The question for me isn't the viability of the new DS system. Then again, I still own my Virtual Boy I bought on the first day, and there's a NeoGeo Pocket in my desk drawer still, so my judgement is a bit on the stupid side.

However, my question is about the whole "third pillar" ideal Nintendo seems to be promoting. It's a portable device, yet they don't want to replace the GameBoy. Are people going to be willing to have two portable devices from the same company? Especially in light of the Sony PSP?

Frankly, I'm pretty skeptical. While two screens for seeing stats and maps in a game sound good in theory, hitting the start button to get that information never bothered me before. To me, it just sounds like an expensive gimmick.

I dunno. They thought the Virtual Boy was a good idea.

I'm going to wait for the games before I pass judgement. But it's an interesting idea to say the least. Hopefully the genius designers at Nintendo have come up with some really cool uses for the two screens.

Off the top of my head:
-A Tank game where you can see both what the gunner sees and what the driver sees. On one screen you're careening through the battlefield, on the other you're frantically rotating the turret and popping off rounds.
-A squad based tactical shooter where you can only see what your (two) squad commanders see. You navigate them through tense tight corridors and set up crossfires.
-A standard first person steal/shooter where you have access to mini spy drones that you can send out and use to scout and plan your moves. As you sneak through the level, you can monitor your drone cameras and see what happens.
-An adventure game where the real world and the spirit world overlap. One screen shows you the spirit world and the other shows you the real world. You have to do clever things and solve puzzles that involve poppingf back and forth between them.
-Any tactical turn based combat game that involves a lot of stats. Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance both involve a lot of cycling through menus. How much better would it be if that information was available immediatly? A lot better. I spend a lot of time in Fire Emblem wishing that I had better access to information.
-A adventure game where you control two characters simultaenously. Genuinely simultaneously. And they can move independently.
-All of the applications of the GBA/GCN connectivity (except for PacMan Vs, I guess).

I assume its lameness until Nintendo can actually announce a cool use of the screens. At best I can only think of an incredibly rapid Wario Ware, and co-op games that benefit from each player knowing where the other is and what they're doing, without forcing them to stay on the same screen.

There are too many remaining questions on this device to make me pass a ton of judgement. It also important to keep in mind third-party developers still aren't raking it in on the catridge based GBA platform so it will be interesting to see how much play Nintendo gets on this device from third-party developers.

As for the two screen thing - I would say it could be very cool and I applaud Nintendo for doing something out-of-the-box like this. It's not virtual-boy by any means and anyone who's had two monitors for their PC knows how different it just feels let alone works to have.

My hopes are this is a very cool playing device and the gameplay it can create is very new and refreshing. I think if it does that then it can have a nice lifetime. Don't also underestimate the power of key franchises like Pokemon to create big things here although I agree with the comment above that how this fits with the GBA and GC and works from a product positioning standpoint is going to be very interesting.

The good thing is we only have a few months for the details to come out fully to a point we can more decidely pass judgement.

- Ben

While I'm all for multi-screen gaming, I worry that it's going to be like the "camera buttons" or "camera stick" of the past systems (Virtua Boy was already mentioned).

It seems that Miyamoto comes up with a hardware idea for one game and it's forced with a shoe-horn into the rest of Nintendo's lineup.

Also, I'm a bit worried that they're coming out with too many portable systems too fast. This will be what, three portable systems in six years? They're about to shoot themselves in the foot.

I think it's great even if it doesn't get anywhere. I could care less about profits and sales, I'm a consumer. :) I want to be dazzled with innovation not stock reports. I'm more interested in people who take chances and fail than those who don't and succeed like everyone else.

Immediately after I heard about it, ideas started popping in my head. Anything like that, successful or not, is good for creative artforms. Whether or not it'll stand against other portable devices, I don't think anyone has heard enough but PSP or DS to say. Brand names and gimicks only get so far.

Think back people, a two screen portable gaming device from Nintendo? Now there flies an old hat, landing on the dust of ages. I owned such a device 20 years ago. Mario and Luigi were busy loading trucks with boxes running wild on several conveyor belts. With Mario on one side of the belts and Luigi on the other, catching the boxes before they fell and lifting them up to the next belt was a eye-crossing load of fun. Left, right, left, right, left your eyes went, always in a hurry to keep up with your fingers pushing the little buttons below the screens.
When closed, both screens safe on the inside, it looked quite a bit like my GBA SP does, now that I think of it.

Sure, we’re talking black on gray LCD displays here with all moving elements ‘printed’ into them, but even back then the concept fascinated me.
I even had a similar device once which featured three widescreens on top of each other, though that seemed like a step to far. Two screens like in two eyes and two hands seems just ideal.

