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Nintendo DS Review and Internal Pictures
OctaneZ writes "Lik Sang couldn't help themselves, and have already torn open their Gameboy DS. Among other things they found, the DS shares both its power and battery with the GB, and the 802.11b range is 10 to 30 meters, depending on the surroundings."
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/20/ 2351253&tid=207&tid=137
It's the Nintendo DS. Gameboy is a completely different product line.
I believe local DS-to-DS play utilizes a modified Bluetooth protocol, whereas the Wifi protocol will be used for possible future Online play, or dozens of other Wifi possibilities.
I bought one yesterday, and while it's no graphical powerhouse, It's a lot of fun and Pictochat is a blast.
its not bluetooth at all, you honestly think theyd include 2 wireless hardware interfaces? No, their protocol is just a low powered version of 802.11b
OK, so I have my Nintendo DS, and so far it's great, but what I was *hoping* for was that Picochat could be configured to go over the internet via 802.11b. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case.
;)
The graphics are *amazing*. I've been playing the demo version of Metroid. The DS is somewhere between the N64 and GC in graphics quality. Gameplay is a little hard at times with the touch screen. You have to use the same thumb to move that you use to make contact with the screen. Oh well.. I guess it's time to evolve a third hand..
I also got Super Mario 64DS. No surprises there, per se. The split screen does give a nice perspective of the playfield while you're playing, however.
All in all I think Nintendo has the foundation of a truly classic gaming system.
Polymorphism -- It's what you make of it.
The official line was that the DS had both a 'proprietary Nintendo communications protocol' ala the Wavebird, and 802.11b for Wifi.
You're probably right though, As there are reports of Pictochat transmitting a MAC address when it's searching for other DS's.
And for the record I have no idea why my grandparent post was a troll. I own a DS and am extremely pleased with it.
It can do whatever any other device with an 802.11 wireless ethernet repeater can, as long as you can get software that does it.
... can be daisy-chained?
At this exact moment there is no software available for the DS which uses the wireless to connect to the internet. The only announced software so far which is known to use the wireless to connect to the internet is Nanostray, a shooter by the Iridium 3D people, which uses wifi to connect to an internet high score board.
Nintendo representatives seemed enthusiastic about the idea of a web browser for the DS, so I assume if someone goes to Nintendo asking for a license to make a DS web browser they'll get it.
and can its 802.11b hardware act as a repeater, so wireless games
This can be done; there's a DS game (I think Japan only right now) called "ping pals" that repeats in such a way that up to 128 people can connect to each other over the wireless, so long as there's an unbroken chain of DSes between them to relay the signal. I think most games require all the players to be in a 10-30 yard radius though.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
From what I've heard so far:
:(
It seems the shortages are real, not hype, but it is not really something to worry about. Basically there are serious shortages in some areas but no problem whatsoever in others. It seems that outlets of the big video game chains (EBGames/Gamestop) often had shortages, and sometimes didn't even get enough units to cover their preorders, but more general stores that don't generally do the preordering thing (Best Buy, Target) you can just walk in and buy one.
There are also reports of shortages of a couple of the games, specifically Feel the Magic and Mr. Driller. I don't know how accurate these reports are. It's unfortunate it seems there's been a shortage of the good games but no problems getting the EA stuff
Now, whether there will be shortages after Black Friday is another question altogether.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
It's worth noting that the reboot is something around 2 seconds.
It was still 802.11b. I can't find a link, but basically they have a special ESSID set aside which embeds the DS's ID in some way. Say it's maybe (and I'm making this up so I know i'm wrong) 1231231##### where that's your DS ID. If it sees anyone else with that beginning ESSID, it knows there's another DS around.
They did it so as not to play by the rules of 802.11b but to still KNOW whether it's a DS or a computer. I don't know any more details as what I read was mostly marketing, not technical, in nature.
The DS apparently has a feature where if you want to play a multiplayer game, only one DS actually has to have the cart, the others will download it.
:)
Needless to say, such a scheme is going to need some very well thought-out security.
Any bets on how many days it takes before it gets cracked and you can set up your own "DS server"?
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
No such luck. The "alarm" is a special mode you put it in. While the "alarm" is active, you can't do anything else with the machine. It just displays the current time and the time the "alarm" will go off.
Handheld game system (or just about any console game system, for that matter) != PDA. You use it for one discrete function at a time.
Want to PictoChat? The chatting's nice, but if you want to exit to the main menu you have to reset the machine. If you then want to check the time and date you have to reset the machine. If you change any of the user settings, like which screen GBA games will show up on when you run them, you have to reset the machine. If you're in Pictochat and you want to change your background color you'll end up resetting the machine twice!
