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."

Comments

Dupe, same error as last time too

[Locky]

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.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that since Nintendo has called their handheld line the "Gameboy" for so long, everyone is going to call it the Gameboy DS whether they want to or not?

But yes, this is a dupe. And as before, lik-sang's article is heavy on pictures and low on actual information about specs. I still want to know if they did go with the separate processor for each screen they had originally announced.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[poot_rootbeer]

Gameboy is a completely different product line.

Just like Sprite is a completely different product line than Coca-Cola.

Nintendo may not be applying the "Gameboy" brand to their newest portable console themselves, but if it has an LCD screen and a D-pad+buttons controller layout and a GB Advance cartridge slot and plays GB Advance games...

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like Sprite is a completely different product line than Coca-Cola.

Indeed. Not really Sprite vs Coca Cola though; more like Snapple Elementals vs the normal Snapple lemonade in a can. It's about branding. The DS is the luxury product, the GBA is a utilitarian/budget one.

Nevertheless it isn't unreasonable to expect that if Slashdot's going to pretend to be journalism, they get the names of the products they're reporting on right.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[sakasune]

Nintendo may not be applying the "Gameboy" brand to their newest portable console themselves, but if it has an LCD screen and a D-pad+buttons controller layout and a GB Advance cartridge slot and plays GB Advance games...

...then, its a duck? No wait, lemme figure this out, I love riddles.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[Omkar]

and another touchsensitive LCD screen and a stylus and wireless multiplyer and a DS-game slot and plays DS-only games...then it's what?

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[grumbel]

I have heard that before, but what exactly does that mean? I mean is Nintendo just doing a bit of a marketing trick by not calling it Gameboy or are they going to release a GameboySP2 in the next half year and basically screw up all customers who just bought a NintendoDS?

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[tuffy]

I have heard that before, but what exactly does that mean? I mean is Nintendo just doing a bit of a marketing trick by not calling it Gameboy or are they going to release a GameboySP2 in the next half year and basically screw up all customers who just bought a NintendoDS?

It's a marketing thing with two goals in mind. First, DS sounds a little more mature than "Gameboy" in an attempt to capture the nebulous "old gamer" market. Secondly, if the DS completely tanks, not sticking the Gameboy moniker on it means Nintendo can save their ass. They'll simply say: "oh, the DS wasn't a Gameboy successor anyway. Here's the real Gameboy SuperAdvance you were looking for."

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[arose]

It makes a new platform. If you ave good idea for a game that uses there features you can make a DS game, if you don't need them you can make a GBA game and sell to a bigger audience.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

In other words, hello Virtual Boy II..

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[corsair2112]

That's the worst analogy evar. Please stop posting.

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[tepples]

If you don't need [DS features for a game] you can make a GBA game

You still need to make two separate versions for the two systems' separate multiplayer mechanisms. And what if I don't even need GBA features for a game? Is Nintendo still licensing Game Boy Color game development?

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like Sprite is a completely different product line than Coca-Cola.

And Yum! Brands owns Taco Bell and KFC. You must already know that a) at some point all analogies fail and b) in some respect any two things have a point of comparison, so why not just go ahead and explicitly form your argument instead of couching it in obliqueness?

Re:Dupe, same error as last time too

[Anonymous Coward]

the reason nintendo are not calling this the a gameboy is becaue it is a third pillar and not part of the series

if they made a followup to the ds, to make it backwards compatible, it would have to have 2 screen, touch screen.... blah blah blah

that is why

they will probably make a gameboy followup after the ds.
one that plays advance games and new games, but NOT DS games

oooh.. it might have an analogue stick
and one big screen...

and then it would turn into the psp

Repeat

[anotherone]

posted here yesterday.

HEY SLASHDOT,

[Anonymous Coward]

fix your damn website. I hate clicking on the "Read More" link only to find a 404 error or a "nothing for you to see here". Fix your damn slashcode.

Double screens means...

[Anonymous Coward]

Duplicated articles!!

Dupe

[John Harrison]

Here is the original

Cheating

[CrazyJim1]

"Not to mention the cheating tool it can become... "

How could you pass this off. "Mr. Jones, your Civics test is so easy I am putting myself at the liberty of playing some metroid while taking it."

Then again people used Ti-85 calculators in English class in my highschool.

Re:Cheating

[jacen_sunstrider]

Just in English? We wormed them into our PE tests. Something about calculating distances between lines on a basketball court, whatever that is.

Re:Cheating

[Anonymous Coward]

you had tests in your PE class??? tests that you had to study or cheat for??????

Re:Cheating

[M51DPS]

These days we have moved to using the TI-86. The main improvement from the TI-85 is that it has a lot more memory to store.... um.... stuff.

Re:Cheating

[Anonymous Coward]

i'm not the parent, but, yes i did. some shit about bowling, basketball, and swimming.

it was just memorization basically, but a test still. it would have been nice to have saved the 5 minutes memorizing before class.

Re:Cheating

[qray]

Before the TI-58 we had to turn the calculator upside down. It was a little limitted, though. You could only store two eight character words and only us a small subset of the alphabet.

Re:Cheating

[moonbender]

Looking at the quality of education these days, that will go a long way. ;)

Re:Cheating

[justforaday]

some shit about bowling, basketball, and swimming.

Bowling is the one where you try to knock down pins with a heavy ball. The ball doesn't bounce well, nor does it float when you throw it in water.

Basketball is the one where you bounce a ball and try to get it through a hoop (or ring if you will) which is suspended in the air. This ball does float, and can also be used for bowling, so it's somewhat easy to get confused with this one.

Swimming doesn't involve anything else except for your yourself and a large volume of water. Basically, the goal here is not to let yourself sink or go underwater for too long

As long as you can keep those things straight, you should be able to pass your gym tests. Good luck!

Re:Cheating

[Belgand]

Hah! In my gym classes we had actual paper tests. Things like knowing various obscure rules to volleyball and such. It was a terrible, useless class where the main emphasis was to teach us how to play games that I never had any interest in playing to begin with. I'm just glad my school didn't have a pool yet when I took gym.

Dupe

[pr0vidence]

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/20/ 2351253&tid=207&tid=137

Already Posted

[Anonymous Coward]

This has already been posted. In fact it's even on this same page. Go /.

gameboy ds?

[Anonymous Coward]

whats a gameboy ds?

oh and 1st post??111

Yes!

[Ambient_Developer]

I can't wait for warDriving DS to come out.. It will be the BEST GAME EVER!

Re:Yes!

[Ambient_Developer]

Lol, I can see it now; underground "Haxor DS", hack mario brothers style! I shows a screen with mushrooms, showing all the networks, mario hops on the network he wants. Then it shows a screen of mario dazed, and spinning around as it connects. Then it shows all the network locations, you can take mario pipes to new locations for your convience! You can hop through the network, and download files (VIA a modified cartridge with a micro drive). It would have a built in hex editor for your convience, and various other utilities. Best of all, what manager is gonna keep a network admin that was hacked by a game boy!?!? I can hear it, my nine year old did it I tell you, with his game boy. Not only that, imagine a game boy DDOS! All you have to do is get a bunch of people to hang around your favorite company, and wala, mobil e DDOS!

Re:Yes!

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, never mind that... I want GENTOO DS!

emerge ds/wardriving
emerge nmap
emerge xp-rootkit
env-update

IT'S TIME FOR A NIGHT ON THE TOWN!

Re:Yes!

[Anonymous Coward]

Not so fast, pal... remember you first have to compile it all!

Taco, you are a fucking tool

[Post It Now]

asshat

Wi-Fi Jammers?

[ilyanep]

The Wireless mode of the Nintendo DS is really impressive. Whether you play VS mode with Mario 64 DS, or if you send messages to each other using Pictochat, the range goes as far as 10 to 30 meters, even passing through walls and doors. We expect kids to go wild with it during boring school sessions in the next couple of months. Not to mention the cheating tool it can become... Nintendo just opened itself another niche market. The technology used for wireless connectivity is IEEE 802.11b, which some of you might already know from Wireless home or office networks. I can just imagine schools setting up jammers for 802.11b just because everyone brought in their DS to play during math class. Or even cheated on tests. On the Other hand, I think that this brings portable gaming another step closer to computers (even possibly further). 3D rendered graphics, and in-game chat? That's awesome. Now we just need to be able to interface the DS with a Computer network for multiplayer that way!

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[Locky]

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.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[TechniMyoko]

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

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[Locky]

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.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[bruns]

Just one problem - if your school is like the high schools around here, they are installing wi-fi 802.11b networks in the schools for the laptops that they just gave to all students (out of our tax dollars none the less. Considering I live in one of the richest areas of NJ, the parents can more then afford to get their kids laptops...)

But hey, wasting money is common these days. I could see them putting in wireless, then putting in the jammers thinking it will only block the DS.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[tukkayoot]

I think it would be cool of someone could figure out some way to use the Nintendo DS as an interface device for a PC. I've been playing a lot of iSketch lately, and now I want a drawing tablet. I also want a Nintendo DS. It would be a nice way to kill two birds with one stone if I could use the Nintendo DS as a sketchpad to play iSketch.

