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Nintendo DS Hands On
The Big N's media event went off well, and people have finally had a chance to experience the playability and feel of the DS system. Penny Arcade has commentary from Gabe and Tycho, and Gamespot gives it a look as well. Quoth Tycho: "The final analysis: I am overjoyed that Nintendo isn't completely nuts, which was my fear initially. This is a pretty cool little machine. But the opening salvo is a little soft in the genres I prize most, and there's no stand-out title that forces my hand on the system."
If they could fit the first five Zelda games onto one catridge, that would be a start. Perhaps even upgrading the graphics of Zelda I and II, but leave the game the same.
Being a left handed person, when I try to use a pen like object with my right hand, it doesn't quite work the way i want it too (I'm sure everyone has tried to write with their other hand once in their lives. This means I will have trouble holding the machine and useing the dpad with my left hand and trying to write on the screen. Any writing would be illegable. I most likely couldnt make precision movements required in an fps if I cant make an uppercase K on paper with a pen.
Cute. Is that an actual realtime demo running on a DS? That sim alone would sell millions. Hell, imagine grooming your own dog and then playing with another DS user and seeing the two dogs jump from screen to screen?
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, RTFA! The XYAB buttons are designed to replace the D-pad for lefties. You just use your left hand with the stylus, and the R buttonand Lbutton switch places, and the D-Pad and XYBA buttons switch places. It's that simple. And for the people worried about battery life, again, RTFA. Or go read IGN's interview with Reggie Fils-Aime. Battery life is about what the SP's is. They've come out and said "somewhere from 8 - 10 hours, depending on use, volume, WiFi, etc." And I can't believe people are still using the word "virtual boy" when talking about this thing. This has a better launch/near launch lineup than any system Nintendo has released since the SNES. And it has hundreds of games being worked on right now for it. Virtual Boy had what, 20 in total or something? Everyone knows this will be a big hit. I mean, seriously, wireless multiplayer Sims and Mario Kart and Metroid... Absolutely pure money trees. And rumors of a new Pokemon RPG, plus the movie-downloading stuff, the "go to EB and download demos of new games" stuff, the "whatever warp-pipe is doing" stuff, the "Final Fantasy 3 finally being officially translated" stuff, the "Built in wireless chat" stuff... and it just keeps going on and on... This thing will dominate for sure, and the PSP really isn't any comeptition. Totally different target markets other than age and the fact that they play games. And it's got it's own set of problems... still no word on price or launch specifics, games, BATTERY LIFE, etc. It has the potential to kick ass, but I think it would have better luck if it released for sub-$200 in a few years rather than trying to take over the DS's market. Nintendo is keeping the gameboy brand for the sub-18 year olds, and the DS's demographic is 18-24. PSP is for 21-30. It's a bit of overlap, but the price difference and game styles will seperate them enough that those with good jobs in the overlap will just get both.
Born to Play
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every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Two games:
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Zelda: Four Swords.
Only now no longer limited to a TV, and (possibly) only four players, and needing to buy like ten accessories.
I realize these games are basically at "rumor" stage for the DS now, but if and when they come out, I WILL buy a DS. Maybe two.
Yup, that's all done in realtime. And from what I hear, the game will have some interesting features. Supposedly if you walk by with somebody has the same game the dogs will interact with one another, though I'm sure how, but it sounds interesting.
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
"Is it just me, or is this thing really useless?"
Question: Do you prefer to play some games on the PC over a console because of the mouse interface? Think about it.
" Ok. Out of you, how many have lost their stylus at one time or another? All of you?"
No, I haven't. And I've had several PDA devices over the years. Even if I had lost one, calm down man, they're just a hunk of plastic. It's not like Wacom tablets where you MUST have the stylus to use it. Even in the event of a lost tablet, BFD, go buy a cheapy Palm stylus. (As if Nintendo isn't going to make replacement stylus's available.)
"But please, lay off the crack in the R&D department, huh? R.O.B.? The Power Glove and Power Pad? Virtua Boy? And now... DS."
Crack in the R&D department? You mean like the analog sticks on the N64 controllers? How about the shoulder buttons on the SNES pad? No? How about the Rumble Pak? 4 controller ports on the front? The original Game Boy? Give Nintendo some credit, you owe several 'revolutions' in gaming (note: don't confuse revolution with invention.) to Nintendo. If that's not enough, go watch the Dogs demo. If even that isn't enough, consider that the DS is a GBA compatible + 3D processing + twice the screen real-estate with wireless features.
You have to try REAL hard not to see what this thing brings to the table.
"Derp de derp."