Tendo City

From IGN:

Quote:July 28, 2004 - Nintendo this morning revealed that the Nintendo DS, the company's upcoming dual-screen handheld system set for release at the end of this year in the US and Japan, will retain the codename as its official name. The company also revealed the system's newer design that's been sleeked up since its debut at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo two months ago.

The retooled Nintendo DS features a thinner, black base and an angular platinum flip-top cover. The face buttons and shoulder buttons are larger, and some have been reconfigured for optimum use. The unit includes a new storage slot for the touch screen's stylus, and the speakers now broadcast in stereo sound, with or without headphones.

Software companies worldwide have more than 120 Nintendo DS games in development. Nintendo alone is developing more than 20 titles, and in excess of 100 companies have signed on to create games for the new system. The company is expected to announce the launch date, price, and game line-up in the near future.

"The Nintendo DS will change the future of hand-held gaming," says Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. "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."

-- Craig Harris

Haha, I love it how when it the was first announced and during this year's E3, Nintendo was quick to say that the DS wouldn't be the final name. :D

This looks much nicer than before. Very sleek now.

For comparison's sake, here's the old version of the DS. Quite a difference, eh?



I'm dissapointed that there's no analog pad like the PSP, as part of me was still hoping that Nintendo would add it to the final design. I wonder how Mario 64 is going to work with an SNES control setup. :hmm: And I'm not sure I like the power button being so close to the dpad.

Picture's a bit large... :)

Yeah, that is a huge advance over the one at E3. Much, much better looking... great!

The only flaws I can think of are the lack of analog and how it seems like it'll only support GBA games, not GB or GBC.

The new design does look a lot better. Very sleek and sexy!

Quote:includes a new storage slot for the touch screen's stylus

That was one of the things I was worried about since the E3 version didn't seem to have one.

Quote:Nintendo was quick to say that the DS wouldn't be the final name.

Nintendo Dev. #1: I know we said that "DS" wouldn't be the final name but...I can't think of anything better than that.

Nintendo Dev. #2: Let's just call it that then.

Nintendo Dev. #1: Okay.

Quote:and the speakers now broadcast in stereo sound

That's going to make a lot of people happy, I think.

I like the button layout on this version better than the one at E3. On the E3 version they looked kind of flat, but on this version they looked like they've been raised up a bit as well the Select/Start buttons appear easier to use. Also, the D-Pad looks better too.

Yeah, it does look like they raised the d-pad and buttons. Good move, I agree that they looked flat... and I didn't even think of a storage place for the stylus at E3 but of course it should have one. Good thing they thought of it. :)

Quote:Good thing they thought of it.

I imagine a lot of people are still going to lose it though. Maybe Nintendo could sell a stylus serperately or like different stylus designs if you don't like the one that comes with the DS.

Or have a metal chain connecting it to the unit. :D

You know, for all that Nintendo cares about controls and everything, not having an analog stick or nub for a 3D console is very poor judgement.

But overall the system looks great. Even better than the PSP, I'd say (design-wise)!

Eegads! http://www.nrg.to/nintendo/news/july/july2804DS.html

Quote:But overall the system looks great. Even better than the PSP, I'd say (design-wise)![/qoute]

Yes, it's a very good design and the flip-top unsures that the LCD displays remain scratch-free.

[quote]Eegads! http://www.nrg.to/nintendo/news/july/july2804DS.html

They should tie that in somehow. Like packing in a Lambourghini Contach with every DS. I'd buy it.

As would I!

Yes, a cover for the screen(s) is a great idea. My GB screens keep getting scratched and a cover built into the system is a very good idea (that they first put into the SP)...

Hmm, stereo sound. But haven't they always said that that wouldn't work because stereo doesn't sound much like stereo when the speakers are that close and that small? Strange... I guess it'll help some though.

As for the controls... it's like a PC. Analog control and digital buttons... :D ... okay, it's more like a PDA...

It's just a deceptive camera angle, not higher buttons.



Oh, Nintendorks' version of the press release also says that a headphone port was added too...

Quote:Hmm, stereo sound. But haven't they always said that that wouldn't work because stereo doesn't sound much like stereo when the speakers are that close and that small? Strange... I guess it'll help some though.

I'm pretty sure one of the complaints about the DS was that it didn't have stereo speakers.