Well, as I own every Gameboy ever released I will no doubt continue the series and enjoy the new ‘double feature’ just as much as all my previous precious little gaming gadgets.

And WHY does the scene need large screens instead of a Game&Watch 2000 clone? Becuase in the days of G&W, the average user was a pre-teen, an early teen at best. Nowadays, mobile gaming is more acceptable, the gamer can be much older and he is used to goodlooking games on the TV or even better on a PC monitor at close range. That means he expects a large screen image. Fill my eyes! The PSP will deliver that , the .....you name it... will not.

What the gaming scene needs is not a 2-screen device, but a device with a LARGE mutha of a screen - think PSP. Sony is cheering right now, they now their PSP will wipe the floor with this one.

So you're sitting on the bus, bored, crammed in there like sardines, with a million other people. You pull out your gameboy SP and it's like instant suprenerd magnet. You're on the bus. You don't want to talk about what game you are playing with the smelly kid beside you, and you REALLY dont want him looking over your shoulder and giving advice.
Now imagine the screen is BIGGER and harder to hide.

The idea behind the portable game systems is not only can you put them in your pocket, but only you see what's going on, it's private.

Additionally, how would you port about a larger screen?

Maybe if it was all spaceage and u could fold it like paper....

;)

Toejam and Earl
Adventures of Cookie & Cream

Toejam and Earl
Adventures of Cookie & Cream

I don't understand the assumptions that every gaming machine is in direct competition with another. Gaming is becoming saturated to the point where you can have machines with "game related functions" not actually competing with each other for mind-share or market-share -- instead, having games is just another feature.

Everyone seems to be of the mindset that the DS is meant to compete with the PSP. Which is silly to me as they are obviously completely different in focus and function. If Sony can make high-end do-everything cellphones, without worrying about it undermining their camera or gaming or portable music divisions; why can't Nintendo have different gaming devices for different functions?

If there is room for Sony to establish a niche with its MiniDisc format, in a sea of portable discmans and hard-drive mp3 players and flash-memory mp3 players and portable radios and other audio format players; why can't there be room for, obviously, niche gaming devices? Gaming is becoming ubiquitous, just like digital music.

And hey:
Phillips has a CD player coming out that has embeded java games
does that immediately put it into competition with the PSP?

Two screens. Really. Why, I must ask, don't they just make a BIGGER SCREEN? They have a name for such things -- they call it a "widescreen".

Two screens is not clever, it's not impressive. If they want to impress me, they should project the images onto glasses you wear, and give you two golf-ball sized wireless controllers so you can play discreetly -- even with your hands in your pockets. The technology exists - they just need to get with it.

I think what's important to remember is that we know fuck all about this, apart from that it has two screens and that they will be in a vertical configuration.
That's it.
There's more to it, I'm sure of that. Give it some time.
I think Nintendo just wanted to get the news out in the open, before rumours started spreading about this and that Megaton and hats and penguins with trampolining snowboards or whatever.

This would be the third portable we've "had" to buy from Nintendo.

I don't really care how awesome it will or won't be, it's a rip off. Hello Sony PSP!

I'm writing this on a PC configuration that has 3--count 'em--3 monitors hooked up to a single computer. That's after about 2 years of working with dual-screen configurations.

You can never have enough screen real estate. So I understand what they're trying to do; frankly, it's a no-brainer, given that every game since the original Zelda has had a "sub-screen" of some kind or another.

That said, yes, this could easily be another "Virtual Boy" disaster.

I've given Nintendo the benefit of the doubt before, and I'm going to do it again. Hey, Apple decided to release a computer without a floppy drive, and it didn't change the whole universe. But Apple started releasing computers that weren't "beige boxes" and now we have PC cases made of exotic metals and gemstones. Win some, lose some.

All I'm saying is that the IDEA is sound.

'Two screens. Really. Why, I must ask, don't they just make a BIGGER SCREEN? They have a name for such things -- they call it a "widescreen".'

Agreed. Then if a developer wanted two separate displays, they could just utilize a split screen.

'Two screens is not clever, it's not impressive. If they want to impress me, they should project the images onto glasses you wear, and give you two golf-ball sized wireless controllers so you can play discreetly -- even with your hands in your pockets. The technology exists - they just need to get with it.'

I don't know about you, but I'd rather be seen as a guy playing a gameboy, than as a guy wearing funny glasses and moving his hands in his pockets while staring at nothing. :D

3rd portable that we HAD to buy? Have you no patience? I skipped over the GBA and waited for the SP. Games are cheaper when you wait. Hardware is usually either cheaper OR better when you wait. We don't HAVE to buy this. It's a WANT not a NEED.

And yes, I'm a gamer. I just have enough common sense to wait a bit and see how things go before I pick stuff up - less money wasted=more enjoyment.