Again, not a PDA. I'm curious, which game systems besides a PC or PDA/Pocket PC/etc. have you actually had extended contact with?
Every time you reset it displays a several second startup screen and a health warning you have to click through.
I've seen a lot of other people say the reboot cycle is on the order of 2 or 3 seconds, but since I don't actually own one myself, not going to argue for the moment.
What they had described was a multitasking system that would keep an eye out for other players, do the alarm stuff, and sleep when you weren't using it.
Did they? Or was that just what you wanted it to be? Again, every handheld or console system i've ever used does one thing at a time. If you want to switch games, play DVDs, enter a browser, etc., you either power cycle or reset. This shouldn't be a suprise to anyone who's gamed with anything besides a PC or PC variant.
The game functionality is very nice if you just want to pop in a GBA or a DS game and play, but the bells and whistles are refugees from a 1994 handheld PC. So no, I really don't think a PDA card would work. A PDA requires an uninterrupted background OS of some sort to be watching out for your appointments. The DS just can't do that.
Guess that's good, then, because (for the third time) it is not meant to be a full-on PDA and from all indications is not being marketed as such, only as a gaming machine with some neat side bonuses.
I have used the thumbstrap extensively for Metroid First Hunt and Super Mario 64 DS. It's a God-send for Metroid; I would rather use this setup than an analog stick for FPS any day.
Anyhow, I am no more concerned about RSI with the thumbstrap than I am about extended use of D-pads and analog sticks. It's true that there is the potential for damage, but careful gamers can avoid this.
- Don't put the thumb slider over the hinge of your thumb. Put it on a fleshy, "fingerprint" part of your thumb. I place mine slightly on the side of my thumb, so the strap covers the cuticle and the slider is aligned with the screen when my hands are holding the DS comfortably.
- Don't squeeze the strap tightener too tight on your thumb. When you're pressing the touch screen, the pressure of your thumb is more than enough to keep the slider in place.
- Don't press the touch screen with any more pressure than you would apply to a D-pad or analog stick. In fact, try to use less.
BTW, make sure the tightener is oriented away from the screen. If you face it to the screen under your thumb, it can press down and interfere with your controls.
I know I've made it sound far more complicated than it really is, but EGADS the thumb slider and strap were an excellent idea, executed perfectly for my tastes. It really does kick analog stick's ass when it comes to playing FPS, just like trackpads beat joysticks for fast cursor control on a PC.
After finally owning a DS after months of waiting, I now I know what I want: I want Revolution to offer DS connectivity, so future Metroid Prime games and other FPS can use the DS's touch screen.
This is arbitrage. A shortage in a good, such as a game console or a concert ticket, occurs when the price of a good in the market is set at a point where the quantity demanded exceeds the quantity supplied, either because the producer underestimated demand or because some other entity fixes prices below the equilibrium price (figure). Scalpers notice the potential for a shortage and start buying goods at the set price P and then reselling them at the (higher) price P' on the demand curve where quantity demanded equals the (constant) quantity supplied by the producer. Whether you call it "arbitrage" or "scalping" depends on what scope of rights under a government-granted monopoly you are willing to give to a producer.
"The PSP is quite a bit more powerful than the DS,"
It can throw a few more prettier polygons on the screen. That's not a clear indicator that you can do 'more'. Compare the N64 to the original Playstation. The N64 could push prettier polygons, but the Playstation could throw more 'ugly' ones on the screen. About 3x the amount the N64 could. Sadly, niether system was really capable (graphically) of a game that the other couldn't.
" has a larger screen (I don't need a separate screen for maps),"
Funny, if you're ever pushing a button to pull up a map, then yes you'd actually be quite happy to have that second screen. Never mind what the stylus interface on the second screen adds to the mix. Again, not sure why you'd want less here.
"supports MemoryStick"
BFD.
" and uses UMD media that has a higher storage capacity."
The cost of that 'good' is battery life and durability of the machine. Though I'm a Nintendo zealot/fanboy, I'm envious of this simply because I think it'll instantly mean better audio for the PSP. However, for a portable, I'm not impressed with this media. I loves my battery life. I loves my no-load-times. I loves my portable stuff not having moving parts to break.
"Anyone who plays on a handheld gaming system for more than 5 hours at a time, needs to find something else to do."
You realize that comment sounds really stupid to anybody who's ever flown internationally or ridden in a car for 4 days straight driving to WallyWorld?
"Derp de derp."