First real Nintendo DS pic?

[Ender]

Nintendo unveiling a new portable
By Steven Kent, Special forUSA TODAY
LOS ANGELES ? Video game giant Nintendo, facing increased competition in the market for handheld entertainment, will have a new portable out this fall with twin color screens, sharper graphics and the feel of a PDA. The Nintendo DS ? short for dual-screen ? will be unveiled Tuesday morning at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo game industry gathering.

The Nintendo DS ? short for dual-screen ? will be unveiled Tuesday morning at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo game industry gathering. The DS will sell alongside today's Game Boy Advance, not replace it, according to the company. Nintendo has not announced a release date or price, though analysts predict it may sell in the $150 range.

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.

The DS also has Bluetooth wireless communication to connect with other units within range for cordless competition. DS has separate slots for current Game Boy Advance cartridges and new, smaller DS game cards.

DS is largely viewed as Nintendo's response to Sony's PlayStation Portable, or PSP, a new system that will play both movies and video games stored on mini DVD discs. Sony has announced plans to release PSP in Japan later this year and in the USA in 2005.

"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 DS has slightly more processing power than the Nintendo 64 console released in 1996. While that's nowhere near today's top game-system graphical capabilities, two- and three-dimensional game images, when viewed on DS screens, are surprisingly crisp.

Sony's PSP, reported to be only slightly less powerful than the PlayStation 2, will have a higher-resolution screen and more graphics power. The price has not yet been announced, though estimates have ranged to $250 and up.

Having sold more than 168 million Game Boys worldwide since 1989, Nintendo dominates the handheld game market, even as it's losing market share in console systems to Sony and Microsoft. Over the past 15 years, such companies as Sega, NEC, SNK and most recently cell phone giant Nokia have launched nine competing portable game systems without much success.

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

 

[London Geezer]

If that's real, it looks like crap. Skeptical about it being genuine though.

 

[rabidrabbit]

looks clumsy.
I like the idea of the second screen being touch sensitive, though. I just hope this isn't the final design.

 

[Deepak]

Looks real, its from usatoday.

 

[McFly]

It's the real DS and I have to agree, I don't like the look of it and I think the screens are to far away to be usefull when the action happens.

Fredi

 

[PC-Engine]

I guess it looks ok. I was hoping for a more hi-tech look, but oh well...

Bluetooth is pretty cool though.

 

[Farid]

If that's their only/Best Pr shot they have for the machine, that's... :?

So they claiming revolutionnary new gameplay, and they show a Mario kart with the race on screen 1 and the (useless) map on screen 2?

Hope that's just (if that pics is legit first) a PR trick (broad audiance like mario) so they chose to give that pic with mario to "broad/mass market" magazines/newspapers.

BTW if it really legit, i second london-boy on this one, it doesn't look good at all, especially this "too much rounded" shapes, it's give it a "toy-like-look".

OTOH didn't the 2 screen supposed to be "side-by-side", here there's actually a big "gap" between them.

 

[rabidrabbit]

It looks retro.
Still, from that picture one gets the impression that it is quite large.
I believe in reality it'll look much sleeker and nicer (if that's the real thing)

...
OTOH didn't the 2 screen supposed to be "side-by-side", here there's actually a big "gap" between them.

If they were side by side, the top screen could possibly be partially obstructed from vision when you are fingering the lower touch-screen.

 

[PC-Engine]

So they claiming revolutionnary new gameplay, and they show a Mario kart with the race on screen 1 and the (useless) map on screen 2?

Why is a map useless on a second screen? Or would you rather have all of that information at that resolution overlayed instead?

 

[rabidrabbit]

I think he meant that in Mario Kart, the map is pretty useless.
Don't know, but I find the maps in all driving games totally useless.... like I was going to get lost in a driving game

 

[Guden Oden]

My first thought upon seeing the image was:

WHOAH! Retro!

My second:

COOL.

Except, I want mine in black, since silver paint scratches/rubs off easily. Hopefully it'll be available in a variety of colors. Maybe even Donkey Kong Game&Watch orange...