The problem with a widescreen is that it structurally deconventionalizes whatever aims Nintendo has in evolving gameplay. A widescreen makes normal games with a widescreen view the convention, and developers will immediately ignore the creative prospects of split screens (incidentally, the word is that the screens are aligned vertically, not horizontally). The physical and technological split acts as a kind of filter for design approaches.

Perhaps we really aren't thinking wide enough here folks. 2 screens, 2 processors. What is it that we could have 2 of to make a concept like this really work? 2 players, along with 2 sets of controls. This way, you could have el-neato 2 player games (ala 4 Swords) and only have 1 cart, and 1 machine. The top screen could be flipped (software) and it could be really neat.

I've gotta go with the "maybe" sayers here. I fully admit to being a portable gaming afficionado, (seems to be the only time I get in gaming these days is on the go...), and I've more Game Boys lying around than I'd care to admit. And in so far as this DS goes, I've got to wait and see. We've nothing in so far as designs or real world specs about the machine. Throw whatever numbers about giga-this and mega-that at me, I could care less; give me a real world reference and I'll make a real decision. Just as with the GBA - Mega-whoonow in the Hertzy-gibnub? Ah, power of a SNES in a handheld. Ok - I'm game.
Time will tell with this one.

And say what you want about the crummy press release and piss-poor information being given to us - It's got us talking, hasn't it?

First of all, it seems Nintendo has a sadistic sense of humor. They like toying with our minds. I'm not saying this is not real, just the opposite in fact, it's just that they probably find seeing everyone throw a hissy-fit over a miniscule and vague announcement just as amusing as I do. It's too early in the game to make any real judgements on the DS. It could turn out to be an ill-conceived, awkward device that causes blood vessels in one's head to explode from over-stimulation, just as easily as it could rock gamers' socks off. The basic premise of the system sounds promising, but seems that it will be a very difficult task to pull off successfully. There's a lot of room for them to screw this up, I'm just hoping they know what they're doing. This is going to sound more than a bit cliche, but even a broken clock is right twice a day [unless broken means said clock doesn't have hands, has been smashed into unrecognizable bits of scrap or has been melted into a puddle of hetergeneous slag]. With so much information concerning the DS up in the air, Nintendo could still pull the proverbial rabbit out of their collective asses.

One other complaint I have [this doesn't just apply to Nintendo], is the way everyone seems to be into using acronyms in naming things, such as the Gameboy SP; the billion and two products with XP in their name; models of cars such as WRX and H2, as well as different versions of most cars [luxury/power upgrades and such] with names like LS, LX, etc.; you get the idea. Nintendo needs a good, original, non-cliche name [X-Box, please, enough with the corny X already] like Bad Mutha..., Chipmunk Edition Blood-Crazy Killbot, SeizureToy or Spanktron.

Maybe Nintendo will go the politically correct route, as well as stick to tradition, and name it the AndrogenousGamePerson Improved XUGJUFBXYTHECVMSAFCGVLLVIEWOSDCBJ. They could try for a more risque effect and title the DS the Interactive PleasureToy.

So quick to jump to the side of PSP, besides an prototype shot of the device, nothing much has really been said about it either. Everything is still speculation. On top of this, the PSP will run more cost wise then a console...I dunno, but that's enough to get me off the boat. I like portable gaming, but not enough to drop 300 for a system and probably 50 bucks a game. If Nintendo keeps the price range of the DS in the 100-125 or so range and even drops the price of GBA SP a bit, they have a formula to wipe the floor with PSP.

Based off the only technical info received, the DS will have 1 Gigabit of RAM supposedly, which translates into 128 mb of RAM. That's great for a handheld system so the graphics for the DS are sure to be stunning. Course, again, this is all just speculation. Everyone is gonna have to wait for E3 to get real answers on both the PSP and DS.

"Perhaps we really aren't thinking wide enough here folks. 2 screens, 2 processors."

I agree. Much more intriguing than 2 screens is the idea of 2 processors (one being a GBA processor). This opens up the possibility not only for split perspectives and information management, but also for two simultaneous independent interrelated gamestates.

Also interesting is the game media itself which has twice the storage capacity of an N64 cart, read/write capability, and no load times.

The hardware certainly allows for the possibility of some very new and innovative designs, but it also runs the risk of just being used as a gimmick. I'd suspect that Nintendo has some solid first party titles planned, but will third party support follow?

...Cautiously optimistic.

Regardless of of how the DS turns out, I will buy it and rave about it, all the while scorning the Sony PSP so I can have a reason to argue with my friends.

