Got a DS? Well then you have something in common with aprox. 999,999 other people

[Great Rumbler]

Nintendo announced today that it has sold roughly half a million units in Japan, bringing global sales of its new handheld over its goal of one million units.

Japanese gamers purchased 460,000 Nintendo DS since its release five days ago (81% of the 570,000 systems available), while another 50,000 units are still being reserved for customers at retail outlets.

Nintendo spokesman Ken Toyoda expressed Nintendo's satisfaction with Nintendo DS's performance in Japan, stating that some unsold units are to be expected and can be partially attributed to retailer's control of the product supply.

Reuters notes that Sony aims to ship 500,000 PSP units in Japan when it launches next week—Nintendo and Sony will likely have similarly-sized Japanese user bases at the year's end.

That's a million units sold in about 3 weeks!

Planet Gamecube

[OB1]

Woo! Now let's get some other good games soon! Mario 64 isn't enough!

[Great Rumbler]

Then get Feel the Magic!

[big guy]

or feel MY magic




what? i'd be happy...

[Great Rumbler]

[OB1]

Then get Feel the Magic!

That game isn't worth $30! It's only got like 30 mini games, so that's like a dollar a mini game. I'll get it when it's cheaper.

It looks like there won't be another good DS game until Wario Ware comes out... :crap:

or feel MY magic




what? i'd be happy...

[Great Rumbler]

That game isn't worth $30! It's only got like 30 mini games, so that's like a dollar a mini game. I'll get it when it's cheaper.

It looks like there won't be another good DS game until Wario Ware comes out...

Who cares?! Feel the Magic has some of the most crazy-fun of any game I've played! It ranks up there with Wario Ware and Katamari Damacy in terms of the incredible amount of insanity that's fun! If you don't get it you aren't a cool person either!

[OB1]

Hey I get it, but I'm not gonna $30 get it. From what I've read the game is short and doesn't have the same kind of replay value as Wario Ware does.

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, the replay value isn't that high, but while it lasts...

[OB1]

See??

[Great Rumbler]

For my money, it's Feel the Magic all the way.

[OB1]

... ok.

[Sacred Jellybean]

or feel MY magic




what? i'd be happy...

Magic? MAGIC?!?! Aww HELL no!! Y'alls juice ain't loose! Y'alls piston ain't pumpin'! Y'alls jack ain't hammerin'!!

<img src="http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~djc46/peghellno.JPG">

AWWW HELL NO

[OB1]

jive turkey?

[Sacred Jellybean]

That ain't no <u>ma-in</u> that I've ever seen. Just a smack-talkin', hobble-gobblin', jive tur-keh.

[OB1]

...


:crap:

[Great Rumbler]

AW SNAP!!

[N_A]

Too bad we're going to be a couple million people with no real games to play for a LONG time.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, the eight or ten games out now are nothing, and neither are the ones coming next year...

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah like, WarioWare and Zoo Keeper and Bomberman DS and Pac-Pix and Yoshi's Touch & Go and Nanostray and Rayman DS and all those are other non-real games that are coming out before April of next year. Man, I wish we could get some REAL games...

[A Black Falcon]

You forgot Kirby... :)

But yeah, since those aren't real games I've got to agree with N_A, the DS is obviously doomed and has no games worth mentioning out for it or coming anytime soon.

[N_A]

Alot of those games are kind of push over games kind of like the majority of current release line. We're still waiting for the real games for the DS like Advanced Wars, Metroid, or Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, etc. Those are the real meat, not these gimmick games, and they don't have solid release dates yet.

Right now we're just looking about Mario World, and thats it. The rest of the line is kind of... weak....

[Great Rumbler]

You're calling WarioWare and Zookeeper GIMMICK GAMES?! BLASPHEMY!!

...

...

I'm not quite sure what you mean by REAL games, but I fully intended to get most of those games I mentioned [hopefully for $30, okay, guys?].

You forgot Kirby...

There's that and a number of other good games coming later next year. It's not like this is going to be the N64 all over again.

[A Black Falcon]

If Wario Ware is a gimmick game it's one of the best gimmick games ever made... don't know what Zookeeper is though.

There's that and a number of other good games coming later next year. It's not like this is going to be the N64 all over again.

No. The DS has strong third-party support, for one, unlike the N64...

[Great Rumbler]

don't know what Zookeeper is though.

It's a wacky game where you own a zoo and you feed animals and stuff...it's coming out this year in case you were wondering.

No. The DS has strong third-party support, for one, unlike the N64.

And is has more than one good game in the first nine months.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, in Japan the N64 came out with three or four games and had no more at all for months, didn't it... not a good way to launch a system. Comparing this to the N64 is stupid when you look at the facts...

