the shelf space for 120+ games for an unproven console?
And while there is a chance that the in development also includes the GBA titles currently on the go, I dont think that Nintendo is going go play that sort of game with this launch.
END COMMUNICATION
I like the fact that nintendo continues to innovate, and a handheld is one of the most well suited niches for exploration. I have yet to try dual screen touch screen gaming, but in the hands of creative devs I think there are a lot of possibilities. Factor in the wireless support and things just get better. Imagine an FPS where the second screen shows a live map and stats, while the main screen features the action or a multiplayer strategy game where the main screen displays the shared world map and the second screen is where battles take place. Some people might see these kinds of features as pointless, but I believe anything that adds depth to the gaming experience is more than welcome. We've been dealing with games designed for game pads and single screens for two decades and mixing things up a bit can only contribute to the evolution of gaming.
Yeah, just in time for all the N64 ports! Note to Nintendo: When designing a handheld system capable of running games for $console, please include at least as many buttons as were present on $console's controllers.
As for Nintendo making a "costly mistake" by continuing in the handheld market as they have done until now... That must be why they completely own the entire handheld gaming market worldwide, right?
Clever signature text goes here.
I love Nintendo for having made the Virtual Boy.
Its name alone has become a litmus test to differentiate between real gamers who know what they're talking about, and "gamers" who spend too much time reading video game history summaries on the web to know what constitutes a good gaming system or even a good game.
Understand that your "Virtual Boy" metaphor is tied to your narrow perception of the Nintendo brand name, not any true relationship between the VB and the DS. Once you can do that, you'll have caught up with the rest of us.
Who says cartoony graphics == simpleton?
I suppose you don't play Go or chess. Such simple childish graphics. What simpleton must play those.
Stupid AC
-- taking over the world, we are.
Playing a game just because it seems mature is itself extremely immature - it makes it seem like you aren't comfortable enough in your adulthood. Who the fuck thinks that a game with a bunch of cursing and breast physics thrown in to hide the obviously shallow gameplay experience is "mature"? It just plays off the teenager's frame of mind that they need to look cool and adult.
Besides, the analogy is off. Toys like dolls and tonkas no longer interest grown ups because they tend to lose the ability to make the toy fun for them through their imagination. Games, however, are like movies - they provide most of the entertainment for you, and the fun part is testing your skills and reflexes against someone else's logic.
There is a reason why gamers are extremely nostalgic.
Uh... totally ignoring all the GB games playable on the GBA, there are still hundreds of games of pretty much every genre ever released on a console, so what exactly are your gaming tastes? MMORPGS? RTS's? Flight sims?