A year after the release of the DS, Nintendo will release a new version of the hardware with several new letters tacked on to the end of the title. This version will be more suitable for fitting in all but the tiniest of pockets, function as a heart rate monitor and vibrator, communicate with household pets and appliances, and not kill the gamer with lethal doses of radiation or a barrage of tetraodotoxin tipped darts. I will, and here I am NOT joking, then forget about feeding myself, and spend my hard-earned money on this newest technological marvel put forth by a sadistic company to which I am a loyal fanboy [if I am still alive].

The DS's main problem now isn't bad software, a new type of gameplay, or even fighting the PSP. Right now, the DS is facing really, really bad press. The majority of the press reaction I've read has ranged from 'eh' to a concerned 'why?' There seems to be very little support over a 'maybe it'll be okay' on the device.

Recently, another device was released with the same press support: the N-Gage.

The difference is that the press pulled out support after seeing it was a sub-par gaming machine engineered to be as infuriating as possible. Meanwhile the DS has received nearly the same bad press simply because it has two-screens and isn't the new Game Boy.

I say, let's pull back a bit and wait till E3. Bash the thing then, call it the Virtual Boy 2 then. But let's not kill the system before we even see it's face.

I don't know about any of you guys, but I just see this as an intresting out of the box venture. I've always been loyal to nintendo and so many of it's ventures, good and bad, so there's no doubt I stick through with this one as well. Personally, I'm imagining two screens on a swivel base, maybe plastic arms or something, that allows them to be moved about and adjusted as needed, they could even be seamless, so you canlock them together into a single wide screen? God knows that at least 90% of that's never coming to fruition, but still, it would be cool, ne? Even without the swiveling and the locking together there's plenty of possibilities.
As for the PSP, the high production value sounds nice, but I might just wait on it. Their estimating a 400 dollar price tag (or at least last I heard) and I'm far to poor to dish out that much at any one time.
One criticism to those before me though, just because this looks like it might be a mistake, doesn't mean you should be mad at it (unless you're a Nintendo exec) Plenty of you seem sold on the PSP anyway. I hope i's a resounding sucess and adds no depth to the video game field. I wish for the day when video games become excepted as an art form and technology is so cheap an accessible that any third party developer with a good idea can try something new in the gaming world.

Just randomly turning in here from PA, I'd like to add in that this is and always will be a fucking stupid idea for a site. THX.

I'm no nintendo fan-boy. I have aonly bought a system after for or five must plays have come out for that system. That said, I own a gamecube, an N-64, a PS1, super nintendo, nes, and a GBASP. I have seen no rason to buy a x-box or PS2 as not enough games have come out that I was interested in. I have higher hopes for this system than PSP. Sony never has good self-developed games, also they are beginning thier first portable so they are bound to have some problems with the design and initial games. If this sounds familiar than look up the N-gage...
The DS on the other hand has one huge bonus. The most experienced developers and the god-father of gaming. I am looking forward to E3.

Here's the only thing I don't get: why two screens? Why not just one bigger one that can show the extra data? Let the developers decide.. although perhaps having single screen will make developers just use the bigger screen in the same way as the smaller ones?

I still think a bigger screen *and a successor to the GBA* would have been a better idea.

@AtLarge:

"Sony never has good self-developed games, also they are beginning thier first portable so they are bound to have some problems with the design and initial games"

You know this Sony critique has truly gotten old. How many problems did they have with the PS1? They didn't seem to have all that many did they? Who cares about 1st party development as long as they catter to the developers and design a good machine.

Also keep in mind Sony is one of the kings in portable/cool small devices... they know what they are doing far more than some other names I can think of.

I think there's 2 screens so it can fold up, game-n-watch style, with 1 screen on each side of the hinge. Otherwise, the idea is pretty much just 100% gimmick.

REPEATING my earlier quote:

The problem with a widescreen is that it structurally deconventionalizes whatever aims Nintendo has in evolving gameplay. A widescreen makes normal games with a widescreen view the convention, and developers will immediately ignore the creative prospects of split screens (incidentally, the word is that the screens are aligned vertically, not horizontally). The physical and technological split acts as a kind of filter for design approaches.

I don't know if Nintendo noticed, but screens can infact divide themselves. This is just bizzare.

2 screens, two processors, morons.

OMG JUST SPLIT TEH SCREEN IM A DUMMY

this system has possibilities just like all systems do. I highly doubt that developers will use it as a two player machine, and having controls made to control two areas of intensive action seems kind of ridiculous as well as being overwhelming to most gamers. The only idea I saw in the press release was the ability to have two different perspectives on the action. As for the PSP, Sony states that they're trying to make it a reasonable price (a $200 price tag wouldn't surprise me though) and sony doesn't need to be able to develope in house like Nintendo does, they have all the third party support they could want. I'm more liable to save up for a PSP, knowing that quality developers like Konami and Sqare Enix will be making incredible games on it, than I am to see what games Miyamotto can make on the DS. Just my two cents.

