Nintendo DS Reviewed, Internal Structure Exposed

Pascal writes "Lik Sang received an initial batch of Nintendo DS systems and went ahead with their own hands-on reviews. Apart from some interesting GBA SP accessories cross-testing and their own impressions about the new Nintendo baby, they also had one of their traditional open-up sessions, exposing the guts of the new handheld to the public." Kotaku has a look from earlier in the week as well.

Comments

Hi.

[captnitro]

Dear Slashdot,

With the holiday season fast approaching, there are certainly a lot of 'toys' and 'gadgets' that we all want, and certainly it's your job to report on them.

Please don't.

I have bills, I have payments, and I swear to God I really can't see another Nintendo DS lust-o-mercial without like, yanno, buying one. And since they network, what's one when you can have two for twice the price. Then I have to get games, maybe once of those overpriced suede carrying cases which nobody needs, some decorations (rhinestones? pearls? i can never decided), and in my lesser moments, shoes that match my DS. Then the mouse is way past having a cookie; he's getting his stomach stapled to keep from having a triple bypass and weekly insulin.

So my point is: shut up.

Thanks,
Me.

Dominance

[AbsurdProverb]

I honestly think Nintendo has clinched the handheld race again with this device. I realize its still early and that the PSP is still a bit of an enigma, however the DS is so damn nice. I've played one pretty thoroughly at the local store display and its like someone took the Ngage and did it right; minus the cellphone aspect. The stylus driven FPS Metroid plays very well surprisingly. Control through the stylus has a very short curve unless you have limited gaming experience prior. Graphics and interface aside, wi-fi connectivity and communication are the icing on the cake. Its effectively a very sharp looking, easily controled personal organizer with Nintendo games on it. Of course I'll be buying a PSP eventually because I am a huge fan of some of Sony's titles, but the DS is too nice a piece of hardware to not buy first.

Re:Dominance

[MilenCent]

I messed around with the DS at a local Wal-Mart where it was on display. It seemed really, really cool, especially when I figured out how to set Metroid Hunters for the mouselook-ish control scheme.

Sometimes it seems like it must be my role on Slashdot to be the die-hard Nintendo fanatic, but I wouldn't discount Sony yet (though I, myself, am not a fan of many PS2 games). I think the DS will at least be modestly successful, and may be much more successful. Who knows, maybe there's room for two portable successes...?

Re:Dominance

[himitsu]

Not to be a jerk, but how is it a personal organizer? I guess someone could write software for it, but so far there haven't been any announcements about something like that.

Re:Dominance

[Dragoon412]

I was originally holding out for a PSP; I think Nintendo's overall game library on the GBA is abhorrent, and since the DS is more or less its big brother, I assumed it'd be more of the same.

That said, while I was digging around for info on Shining Force 3 tonight (yeah, the Saturn game), I somehow wound up at a list of games sleighted for the DS, and saw that Squenix is working on a new Secret of Mana game. Sold!

I glanced at the clock, it was only 7:50, so I ran down to the local EBgames and gave the display model a try. Sales guy was really cool; he even took it off the display stand for me to play so I didn' thave to hold it at an akward angle. And for the record, the thumb strap pointer is infinitely more comfortable than the stylus. At least in Metroid.

What a cool machine. It's a tad large, and it'll take a bit of getting used to, but the control scheme for the Metroid demo was superb - way better than the one used for the GCN Metroid games. The DS felt really solid and well-built, and just has a really polished feel to it, even though there really isn't any one feature that stands out.

So, I plunked down the $150 for it on the spot, and picked up copies of Guardian Heroes and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Darkness (yeah, GBA games, but it'll play 'em). The DS launch list is still a tad anemic (with Mario 64 DS being the only game I was interested in, but it was sold out), but they seem to have some really solid titles coming down the pipe; the line-up is stylisticly more remeniscant of the SNES than, say, the GBA or GCN.

I've got to say, I'm certainly not a Nintendo fan, but I'm very pleasantly suprised by the DS. I'm especially excited about the wireless multiplayer (I spend a lot of time in airports/planes), and the ability to share games, and play multiplayer games when only one person has the cart. AWESOME idea!

Re:Dominance

[jtrascap]

> Does this mean you can play multiplayer internet games?