Quote:My GB screens keep getting scratched

Mine too. It's scratched very badly.

The prototype didn't have any speakers.

The one at E3 had one speaker. :)

Quote:Mine too. It's scratched very badly.

My GBC screen is horribly, horribly scratched. My GBA has gained some despite my efforts to protect it. More during our last vacation... as for original GBs, they seemed to do better. They're somewhat scratched, but not as badly as the GBC is...

Quote:I'm pretty sure one of the complaints about the DS was that it didn't have stereo speakers.

Yeah, but Nintendo's reason why this (and the GBA, and the SP) didn't have one was because in such a device stereo didn't matter much...

Man, that is one SEXY machine! I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Do we know yet when it will launch? Around Thanksgiving if Nintendo has any brains whatsoever, but I don't think we have much to worry about. An awesome gadget with the Nintendo name will fly off store shelves come Christmas.

Nintendo's had the handheld market under their thumb for over a decade, and this will be another fine installment. The PSP is going to be a funny little footnote in gaming history, under the chapter "Nintendo handheld triumphs again"!

Perhaps, but anyway here's my thoughts from this.

That comparison pic shows that this thing is curvy. It actually looks like a modern gaming system, as opposed to a cheap Turkish knockoff like the prototype :D.

With a compartment for the stylus pen, I hope they give room enough to keep my headphones in there.

Two speakers seems a little... silly. I know people complained about it, but really, my ears are further apart from each other than these speakers are from each other. That combined with the (admittedly small, but still significant) distance most people will hold it from basically means the time delay between hearing each speaker will be too small to really hear it in stereo. It's like they actually spent money on this design to just shut people up. I dunno, the headset has always sounded better anyway, plus I don't want to be bothering people around me when I play.

That start and select button placement is a tad awkward. They seems as hard to reach as the XBox controller's white and black buttons (on the original large version). Those were usually awkward to use. Problem is, now I can't be pressing the main action buttons while using select or start for something too, at least not without doing that trick where you put your index finger up there with the action buttons. I know this is the final design, but I kinda wish they placed those buttons in SOMEWHAT more accesible positions, like under the main action buttons. Oh well, I'll get used to it.

Quote:It's like they actually spent money on this design to just shut people up

That is exactly what I think they did.

Quote:That comparison pic shows that this thing is curvy. It actually looks like a modern gaming system, as opposed to a cheap Turkish knockoff like the prototype .

Yup! :)

And start and select... yeah, it isn't the best place ever, but they had to put them somewhere. They aren't exactly easy to use on the GBA either you know... it's easier in the GB/C/SP, somewhat, because of the vertical orientation, but in a horizontally oriented console this will always be a problem.

I don't see a speaker in this pic (the old one):

Two speakers is great for the system; stereo speakers do not need to be five feet apart in order for them to be effective. There's a reason why small stereos have two speakers. Seperating the two audio channels into two speakers will make a good deal of difference. Using one speaker for two-channel sound is the equivalent of squeezing mustard and ketchup out of one tube, mixed together. It will make a difference, believe me.

Quote:Yeah, but Nintendo's reason why this (and the GBA, and the SP) didn't have one was because in such a device stereo didn't matter much...

That's nonsense, GBA games sound great coming out of two speakers.

I bet the speakers were in the black portion of the prototype DS,a nd you just can't see them in the picture.

Mono sound is crap. It doesn't matter if you're in a movie theater or holding a little game in your hand, stereo is important. There's just more ability, you can od more with two speakers, as opposed to playing everything through one, central speakers.

Say, for instance you're playing Metroid on the DS, perhaps you could hear a sound from one side of you that could alert you to the presence of a Space Pirate about to vaporize you. It would work even better with headphones.

Quote:Mono sound is crap. It doesn't matter if you're in a movie theater or holding a little game in your hand, stereo is important. There's just more ability, you can od more with two speakers, as opposed to playing everything through one, central speakers.

Exactly the kind of sentiment that got them to waste their money on two speakers on a system where you really can't tell the difference without headphones (which, it must be said, have provided Gameboy's with stereo sound all the way back)... :)

A Black Falcon Wrote:Exactly the kind of sentiment that got them to waste their money on two speakers on a system where you really can't tell the difference without headphones (which, it must be said, have provided Gameboy's with stereo sound all the way back)... :)

Ah yes, I can imagine the boardroom meeting on that one.