Having two screens instead of just one widescreen helps keep this device portable. Since we aren't into the future of foldable screens yet, having them seperate (and presumably on some sort of hinge or swivel) allows the system to fold up like the GBA SP, and will keep it pocket sized.

I've not seen anyone mention this so I thouht I should - It's a portable version of a connected GBA > GC. They must really like the idea, and have found a way to make it more palatable to the general consumer. It's not so much a new idea as it is a tweaking of an old one. Now, will the GB SP work with the connector? Hmmm

For starters, all we know about the system is that it has two screens. That's hardly enough to condemn it. Sure, you could use a split screen, but maybe for nintendo's purposes this will be easier. Just because you can't think of a use for it does not mean their isn't one. Take a game like Metroid for example. It would solve the problem of endlessly pressing a button to view the map, change equipment, etc. All of that would be right below you, needing you to only glance down for a second to see what you need and not have to stop the game.

Why can't people at least wait to see what the system specs are, then make a more informed decision. The comparisons between the PSP and DS are ridiculous. It has already been stated that the DS will not be a replacement for the GBA SP. There will be a new GBA replacement and that will be the main portable system running against the PSP. But none of this really matters right now because we know little to nothing on any of these systems. I personally hope Nintendo pulls this off, I would love to see some inovation in gaming hardware, not just faster is better.

So, the big problem to most is the two screens, but this type of gameplay, a type that asks for you to focus on two different things at the same time, is nothing new now. It would be easy to say that the concept of dual-tasking, much like walking and talking at the same time, is a growing format for Nintendo.

If you've noticed, a few of their new games put heavy emphasis on co-op play/using two or more characters, and that's not just coming from Nintendo, either. It seems like designers have thrown around the idea that after three dimensions, then improved graphics to 3d gameplay, they should try focusing on gameplay again and try ideas that force gamers' own minds into a new dimension, or at least throw one idea to the side and hope it works without hindering the rest of their business, but that's the kind of risk that makes things big.

I'm actually only basing this on a handful of games, but I can see it's starting up now. Mario & Luigi, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Sonic Heroes (That idea was actually a flop, but it says a thing about what some designers are thinking), and then there's that widely-anticipated Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicals, in which multiplayer will mean owning a GCN-GBA cable and thus two screens once again. It's an eye-opening concept (At least enough to stir up consumers into arguing over whether it's good or not and make people try it out), and I wouldn't be surprised if third party games, possibly even licensed third party games, would see this as an oppurtunity to do something their competitors aren't doing just yet and have a potential jump for a moment in time. And hey, at least Miyamoto must have a thing or two in mind, meaning he'll try to make something good to fill it, as long as it's not something like Pikmin: DS..

And the single screen idea? The potential loss of portability in two screens? You're all arguing about two things that try to kill each other, and I don't mean the screens. Two screens is a clever new way to have still more visibility to games and still be able to fold up, ideally the same way a wallet does.

So that's two cents more for this mental gaming piggy bank.

Well to be fair, Konami and Namco have both given their two cents on the device and Konami seems delighted. Square-Enix are on the gba dn doing amazingly well. Remember. Sony is king of thrid parties on consoles. In the handheld market, Nintendo reigns, thus third parties are in their kingdom, and Sony will have to try and lure them away, from the solid install base of the GBA sp as well as the newly announced DS.

I really dont think the PSP will be enough t put a chink in Nintendo's armor, unless its sold at a VERY reasonable price (no higher than 150 USD)

Why is everybody calling the DS the next Virtual Boy? The VB was an awesome idea, but it didn't pan out. It was too bulky to be portable, and the graphics were not good enough to make the kind of games Nintendo had planned for it. The DS on the other hand, has the potential to be as, or almost as portable as the gba, with the innovation that would work and better RPG's, FPS's, Adventure games, sports games- most conventional genres of today, and possibly some whole new genres that this new system could enable. PSP, from what Sony has said, will be a high-priced, supercharged GBA. Sure, it will be a good system, but as a fourteen year old taking 5 honors courses, I'd much rather spend my free time playing something more innovative, not to mention (in all probability) cheaper. I don't have $300-400 to spend on a single system! And I'd much rather buy a Nintendo system, because I know I can count on several excellent games, where as I have very few Sony-specific games that I like. And the company that makes most of those are now developing for Nintendo again anyway...
My point is that the big N knows what it's doing for the most part, and can surely pull this one off if anyone could. Give the DS a chance, at least until E3

The thing that worries me is that they're calling this a THIRD SYSTEM. I mean who wants another line of systems from the same people? You have (1) Home entertainment gaming systems and (2) Portable, handheld gaming systems. Why on earth would you want two DIFFERENT handhelds from the same company?