[N_A]

This isn't much different from the N64 or the GC launch, both which went a few months without decent games from Nintendo. I see a few, but not too many potentially solid 3rd party games coming out before Nintendo launches their hard hitters - again, all of which don't have any solid dates and most of which probably won't see light until at least Q2 or 3, or knowing Nintendo delays, Q4 and later next year. Again, the wireless internet support for DS is still somewhere up in the air despite being confirmed and with built in hardware. Nintendo was quite correct in realizing WiFi is the next logical step in handheld gaming, but they failed to realize a full on strategy, instead only going half baked with it.

As you can see, 3rd party support did a whole lot of good for the GC in the midst of competition. Nintendo knows its being buffetted from all sides after that GC launch. A little too late for this generation, but it decided that in order to sell itself, it needed to recruit alot of different companies to help it put out its own hard hitting franchises faster and in more volume.

Yet again, I can't seem to understand why Nintendo's launch strategy for the DS isn't as aggressive as it potentially can be. If Nintendo was going to stick it to the PSP, they would have poured tons or resources into nailing down at least one killer app, real deal game, from software titles that will sell like crazy like Advanced Wars, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, among others I've listed, coming out each month from now until the end of next year.

The problem isn't the fact that Nintendo won't be making the games - they will, but its the timing and system support thats wanting.

[A Black Falcon]

A few third party games? Uh, so far at least the third-to-first ratio is a lot closer to the GBA than the N64, if you've been watching... and the GBA has a lot of third party support. Third parties are interested in the DS. They are making games for it. It's got a nicely long upcoming release list that isn't very far behind the PSP's if it is at all. It's sold over 700,000 units in North America since launch, and over 500,000 in Japan... yes, the N64 sold great in Japan and then a lot of people returned them and stuff but we are not looking at an N64-like game draught in the next year. We are also not looking at a N64-like third party exodus. Note how all the major third parties have signed on to the DS... no, this is a portable and Nintendo wants to keep the portable market so they are doing what they can to not lose it. Between the DS and the still-dominant GBA I am sure that they will continue to do so. And the third party support for the DS isn't about to dry up. Not after these sales numbers.

Dirty little things like the 90 min to 3 hour battery life in games like Ridge Racers won't help the PSP's cause much more either...

Wireless. The DS has full wireless local networking and can currently use it. Wireless internet? No, none of the games use that yet. Nintendo has the same stance there so far as they have with the Cube (do it if you wish but we aren't going to provide the network)... I don't know what Sony's doing but I doubt that they're providing a network either, given that they didn't for the PS2...

As for the DS launch, it was fine with a nice selection of games. Not a huge library, but launch libraries never are... for a launch it was just fine. Was the main game a remake? Yes. But on handhelds this is, by now, a given. The PSP is no better... what do they have? A remake/collection of the Darkstalkers games, a redone Ridge Racer title that is something of a series compillation, etc...

[OB1]

I kinda agree with all three of you guys. There are really only two games worth getting right now, and only one that's a must-have. But even that one is just an enhanced port of an 8-year-old N64 game. The next big game that's coming out is Wario Ware Touched, which doesn't come out until January or February. After that who knows when the rest of the big releases are coming out (Mario Kart, Metroid Hunters, Advance Wars, etc.). This is actually the weakest launch line-up a Nintendo system has ever had (not including the Virtua Boy). However, this is also the most rushed launch Nintendo has ever done, so I never expected a lineup of awesome, original games. I bought my DS for the long-term, as I know that there will be plenty of awesome games released down the road. Nintendo had to release the DS right now because of the PSP, and I'm glad that they did.

Also, I'd do anything to get my hands on a DS dev kit. Oh man that would be awesome. I'd much rather develop for the DS than the PSP. Hopefully most developers out there feel the same way (I think they do).

[A Black Falcon]

Yes, the launch lineup isn't the best. But note that games are trickling out for it from third parties at a steady rate... this is no N64 with a pitiful launch third party lineup that only got worse...

[OB1]

The only decent third-party release is Feel the Magic.

[Great Rumbler]

You could always get The Urbz...not that I'd recommend it necessarily...

[OB1]

... :shake:

[A Black Falcon]

But at least there are some...

[OB1]

Yeah some CRAPPY ones.

[Great Rumbler]

I'm sure some people will enjoy them...maybe...

[OB1]

Yeah maybe sSTUPIDome people.

[Great Rumbler]

Why do you keep making posts like that? It's really aweSTUPIDsome.

[OB1]

You're just jeaSTUPIDlous because I came up with another awesome OB1-ism that's going to be the talk of the town (or rather, city).

[Great Rumbler]

Yyyyyyeeeeeee....no.

[OB1]

You know I'm right.

Like Bo Jackson, bubba. Bo Jackson on a friggin' platter.

[A Black Falcon]

There are a few other okay looking games. Sure, not great, but not all of the other games are awful.

[OB1]

None of them are worth buying.

[Great Rumbler]

Zookeeper looks rather interesting though.

[OB1]

Yeah...

[A Black Falcon]

But is that out here?

[OB1]

...


no.

[Great Rumbler]

It's coming out in like TWO DAYS...actually it's coming out in late January.

[OB1]

ok