Heck, with the right drivers, you specify the drawing area only as a certain portion of the screen (the tablet I'm looking at buying supports this), and configure the D-Pad and other buttons to switch drawing tools or colors. It'd make for a neat little toy/tool.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[ilyanep]

Even better would be iSketch integrated into the DS so you can play with your friends.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[ilyanep]

This is school administrations we're talking about here. Do you expect them to have any technical know-how?

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[bruns]

No, but one can hope. :)

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[batkiwi]

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.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[JeffZakaib]

I dont think we will have that problem at our school... Our admin has worked on 'em for 15 years for several **A orginizations. Knoppix STD and other apps cant even detect the server os. It's some variant of an IBM system... kinda strange that a new linux distro cant even tell me what it runs. Makes you wonder if it isn't something he brought back with him. ;)
PS: I don't mind playin games on the 10Gbit Fiber Backbone though :)

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[tipsymonkey]

I can just imagine schools setting up jammers for 802.11b just because everyone brought in their DS to play during math class. Or even cheated on tests.

What goes on in schools now a days? I could never image a situation where I was taking a test and if I busted out my gameboy my teacher would think it was perfectly ok. Do teachers just not care?? Why not instead of setting up a 802.11b jammer why not just yell at the kids to to not use the freaking DS during class.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[ilyanep]

You've obviously never seen the stupidness that goes on nowadays. I wish that schools could go that simple. But they don't even trust their own teachers.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, like that'll be hard... just bring a 2.4Ghz phone into the room...

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[stellertony]

I don't think they'll do this, as it could jam their own wireless systems as well.

Re:Wi-Fi Jammers?

[ilyanep]

Of course then the kids will be using the phone (somehow) and they'll need to use something else (let's say a microwave) to jam the phone.

Interesting...

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut the fuck up, you sound like a niggar-assed Jew.

Re:Interesting...

[Anonymous Coward]

I salute you, sir! There's nothing like playing the race card to make a good troll.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, beating on this Chink-assed Spic... (Can you feel the love in The World? I so very LOVE you all. HAR HAR HAR.)

Re:Interesting...

[Anonymous Coward]

R U sure that's not a Spic-assed Chink? I mean, Chimp? Oh wait, that would be a nigger again, wouldn't it? Here niggy, niggy, niggy! Here boy!

Re:Interesting...

[Anonymous Coward]

Troll?! I don't understand. :-/ What'sa matter? Don't cha love me no mo'? :'-(

Filthy fucking JEWSSS! HAR HAR

Netstumbler!

[JavaLord]

Heh, so who is going to be the first to make a netstumbler type app for the DS?

Re:Netstumbler!

[Anonymous Coward]

Boy the mods are idiots. How is this offtopic? This is a story about the Nintendo DS. This guy asked a valid question. I'd love to see a netstumbler app for the DS. I guess it would be limited to discovery of wifi networks though.

Re:Netstumbler!

[Big Bad Hoss]

well, we are getting started on all sorts of stuff like this at http://forum.dslinux.com/. I'm a mod there, we're working on a news page, but right now its down. When the news page is up, it will be at http://www.dslinux.com/. Also, it is speculated that someone here at slashdot hacked the site because it was about linux. Please don't be so childish. If you want to work on Windows for DS, go ahead :)

wireless internet?

[brw12]

but will it have wireless internet access? is it capable of rendering websites via html, wml or perhaps msntv techniques? and can its 802.11b hardware act as a repeater, so wireless games and wireless internet can be daisy-chained?

Re:wireless internet?

[Anonymous Coward]

Would you really want the DS to act as a repeater? Say there are four people playing a game, five nintendo ds machines. One of which is a repeater and connecting two of them to the two others.

Then, this person is done playing whatever, and shuts his DS off, ending the game of those four people.

Sounds more annoying and risky then cool, don't you think?

Re:wireless internet?

[UWC]

I'd very much like to see a DS PDA card to give it PDA/PIM type capabilities and web browsing and email.

As for functioning as a repeater, there's been a lot of speculation on this, with nothing definitive, except that there doesn't seem to be any functionality for that in the built-in software. I'm still eager to see what kinds of applications can be developed for it in games or otherwise. I hope developers aren't completely limited to games, though it is ostensibly a gaming platform.

Re:wireless internet?

[chris462]

I'd very much like to see a DS PDA card to give it PDA/PIM type capabilities and web browsing and email.

Ditto that.

I was talking last night, actually, to a friend about the PDA possibilities of the DS and speculating what Nintendo had in mind, long term, for this sort of hardware.

It already has all the basic PDA hardware needs. Nice display, touchscreen w/ stylus, internal clock/calendar, and wireless connectivity. Add a USB connection (via the expansion port?) and you're gold.

Re:wireless internet?

[UWC]

Or failing the USB connection, sell a USB dongle that uses whatever protocol the DS uses for its wireless communication. I know there are phones that have sync functions via bluetooth, which would I guess be an analogous setup. I have a Nokia 3660, and its only connection options are bluetooth and infrared--no wires beyond charger and headset. I have a laptop with IR, but that line-of-sight requirement always feels so precarious. Whee, tangent!

Re:wireless internet?

[Pxtl]

Why bother with USB? It already has a mechanism to hotsync - the wireless. More likely it would be the other way around - a USB device for your desktop that communicates with your DS (not using the 802.11b because home users don't want to deal worrying about ports and servers). The DS broadcasts its name on hotsync, and you configure your desktop with the name as well.

Re:wireless internet?

[Plaid Phantom]

Yeah. You'd want to have a web with each system connected with at least two other DSs in case one quit.

Re:wireless internet?

[chris462]

Hrm -- an interesting point.

IIRC, the DS uses the same wireless protocol as the new GBA wirelss adapter.

I wonder if there's any F/OS documentation on that adapter. *runs to Google*

Re:wireless internet?

[chris462]

I hate replying to myself. Oh well. If the wireless link between desktop and DS were to work itself out, that would leave the GBA slot open for the PDA app and storage. It almost seems to easy for Nintendo (or a good third-party dev) to not already be working on it.

Re:wireless internet?

[UWC]

If the GBA functionality is done just through emulation, I could see that working. What I fear might be the case, though, is that the GBA slot on the DS is limited to GBA-type performance and capabilities, which would prevent it from accessing any of the neat DS features like wireless, microphone, touch screen, etc.

Re:wireless internet?

[chris462]

That's a good point. I noticed that GBA games don't benefit from the sleep-on-close feature that DS games have.

I read somewhere that the DS cards hae a capacity of up to 1Gbit (128MByte), which would be ample storage for basic PIM software.

FWIW, Palm OS 5 (starting w/ the Tungsten T) supports ARM devices. I wonder if Palm or someone would see a viable market in porting it to the DS.

Re:wireless internet?

[CrazyNateJS]

I remember Nintendo saying early on that the GBA slot could be used for perhipherals, so I don't see where it could be an issue...it could just be that the emulator/chip(since we don't know which) that runs the GBA games does not recieve the "Hey, the lid just got closed" signal, as it would not know how to handle it anyway...

Re:wireless internet?

[bhtooefr]

Well, Innovation has already made a GBA PDA. Granted, no sync capability whatsoever. However, Nintendo's had clock capability for every model of GB - the GB through GBC had the MMC3, which was a cart memory controller with RTC, the GBA had something (considering that there were MMC3-based pokeman games, and there were pockeman games for the GBA...), and now the DS has an internal RTC.

FWIW, I have heard something (I forget where) saying that the GBA cart port could be used for hardware addons, not just GBA games.

Re:wireless internet?

[Zen Punk]

I can't speak for Nintendo and say I'm positive about how the insides of the DS work, but I do know that the DS contains two processors: an ARM9 and an ARM7. The ARM7 was the core CPU in the GBA, although it is runnning at a higher clock rate in the DS. I'd bet my right leg that when you play a GBA game on the DS, the ARM7 just "downshifts" into GBA mode in order to present GBA games with the exact same instruction set, timing, etc.

I have also heard speculation(or was it official from Nintendo? Can't recall...) that the GBA port could/would be used for additional accessories in the future. Well, even if Nintendo doesn't come through with that idea, at least there's the GBA Movie Player, which has been confirmed to work in the DS.

Re:WarDriving DS

[ReeprFlame]

lol. Only problem is with the limited power output of the console is that by time you find an open network, the administrator will be chasing you out of his cubicle!

Got mine - my first impressions.

[jbuilder]

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.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[poot_rootbeer]

You have to use the same thumb to move that you use to make contact with the screen.

The D-pad and the ABXY buttons both function as traditional WASD-style forward-back-strafe movement, and touchscreen gestures are used for mouse-like targeting. No reason not to use both thumbs together.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Anonymous Coward]

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.. ;)

Or maybe, um, a second one?