Sure, I could see them adding a second screen for a future GB, but what's the real point? It's just a bigger viewing area. Developers can CODE one screen to essentially interface like two... why would a system NEED to make it a given? Furthermore, if they felt that they need to produce such a product, why continue producing their other handhelds? I mean, I'm sure that developers could just as easily omit the use of the second screen. Essentially, certain games would play just like on a GB if the developers wanted them to. This product would make the GB redundant.

Either replace GB with a two-screen system or give it a bigger screen. Best case scenario: create a second-screen peripheral for GBA or its successor. Don't tell me I hafta buy this new (undoubtedly more expensive) system if I want to play what the cool kids are playing.

Call me crazy, but I've been thinking about this for a long time. The people who run Nintendo aren't stupid. We laugh at their bad business decisions, scoff at seemingly random press releases, offbeat advertising and lack of RPGs, but the fact remains that they're canny, clever businessmen and women that have been pushing the gaming envelope for nigh on 3 decades.

That said, I've had this inkling running around in the back of my mind for years and years now that they were cooking up something over there in Japan. Something crazy new. Anyone remember the VR craze? Everything was going to be VR, it was going to revolutionize computing in general and gaming in specific. Then it panned out. Why? Technology wasn't there yet. Too expensive, and crappy looking. And delivery was a problem. However, what do you need for a good VR system? First, a headset, with two high-quality lit screens with good resolution. Second, massive processing power and memory. Third, a machine able to interact with that headset and run the game at a reliable framerate. Fourth, an interface to the system.

Now, look at Nintendo releases over the past few years. Clever, granted, but never the huge revolution we were all waiting for. The Virtual Boy was cute, but flawed. N64 was a good system, but a work in progress. Remember the wacky controllers with the seemingly needless camera buttons? GameBoy Color, then GBA, then GBA SP, all moving towards smaller, higher quality, colored and lit screens. GameCube, great system, huge emphasis (seemingly misplaced) on interaction between the GBA and the system, improved controller for 3D movement with better camera control.

Now, out of the blue, we have a system which sports two screens with independent processors and huge memory capabilities for communication. Like I said, call me crazy, but I can't help but feel like all these products are technological offshoots of one main research program, centered on an affordable VR home console. Maybe I'm giving Nintendo way too much credit, maybe I'm completely off my rocker, but there it is. And wouldn't it kick ass.

Toons: Yes, I'm aware there are two processors. Why you would want two of them, and why you would arbitrarily assign each one its own screen is beyond me.

I'm consistently baffled by the sports team mentality people have for products. It's one thing to be opinionated and have tastes but many times I come across discussions where I feel as though people are simply picking a side then cheering for it. I'm not saying this to argue or anything, it's simply something that confuses me quite a bit. I feel as though I really must be missing something.

Then again, maybe it just has to do with my wide range of tastes for games. I don't care if it comes in the form of a arcade machine, old school console, next gen console, portable device, desktop computer, scientific calculator, cellphone, webpage, 2D, 3D, wireframe, cell shaded, portable device, 1 screen, 2 screens, big, small, fast, slow, etcetera. It's all the same to me. Better technology makes more room for new ideas, but lesser technology still has plenty of room for creativity.

Am I alone on this or mistaken about this? I'm very confused.

Nintendo has this habit of making me want to hate them. I don't know why. I used to be a SEGA fan then switched to the N64 after the 8 and 16 bit eras and kept with Nintendo since then.
But I've seen ideas and things come and go in my 20 years and I can't decide if the DS is going to be cool or going to make me buy Sony shares. It's kind of like Nintendo wants to go out of business. "Well we've been around for a while now. Let's go bankrupt!"
But the DS could be very cool. It could be the machine that invigorates the gaming industry. Or it could fail dismaly. People have said that perhaps Nintendo should have just shut up and kept this to themselves until E3. I'd put smart money on wanting to scare the hell out of Sony.

Not being funny, but two screens is good and all that. But other than displaying stats or menus, i cant see any real use for it.

Unless you wanted a two player option, in which case we have that already.

I mean, anyone ever tried to concerntrate on two screens at once when something as frantic as Zelda or a game that isn't an RPG/SRPG?

Its just not that easy to do, and hardly seems worth all this fuss.

Why isn't anyone talking about the possible mulitplayer uses? I remember the gamegear had a Micromachines racing game which allowed two people to play on one gamegear. It was fun but both of you had to stay on the same screen so sometimes it was hard to see. Why not play two people on one system, each with their own screen?

"Additionally, how would you port about a larger screen?

Maybe if it was all spaceage and u could fold it like paper...."

You could easily fit it in if the system was shaped like a normal GBA with a second flip up screen atached a la SP. That would even protect both screens.