Yup - 802.11b. Nintendo has 2 type of wireless protocols, it's own short-range version and wifi. You can play internet games between DS running the same game cartridge and also, using the short-range system, play hosted games between DSs - 1 DS transmits the game to the others! (Of course this is what it CAN do - the game has to support it).

> What about email and web? Surfing the web would be easy with a touch sensitive screen.

Talk is that it's in the pipleine from a 3rd party.

> And not just at home, at wifi hotspots?

Yup - as long as it's open access, I hear (I'm #1 in line at my local store, but they still have yet to get them in).

I'd be very interested to see how you can get it to talk to a closed network - my home Airport is locked-down, and I'm not about to open it...

Re:Dominance

[Dragoon412]

Well, Metroid comes with 5 control schemes. One is a dual D-Pad sort of setup, where the actual D-pad on the left serves for movement, and the buttons are look direction (feels a lot like the original Goldeneye). The other are all D-Pad and touch screen, both right-handed and left-handed.

The default control scheme lets you use the D-pad (on the left) for movement, the stylus or thumb thing for aiming (using your right hand on the lower touch screen), and all your controls/weapons (morph ball, etc) are also on the touch screen. You fire using either shoulder trigger.

It's a bit odd to get used to holding the unit and using the stylus at the same time. The thumb stylus helps quite a bit. I got used to it pretty quickly, though.

Re:Dominance

[HAKdragon]

The PSP uses Sony's memory sticks. The "deluxe" Japanese bundle comes with one as well as head phones and other goodies.

So where are the chips?

[Anonymous Coward]

There were what, like 3 ICs in that thing?
Either the Lik-Sang guys didn't photograph it from the right angle (doubtful), or we're truly in the era of VLSI.

Most impressive.

Porting Linux...

[ThisNukes4u]

This is not a joke. I am wondering if anyone might know of the possibilities of porting uClinux to this. The possibilities would be nearly limitless, what with the wifi capability and dual-screens.

Re:Porting Linux...

[Bill Wong]

You don't seem to know what uClinux is...
It's designed to run on embedded microcontrollers, often with even less ram then the DS has.

There is already at least one port of uClinux to the gba.
The DS can run gba cartridges, so, DS can already run this port (maybe requiring a few changes to accomodate the new bios, etc).

Of course, the gba port doesn't make use of any of the new DS hardware-bits such as touchscreen, second lcd, etc,
but, the point is, linux is very much possible on DS with uClinux.

Re:Interesting...

[ALeavitt]

The N64 had some code names too, as I remember. I know that it started out as Project Reality. Then, if memory serves, it was the stage when dinosaurs were still something of a fad because of Jurassic Park, so they codenamed it the Dinosaur, until someone realized that that made it sound old and outdated, so they changed it to Project Ultra. From there it became Ultra 64 and then finally the Nintendo 64.
God, it's sad that I know that.

Has the must get factor

[Anonymous Coward]

I think that the DS is truly got the trendy "must have" factor surrounding it now. This thing is gonna sell out(if hasn't already) this holiday. I don't know if that means that it will peak early and then lose out to the PSP in the long run. But based on the Nintendo handheld dominance and awesome title base I think that this thing will translate to a long term dominater. Sorry Sony you don't have much a chance to dominate the handhelds.

On the subject of the DS vs. PSP

[Silvercloud]

...It's all a matter of games, namely whomever releases Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger first wins [My money]. I suspect the PSP, but FFIII is being released on the DS, so who knows?
A portable FFVII at launch would clinch things for the PSP, but I doubt Sony is clued in enough to realize that...(though they do have an FFVII spin off RPG called Crisis Core, but that's due out in 2006, so it's not going to be a factor in determining early market share)

Re:On the subject of the DS vs. PSP

[xenocide2]

Square saved sony once, but don't look for the same miracle twice. Final Fantasy 7 was a big draw for the PSX, but FFX:2 has ben a large detriment to fans. Before, they'd have been willing to switch to another system see a new game, but people like my roommate were rather pissed off at the level of emasculation required to complete ffx2. Combine this with your theory of releasing old games rather than new ones, and you'll that they've become marginal. Are you really looking forward to playing a transgender sailor in the world of Ivalice?