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Juanvaldes]

there is also five or six control settings available for left/right/dual control. I have found the controls to be similar to using a mouse as far as aiming goes.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Anonymous Coward]

What are you smoking? DS only has point sample texturing. N64 and GC both look much smoother up close to objects, while Metroid DS looks all chunky.

And on top of it the 3D screen's resolution is less than NES resolution, let alone N64!

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[jbuilder]

Hey I can only tell you about what it *looks* like... You don't agree, that's fine.. but YOU are the AC.. not me.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Dan East]

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.

The graphics are not that good. They are slightly better than PS1 - more specifically the DS uses per-pixel perspective correction, where the PS1 only corrects every 8th texel.

As a software 3D engine developer for Pocket PC, I took an extremely close look at the rendering quality of the DS, and determined that is about the same quality / capability as the Quake 2 software engine (although I did not notice the use of precalculated lightmaps in Metroid).

The reason the quality looks so good is simple - the screen is tiny, and has a higher pixel density than most LCD panels. Even though there is no filtering (not even bilinear), the small pixel size tends to blend things together, so the texels are not as visible as they would be on say a 15" panel. The touchscreen layer adds a slight milky hue to the display, which again serves to help blur the texels together. Sort of an optical filter if you will. :)

I've worked with ATI's new Imageon 2300 mobile GPU, and the rendering quality, as well as the amount of polys it can push, is vastly beyond the capability of the Nintendo DS.

Dan East

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[TheKidWho]

Thats great Dan, but don't forget that every single pocketpc has crappy control systems ;-) As it stands, the DS has got great controls, not only that but it has developers who are willing to experiment with the system and create great original games. -jadam

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Radius9]

"The graphics are not that good. They are slightly better than PS1 - more specifically the DS uses per-pixel perspective correction, where the PS1 only corrects every 8th texel."

Actually, the PS1 didn't have perspective correction of any sort. That's why all the developers kept having to subdivide everything. It also didn't have near clipping, which meant you had to do it in software. Overall, the DS can render about the same # of polygons that the PS1 can (which is about the same number that the N64 could), but it can make the triangles look a lot better (although at a lower resolution). Its quite a nice piece of hardware.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[gamgee5273]

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

No, you don't. The D-pad and the letter buttons serve the same function in the Metroid demo. So, for example, when I was playing the demo the other night at Target, I used my right thumb on the letter buttons to move, right index finger on the right shoulder button to fire and left thumb on the touch screen to target, jump, change to a moprh ball, etc.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[ExHGamer]

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 Impossible, it's not even better than N64. The graphics don't use anti-aliasing(the n64 make great use of anti-aliasing) and the resolution is lower than N64 and it's not as powerfull.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Anonymous Coward]

the n64 make great use of anti-aliasing

You must've been playing a different N64. The N64 I owned used anti-aliasing to make everything look like it was smeared with a heavy coat of Vaseline, which I wouldn't consider a "great use." Whenever a game offered the option of "turning down" the AA (my understanding is that it was impossible not to have some AA on the N64, but don't hold me to that), I always selected it, and it always looked better. Many, many people agree with me; you'll even find people who believe the N64 looked worse than the PS1, simply because of the AA implementation. I wouldn't go that far (the N64's z-buffering made up for the lousy anti-aliasing, IMO), but I can definitely see where they're coming from.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Black Hitler]

I always heard that the N64's famous "blurriness" was a consequence of bilinear filtering combined with relatively low-res textures (due to limited cartridge space). I don't think the anti-aliasing was the culprit, although since the N64 only had edge anti-aliasing rather than true full-scene anti-aliasing, I'm not sure it helped that much either.

Re:Got mine - my first impressions.

[Plaid Phantom]

N64 and GC both look...

It's not a console system. It doesn't have a large television screen to fit thousands of pixels on, just a modest LCD Screen. Compared to what comparable systems there are (well, just the GBA as far as I know) the graphics are amazing.

NExt?

[Ambient_Developer]

First camera phones http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/17/22 20224&tid=133&tid=215&tid=158&tid= 1 Is nintendo DS next?

Re:NExt?

[Ambient_Developer]

working link

What you are really asking....

[spotteddog]

is does it run Linux yet?

Re:What you are really asking....

[System.out.println()]

Well, i can only assume this was meant as a joke... but it wouldn't be hard at all to get linux to run on a DS. It uses a StrongARM processor, which Linux has been compiled for. So, it's just a matter of getting all the hardware detected and functional. Even better, you could have it run off a cartridge, so as to seperate the PDA functions from the game functions. I see lots of potential in Linux for NDS.

It would be just like Linux, though, to take too long fulfilling this potential for anyone to care. (I know that will piss some diehards off, but it's the truth.)

Re:What you are really asking....

[wahsapa]

yup
http://www.dslinux.com/
its down but theres still
http://forum.dslinux.com/

Mirror Please!!!

[Jeffery]

Can someone mirror this please? can't view that website at work..

Re:Mirror Please!!!

[Mik3D]

Ahh, you can always spot a fellow .mil guy by the sites they can't access :-)

Re:Mirror Please!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Coral Cache works just fine.

Re:Mirror Please!!!

[Jeffery]

yes, it's unfortunate. even worse, i'm stuck in the air force training command.

Re:Mirror Please!!!

[Jeffery]

blocked as well. damn AETC

Re:Mirror Please!!!

[Kinetic]

You can always grab mirrors at MirrorDot.

Cross Platform

[Anonymous Coward]

Ofcourse, now that both the DS and the PSP use WiFi for networking, if the two companies could do away with their differences for the customers and made games that are available for both platforms like PuyoPuyo Fever to network between the two systems, that would really rock.

Re:Cross Platform

[th3space]

well, by that logic, I should be able to play FIFA or Tony Hawk on my PS2 and combat those on XBox...but it isn't going to happen. It'd be super great, though...then I wouldn't feel the need to invest in games twice to play specific friends, etc.

Where to Buy in Chicago

[Anonymous Coward]

I woke up yesterday morning, checked my phone and realized the DS was on sale. I stopped by the Best Buy in Old Town expecting them to either be sold out or to not have received a shipment, but was pleasantly surprised to find they had dozens for sale. If you're lucky, there may still be some in stock. I'm not sure why Lik Sang's claiming the DS is hard to find; there seem to be plenty available in the larger cities.

Re:Where to Buy in Chicago

[Clock Nova]

And yet I've noticed that there are already people scalping them through Amazon Marketplace for as much as $269. And Amazon has them in stock for the standard $149.99 price. Sick.

Re:Where to Buy in Chicago

[cmpalmer]

Amazon is no longer listing them for MSRP, but the Amazon Marketplace prices are up to $350. *This* kind of behavior is what causes supplied to run out. It's not that people can't find them for Christmas presents, it's that people are snarfing them up to scalp on Amazon and eBay.

Re:Where to Buy in Chicago

[Anonymous Coward]

Capitalism at its finest! If some idiot's willing to pay you twice the cost, wouldn't you sell?

Re:Where to Buy in Chicago

[Clock Nova]

Amazon is now completely out of stock, but there are 23 people selling them in Amazon Marketplace. I wonder how many of these jackasses bought them from Amazon at retail.

Re:Where to Buy in Chicago

[superpulpsicle]

Oh not to worry. Once the PSP comes out, the DS waiting line will seem like a warm-up. Every Sony system launch has sent the 1st batch of systems to 3x the price via eBay and other places.

ITS

[Anonymous Coward]

SHARES ITS POWER. Is it that difficult get that right? Is it? What the hell is the problem?

It has 802.11 wireless ethernet.

[mcc]

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.

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 ... can be daisy-chained?

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.

Re:It has 802.11 wireless ethernet.

[Anonymous Coward]

128 people can connect to each other over the wireless [...] games require all the players to be in a 10-30 yard radius though.

Those sure are some small people.

...in Japan.

Too much rebooting

[Anonymous Coward]

If you quit Picochat, it shuts the DS down. You can't get back to the main menu once a game has launched, without powering down. Gameboys have always not really cared about managing memory in a conventional way, and it would appear the DS is no more sophisticated in this regard. Makes it difficult to see it becoming more PIM or phonelike (which, with its feature set, would have seemed to be an obvious thing to do).

Re:Too much rebooting

[Anonymous Coward]

It's worth noting that the reboot is something around 2 seconds.

Re:Too much rebooting

[Plaid Phantom]

Makes it difficult to see it becoming more PIM or phonelike

You have to keep in mind that the developers weren't after a PDA or phone or what have you. They were after a gaming system. If they wanted a PDA, they'd have put work into that aspect. It's a game system, and as such it behaves as you expect it would. Picochat, etc. is a nice bonus, not the primary function.

wi-fi lifetime?

[mblase]

I'm just curious what the wi-fi communication does to the battery life on this thing. Anybody read numbers on the max. battery life playing with wi-fi and without?

