Nintendo DS Launch

[Wrong Robot]

It's not like the thing has an integrated camera so you can TAKE pictures. It looks like it just has an MS Paint clone.

that'd definitely be neat if it did have a camera!

 

[Samurai]

If you are wireless you can chat with anyone in the world for free. If you don't have it you can just go to starbucks and use their wireless to play 15 of your friends all over the world. Sounds good to me.

 

[DEFELDUS]

"The Nintendo DS will change the future of hand-held gaming. "Dual screens, chat functions, a touch screen, wireless capabilities, voice recognition - these abilities surpass anything attempted before, and consumers will benefit from the creativity and innovation the new features bring to the world of video games." - Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

sounds like a good thing to me. ill pick one up when price drops.

 

[CrazySean]

And I just got Xbox Live today...Anyone else on there? My Friends list is still empty...

I'm on there as cRaZy Sean, of course... but I'm never on.

Sean

 

[DigMe]

that'd definitely be neat if it did have a camera!

I would guess there will be an attachable one at some point.

brad cook

 

[DigMe]

I've seen a bunch of the stuff about the DS that make me not want one. At all.

Everything mentioned in Samurai's post is awesome, and sounds GREAT, but I think the double screens are a gimmick, and not a particularly nifty one. It just means that now you have to take your eyes off the action and refocus them to look at your inventory, map, etc, and it's a screen that's easier to smudge with your hands.

That's it? That's the "bunch of stuff" that makes you not want to buy it?

That's beyond nitpicking. How long does it take you to focus your eyes? It won't be any more trouble than looking at a different part of the screen.

brad cook

 

[Only]

That's it? That's the "bunch of stuff" that makes you not want to buy it?

That's beyond nitpicking. How long does it take you to focus your eyes? It won't be any more trouble than looking at a different part of the screen.

brad cook

Well, the fact that I think it's a stupid gimmick, and I think that if Nintendo focused on the wireless aspects of it and eliminated the screen (and that stupid, STUPID stylus/touch screen idea) they could first off cut the price, and then add enough features into it to make it back up. For example, an integrated camera so i don't have to pay another $50 for an add on. Maybe a few ports for like the corded BG link cable or something. An AC adapter plug maybe, so if I'm playing someone from my house I don't have to worry about the batteries dying.

Also, Voice Recognition? There are only two choices here...The first is to have an integrated mic that can pick up the user's voice from a foot or two away, which will doubtlessly pick up background noise and not work well, or a mic that clips onto your collar or somesuch, requiring you to carry around extra wires and have your toy hooked to your shirt.

The point is, I could think of any of a dozen things I'd rather have than those features, and since those features I hate are the ones being marketed the hardest and therefore will be integral focal points of many games I'm sure, I'll just avoid this system. Nintendo could make an absolutely killer system if they just focused on the wireless rather than trying to engineer enough junk to fill an extra screen.

I think the focusing thing is probably more of an issue for me than for other people, since I'm nearsighted, and have particular trouble with stuff about between one and two feet from my face. That's the point at which my natural eyesight fades and my glasses or contacts start kicking in. Since the screens are at a different angle, it requires a slight refocusing. My eyes jump back and forth between trying to focus on their own and letting the lenses focus for them.

 

[DigMe]

Only,

Oh ok, I see. I have just the thing for you:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It has better games, too.

brad cook

 

[John Deppel]

I think the focusing thing is probably more of an issue for me than for other people, since I'm nearsighted, and have particular trouble with stuff about between one and two feet from my face. That's the point at which my natural eyesight fades and my glasses or contacts start kicking in. Since the screens are at a different angle, it requires a slight refocusing. My eyes jump back and forth between trying to focus on their own and letting the lenses focus for them.

You know, I'm nearsighted too, and when I saw the DS at E3, I had no problems switching between the two screens, with or without my glasses on. I don't see how that could be a problem...

Getting to the DS itself, it is going to totally blow away the PSP. The DS has more game-oriented features (unlike the PSP continual touting of Dolby Digital 7.1 sound...definitely need that for games... ), battery life looks about double the time of the PSP's, and the DS seems like it's gonig to be a little more ergonomic in design, therefore more comfortable to hold for those late-nite gaming binges.

Main Advantages I see with the DS:
1. Nintendo has been in the hand-held business for almost 15 years, so they know it better than anyone.
2. Nintendo is known for terrific first-party games. Top Quality.
3. Backwards compatibility with GBA and GBC games give it a huge library of games at launch (though "original" GB titles will not work).
4. Cartridge based games require less battery power (unlike lasers to read DVD based games) and eliminate the need for memory cards and the like.
5. Nintendo DS, when folded, is smaller than PSP, making it less bulky to carry around.

Main Disadvantages:
1. Nintendo is known to suffer from droughts of third-party support (although not normally the case with the handheld market).
2. Cartridge based games are more costly to make than their DVD counterparts.
3. Sony was the company that unseated Nintendo from #1 home console provider, and may be able to do the same with the PSP.