The PSP arrived into the world with the critics prophesising the downfall of Nintendo but the DS has quietly managed to reign whatever ground may have been lost. Soon Nintendo will also be releasing the littlest Game Boy brother of them all, GBM. The exciting thing is that full picture has yet to emerge. Now that a worldwide aspect can be brought into the equation, let’s take a look at the competitors in the new battle for the handheld crown.
Nintendo DS
The Machine: The DS can primarily be described as something completely different. It's also the Swiss army knife of handheld consoles. Above-N64 processing power, two screens, one of which is a touch screen, stylus or thumbstrap control, microphone, GBA compatibility and many other extensions make it extremely versatile - the most notable one being the addition of wireless local and online gameplay, something that Mario Kart enthusiasts have been salivating over for a while now.
Many may argue that Nintendo could’ve made the system more powerful, but the argument here is not power but gameplay precision. The DS looks to usher in the impending Revolution by promoting new and even rebellious styles of gameplay. With a machine that does so much, you can’t help but wonder what’s in stall next.
The Nintendo DS
Control Layout & Aesthetics: As mentioned, apart from a standard line up of a d-pad, four face buttons and two shoulder buttons, you’ve got the addition of touch screen and microphone input. The absence of any analog control seemingly leaves 3-D platformers out in the cold, but the touch screen can be used instead. By using the included thumbstrap, you glide your thumb over the touchscreen, and (if the game supports this method of control) it creates a virtual analogue stick for either hand to use. It's not as good as a analogue stick for platformers, but is actually better for first person shooters, since it's a lot like mouse control. The touchscreen can also be used for primary or exclusive control using the included stylus. In Yoshi: Touch and Go, you literally draw on the level while Yoshi walks along. This application works like magic – the first time you draw a bubble around an enemy to defeat them will amaze you.
The DS looks decent and relatively slick. A little chunky and elongated, but while it’s closed, it looks nicely compacted. Once opened, it may come as a bit of shock to new comers, but otherwise everything is well placed. The screens are lit in a much better and brighter manner than the standard GBASP screens, and are of a higher resolution. Using the stylus and the face buttons at the same time can be awkward, and the thumb-strap gets in the way of the second screen (obviously), but these are development application problems, and a well designed game shoudn't give you any trouble with the interface, as with any other platform.
How it all works
Games: To begin with, there were only been a few titles released that could actually claim to have fulfilled any of the potential of the system. Super Mario 64 DS was a great update on an all time classic game, but it's mostly a port, and the lack of an analogue stick means it's not the ideal game for the platform. Yoshi showed what can be done with the interface beautifully, but it's more like an arcade or puzzle game then a fully fledged adventure - unless you love pushing for fancy combos and high scores (some people do!), it won't last forever. However, the soon-to-be-released 2D platformer Kirby: Canvas Curse, and touchscreen puzzler Meteos are full of content and great games that also use the system brilliantly, so will help in this regard. And the recently released Nintendogs really shows what can be done with the new interfaces of touch and voice.
Many developers have fallen over the creative hurdle represented by two screens and touch control. In some early games the second screen was primarily been used as a tacked on feature, like a map or a menu, while the touch control has attempted to make difficult tasks a bit easier with a few “quick-touch” keys added to the second screen. This doesn’t work as well as the developers may have intended.
However, if we wish to talk more about games that justify the system's existence, the future is bright. Firstly, Nintendogs finally made it out here, and there are many games that have been uniquely developed for the system that are already out in Japan, like the crazy music/trance game Electroplankton. These games take full advantage of the system's capabilities, and are great titles that are unlike anything we've seen before. Nintendo isn’t the only one to join the party; these big titles have spurred the 3rd-parties into action with quality titles on the way. These include Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Viewtiful Joe.
While small, simple puzzle-style games have been all the rage on the DS, they make for excellent portable titles. It’s pretty much a matter of flip-open and play. These are the kinds of games that you play on the bus-trip down town. Though on the flip-side, I’m not sure how long some of them would last you on a flight from Sydney to London.
Nintendo will obviously flex its franchise muscle with the DS
Cost: $170-200 Australian. With the variations in Australian prices, you’ll find that it is cheaper here than anywhere else in the world. Owners would only need to be dropping extra cash if they lose their stylus pen, or if a peripheral such as the Play-Yan were ever to make it here.