Nice it has 4 face buttons. Hope the stylus/bluetooth info is correct, that'd be cool. Hope there will be a PDA OS cartridge released for it too, I'd luve to have a portable computer with me and available at all times as I am a writer and often get ideas while on the move.
[/i]

 

[V3]

If this is true, it looks like G&W, definitely has that retro feels to it.

Since it has some sort of touch screen, it might be interesting. Looking forward to the game. My worst fear just came true, I hope the games can entice me toward this device.

 

[PC-Engine]

I think he meant that in Mario Kart, the map is pretty useless.
Don't know, but I find the maps in all driving games totally useless.... like I was going to get lost in a driving game

A map is good if you want to see how far/close behind your competitors are. In an RPG it would obvious be there so you don't get lost. Ever played PSO without a map?

 

[Guden Oden]

This is a modern G&W, it's gonna be SO cool. I know I want one, I want one TODAY. Too bad we Euros will have to wait forever for this thing to be released,
like always. *SIGH*

 

[Farid]

I think he meant that in Mario Kart, the map is pretty useless.
Don't know, but I find the maps in all driving games totally useless.... like I was going to get lost in a driving game

Exactly...
I'm a racers fan, so i play all racers "to death", so map are useless if you ask, they might be... interesting for the 1st time you play a circuit, and even that , i'm not sure, as said rabidrabbit, it's not like someone is going to get lost in those games.
Fans of racers, know the circuit and casual gamers don't give a danm about the subleties in the driving, especially in a mario kart game.

The only use i can think of a map in a "tunnel" racer is when the circuits are randomly generated or with an enormous numbers of circuits, games such as MSR/PGR (that's exactly why i'm not a fan of this game, i can't play it "instinctively")

 

[rabidrabbit]

no... I don't play rpg's without a map... (didn't say it is useless in all games, just driving games)

I play driving games without a map.

In driving game it is more important to consentrate to your driving lines than peeking how far your opponents are. Ther rear mirror is for that, you only need to know where your nearest opponent is behind you.
And imo, taking your eyes off the road ahead, distracts me from the 'zone' I get while playing racers.

 

[Guden Oden]

You boneheads, the map in a mario kart game isn't to make sure you won't get lost, it's to let you know the positions of your enemy racers.

 

[rabidrabbit]

You boneheads, the map in a mario kart game isn't to make sure you won't get lost, it's to let you know the positions of your enemy racers.

But isn't the main objective even in Mario Kart to cross the finish line first?
Do you look at the map, see where your fellow gamers are, turn around and drive to meet them

Edit: Ok, I think I undestand the purpose of map in Mario Kart now. It might be fun to know where your oponents are relative to you, especially in a multiplayer game, where you can bash the other players verbally.

 

[Farid]

A map is good if you want to see how far/close behind your competitors are. In an RPG it would obvious be there so you don't get lost. Ever played PSO without a map?

That's a old topic, the day1 we heard about DS, there was 2 side, the enthusiasts and the skeptics.
Enthusiasts will like the idea of having a map always on a second screen, the skeptic will say that when you're looking a the map, you're not looking at the game and therefore a "push start for map" solution on a 1 screen handheld is exactly the same... except the "gimmick".

Personally i reserve any "judgements" on the DS to the day that Nintendo show theirs exclusive titles, using on a "revolutionnary" (or at least on an interesting) way the Duel screen.
If it's only a "1screen for the game, 1 screen for the map" then.... :?

 

[PC-Engine]

You boneheads, the map in a mario kart game isn't to make sure you won't get lost, it's to let you know the positions of your enemy racers.

But isn't the main objective even in Mario Kart to cross the finish line first?
Do you look at the map, see where your fellow gamers are, turn around and drive to meet them

There's a difference between trying to get record lap times and crossing the finish line in 1st place. Sometimes you make mistakes and 1st is impossible but 2nd and 3rd. Being in the top 3 is important in racing games.