[in memory of Nintendo, 3 days after its suicide]
Nintendo, WHAT THE HOLY FUCKING HELL WERE YOU NOT FUCKING THINKING?! Jesus Christ. First there was the Gaymecube's controller, or as I like to call it, "3 cubic inches of pain." Then they go and royally piss people off with the GBA SP. I'm not even going into the internet-unfriendliness of the 'cube, that's maybe the worst part of it all. Why not just say, "We're dead. Accept it and move on?" Now we have something I want to believe in so bad, but causes me to have virtual boy flashbacks. Nintendo, you killed yourself today. Farewell.

earlier, someone mentioned the gameboy ds/ngage connection. products that seeem to be goofy as far as a technical need by consumers, and with a press release of "eh" and "why?"

i dont know about you guys personally, but when i heard "nintendo will be releasing info on a new secret handheld device, that's not meant to compete with standard gameboy" i was HOPING that nintedo would be releasing their own gameboy/cell phone product. an ngage done RIGHT, with all sorts of compatability with previous gameboy games, and with the same style connectivity to the cube.. but with an added cell phone, and packed into the same tiny package as the sp.

now THAT would be somthing im interested in

Do you not recall the patents registered for wireless video and voice communication?

Yea, think about that.

Oooh, two screens... not!
Why, oh why, wouldnt they make one big screen so developers could decide what they want to do, but now instead they force developers to make some trivial use for the second screen.
Ok, maybe some can think of a really clever use of it, but I bet most like 80% wont, just use it for inventory or something like that.
Thats just plain stupid thinking again from nintendo.

stick it up ur arse nintendo will wipe it big time.....

Well, if you all hate new hardware so much, buy a Neo Geo...

"Well, if you all hate new hardware so much, buy a Neo Geo..."

Wow, you say that like it's a bad thing.... [Goes to play Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves]

It seems to me the wait and see philosophy is best on this one. I see it more as Nintendo test marketing their new hardware before releasing a widescreen and updated SP. I mean the games are going to hold 8 times (in theory) what current GBA games hold. Though looking at the design I wish they would have done in horizontal rather than vertical. Or maybe made it so you could swivel the screen from vertical to horizontal for some games. Most cultures after all read right to left rather than up to down.

So much to reply to since my last post...

Let's see. As I read the new posts, I had some thoughts. Someone seemed to be of the mind that Nintendo almost invented lit screens in portable when they released the GBA SP. Don't forget about the Game Gear, or the Nomad. Both were portal systems with lit screens.

There's been some good ideas about the use of the 2nd screen. Since I personally like RPG's, I wouldn't mind having stats and menus available on one screen while the action continues on another. This could cut down on the number of hours invested in these games, especially since so much time is spent changing something or other in the menus. Having one screen for sports games showing the entire field while another is zoomed in on the character you control is great too. I also liked the idea with Metroid style games having the map on the 2nd screen all the time. Especially for games that show hidden walls on the map when you may otherwise miss it.

The concept that this could lead toward VR devices is nice too - good call on that one. I never think that far ahead, so it's nice to see that someone else does :)

I'm not so found of devices like the N-Gage, but that's because I don't have a cell phone, and see no need for it. I don't like to waste money on things I don't use though...

As far as the PSP goes-I don't think it will work well unless Sony can get it down to that magical $100 to *cringe* $125 price range. Honestly, portables should never cost more than $100. You shouldn't have to spend as much money on a portable as you do on a home-based device. It makes you feel cheated most times.

Someone mentioned that Nintendo has more games (or was it more quality games) than Sony. I disagree. It depends on the type of game you like to play, or what games you like in general. I agree with the person who buys their systems based on the games they want to play, which is what I do also. Right now, I have a GC and a PS2, but not an XBox. I see no reason for the 3rd, because there's nothing I want to play on it. The other 2 - well, the GC is for Zelda (of course) and party games like Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Mario Party. If an RPG other than Zelda came out for it great. Otherwise, I prefer my games on the PS2 because I like the controller better, and the PS2 has more games that I want to play. I couldn't care less who makes a game as long as it's good.

Support who and what you will - I choose to support the companies that make what I want. If the DS turns out to be a system that has games I want to play, and I can afford the system and games, I'll buy it.

Consumers laughed the Nintendo Powerpad into oblivion. 10+ years later, every arcade has Dance Dance Revolution. Yep, "just plain stupid thinking again from nintendo". When will they learn?

The inovation is not just having two screens, but in control methods.

Obviously, the second screen will be touch sensitive like a Palm screen. This will allow games to have a real-time changing control system - especially cool for role-playing games with complex menus and the like.

If you read closely Nintendo not only touts the innovation of 2 screens, they also say that they can be used as ONE BIG SCREEN. I read a few comments above that advised JUST THAT. Holy crap! Nintendo one step ahead of the curve again.

