Breaking Nintendo Ds News


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Nintendo's Announcement

Brilliant news about the DS:
The official North American release date and price has been revealed. Plus more info.

The Nintendo DS will be released on 21/11/04 in North America at the price point of $149.99. Much lower then expected.

PictoChat will come built-in to the Nintendo DS. Your DS will spring to life out of sleep mode when you recieve a new message with this chat software.

Also Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt will come boxed with every Nintendo DS

Certainly some great news. The inclusion of a boxed game is quite amazing. But my sneaking suspisions are that Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is a purely multiplayer DS game. However this is just my speculation, don't hold me to it.

The European and Australian release is still Q1 2005 and December 2nd for Japan. North America will get the DS before Japan

Important Quotes directly from the Nintendo Press Site:

"Nintendo DS has a flip-top cover that protects both screens. Two speakers on the unit's face let users hear virtual surround sound, while its dual screens open games to a multitude of possibilities. Nintendo DS sits 148.7 millimeters (5.85 inches) wide, 84.7 millimeters (3.33 inches) long and 28.9 millimeters (1.13 inches) tall with the cover closed. The new media format for games means that Nintendo DS has no moving parts that could be misaligned if the unit is dropped or jarred.

"Embedded PictoChat software that allows up to 16 users to chat at once, embedded real-time clock, date, time and alarm, touch-screen calibration"

"Lithium ion battery delivering six to 10 hours of play on a four-hour charge, depending on use"

"The voice capabilities also could allow gamers to chat with one another over the Internet while playing."

Not confirmed news, signs point to being true:

-The Nintendo DS will only be released in one colour scheme (silver & black) at release
-The Nintendo DS will most likely be region-free as the PictoChat software built in is in a variety of different languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian)

-Summary ripped off http://gbatemp.m4d.sm/

$149.99!!! That's £84!!!!
 
That sounds fucking sweet.

Sorry psp but it looks like I'm sold. Ninty's classic fun games are perfect for handhelds imo :). Save the psp jaw dropping rpgs etc for the big tv at home on the ps2 :D.
 
This is amazing news; America before Japan for the DS, and the new GBA Zelda in Europe before anywhere...

I hope this isn't a sign of the Japan market dying though.
 
Damn! Im getting mine the first day its out! Awesome deal!

And this IS going to be back lit, right? Or at least front lit?
 
hm that isnt cheap, and it still sucks :)
why is it releasd in usa first? couse they buy evry shit. japain market is much more complicatet.
what makes a (at release outdatet) handheld worth 150$ while a cube is under 100?
maybe it it would have a nice design it would worth it, but that cheap design holds me far away from that thing. it will also be only portboy2. with crappy blocking pixelised 3d games that the hardware is not realy capable off.
 
Vimacs posted on Sep 21 2004 at 08:00 PM said:
hm that isnt cheap, and it still sucks :)
why is it releasd in usa first? couse they buy evry shit. japain market is much more complicatet.
what makes a (at release outdatet) handheld worth 150$ while a cube is under 100?
maybe it it would have a nice design it would worth it, but that cheap design holds me far away from that thing. it will also be only portboy2. with crappy blocking pixelised 3d games that the hardware is not realy capable off.

Why don't you just stop ranting about the DS? You haven't seen the DS in action now. You actually don't know about how the games are, and how the hardware interacts.
Well, it's not exactly _cheap_ but it's probably worth the money - you get 2 backlit screens (one of them touch screen) and 3d hardware in a handheld. If you consider $150 for such a handheld expensive, why the hell did you buy a GP32 then? There's just one screen without touch functions and there is no 3d hardware built in.
Sorry, no rant about the GP32, but at least you're guaranteed to get at least a few quality commercial games for the DS - in opposition to the GP32, which is only alive because there are hobby developers.
Your statements are very fanboyish.
 
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I'm not sold on either of these new consoles (the DS and PSP).

Now, I suppose I could have been referred to as a fanboy back in the N64 days, but my opinion of Nintendo has been slowly but steadily decaying--especially after purchasing a Dreamcast (by far the greatest videogame console ever). I like the GameCube, but the GBA connectivity was far too heavily touted and it turned out to be merely a gimmick. I can't help but feel that this "Innovative" double screen, touch-screen gaming is just another of Nintendo's gimmicks. The second screen is, in nearly every game I have seen so far, a map or stats or something else that could easily be either left out or fit onto the other screen. I have yet to see an interesting use for these two screens. Had the screens been closer together so they could truly act as one screen, my mind would be different, but I can not see these screens being used as one. Also, touch-screen... I have a Game.Com and the touch-screen was for all intents and purposes worthless. I see no value in the touch-screen... unless of course Nintendo makes a version of Lights Out, like the one on Game.Com. Oh yeah, real exciting... <_<

As for the PSP, I have to admit the idea of a gorgeous next-gen RPG in the palm of my hands is a very alluring thought. However, I can't help but think that the price will be exorbitant and a battery-life reminiscent of the Game Gear...

I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach to these consoles, but I am most certainly skeptical about the DS...
 
You won't, it's a different "line" of handhelds... supposedly Nintendo is going to continue to market the GBA line independently.

Importing from America is very tempting for me. I probably wouldn't use it though.
 
I just want to know if its really region free so when its out I can import 2 of em. 1 for me and my bro to message each other in school when in the same room and play metroid in english lessons :D
 
[/QUOTE]Dual Slots: Nintendo DS makes a vast library of Game Boy® Advance games readily available. Developers could find ways to make new connections between GBA games and DS games. The GBA port could be used for new hardware, enormously expanding the functional expandability of the DS.

From official DS site.
 
I want to try before I buy with a DS. It looks physically crap in my opinion but I will hold further judgement until i get a feel for it. I can wait. How will the stylus work as well? How can you hold it and use a sylus? I dont know. We'll see.

Shinneri, I heard that it's GBA only , not GBC/GC?
 
Me I am not too exited about it but will end up getting one anyway. It seems like a gimmick to me. Why not just make one big touchscreen? You can always have different sections of the screen dedicated for maps etc. Game designers could put the maps, different views, etc anywhere they want through software. With this they are forced to have it take up the whole bottom screen. Meh..

It just seems like a lame attempt at being "different" and doing it just to do it, with few real benefits.
 
DaveC posted on Sep 21 2004 at 06:22 PM said:
Me I am not too exited about it but will end up getting one anyway.  It seems like a gimmick to me.  Why not just make one big touchscreen?  You can always have different sections of the screen dedicated for maps etc. Game designers could put the maps, different views, etc anywhere they want through software.  With this they are forced to have it take up the whole bottom screen.  Meh..

It just seems like a lame attempt at being "different" and doing it just to do it, with few real benefits.

How can we have progress without innovation?

It's better to try and fail then not try at all.
 
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