Re:wi-fi lifetime?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo has a history of giving worst-case scenario battery life statistics. They give a range of 6-10 hours for battery life, so odds are that the 6 hour range is with wi-fi on.

Re:wi-fi lifetime?

[Zen Punk]

I'd say that 6-10 hours estimate is pretty accurate. I've been playing my DS for 2+ hours every day since launch day(after one full charging), and the batteries just now champed out today. Haven't been using WiFi though, or wireless at all really, since I haven't gotten to play much with anyone else with a DS.

DS Shortage in the US?

[kmahan]

There's been a lot of hype about how the Nintendo DS is going to be in short supply here in the US.

I didn't make a reservation and Sunday morning I went over to Best Buy (here in Salt Lake City, Utah) and they had a big stack of the Nintendo DS systems. And they said they had lots more in back -- and laughed at the idea of a shortage.

Are there shortages? Or is it just hype to get publicity and increase the demand?

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped by a Best Buy in Chicago, completely expecting them to be out of stock. I was delighted to find they had dozens in stock.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[Jeffery]

i live in a small town in texas, and the nearest big city is 3 1/2 hours away. the only "good" place in town is an EB/Gamestop whatever, and they're sold out. in the big cities, i'm sure there is no shortage, but in the small towns, big shortage here.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[cmpalmer]

I had asked the same thing on another Slashdot DS story. Here in north Alabama, I can't find any stores that have any in stock. The Wal-Marts and Target stores got about 6 each and were sold out by midday Sunday. A local Rhino store had two left at closing time yesterday, but had sold both of them by 10:30 this morning.

There is a definite run on them here. The EB stores got enough to cover their pre-orders, but no extras at all. Best Buy got 16 and sold them all in an hour. No stores I talked to had any concrete dates when they would get more, but all expected at least one more shipment before Christmas.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because in Alabama nobody is smart enough to have worked out how to insert a cartridge. All those sales were from people who couldn't avoid having to pass through.

And that Mario - he's a miscegenating wop.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[zonker]

this sort of thing often happens with product shortages. sometimes a company goofs and directs product to stores they think will sell more machines yet they don't and the stores that are selling them don't have enough on the shelves...

with the computerized ordering systems in most stores these days this type of problem solves itself after a few weeks as the chain will see the buying trends and shuffle product to other stores.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[Anonymous Coward]

There has been a "shortage" of Game Boy systems (SP, Advance, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Pocket, etc) every Xmas for the last 10 years. This has more to do with frantic holiday consumerism than anything else. Closer to Dec 24th, you'll hear about fistfights in stores, resellers, eBay and the same shit that happens every year.

You may walk in to a Best Buy and see a giant stack of 'em, but they're sure to sell out as soon as frantic parents get a 'hot tip' that the store has them in stock. Then they'll get restocked. Repeat until January.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[evilned]

I didn't pre-order, one of the Best-Buy's in Oklahoma City had them out, so I grabbed one with Madden and Mario 64x4. So far I really like it, the Metroid demo is excellent, Mario 64 gets alot better once you get used to using the thumb pad on the touch screen, and Madden feels like N64/PS1 era football. The only problem is wrestling it away from my wife who is seriously addicted to Mario games.

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[rasz]

you live in Utah ? I'm sorry

Re:DS Shortage in the US?

[Fritzed]

You live in Utah and you honestly expected a frenzy of buyers on Sunday Morning? I'm sure there were plenty of units until Monday.

-> Fritz

Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[mcc]

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.

Re:Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[astrokid]

That would be because Mr Driller is not available yet.

Mr. Driller Spirit 11/30

source

Re:Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[tiptone]

ok, i've seen it twice now today, and even downloaded and gave a listen to it so.....what's the story on the .mp3 in your sig?

Re:Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[mcc]

what's the story on the .mp3 in your sig?

There isn't one. It's just a MIDI arpeggiator plugged into a drum machine. I was originally going to switch my sig to a different mp3 of randomish noise every few weeks, but then I forgot. I should do that tonight.

Thanks for caring? ^_^

Re:Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[bripeace]

Mr driller as pointed out is not out yet..

Secondly the shortages are real in most places.. while it was possible to get them in stores in places without pre-orders thats largely false in most places now as the non-sold systems are sold out and where you CAN get them they are in extremly limited supply.. to put it htis way my local walmart has about 700 sp's while it had 12 ds's yesterday.. those ds's are gone now.

Re:Anecdotal Evidence Theatre

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

Just walked into Circuit City in San Raphael. Looks like they have plenty on the shelves. And next door there's a high tech company full of geeks with plenty of disposable income. Anyway, I just bought one. What they didn't have was games. Just Spiderman 2 and Urbz.

I never realised...

[AC-x]

I never realised the Nintendo DS ran windows

Re:I never realised...

[Juanvaldes]

It was disappointing that you need to reset to do alot of things. As far as I have found once you select some action you MUST restart to get back to the choice menu. So if you select pictochat and want to play a game you have to restart no backing out to the main menu again.

Re:I never realised...

[Bilestoad]

A reset is hardly catastrophic - it takes two, three seconds from power off to ready.

Perhaps later production units will reduce reset frequency if they take the opportunity to tweak the firmware?

Re:I never realised...

[Juanvaldes]

I would hope so it just kinda sucks. Makes more sense when changing the config then pictochat that is the one that surprised me more. Went looking in the manual for any kind of soft reset function and came up empty handed (it was 4am though :-/ )
But I do find it cool that all I can bitch about is a (like you said) 2 second reset. :-)

Re:I never realised...

[shadowsurfr1]

Wonder how often it will crash.

I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[melted]

I think Nintendo lost it this time. When Sony PSP comes out it will crush the DS, it's obvious. Wide and _big_ screen, more horsepower, _no hinge_. Single brick, with perfect internals for what it does. The only hope for Nintendo here is their exclusive games, and I don't think they'll pull it off this time.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think so. I think the DS has this round. I am by no means a Nintendo Fan Boy, but The way I see it is this:

Yes, the PSP has those advantages, but the battery life cost of spinning a motor is probably way more expensive than the WiFi which can be selectively on or off.

The PSP does not have WiFi. Not even looking at the battery life issues, the social aspect of this alone is what will probably be the determining factor.

The downside for the DS like you said is the size, but I don't think that's enough to compensate for the other lacking things.

Unless the games for the DS really suck, I think the DS has it.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[LnxAddct]

That may be all well and true(arguably of course), but when your handheld dies by the time it's booted and loaded a game you'll appreciate the NDS's 10 hour battery life. Personally I disagree with everything you said though, you can't appreciate the dual screens until you've used them. The hinge is nice in some cases because you can have you hands horizontal and the screen more vertical so you can avoid having to sometimes hold your hands at awkward angles to play the game. And Sony really screwed up by using discs. But hey... thats all just my oppinion.
Regards,
Steve

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Mekabyte]

"Wide and _big_ screen" + "_no hinge_" = SCRATCHED low battery life + runs hot != "perfect internals" I'm not saying the PSP isn't going to do well, but your reasons seem to be marketing hype.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[wmacgyver]

PSP DOES have wifi. Sony Japan's PSP hardware page clearly indicate it as such. It's in japanese, but do a search for 802.11 even if you don't read japanese.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[nearlygod]

If you can't read/reder Japanese, then how do you know that it doesn't say "This product does not contain 802.11"?

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[vhold]

I disagree with you, but I don't think you should have been modded down to Troll. That's pretty inappropriate. I think the 2 systems will actually be able to coexist pretty well.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[wmacgyver]

fair enough. here is info in English.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[NanoGator]

"When Sony PSP comes out it will crush the DS, it's obvious."

No, it's not. The PSP doesn't have everything the DS has. It'll be a while before anything becomes 'obvious'.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Bulln-Bulln]

Because Babelfish says so.
"Main I/O:
IEEE802.11b conformity (Wi-Fi)
USB2.0 (mini-B)
Memory stick PRO duo
IrDA
IR remote"
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pag econtent?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scei.co.jp%2Fproduct s%2Fpsp.html&lp=ja_en

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah, the psp won't have the second screen. which is why i won't be getting a ds.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Anonymous Coward]

Much like SEGA Nomad, SEGA GameGear, Atari Lynx, NeoGeo Pocket, Wonderswan, Pocket PC Engine etc all crushed the Gameboy?

They were all much more powerful than the GameBoy and all died more or less horrible deaths (well, one or two still has a new release now and then but...). What makes you think it will be different this time round?

Personally I have pretty much every gaming system out there, but I'm not even sure I'll be getting a PSP. Why ? Battery life.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[NanoGator]

"yeah, the psp won't have the second screen. which is why i won't be getting a ds."

Kind of funny. If I were paying more for a product, I wouldn't anxiously accept less.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Pleione]

You do get more. The PSP is quite a bit more powerful than the DS, has a larger screen (I don't need a separate screen for maps), supports MemorySticks and uses UMD media that has a higher storage capacity. People complain about the battery life, but it's fine. Anyone who plays on a handheld gaming system for more than 5 hours at a time, needs to find something else to do.