"Can we, a multi-billion dollar company, possibly afford to stick one extra tiny speaker into our newest game system? Since we are, after all, trying to defeat a true competitor from Sony."

I seriously doubt it broke Nintendo's bank to throw in two speakers rather than one. Was it insignificant? No. Was it eartshatteringly expensive? Also, no. It's a minor improvement that WILL make a difference. If you ask me, the waste of money was programming a select button! WHAT THE HELL IS IT EVER USED FOR ANYMORE!?

As another button for games that use all the others, of course! :)

*sigh*

Stereo sound is not only effective with headphones, and it doesn't matter how far away the two speakers are, unless each one is right next to your ear. The point of stereo sound is to seperate two channels. Two channels from one speaker completely defeat the purpose of stereo sound. Again, even when the two speakers are right close to each other, the sound quality greatly improves over mono sound.

Don't make me repeat myself, boy!

Sorry guys, I understand the arguement when it comes to the systems speakers but the seccond I get home you can bet your high dollar that I'm hooking my DS up to my rooms sound system, duel 12 inch woofers in a hand held, yes please.

Not to mention, if it's stereo I'd like to listen to mp3's on it too ^_^
Althought that might not be a possibility maybe some company will bring out a rewritable cart package that lets you put mp3's on it.. fun!

b...bountyhunter? It's been so long I hardly recognize you, buddy!

I happen to play a lot of games that use select. Taking it away is a really stupid idea. It's used for all sorts of "off" stuff and honestly, backwards compatibility sorta demands it's existance.

Am I the only one that noticed the microphone initials (mic) and the light. I wonder what that is for?

How do you attach a stereo system to a headphone jack? :)

Using the stereo system's input jack.

Easy, it's all through the cunning use of adapters and male to make plugs, my entertainment system has a mic inpute, so all you need is a male to male plug and you can put the headphone jack to the mic jack in the sound system (you also need an adapter to turn the 2.5 ml jack into a 5ml jack, I think those are the measurements)

But yeah, I do it all the time with my computer.

Also the start and select buttons could be used as just extra action buttons in some games so I can understand them being placed there.

NBA Jam TE for GB used Start for Turbo, so Select was Pause...

And yeah, you would need a stereo with headphone out to plug it into a PC, wouldn't you...

Hmm, I wonder if Nintendo will start putting in optional DS controls for their SNES-GBA ports, so that we can control them like actual SNES games once we get a DS. That'd be great, especially if they port over Super Metroid.

Quote:Hideki Konno: Two of them. Wireless capabilities is extremely promising, and we'll be able to do a lot more features with it in the future than what you've seen here. I like the idea that someone with a DS can wander into an area with other DS system and automatically send over a copy of a game to that system for multiplayer. The voice recognition is another feature that we didn't have time to expand on and show off at E3.

This was in an interview on IGN with two of the software developers for the DS, the full article can be read here.

I'm pretty sure you guys have already read it or some thing but the point I am trying to show is that one of the things that IGN wanted to see on the PSP is being done on the DS and I can't help but feel the DS is going to bring out a new side to multiplayer that not even I could have imagined, for me thats a little exciting I don't know about you guys, but the idea of being able to walk into a room and see two people playing a multiplayer game then turning on my own DS and joining in on it even without the said game then whuping some ass without them even knowing who the other person is, it's kinda cool if you ask me and it's sure to make those long train rides seem a little shorter, of course I am tempted to try and play it while driving my car but I don't think there is any thing you can tell a police officer when your seen swerving from side to side.

(I tend to find the excuse that I was drunk doesn't work well with them either so don't bother)

The DS is going to have a lot of multiplayer capabilities, it'll be interesting to see what developers do with all this new technology.

But are the early games going to use wi-fi online play? Nintendo's comments regarding "no internet" still aren't clear to me, and I'm beginning to worry that we won't be seeing any online gaming from Nintendo, at least with the first batch of titles. I want Animal Crossing online, dammit. :(

It looks like another winner and reminds of my old Donkey Kong Game & Watch I still have since I was 5 years old. Let's just hope it has good battery life and the option for either traditional batteries or the GBASP model of recharging batteries.