PSP? Give me a break. Give me many breaks in fact. Moving parts = fragile. Ask the people who bought the "portable" zip disk drives, only to have them break in 6 months. And the discs have to spin? Say good-bye to battery life.

Remember Nintendo is in the black. Sony is cutting its workforce. The XBOX is taking a huge chunk of Microsoft's Windows and Office profit just to keep it afloat. Don't think the only company who is making money off its consoles is dead even if the DS doesn't pan out.

I tried to write a short GGA comment/response to the common criticisms of the DS I saw online. It clocked in at nearly 5,000 words, so I posted it instead.

OOhhh, I for one can't wait to get my grubby lil paws on this new Nintendo device. I'm an absolute Nintendophile and am proud of it! Personally I think this will bring a whole new and exciting element to things (if implemented properly, as with most things).

What annoys me (in a cool kinda way) is that whenever I think "Gosh it would be great if...", that idea gets implemented soon afterwards.

This happened with X-Wing when I thought "It would be great if we could play as the Empire". A few weeks later TIE-Fighter was announced.

It also happened with GTA Vice City when I thought "It would be funny if they emulated a Commodore on the start-up screen"...2 days later I bought GTA Vice City and saw this.

Just a few days prior to this news I said to work colleagues "It would be great if they implemented dual-screens more in gaming". Lo and behold, Nintendo have delivered (or will deliver as the tense may be)

If this trend continues I'm thinking my next trick will be "It would be great if there was a game that syphoned copious amounts of cash into my personal bank account"

Dais... you're a moron. Sorry, just had to say that you make all PA fans look like retards. Thanks for your time.

As for two screens: Fantastic. Anybody with a dual-monitor setup on their PC can tell you how spiffy it is. Extra information, ready-to-use menus, and five hundred other applications us mere mortals haven't thought of. It's too early to place any bets, but a two-player portable sounds pretty promising. After all, Nintendo developed Warioware. The only portable game I've ever seen where two players can use the same device. Why not take the next step? Sounds like an adventure to me!

Also, I love Draigon's comment about the Powerpad. Maybe Nintendo got their timing a little better this time.

My main concern is that developers won't implement the new abilities of the upcoming DS to it's full capacity, thus ensuring the great concept is pushed off the market into obscurity :/

I'm especially amused by the comments about Nintendo trying to commit corporate suicide and voluntarily throwing themselves into bankruptcy. I realize that you're being trite, but it should be noted that Nintendo, being a large company, doesn't do anything without analyzing the market and its demands. I guarantee that the Virtual Boy went through several focus groups and was deemed an acceptable risk as a new product. If it were anything else, we'd never have seen it. This new device will be the same - if they're releasing it, then they're relatively sure that SOMEONE out there wants/needs it.

Two more cents.

ok ok ok We all know about the 2 screens lets talk about the graphics. do u think it will have better graphics than the gba? personally im not even impressed with the graphics on the gba. have u seen the Tapwave Zodiac portable game system? it has twice as big of a screen and its backlit and its about the same size as a gba, but even better, this thing has 128 bits!! thats insane.

ok back to the nintendo ds or NDS. i like the idea and all but how exactly do they expect to put all that software, both the screens, and have good graphics, and make it small and portable, and the most important COMFORTABLE!! the GBA SP is the most uncomfortable thing i have ever held. it will cramp your hands after one minute. people with big hands really have a hard time with it. why dont they just make a portable system with a controller with a screen sticking out of it. Man would that be nice!!

Ok and also let talk price! i dont want to spend a fortune on this and i dont want to wait for the price to fall. i hate doing that.

over all i think its a great idea but i just dont see how it will all work. oh well, i guess we'll all just have to wait till May to find out what this thing really is when they reveal it finally.

OK. This is just plain wierd. We're all sittin around at our computers staring endlessly and waiting for new news on a device that no ones even looked once at execpt for on the hardware team. Hell we don't even know if it really is vert screen and the fact that by looking at some kids post up we're now starting to build up strategies for vert screens is just plain sad. Personally I dont think they'll be able to pull off a vert 3 inch screens. ( and yes i happen to KNOW its 3 in. ) over all it looks like PSP might be nothing more than an upgraded N-Gage (for all those who know what that is) but I want to be more helpful than to sit around pissing my pants saying to wait and I'm going to tell you that www.mercurynews.com happens to have -- get this-- a USEFUL artical on the DS ::: shock shock:::

jpb ppyt psycholog zdrowa żywność nieruchomości projektowanie stron agencja reklamowa soczewki kontaktowe nauka angielskiego agroturystyka opony klimatyzacja domy opieki akupunktura hydraulik projektowanie wnętrz soha jpk paa ki wypadki tfrd jh sw jft pp fdr

Posted by: outsider on April 11, 2006 08:27 AM