Just my thoughts.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[NanoGator]

"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?

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[imperialstormtrooper]

or ridden in a car for 4 days straight driving to WallyWorld? man, our walmart is only 15 minutes away....

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Pleione]

"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."

FF7, FF8, FF9, MGS. Couldn't be done on N64, even if you could fit them on a cartridge.

"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."

Zelda. I don't ever recall thinking "Man, this game would be so much cooler if the map were ALWAYS present somehow". The dual screen capability is nothing more than gimmick. Same could be said for the stylus and voice recognition. This isn't a PDA. Nintendo is notorious for producing crap like this (ie. ROB, Zapper, jogging pad, SNES mouse, Super Scope 6, SFC modem, Virtual Boy, 64DD, etc.)

"BFD."

Yeah, nice argument against said technology. Like it or not, MemoryStick has become a standard storage medium that can be bought from any number of manufacturers. They range all the way up to 2GB in size as well.

"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."

Tell that to anyone who uses MD-based portable audio players. They seem to be pretty durable and have good battery life. Your admission of zealotry instantly brands you as a biased buttress for Nintendo with no actual clue as to what you're talking about. So far, from the statements you've made, that assessment has held true.

"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?"

You're preaching to the wrong person here. I take international flights quite often. Hell, I'm in the U.S. right now, though I live in Europe. Your comment is what sounds stupid, for jumping to the conclusion that I've never been in similar situations.

My statement still stands, anyone who plays for more than 5 hours a day needs to chill (OMG, what ever did people do BEFORE the GB/DS?!). Try reading a book sometime (they're quite entertaining), listen to some music, hold a conversation with the person next to you, draw something, do some creative writing...the possibilities are limitless. Your remark is rendered even more worthless in a car trip scenario where cigarette lighter adapters can be used.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[NanoGator]

"FF7, FF8, FF9, MGS. Couldn't be done on N64, even if you could fit them on a cartridge."

Um, actually, yes they could be done if you could fit them on the cartridge. I have NFI why you'd claim otherwise.

" The dual screen capability is nothing more than gimmick."

Really? Then why is it that quite a few people have dual monitor setups? And don't tell me the stylus is a gimmick either, Palm's already proven that to not be true. So has the PC with its mouse.

"Nintendo is notorious for producing crap like this (ie. ROB, Zapper, jogging pad, SNES mouse, Super Scope 6, SFC modem, Virtual Boy, 64DD, etc.)"

They're also responsible for producing crap like the original Game Boy, the Rumble Pack, 4 controller ports on a game system, the analog stick, etc.

"Yeah, nice argument against said technology. Like it or not, MemoryStick has become a standard storage medium that can be bought from any number of manufacturers. They range all the way up to 2GB in size as well."

If two screens and a stylus are a gimmick, then this falls quite neatly into that category as well. At least DS's 'gimmicks' apply to gaming.

"ell that to anyone who uses MD-based portable audio players. They seem to be pretty durable and have good battery life."

And they lack a backlit screen, wireless connectivity, powerful processor, etc. Battery life of an MD doesn't say much here. Partial credit for the MD's durability.

"Your admission of zealotry instantly brands you as a biased buttress for Nintendo with no actual clue as to what you're talking about."

It would be ignorant for you to assume that I don't know what I'm talking about, especially when the purpose of that remark is to somehow discredit me. Boy would you be embarrased to know that one can be a Nintendo zealot without actually hating Sony.

"My statement still stands, anyone who plays for more than 5 hours a day needs to chill (OMG, what ever did people do BEFORE the GB/DS?!). Try reading a book sometime (they're quite entertaining), listen to some music, hold a conversation with the person next to you, draw something, do some creative writing..."

So let me see if I understand this... your solution to the battery problem is to not use the unit you're so adamant about? Sorry bud, this is not a strong rebuttal. That's like saying "My car can only go 100 miles on a tank, but I really should ride a bike anyway." Distraction does not a good rebuttal make. Never mind that nobody ever said anything about playing an entire charge.

"Your remark is rendered even more worthless in a car trip scenario where cigarette lighter adapters can be used."

Actually, no, that doesn't render my remark 'useless' at all. Ponder on the practicality of that for a moment and you'll understand why. If you can't, then don't bother accusing me of being blinded by my biases.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Pleione]

"Um, actually, yes they could be done if you could fit them on the cartridge. I have NFI why you'd claim otherwise."

Perhaps with the polygon count and number of textures cut in half. Because of its design, there is no way that the N64 could ever reproduce those games in their entirety. That is a hard fact. Live with it.

"Really? Then why is it that quite a few people have dual monitor setups? And don't tell me the stylus is a gimmick either, Palm's already proven that to not be true. So has the PC with its mouse."

How many people out there really have a dual screen setup on their PC? Why aren't there dual screen capable console systems?

This is a handheld gaming device we're talking about. The reason for voice recognition, dual screens and the stylus are hype-based. It is not a PDA nor is it a computer.

So your completely irrelevent point was?

"And they lack a backlit screen, wireless connectivity, powerful processor, etc. Battery life of an MD doesn't say much here. Partial credit for the MD's durability."

I never said that the PSP would have a great battery life. You, however. said something to the effect that the drive mechanism itself would be hoarding lots of power. The cited example proves your theory incorrect.

"It would be ignorant for you to assume that I don't know what I'm talking about, especially when the purpose of that remark is to somehow discredit me. Boy would you be embarrased to know that one can be a Nintendo zealot without actually hating Sony."

I see I cannot pull the wool over your eyes. My goal in life is to discredit nameless posters on Slashdot. How very clever of you to discover that.

Moving away from the topic for a moment, think about what you've just said and how you've been making uninformed assumptions of your own this entire time. The last sentence in the above section is evidence enough of that.

In any event, your bias is clear.

"So let me see if I understand this... your solution to the battery problem is to not use the unit you're so adamant about? Sorry bud, this is not a strong rebuttal. That's like saying "My car can only go 100 miles on a tank, but I really should ride a bike anyway." Distraction does not a good rebuttal make. Never mind that nobody ever said anything about playing an entire charge."

First off, I'm not stuck on my position with the PSP nor Sony as it would seem you are with Nintendo. I merely stated my thoughts and the reasons behind my decision to go with the PSP instead of the DS. If the feature sets were reversed, I'd easily be buying the DS.

Secondly, are you really that dense or is your memory just bad? If you'd read my first response, you'd see that my stance against playing games for very long periods of time was one of my original remarks and reasons for my acceptance of the PSP's battery life. It seems you're the one trying to skirt around the discussion.

Thirdly, I offered the idea of carrying a spare battery with you in the event that you can't bear the return to reality when the first one runs down.

"Actually, no, that doesn't render my remark 'useless' at all. Ponder on the practicality of that for a moment and you'll understand why. If you can't, then don't bother accusing me of being blinded by my biases."

Unless you have a car without an outlet or you're just being anal about having a cord attached to the handheld, your preconceived notion of not being able to use your car for power is absolutely moot.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[Plaid Phantom]

Anyone who plays on a handheld gaming system for more than 5 hours at a time, needs to find something else to do. I can agree with that, but those hours are approximately cumulative. Even if you spread the two or so hours over a week, you're still only going to get so many hours out of the batteries before they die.

Re:I'm a Nintendo fan, but

[NanoGator]

"Perhaps with the polygon count and number of textures cut in half. Because of its design, there is no way that the N64 could ever reproduce those games in their entirety. That is a hard fact. Live with it."

Hard fact, eh? If the N64 were to drop its graphical standards down to the PS's level, it could push about 5 times as many polys. They wouldn't need to cut the textures in half. You really should look at the specs of a machine before making comments about what it can't do and calling them 'hard facts' somebody has to live with.

"How many people out there really have a dual screen setup on their PC?"

Quite a few. Quite a few more would have them if monitors were cheaper. (Notice most vid cards have two ports on the back.)

"Why aren't there dual screen capable console systems?"

Practicality more than anything. Getting two similar monitors together is significantly easier than getting two 27" TV's together that are similar enough to have a good experience with. There's also the problem of consoles being a little suppressed graphically, making it hard to get two attractive images out. I imagine there are synchronization issues as well. A computer can drive a monitor to refresh at a certain time, I'm not sure that RF or RCA inputs on the back of a TV allow for that. Can't say I'm an expert on that topic, but if they can't get the frames to synch on both TVs, they're not going to have a lot of luck getting a game to work without tearing.

". The reason for voice recognition, dual screens and the stylus are hype-based. It is not a PDA nor is it a computer."

Right. It's a game machine. Now it has two new forms of input and on extra form of output. Games are about input and output. It has more to offer. Very simple equation there. Now a portable can reasonably handle FPS and RTS genres. Playing more games is soOOOoo gimmicky.

"So your completely irrelevent point was?"

Well beyond your grasp?

