9th June 2005, 6:30 PM
Well I will say that having an immutable version of a game means no accidental deletion or anything. That is an advantage. Also, they may use a system like XBox does where all downloaded content has to be validated online before use, as a copyright protection mechanism. This means that, unlike the original game, I now require an online connection, if only for a few seconds in the background, in order to play single player games. That's certainly a valid weakness.
(A side note, as far as storage space I was thinking an SD card would do the trick, or some sort of memory card if, in fact, SD cards aren't compatible with the DS cart slot (I'm still not sure about that one, I don't have any SD cards). So, a memory card would be the method, and since they are GB and GBC games, maxing out at 4MB, that would be plenty of space, and I don't think the emulator would take up much either.)
Ah, the controller issue... Yes, you are right, and I thought of that myself. The NES? Easy enough, except for that wily select button... And also, the d-pad IS a bit harder to use than the original d-pad. The select button can be the Z button or either X or Y, or something else I guess. From what I've done, it actually works pretty well closer to the right, in MOST games. The SNES is the big problem. The select button can be tucked away in the Z button here (the only place for it really), but that's awkward, and also the weird arrangement of buttons won't work for every SNES game... In the end, some sort of super deluxe Gamecube controller would be nice. Basically, this would be the alternate controller that even revolution games could be designed to use if the need exists (like if the new controller is really all that weird). Take the Gamecube controller, bump up the size and position of the d-pad just a tad, take that z button and put it on the face of the controller, and add another button there too. What I mean is, think of the 4 buttons as a 6 button formation but missing the upper left and upper right buttons. Stick the Z button in one corner and a new C button in the other corner. There, 6 button formation restored, and Nintendo's lack of innovation in that design revealed. Then add two extra buttons in the form of pressing directly down on the control sticks. Finally, move the start/pause button over to the right and add in a select button. Used on the old gamecube, the only difference will be an easier to use Z button (really, I can't think of any situation where the game would actually control better with that button in the original position), and the other buttons wouldn't do anything. On the revolution, they wouldn't do anything for gamecube games, but in the emulation of old games, they would make all the difference.
(A side note, as far as storage space I was thinking an SD card would do the trick, or some sort of memory card if, in fact, SD cards aren't compatible with the DS cart slot (I'm still not sure about that one, I don't have any SD cards). So, a memory card would be the method, and since they are GB and GBC games, maxing out at 4MB, that would be plenty of space, and I don't think the emulator would take up much either.)
Ah, the controller issue... Yes, you are right, and I thought of that myself. The NES? Easy enough, except for that wily select button... And also, the d-pad IS a bit harder to use than the original d-pad. The select button can be the Z button or either X or Y, or something else I guess. From what I've done, it actually works pretty well closer to the right, in MOST games. The SNES is the big problem. The select button can be tucked away in the Z button here (the only place for it really), but that's awkward, and also the weird arrangement of buttons won't work for every SNES game... In the end, some sort of super deluxe Gamecube controller would be nice. Basically, this would be the alternate controller that even revolution games could be designed to use if the need exists (like if the new controller is really all that weird). Take the Gamecube controller, bump up the size and position of the d-pad just a tad, take that z button and put it on the face of the controller, and add another button there too. What I mean is, think of the 4 buttons as a 6 button formation but missing the upper left and upper right buttons. Stick the Z button in one corner and a new C button in the other corner. There, 6 button formation restored, and Nintendo's lack of innovation in that design revealed. Then add two extra buttons in the form of pressing directly down on the control sticks. Finally, move the start/pause button over to the right and add in a select button. Used on the old gamecube, the only difference will be an easier to use Z button (really, I can't think of any situation where the game would actually control better with that button in the original position), and the other buttons wouldn't do anything. On the revolution, they wouldn't do anything for gamecube games, but in the emulation of old games, they would make all the difference.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)