Nintendo DS Unveiled

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-05-11-nintendo-ds_x.htm

Still waiting for the big E3 word, but USA Today can reveal what the system looks like, that it can handle slightly better than N64 graphics, the bottom screen is touch sensitive, it will play GBA games, it has wireless Bluetooth multiplayer technology, and USA Today guesses it\'ll be $150ish.

One of the two 3-inch screens is touch-sensitive and works with a stylus — like Palms and Pocket PCs — to control the action in some games. In one demo, players guide a toddler-age Mario as he falls from the sky by drawing clouds. Other games give multiple views of the action.

"I have not seen the PSP," says Nintendo\'s Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the famous Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong characters. "The screen, I believe, is bigger than a DS screen, and I am sure it will have excellent graphic quality." But, he adds, "the PSP will not be able to display anything that you cannot do on a current system. ... We want to do things that you could not do before. We are looking at the creative end."

The image below, if an actual game, is clearly Mario Kart. E3 should hopefully point to a real games list, though.

-Dan

[clips]

didn\'t really read too much of it but how does this differ from the gba?

Touch-screen, technically superior, two screens(duh)...

It seems(to me) like the GBA hasn\'t been out all that long though. Maybe Nintendo\'s worried about the PSP.

I\'d say you\'re exactly right, Nu.  And if USA Today\'s price estimates hold water, Nintendo might just have the advantage...

So long as it doesn\'t come down to a marketing campaign.

And Clips, it\'s a whole new handheld, technologically superior to GBA, to say the least.  It just happens to play GBA games, too.

-Dan

Damn that\'s an ugly design. And I really don\'t see the point in dual screen. I hope they\'ll come up with a better use than just showing the track on screen #2 in Mario Kart.

I didn\'t like the design at first either, but it\'s starting to grow on me.

As of this morning, the only other options for the second screen were multiple view perspectives and using the touch sensitive screen to draw things into the play field to catch a free falling Mario.

The latter idea proves there\'s some creativity ahead.  More to come...

-Dan

http://www.nintendo.com/media/e32k4/

user: golin
password: harris

Looks like PSX graphics. Not saying that that is bad but IF, and thats a big if, the DS and PSP are competing then they would have to bring a lot of innovation into the dual screen thing because thus far, its not doing squat for me.

[clips]

Originally posted by Lord Nicon
Looks like PSX graphics. Not saying that that is bad but IF, and thats a big if, the DS and PSP are competing then they would have to bring a lot of innovation into the dual screen thing because thus far, its not doing squat for me.

absolutely the graphics on the sony machine are pretty impressive..yeah i know graphics aren\'t everything, but that was one of the aspects of the psp that caught my eye when i first seen it..

TBD Animal Crossing DS
TBD Mario Kart DS
TBD Metroid Prime: Hunters
TBD NEW Super Mario Bros.
TBD PictoChat
TBD Super Mario 64X4
TBD WarioWare Inc. DS

Third-party publishers also have announced games in development, including a Spider-Man™ 2 title from Activision, a Rayman® game from Ubisoft, a SpongeBob SquarePants™ title from THQ, a Yu-Gi-Oh!™ game from Konami, a Sonic title from Sega, a Bomberman game from Hudson Soft, a Need for Speed™ game from Electronic Arts and a Pac-Man™ title from Namco.

Super Mario 64x4 you say?

The landscape and the characters all look familiar. This is the opening castle area of Super Mario 64™, only with a few DS twists thrown in. Up to four players can link up using the wireless capabilities. Players move familiar characters like Mario™, Luigi, Yoshi® and Wario™ around the 3-D landscape, exploring and looking for stars. While one screen shows the player\'s character position, the other provides an overall map of the area. Touch a spot on the screen to pop the camera over to another player\'s position, or to take a close-up look at the castle.

Oddly, PictoChat is a wireless text messenger, basically, for up to 16 people.  There\'s a keyboard on the bottom screen and users can draw pictures and stuff to send as messages using the stylus pen. Pretty stupid, but it\'s an innovative idea that no one had come up with.  Got to get the creativity wheels rolling, I guess.

-Dan

Blah,

Just say no to Nintendo.

The 64 was the their last good system. The GBA is alright but I don\'t go for crappy graphics, I can download games with the same quality for free that where made 10 years ago. The SP was a dumb release. What\'s the point to shell out another $100. Just like the pocket.

[Living-In-Clip]

Originally posted by ZipCrash
Blah,

Just say no to Nintendo.

The 64 was the their last good system. The GBA is alright but I don\'t go for crappy graphics, I can download games with the same quality for free that where made 10 years ago. The SP was a dumb release. What\'s the point to shell out another $100. Just like the pocket.

CastleVania: Aria of Sorrow = Crappy Graphics? Maybe if you are one of the mindless drones who require fancy 3D Graphics with bump-mapping, len\'s flare and all that goodies. However, you will be hard pressed to find something that compares to the great gameplay that the GBA provides with it\'s many great 2D games.

The system also features a wireless LAN capable of reaching 100 feet that can be activated in the presence of another DS as well as wifi capabilities for gaming against people across state or across the country.  A new Metroid, in the vein of Metroid Prime, was also shown on the DS and looked very close to its cube counterpart where the player would keep an eye on the map on the top screen and point the stylus where they wanted samus to shoot on the bottom screen.  How well this works remains to be seen.

In animal crossing ds, players could craft their logos and letters on the bottom screen with the stylus (or finger) while playing on the top screen.  There was also a few addictive demos on hand including the baby mario falling demo Eik described, a submarine demo where you controlled the depth, pitch, yaw, and speed with the touch screen, and a game of air hockey where you controlled the paddle with the touch screen.

All fairly nifty ideas barely scratching the surface of this gem.

I too am not particularly fond of the design.

[Jumpman]

Hate the design, but who cares. Nintendo goes into slumps then comes out with gems like this. *cry* Was never a fan of GBA but I can really see myself getting into this.

+10000 originality.

Nothing new to add, but I did come across this hi-res image.

-Dan