"You, however. said something to the effect that the drive mechanism itself would be hoarding lots of power. The cited example proves your theory incorrect."

What, you mean I have to mention that Sony's stated that you'd get about half the battery time playing a movie than you would playing a game? I thought all the Sony fanboys were aware of that.

"you've just said and how you've been making uninformed assumptions of your own this entire time."

Really? Like what? And how does that compare to your own behaviour in this regard Mr. Gimmick Gimmick Gimmick?
"The last sentence in the above section is evidence enough of that."

So.. your assumption is that a Nintendo zealot automatically hates Sony, but that's evidence that I am making uninformed assumptions?

"In any event, your bias is clear."

Uh yeah, I clarified that when I said I was a Nintendo fan boy. Are you trying to deny you're not biased?

"First off, I'm not stuck on my position with the PSP nor Sony "

Bullshit. Whether true or not, nobody's going to believe that statement so long as you shoot down every little point with the dullest of dull reasons, then provide lame justifications for the problems that are brought up in the product you like.

"If the feature sets were reversed, I'd easily be buying the DS."

Despite your assumptions, I'm actually interested in the PSP. I might buy one if a few games come out that I'm interested in. I don't hate the unit it all, but I'm not going to kid myself about its cons. Same with the DS.

"Secondly, are you really that dense or is your memory just bad? If you'd read my first response, you'd see that my stance against playing games for very long periods of time was one of my original remarks and reasons for my acceptance of the PSP's battery life."

Your acceptance? You basically said that everybody else should change to accomo

RSASecured?

[Anonymous Coward]

Can anyone tell me why there is a RSASecured logo on the back of the unit and on the box?

Re:RSASecured?

[tepples]

It appears that DS Game Paks and wireless communication are encrypted to keep out the pirates and homebrewers. I've had to explain repeatedly on the pocketheaven.com board that whether the DS will ever have useful homebrew is not certain.

I almost bought one

[b1t r0t]

I went out to Fry's on Sunday morning, hoping to get one to leapfrog the SP (I have a 1st-gen GBA with barely-readable screen), and they admitted to having a short supply. Then they showed me a sheet of paper where were requiring you to buy it as a bundle (like there weren't already a bunch of GBA games it could already play?) and I didn't want either Spider-Man or the generic EA (boo-hiss) sports title for $169.99 (they had already run out of Urbz, and I didn't really want that either). They mumbled something about a Mario bundle for $159.99, but it wasn't printed on the sheet, so I assumed they were just being rhetorical. I guess I'll have to wait until January. Maybe I'll be able to get it in a cool color or something.

/still not regretting getting a GBC on the release day

Re:I almost bought one

[Babbster]

I was ready to wait until Jan/Feb to pick one up for the fact that Animal Crossing DS and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS were supposed to be out. Now as I look at the release schedule, AC has been moved out to next SEPTEMBER - ouch. Looks like I'll be able to save my money for quite a while. Like most consoles, this one is not, IMO, a must-buy-early situation unless you're trying to outdo everyone in terms of buying a gift for a kid.

Re:I almost bought one

[linzeal]

Yeah, even Amazon sold out pretty quickly but people are already selling them themselves used for 170.

Re:I almost bought one

[Anonymous Coward]

So because you didn't buy a GBC on day one, your life is somehow worse off?

So what if you HAD gotten one? Sure, there might have been a few minutes to maybe an hour of extra excitement but not enough to make a difference in you or your lifestyle. Saying you are worse off for missing that is like someone saying they are worse off because their breakfast was scrambled eggs instead of fried eggs. Are such people so flimsy that a small thing like that affects their lives?

In the grand scheme of things, little stuff just doesn't matter and there's no value in worrying about such things.

Re:I almost bought one

[b1t r0t]

Er. I meant I got a _Gamecube_ on day one. Major brain fart there. Other than that, WTF are you babbling about? I'm not worse off for anything. When it came right down to it, I didn't really care about not getting a DS on release after all. All I really wanted was something with a backlight that was sufficiently more improved over what I had than the SP was to justify spending real money. I like the wide design of the GBA-1 and DS (and Nomad) better than the narrow SP design.

Re:I almost bought one

[Juanvaldes]

Seriously that was one of the main selling points for me. I look at the DS as what the SP should have been, plus it has all this other stuff. The SP is just too small and it cramped my hands real fast.

How long until live-shot.com..

[Digz]

...comes out with a mod to run on the DS? :)

asl??

[cshah 1]

This brings new meaning to ASL. Instead the 'L' would now be "2 rows behind you"

Re:asl??

[Anonymous Coward]

That actually happened to me during a comp sci lab in high school :) (but on IRC...)

Check online

[dogbowl]

EBgames, WalMart, Amazon, and Best Buy all have them marked as "Sold Out"

Lik-sang.com is sayign that they most likely won't be able to get new orders out until next year sometime.

I'd say there is a definite shortage now, but the question is will that shortage remain through Christmas?....

the same company

[sewagemaster]

this is the exact same company the microsoft tried shutting down for distributing mod chips for the x-box.

Re:the same company

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the newsflash. Did your comment have a point?

Re:the same company

[Anonymous Coward]

It was Sony, Nintendo, AND Microsoft, and they succeeded in shutting down lik-sang for a while.

Re:WarDriving DS

[Minwee]

That's what the teeny little Pringles cans are for.

A new device to kee you away from

[Anonymous Coward]

pimpin girls

I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[AllenChristopher]

I'm returning my DS this morning. It has some major flaws.

I really wanted to like this machine. I *ached* to like it, because I want to see draw/chat becoming a daily thing.

I can sum it all up very neatly. It says that it has an "alarm." You would think that you set this alarm and the machine beeps at the time you've set, whatever you happen to be doing.

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.

It's the same with every part of the DS software.

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!

Every time you reset it displays a several second startup screen and a health warning you have to click through.

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. What they gave us was a system with many modes, but no reasonable integration between them. It's a collection of kludges.

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.

Oh, while I'm griping, the sound's got so much interference from two processors and two screens that in a good set of headphones the buzzing is nearly unbearable.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[TheKidWho]

Alright so you returned the game system because it wasn't a PDA? If you were expecting a PDA, why didn't you buy one in the first place? Why did you buy a GAMING system?

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[PhoenixFlare]

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.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

The system, quite simply, is not a PDA. If you were expecting nice, integrated features, it is no wonder that you were disappointed. At the moment, the system is all about gaming, and will be until/unless some company releases a PDA-like program for it.

Nintendo has already said multiple times that they would like their systems to focus on gaming and the like, and that multiple-function systems are not yet a business model that they would like to pursue.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

And why do you have to click through a health warning? Because idiots like you will sue when you do something stupid with it, like use it 12 hours a day without rest. Because unless there was a warning, the courts (who exist to pacify idiots like you) would let you grab a few million off Nintendo for not stopping you.

What else will idiots like you do? Buy a system without finding out what it does. And then you'll expect a retailer to eat the loss when you return it. Of course if the unit you bought turns out to be a return you'll bitch about it.

Kill yourself, please, Allen. It's supposed to be the land of the free but you need the nanny state.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

]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. Well the AUS Nintendo DS site seems to list, pretty explicitly, the ability to wake/alert the user to nearby DS's (see point 8.) I haven't been able to get this to work with the 2 DS's my wife and I picked up yesterday.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[ExHGamer]

So, you opened the box, probably broken some parts of the box to open it. And now you simply return it because you thought you were buying a PDA ? Companies should not take this kind of return. It should be sold as is.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

Frankly, you went in expecting too much, and spent your money accordingly. I don't think I have to explain what went wrong in that scenario.

For the gamers among us, you will likely find that when it comes to playing DS games, the Nintendo DS is (gasp) uniquely capable in that respect. And really, that's what people tend to buy it for, not for its potential for running ancillary utility apps or replacing $80 color Palms, etc. I don't know what E32K4 pre-show announcements you were watching, but honestly, you have selected some choice overpromises that were never made to complain about.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny thing is that you don't even have to click through the warning. You can just hit the A button, and I think holding down one of the buttons (select or start, can't remember which) at startup will bypass it as well.

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[bripeace]

there is absolutely no sound interference when I put on headphones with my ds.. yours is either faulty or i dunno your an idiot.. probably the idiot one

Re:I'd like to see it, but I doubt it will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

While I don't agree with the OP's need for PDA functionality, I do lament the apparent lack of inclusion of the promised "wake from sleep" functionality, when a nearby DS is detected. I've posted extensively at Ars on the subject, and done some fairly in-depth testinfg to confirm the lack of such a feature.

