ethelred said:
Really? That actually surprises me that you feel that way (it echoes my own thoughts on the thing perfectly, btw).
Honestly, I can't say it enough. The DSL is
brilliant. And this is coming from someone who absolutely despised the original DS. I thought it was a hunky piece of shit that carried the same uninspired 'great-for-the-kids' look Nintendo has been shoveling since the original GBA.
The DSL is the biggest 180 I've ever seen a company turn in design aesthetics. Yes, it's very Apple-ish, but it works so well for Nintendo, I'm amazed no one thought of it. It's super sleek and just gives off a very 'approachable' look, if you understand what I mean by that. It's the very antithesis of intimidating, yet the touchscreen hides such a hidden complexity.
And this isn't even taking into account the software! Brain Age especially is an awesome example of the DS expanding gaming, using the touchscreen to open up a level of control complexity impossible with conventional controls. And yes, I used the word complexity, as the touchscreen allows one to do so much, no other word is better suited. However, it's also incredibly easy to manipulate, which just makes it all the more awesome.
And the best part? The sublime integration of the touchscreen
and traditional controls. I can switch from one method to another effortlessly, which opens up the possibilities of the system even more. You can rely on one so much, it's as if the other isn't even there. This is hands down the biggest knock against the Wii in comparison to the DS IMO, as it is, without question, the best aspect of the DS. Best of both worlds, and anything in between.
Yikes, that was long. Sorry.
etherled said:
I don't know that that will happen, honestly. Even if the PS3/Wii mirrors the PSP/DS situation perfectly, you're still going to see healthy, big budget support for the PS3. Because the truth is, the PSP has done pretty well from a hardware perspective, and it allows developers to do stuff that they'd like to do and that they couldn't do on the DS.
That's where you get stuff like Portable Ops, most of Namco Bandai's games... hell, even Crisis Core. Japanese developers and publishers will continue to put out some high profile projects for the PS3 just because the system will secure some measure of success and that'll be enough for those really high profile games.
Honestly, PSP level support won't cut it for me. I'm more lenient for handhelds since they usually don't occupy most of my playtime, but for a major console, I want more than that. Not having the level of PSP tech for most of my handheld games is acceptable, as we've been used to that for years. Hell, in some ways the PSP is ahead of its time, and the low costs for the DS open up the possibility for very unique titles we might not get otherwise. For a major console, the story is completely different. Plus, PSP support is only getting worse each and every day, and it's only been 2 years. That's definitely not the barometer by which I hope to measure the PS3.
What I'm hoping, is that the big 4 (FFXIII, MGS4, RE5 and HSG5) push enough within the next year or so (~5m) to warrant additional support, which will then push it to the 8-10m category I'd like it to hit. At the very least, the PSP never really got titles of that caliber for its sector (mainly because Nintendo makes most all of 'em! :lol ) If I get this, I'll be pleased.
I'm really warming up to the Wii, but I'm still skeptical of the lasting power of waggle, how receptive I'll be to the tech 2-3 years from now, and I'm also just not interested in controlling the majority of my games that way. As a secondary console though that I use with family/friends mostly and the occasional SP game 8-10 time a year, I think it could be great.