Quote:Hmm, I wonder if Nintendo will start putting in optional DS controls for their SNES-GBA ports, so that we can control them like actual SNES games once we get a DS. That'd be great, especially if they port over Super Metroid.

I don't know if that's possible though... I guess they could, but I'd bet against it happening. Sorry.

Quote:It looks like another winner and reminds of my old Donkey Kong Game & Watch I still have since I was 5 years old. Let's just hope it has good battery life and the option for either traditional batteries or the GBASP model of recharging batteries.

I think it'll just have SP-style recharging, unfortunately...

Quote:But are the early games going to use wi-fi online play? Nintendo's comments regarding "no internet" still aren't clear to me, and I'm beginning to worry that we won't be seeing any online gaming from Nintendo, at least with the first batch of titles. I want Animal Crossing online, dammit.

Yeah, with Nintendo's clear position on online games, I'd be surprised to see much of anything from them on the DS... in-room wireless multiplay, yes. But internet? Don't bet on it.

Quote:I think it'll just have SP-style recharging, unfortunately...

Rechargeable batteries are fine with me as long as they last a long time.

Quote:But internet? Don't bet on it.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that at it's release the DS will have at least one Wi-Fi enabled game from Nintendo. I think they'll do it since, basically, it's the same principle as across-the-room-wireless only over a greater distance.

A Black Falcon Wrote:I think it'll just have SP-style recharging, unfortunately...

What do you mean "unfortunately"? Having a rechargable battery is WAY better than having to buy and change batteries all the time. In my opinion, adding the rechargable battery to the SP was almost as big an improvement as the lit screen.

What? You like buying batteries all the time?

Apparently he does. I don't know why.

It's because the weirdo gets all of his batteries from his mommy, so he doesn't have to pay for them. ... Don't ask, he's friggin' ABF.

And why would Nintendo neglect online gaming when the DS has Wi-Fi support (whose main purpose is to play games wirelessly over the internet), and one of their big points during the E3 press conference was "coast-to-coast wifi online". But their recent anti-internet comments contradict that. I'm just so damn confused.

OB1 Wrote:Don't ask, he's friggin' ABF.

That is the best line ever :)

:D

Quote:What do you mean "unfortunately"? Having a rechargable battery is WAY better than having to buy and change batteries all the time. In my opinion, adding the rechargable battery to the SP was almost as big an improvement as the lit screen.

What? You like buying batteries all the time?

I've said it before. Having both choices is much better. I guess you forgot my (quite good) example: a trip. Where you are away from power for long amounts of time. Now with a power-recharged thing, you're stuck. With batteries, it's easy... stop at any gas station...

Quote:I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that at it's release the DS will have at least one Wi-Fi enabled game from Nintendo. I think they'll do it since, basically, it's the same principle as across-the-room-wireless only over a greater distance.

Possibly, but I'm not too hopeful, with what Nintendo says about online.

It wouldn't matter, thanks to nintendo using wireless it wouldn't be too hard to program your own internet playing DS, bassically the hardest thing would be to understand what the hell the signals coming from the 802.11g wireless adapter is, but I'm assuming it's just normal packets of data, and thats pretty easy to pick up and send over then net, then you just get another 802.11g adapter in your friends computer with the same said program sending out the packets it recieves, and fun is there to be had, to tell you the truth I'd say give it a month or two max and the average person will make something to allow us all to play multiplayer, some thing similar to the MTA:vice idea.

If some one doesn't do it I'm willing to take on the challenge.

Ever heard of a car adapter before, ABF? Or another battery pack?

And I'm sure that they will sell those to help with this, but it'd still be easier to just switch batteries. And it's not like the battery packs last any longer... if they did that'd be an arguement for them, but they seem to be just about the same as far as I can tell.

Quote:Where you are away from power for long amounts of time. Now with a power-recharged thing, you're stuck. With batteries, it's easy... stop at any gas station...

That's not a problem if you stay in a hotel like most normal people do.

Quote:Or another battery pack?

You won't even need an extra battery pack if the battery life is more than 10 hours, which it's likely the DS will be.

Quote:That's not a problem if you stay in a hotel like most normal people do.

Car trips (need a car adaptor!)? Camping? Beach? Somewhere else away from a outlet? Come on, it isn't too hard to think of how having a battery option is good...

What kind of idiot goes to the beach just to play videogames?