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s= 50009562&f=39309975&m=828003377631

As I've said in that linked thread, the lack of this functionality really does remove some of the organic emerging micro-networks that originally seemed possible with the DS, and despite having bought 2 and being a staunch Nintendo supporter, I'm rather dissapointed with the lack of this feature. The link "confirming" this feature can still be found at the official Australian Nintendo DS site, though the US site is somewhat less informative . That site is linked in the above Ars Thread, but also follows directly:

http://www.nintendo.com.au/ds/system/index.php (see Point 8)

Moreover, and in response to the point about consoles only doing "one thing at a time," I'd point to my Xbox as a counter-example. While playing NBA2K5, for example, somone can easily see my online status and send me an invite for Halo 2. I didn't exactly expect this functionality in the DS, but I do think Nintendo implied something of it's ilk.

ps. signed up for an account from which to post, sorry about the Annonymous Coward posting, but I got tired of waiting for the mailer to do it's thing...

Re:WarDriving DS

[dfj225]

Well, if someone wants to drop by my cube with a brand new DS, I will be the last person to chase them away.

xlink

[Anonymous Coward]

http://teamxlink.co.uk/, famous in the console world for their console tunneling software, have taken on the task of tunneling the DS. Check out their forums. Starting with pictochat, we may be playing matches of Hunters on the webnet within a few weeks.

Newsflash for you!

[imsabbel]

Its a handheld gaming gadget. Not a smartphone. Not a PDA.
Why dont you whine that it hasnt got a digital camera or tv-reciever either?

Repetitive stress injuries?

[ILL Clinton]

All the reviews talk about the piece that goes over your thumb that you can use instead of the stylus. Has anyone played with that extensively yet? I haven't seen it yet (except for the photos,) but it sounds to me like it has the potential of causing some serious repetitive stress injuries.

Re:Repetitive stress injuries?

[Suddenly_Dead]

The thumbstrap is a bit uncomfortable. You have to stretch your thumb across the unit to the touch screen to use it, and that's not as small a distance as it seems. The problem is a little lessened if you have something to lean the DS against, so that the thumbstrap hand doesn't have to support it at all. The trick to using it, though, is to not move your thumb more than a quarter or so of the way across the screen, and Mario 64 DS has a decent sensitivity that lets you do that.

Personally, I don't mind using the stylus for the Metroid Prime demo and Mario 64 DS. It it unusual, sure, but it's not all too uncomfortable once you get used to it, and seems more relaxing for the hands than even dpad-based games on the GBA.

Re:Repetitive stress injuries?

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Most likely DRM

[Andy Dodd]

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"? :)

DS Game Boxes

[robbway]

The DS Games come in plastic boxes, not the cardboard Advance boxes. And yet, every box has a place to store an Advance game. This is good for sorting your GBA games for a trip. I sense another intention. They may use specially made Advance cartridges for memory cards.

Re:DS Game Boxes

[Anonymous Coward]

They may use specially made Advance cartridges for memory cards.

Why?

hardware hacking

[rasz]

Does anyone have any info on this MXIC 23L128 flash part ? And what is behind that cover on the PCB exactly (Wifi chip model)?

Another reason to look forward to DS...

[Anonymous Coward]

Accurate NES/SNES emulators that don't have to stretch the screen anymore, and can download ROMs wirelessly instead of requiring a flash cart. :)

I CAN'T WAIT to play Starfox, Final Fantasy III, and the original Super Mario Bros. 3 on the road.

Nintendo DS review & problems

[Geartest.com]

After scanning through the comments on today's duplicate post I still don't see any mention anywhere of the problems we experienced with the Nintendo DS, probably because most people who have one don't know anyone else who also has a DS to try the wireless network games and functions with.

I'm wondering if the problems that we encountered on a few Nintendo DS units were anomalies or if the problem was addressed with updated firmware. Please comment below if you are experiencing any of the same issues we saw, or new ones.

The details below are crossposted from the original, in the spirit of dual-screen/dual-posting goodness.

A month ago, after spending a couple of hours with the hardware and games, we published our Nintendo DS hands-on review / preview that includes discussion of some problems that we haven't seen anyone else mention even once.

We previewed and played Nintendo DS games Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, Super Mario 64 DS, Spider-Man 2 DS and the onboard PictoChat instant messaging software.

We've been testing out the production models of the Nintendo DS for about a week now. When we've put the DS through a few weeks of use we'll let you know how how it rates.

AP reporter Matt Slagle has his review of the device as well, and he loves it (the headline is Nintendo DS a Sleek Powerhouse, also at USA Today), although we are a little more reserved until we see how it holds up, if the problems are persistent, and until we see some more applications that support and take advantage of the platform, and live up to the hardware's potential.

Christmas Snarfers Indeed...

[Stealth Potato]

Tell me about it. Maybe you remember the whole deal with Furbies a few years back; I was interested, so I stopped by the local K-Mart to pick one up. They had a 1 per customer limit, but when I went to the register, the elderly man in line ahead of me was dragging a frickin' bag full of the things along the ground. Also, he was wearing a trench coat, a hat, and dark sunglasses. Apparently the K-Mart staff didn't notice. :-/

As for the DS, I really don't plan to buy one until a little time has gone past, and I can find one at my leisure without having to contend with the trench coat-wearing hoarders, frantic Tickle-Me-Elmo-esque shopping mall brawls, and eBay scalpers.

Mod up please!

[ZosX]

This guy is right. Who cares if your GAME system has to be reset between games/pda functions/system setting changes/menu exit, etc. Is 2 SECONDS too long for you?

I'm sure it probably even has a soft reset. I know my GBA SP does. It is L+R+SELECT+START. Comes in handy. Oh and the DS sleeps when you close it? That's awesome! I totally wish the SP did that!

Re:Mod up please!

[Anonymous Coward]

One thing of note - the DS will only do auto-sleep if you're playing a DS game, not a GBA game. But yeah, it's still a very cool feature.

Arbitrage

[tepples]

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.

Think about the Gameboy's market......

[ZosX]

The wi-fi capabilities are going to sell millions of these things to little kids. Think about how big the IM market is with these guys. Haven't you ever seen the little faux PDA's that actually have some wireless text messenging built in?

Think about it this way. When little 10 year old Johny wants a new handheld cuz his GBA broke, what's his mom gonna buy him? My guess is that a DS would only make sense if she wanted to get him something new. Nintendo sold us all as kids with the NES, and has continued to do so with the gameboy for many years. They really have no competition. The PSP will either sink or become a niche item for 20 somethings with money. I can't see many people spending $200-300 for a portable console, especially on kids. How many times do you think one of those finely sculpted bricks will take a 4 foot drop.....with the drive spinning?

I'm getting nearer to 30 and I love the SP, but I think that is probably not the norm. I really liked the classic SP and seeing the familliar grey lines on black definately imparted some sense of nostalgia. When I get on the bus and I fire my SP up, usually the only other people actually playing video games on the bus are the really greasy fat nerdy kids (oh, no offense intended to 60% of you here) and 5-10 year olds. For some reason adults sometimes try to watch me play because I think it bewilders them that someone other than a kid would be playing video games in public.

The gameboy will certainly take this round because Nintendo knows its market so incredibly well and have always pushed for what it considers the golden pricepoint. >=$100

While the DS is $150, remember that the SP and maybe even the GBA started out at $120 or so and has slowly fallen to $100.

Clamshell is a great design too. It protects the pricey LCD screens that so easily scratch and break.

I mean really. Is there any debate over who will end up with the lion's share of the market here?

Re:Think about the Gameboy's market......

[Anonymous Coward]

The likelihood of a PSP being dropped with the drive spinning is small since due to it having piss poor battery life (Four hours if you don't even begin to strain the system apparently, which supposedly will be "fixed in the next version"), developers are being told that they may not stream from the disc as the drives motor uses too much power.

Other points that suggest the PSP will fail are that devs are being instructed to reduce the polycount of their games artwork to help combat CPU strain (and hence power drain).

Unfortunately, I have no links to point you to regarding the information here, I'm just lucky to be on my way to being a part of the games industry and have contacts who have to deal with sony.

Nintendo DS review & problems

[Geartest.com]

After scanning through the comments on today's duplicate post I still don't see any mention anywhere of the problems we experienced with the Nintendo DS, probably because most people who have one don't know anyone else who also has a DS to try the wireless network games and functions with.

I'm wondering if the problems that we encountered on a few Nintendo DS units were anomalies or if the problem was addressed with updated firmware. Please comment below if you are experiencing any of the same issues we saw, or new ones.

The details below are crossposted from the original, in the spirit of dual-screen/dual-posting goodness.

A month ago, after spending a couple of hours with the hardware and games, we published our Nintendo DS hands-on review / preview that includes discussion of some problems that we haven't seen anyone else mention even once.

We previewed and played Nintendo DS games Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, Super Mario 64 DS, Spider-Man 2 DS and the onboard PictoChat instant messaging software.

We've been testing out the production models of the Nintendo DS for about a week now. When we've put the DS through a few weeks of use we'll let you know how how it rates.

AP reporter Matt Slagle has his review of the device as well, and he loves it (the headline is Nintendo DS a Sleek Powerhouse, also at USA Today), although we are a little more reserved until we see how it holds up, if the problems are persistent, and until we see some more applications that support and take advantage of the platform, and live up to the hardware's potential.