Moreover, Square already brought the FF series to the WonderSwan, but it too was fated to fall. Remarkably, the PSP looks like a Wonderswan ultra. When I look at the PSP, I'm supposed to think "ps2 in my hands." I no longer trust Sony. If you went by the numbers released by the manufacturers, then the PS2 is like 4 times better than the Gamecube, which is a hard sell. Sony has a history of inflated specs and a propensity to blame the difference on programming error. When you can't actually do an Gran Tourismo endurance race on one charge, expect to hear blame on Digital Polyphony. But maybe playstation purchasers are okay with lowered expectations, maybe they're fine with stealth espionage card games.

Nintendo DS and Wireless Downloading

[rubberbando]

If the DS can download a game from another DS using one cartridge, doesn't this open the door for someone using a computer (probably with a little emulation) to send a rom image to the DS?

This could open up a quite a bit of possibility for homebrewed games :-) and of course piracy :-/.

Re:Nintendo DS and Wireless Downloading

[gyrojoe]

The download capability only supports downloads of up to 4 MB (the DS has only 4 MB of RAM). This is much better than the GBA limit of 256 KB, but isn't enough to transfer a whole game.

I suppose if you had some sort of downloader software and a flash cart it might work, but at that point, just put the ROMs on the cart directly.

Re:Nintendo DS and Wireless Downloading

[Echnin]

But 4 MB is enough for homebrew applications. A small web browser should fit; Win32 Opera would fit, for instance. A small chat client for AIM, MSN, ICQ etc. would be cool, so you could lounge around wherever (assuming you have an access point close enough; might not work in all circumstances) and chat.

Here is something funny.

[SetupWeasel]

Here is an article from Bloomberg about the DS launch.

A choice paragraph:
Not to be outdone, Sony has erected PSP displays in train stations throughout Tokyo, mirroring the company's campaign for its PSX combination game console and DVD recorder last year. Each PSP is displayed behind a clear plastic case. Uniformed guards prevent passersby from touching the devices.

Touching is BAD!

(bet they don't even work)

Carts

[Yorrike]

Has anyone noticed just how tiny the carts are? I thought the GBA was pushing the size envelope in terms of making carts so small they'd get lost anywhere, but I was obviously wrong.

I mean, they're half the size of the GBA cart, you could swallow one of those things without much trouble!

Re:Carts

[ajservo]

I was at the post office with one of the games I was going to mail off to a friend until I noticed something.

I had stuck a postage stamp in the package and licked a DS game and stuck it to the envelope.

Potential's there, but...

[hoser]

With Metroid Prime Hunters I'm really considering getting one of these. I plan to travel around a lot in the next couple of years, and my Gamecube ain't portable and my Powerbook ain't exactly... er, powerful.

So the DS looks great. Portable FPS's and stylus-driven RTS games has just about sold me. There's one small problem: Nintendo is the home of cartoony, kid-friendly games.

I hear good things about Advance Wars, but I'd also like to see something without manga-looking characters. Gimme somehing like Command & Conquer or Age of Empires! Metroid Prime Hunters is a little more up my alley but I have a bad feeling other DS FPS games we see are likely to involve running around as Mario, chucking marshmellows and Kirby and Yoshi in the land of ice cream sundaes. I wanna see some blood! Gimme some PC-calibre FPS's for the DS!

Re:Interesting...

[jx100]

It's "NUS", for "Nintendo Ultra System"

Unusual Killer App

[cmpalmer]

You know how everyone argues about e-books? Whether they cause eye strain, or how much better an ink-on-paper book looks/feels/smells?

I don't think this makes as much difference to kids. My daughter (13), my son (10) and one of their friends (12) are all hooked on reading e-books on Palm devices. They are used to spending hours looking at a GB screen, so scrolling through a Harry Potter book on a Palm is a natural activity for them.

So, I think there ought to be an real e-book reader app for the Game Boys. I've bought the GB movie thing from Lik-Sang and it supports .txt file reading, but doesn't have book marks, so it's not terribly practical. Does anyone know of a program that supports .pdf, MobiPocket, PalmReader, or HTML e-books that can be burned on a GB cartridge?