Game prices quite as aren’t as inviting. The official RRP of first party games is $69.95, for all but a very few titles (Polarium has an RRP of $49.95, but Zoo Keeper is $69.95). Some are worth the price but for simple puzzle games it really isn't justified. For $70, we believe a game has to have some meat to it. (Recently Nintendo have trialed the $49.95 price point with Nintendogs, hopefully it will sell well and they'll get the message that we like cheaper games!).
The trouble is, though, the system can be home to both GBA and console style games, as well as the new unique style of it's own. So should it have a portable or a console style pricing structure? It would be great if Nintendo released some simple puzzle games at a budget price point, but the easist solution is to read PALGN and see if a game is worth the price!
Portability: The DS is very similar in size to the PSP, though the clamshell design makes for an automatically more portable machine, since there’s little need to worry about the screens getting scratched. However, the size would make it slightly uncomfortable in a pair of jeans. It’s a little hard in this situation to strike a balance between a long and short trip; you’ll still need a bag unless you’ve got baggy, pocket plentiful pants.
Side-by-side with the GBA SP
Battery Life: Sits at a very acceptable 10-12 hours. However, this will depend on the usual factors, which are primarily sound volume and Wifi usage.
Durability: As proven by Chris Grubb and Neal Mueller, you can take the DS up Everest and it will still survive. Nintendo has always been pretty good with making their products durable and the DS is no exception. Still, dropping it on purpose is not recommended.
Current Market Effect: When the DS was released in Australia in February of this year, it went on to become the fastest selling console in Australian history, with over 20 000 units in one week. Since then, however, sales have falling off and retailers have been experiencing difficulties actually moving the stock. There was an N64 style software drought for the last couple of months, and the result has been the cutting back of shelf space. The US and the UK have suffered a similar problem. US and Australia seem to be improving recently, mostly thanks to the launch of Nintendogs, and the price cut here to an RRP of $179.95 won't hurt either.
In Japan it's been an entirely different story. Nintendo has taken the initiative and treated the Japanese gaming public with many exclusive and unique titles a long time before we get them. These titles have driven the Japanese market to heights that haven’t been seen for a long time and the DS is the top selling system week in and week out – even beating the once mighty PS2. Nintendo has been holding out on the other regions, by denying them access to these titles for a little too long now. Although, for heavily language based games like the voice recognition heavy Nintendogs, this does make some sense. We just hope they get their skates on soon!
DS Launch in Japan. Don't be fooled, you should have seen the queues when Jump Superstars and the Red DS were released recently
Future Outlook: The experiment is part of the way to succeeding. Nintendo has obviously captured some interest with the unique characteristics of the DS but those that own it are starting to get frustrated. It may be doing well in Japan but it will remain an experiment here unless Nintendo start sharing more of the DS love abroad... though with titles like Nintendogs out and Mario Kart on the way, things are starting to look up.
What's happened recently?: Well, Nintendogs was finally released a couple of days ago and retailers have been braced for impact. We got a few new colours as well. However, things in the homeland could hardly be better, with stupendous sales following the release of Jump Superstars and several other big titles, not to mention some new more colours. On top of that, the online service and Mario Kart DS are on the way. It's rather quiet on the Western front, though, apart from the Nintendog invasion.
Why I chose a DS: Since I don't personally own a DS, David has been kind enough to give us a moment of his time:
Two words: the future. The platform is affordable, and a few of the current games like Yoshi Touch and Go and Wario Ware: Touched! were novel enough to tide us over until the big guns, which have started to fire. By the end of the year, it will have several system selling games!
Kirby: Canvas Curse is the new generation of 2D platformer. Sonic Rush is the Sonic sequel people have waited 10 years for. Meteos is the modern ultra-interactive brother of Tetris. Mario Kart DS shows the system is to be taken seriously graphically, and it's simply Mario Kart online – how long have people waited for that? Metroid Hunters brings moody First Person Shooters to the Coffee Bar or Schoolyard, with controlls that finally rival a mouse for precision. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow may finally be a Castlevania to match Symphony of the Night. And Nintendogs is already hugs, and could become Pokemon huge! The The upcoming DS Pokemon may sell a couple of copies, too.
The DS is an affordable and innovative new platform that truly makes new types of games possible due to it's unique interface, but it also looks to become a haven for some strong traditional games too. While so far only a few games have used its potential, the impending avalanche of AAA games means the system clearly has a bright future. And the fact that the DS has sold in far larger numbers than the PSP worldwide shows that many gamers agree!
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