Was this okay?

[Anonymous Coward]

I follwed your link, but change the referrer ID to some random number.

Hope that was okay.

Dear Crackhead moderators!

[John Harrison]

Forgive me for posting that the article is a dupe during the same minute that everyone else did. In the future perhaps you could look at timestamps before passing your infantile judgement.

PSP

[Plaid Phantom]

No one has mentioned the PSP yet, and I was wondering whether those who have a DS (I don't) have found anything new that could influence the war between the DS and PSP that may be coming. is there any newfound info that could be important?

Re:PSP

[Anonymous Coward]

Plenty of people here have mentioned the PSP.

Anyway, I have a DS, and I don't plan on buying a PSP. The DS can do, now, what the PSP will never be able to do, thanks to its touch screen, its second screen, its far far superior battery life/efficiency, and its GBA compatibility (the GBA port on the DS can be used as an expansion port, plus DS games can read program and game save data from GBA cartridges, so a DS version of Golden Sun or DS Wars may be able to import your GBA version game data if the developers use that feature - Feel the Magic XX/XY already unlocks new features if you put certain Sega GBA games in the GBA slot). It has every other gaming feature that the PSP will have, including wireless networking (two protocols instead of just one like PSP), microphone, stereo speakers (which sound amazing and aren't tinny at all - full-bodied sound!), and SNES-compatible button count and layout. And yes, the DS touch screen is better for FPS than any analog stick has ever been; it's real mouse-look.

The PSP will not excite me when it's released, since I've already seen how big the PSP screen is, and it's nothing special. Even the games couldn't impress me more than the DS games I have do, especially since the DS already has 60 FPS games that look great. I've seen movie playback of GT4 for PSP, and seriously, I am underwhelmed.

If the publishers read the market properly, I think they'll realize that the PSP doesn't have a good chance against both the GBA and the DS, and will support Nintendo accordingly.

It's NAKED!!!! NAKERS

[Sam Jackson]

It's amazing how much they cramed into that little bad boy. But just like the SP I'll wait until everyone else has their DS. But I won't trade my SP in for anything, I'm in love with it I actually sleep with it at night! It's my baby!

DS & GBA cross-communication

[Anonymous Coward]

The GBA slot can be used as an expansion port. The documentation for the DS states this explicitly. This is because games running in DS mode recognize and can transfer data over the GBA slot.

Because of this, GBA games and DS games can interact with each other (on the DS side, of course). Feel the Magic XX/XY for the DS can detect certain Sega GBA games and will unlock certain Easter eggs in FtM, like Sonic, Nights, and Ulala headpieces for the girl character (among other things). I'd like to see a Zelda game for DS rewarding me for having a complete game save in Link to the Past, or Final Fantasy III for the DS (which is already under development and has been announced) checking for game saves in Final Fantasy I & II for GBA (which is also coming in a few weeks). Heck, it would be nice to see Phantasy Star IV for DS using game saves from Phantasy Star Collection, or some DS Golden Sun game using GBA Golden Sun data. Same with Advance Wars/DS Wars, Boktai, etc.

Long story short, maybe Nintendo has some serious DS/GBA tie-ins planned, and those GBA cart storage prongs are just in anticipation of such games to come.

Re:DS & GBA cross-communication

[robbway]

To reply to both responses:

The incredibly well-written AC response cites a lot of good reasons. I also smell a GBA Pokemon tie-in, like Colesseum DS, or anything else that uses Advance game data.

As for GBA slot memory cards, there are many reasons that could utilize this:

1) Mario Paint / art
2) Photo games (like Pokemon Snap)
3) Music Creation games (and sampling)
4) PDA storage if a PDA DS is released

Basically, any game that allows you to create detailed work to save and trade. Level editors could become more common on DS games.

Misunderstanding

[AllenChristopher]

I'm not returning it because I expected it be a PDA. I'm returning it because the UI is very bad and the sound quality is poor. There's no way that I should have to reset the machine this often.

Half the functions on the main menu are a trap. If you just want to play a game, you start up in the menu. That takes 2-3 seconds, yes. 40% of the screen real estate on that tiny touchpad is taken up by functions that involve submenus. If you go into *any submenu* by accident, you will have to reboot the machine.

Let me repeat. Exiting any submenu to the main menu reboots the machine. That is NOT the same as any console. On the Gamecube you can access the clock, the memory menu, and the television settings menu without individually power cycling to switch menus. You can then exit those settings menus and select your game. Ditto the X-Box dashboard. The way the DS is set up is archaic and reminds me of my Apple II.

My comment on the PDA was only in relation to the comment to which I was replying. He suggested a PDA cart. I wanted to give him a heads up that it's impossible. I tucked the UI gripes in as an aside.

As for "was that just what I wanted it to be" they did in fact describe a sleep-mode that would wake you up if another DS was nearby in sleep. They said Pictochat could then be used to discuss with the other owner what game to play. The sleep mode is present. It is documented in the manual, so I'm not just spinning in the world of hype. It's just that the implementation is very poor.

Satisfaction policies

[Anonymous Coward]

Er, ok. That's pretty puritan, but you can work that way if you like. The way I work is that if the back of my receipt says "Return within 14 days if you are not satisfied" and I am not satisfied, I return it. That receipt governs the terms of sale. I'm not satisfied. The PDA thing isn't important. I was just responding to a guy talking about a PDA cart, and I suggest you read his post to see why. What matters is that the UI is buggy and the sound has a high pitched interference. If you think companies shouldn't accept returns because of dissatisfaction I suggest you talk to those companies.

Two points

[Anonymous Coward]

Counselling someone to kill themselves because they're using a store policy as intended (Satisfaction Guaranteed!) is a little extreme.

Also, this health warning is present in consoles that are sold outside the United States.

Re:Two points

[hkmwbz]

I guess the main point someone was trying to convey was that he bought this thing, and when it didn't work as something it isn't supposed to work like (a PDA), he handed it back.

I guess the comment about the warning you have to read was just a satirical jab at how helpless he appears when he buys a handheld gaming system and thinks it should act like a PDA.

Zealotry...

[hkmwbz]

Funny how a self-professed Nintendo zealot crushes your arguments to dust and comes across as far more unbiased than you do. He explains why he likes the DS, while you are on the defensive, explaining why the PSP's sucky battery time doesn't matter to you. Excuses, excuses, excuses...

You go on about how it's all a gimmick and blah di blah di blah. Seems to be rather popular for a gimmick, don't you think? Sold out, in short supply, and all that?

Yawn.

DS

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't imagine how I'd avoid losing those games; the GBA games were small enough. The touchscreen could be nice though; but only if games use it well. It always comes down to the games.

-
http://www.trialclix.com/index.asp?refID=53213
http://consoles.prizecube.com/?ref=9745

Re:DS

[Anonymous Coward]

Use the default control setup with the thumbstrap in Metroid Prime Hunters First Hunt. Use your left hand on the d-pad and left trigger, and your right thumb on the touch screen. Pure mouselook bliss, better than any analog pad for FPS games.

Use the stylus with Feel the Magic. This is seriously some of the best minigame action since WarioWare on the GBA and GameCube - no wonder it has been selling out at a lot of locations.

Now that I own a DS and a few games, there is no doubt in my mind that the touch screen is ingenious, and implemented perfectly.

Why battery is important

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll be honest, first off. I'm a frantic Nintendo fan, and I hate Sony. Honestly, I have no desire to see the PSP do anything but bellyflop. However, I feel that it should be explained why battery life really is such an important issue, in the form of a short story. Many gamers may remember a while back, when Sega attempted to topple the Gameboy with their Gamegear system. I don't know the exact specifics of either system, but I do know that the Gamegear, unlike the Gameboy, had full color graphics, backlighting, and better sound (as I remember). However, unlike the Gamegear, the Gameboy had decent battery life. The Gamegear would suck down batteries at a breakneck pace, which ended up being the major detail that lead to its fall (that, and I _think_ Gamegear cost more. Correct me if I'm wrong). Before anyone cites my Nintendo bias as a reason why I would make all of this up, please note that at the time, I had a Sega bias, and owned a Gamegear. I never had an original Gameboy for that reason. Now this could just be me, but the Nintendo/Sega handheld battle came across as very similar to the Nintendo/Sony handheld battle that's coming up. One must wonder if history will repeat itself...

Re:Why battery is important

[Anonymous Coward]

Now this could just be me, but the Nintendo/Sega handheld battle came across as very similar to the Nintendo/Sony handheld battle that's coming up. One must wonder if history will repeat itself...

To be fair that was over 10 years ago and the batteries are now rechargable and as a result the unit comes with an AC adapter. So sitting around the house in your underwear playing GT isn't going to require you buying a 20 pack of energizers like it would have on the GameGear. No one can be certain but it is possible that the battery life won't be as big a deal as it was in the past.

Re: Crazy much?

[Llama_STi]

you sir, are seriously troubled.