I don't think it was unfair to think then that the system would fail. I think a lot of the DS's success was do to the redesign and remarketing with the DSLite. They really made it look like a slick piece of electronics rather than a toy and this allowed them to better reach those untapped markets that they were striving for. I think if they hadn't had a redesign then the race would've, at the least, been a lot closer.
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Heterogenous Products: Nintendo announces the DS
- Thread starter viciouskillersquirrel
- Start date
charlequin
Banned
viciouskillersquirrel said:
What the heck are you talking about? That thread only made it to five pages. :lol
viciouskillersquirrel said:
Asked and answered. I believe that outside the original GB rebrandings of Mana and SaGa games as "Final Fantasy" there were literally only like twelve games with "Final Fantasy" in the title when FF:CC and FFTA were announced.
abstract alien said:
I repeat: asked... and answered.
viciouskillersquirrel said:
No period of Sales-Age has ever been entertaining on remotely the level that '05 was. Not only did we get completely spoiled on the ludicrous glut of info we received (full NPD leaks! Daily Japanese sales!) but the DS/PSP battle was really just more interesting than just about anything that happened before or since.
magicalsoundshower
Member
Wow, I had no idea the DS was struggling at launch, I always thought it was a day one success like the Wii. I wasn't really following video game consoles in 2004 and only started getting interested in the DS when Dawn of Sorrow came out. I must say I wasn't really expecting it to succeed, though, as I thought the idea of having a portable video game system with two screens was simply too weird.
beef3483 said:
The DS had already begun its Rise to Heaven™ before the Lite hit the street, I believe. Nintendogs in particular was solidly a classic DS title. I think your logic is faulty.
That, and the possibility of Nintendo running a handheld generation for five years on the same old hardware (note for pedantry's sake: I didn't say platform) borders on laugh-out-loud silly.
charlequin said:
Whatever the outcome, I think things will get pretty interesting once Natal and Arc come out. There will be surprises, carnivals of stupid and meltdowns in the months following the launches.
Ah, the DS. Got mine in September 2005. Was pretty excited too: it was my first handheld since the Game Boy Color, a friend of mine had lent me Pac Pix, and I was about to buy Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, soon to be followed by Meteos, Kirby's Power Paintbrush, Mario Kart DS and mothereffin' Ouendan. That game right there was to become one of my favourite games in years, as would Rhythm Tengoku Gold a few years later. Ouendan was THE reason why I got interested in the DS in the first place. This comes from someone who used to hate/be indifferent to the rhythm genre beforehand. Ouendan and RTG tickled my fancy because they were different, quirky and more accessible (than, say, Dance Dance Revolution).
ShockingAlberto
Member
Oh, man.
Kirby was my "Oh, I get it" game. Ouendan was my "Oh, NOW I get it" game.
Kirby was my "Oh, I get it" game. Ouendan was my "Oh, NOW I get it" game.
ShockingAlberto said:
Kirby ended up being a disappointment for me though. I didn't like the music (felt too electro for Kirby), and while the controls worked just fine, I just didn't find the game that much fun. Ouendan was the real deal though, as was Mario Kart. CV was all right, but I liked Circle of the Moon better. Dawn of Sorrow was too easy for my taste, and I prefer the whip. CotM had better music too. Meteos is a good game, but I thought it would be good enough to make me like the Tetris-like genre: it didn't. Still, the DS and the Wii were the two sparks that reignited my love for handheld/console gaming.
I originally thought the PSP would beat the DS with little effort based on brand name alone, especially with the DS not having gameboy in the name.
Metoes was actually the game that got me to like the DS and the touchscreen, and its the first puzzle game I enjoyed a lot since Dr. Mario.
Metoes was actually the game that got me to like the DS and the touchscreen, and its the first puzzle game I enjoyed a lot since Dr. Mario.
gamergirly
Member
GamerZero said:
If they do, it will be another classic thread
Bought my DS during launch week. I literally just walked into Gamestop EB Games and said, "You have one of those new DS?" And they said "Sure." My how times have changed in Nintendo-land...
I regretted the purchase almost immediately and the opinion didn't change for about eight months. Then I imported Ouendan...
I regretted the purchase almost immediately and the opinion didn't change for about eight months. Then I imported Ouendan...
wow, that brings back memories
Anyone have an archive of the Ridge Racer PSP thread? Oh god, when people saw the screens for RR the server went into overload.
EDIT: found something similar, holy Christ, Isamu was just as retarded back then
Anyone have an archive of the Ridge Racer PSP thread? Oh god, when people saw the screens for RR the server went into overload.
EDIT: found something similar, holy Christ, Isamu was just as retarded back then
zigg said:
Right, but I think the point is, that was a year in, and up to that point, people were still adamant that the PSP would trail blaze the DS.
The first year of the DS was pretty abysmal for me as a gamer, and sales wise it was just Nintendo fans hyping about it. It was not until a year in with Nintendogs/Animal Crossing/Mario Kart (+DS Wifi Launch), and then a year and a half later with the DS Lite that the DS really exploded.
Before those two critical points, no one could have guessed it would explode the way it did.
I think this might the Dragon Quest IX thread that was mentioned earlier.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133134
It went 100 pages. Wow.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133134
It went 100 pages. Wow.
TheLastCandle
Member
I worked at a Gamestop through the DS and PSP launches, and I remember seeing the PSP in the back room of the store before it was released and talking with some of the guys in the store about how the PSP was going to crush the DS under it's mighty Playstation branded foot. And I was a happy DS owner at that point as well. The damn thing just looked so sleek with it's huge screen and smudgy plastic shell.
I continued to think that way until the day that Nintendogs and Advance Wars launched. From that day forward, momentum shifted in a big way.
I continued to think that way until the day that Nintendogs and Advance Wars launched. From that day forward, momentum shifted in a big way.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I can't remember why I had doubts about the PSP.
I feel like it was the price. While everyone was arguing about how consumers will buy whatever looks nicer, there was a part of my mind going "Yeah, but $250 is way too much." I mean, I still bought one, but I'm me.
What's funny is not enough people learned this lesson in 2005 and the same problem occurred in 2009.
I feel like it was the price. While everyone was arguing about how consumers will buy whatever looks nicer, there was a part of my mind going "Yeah, but $250 is way too much." I mean, I still bought one, but I'm me.
What's funny is not enough people learned this lesson in 2005 and the same problem occurred in 2009.
Warren Ellis
Banned
Mael said:
i was talking about nintendogs and brain training
bafflewaffle
Member
this line got a laugh? bigest shock of the old thread
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Oh, poo.
I couldn't find my comments about how I was afraid how this would mean the end for the GameBoy Advance.
Everybody just laughed at me and told me "third pillar".
I couldn't find my comments about how I was afraid how this would mean the end for the GameBoy Advance.
Everybody just laughed at me and told me "third pillar".
PataHikari
Banned
ShockingAlberto said:
Anyone with a lick of sense would have seen the DS and PSP situation and realized that was how the new consoles were going to go too.
Sadly, not a lot of people have a lick of sense, it seems
In fact, it's still going on!:lol
"New Super Mario Bros Wii will be HUGE! Just look at the DS game!"
"What are you talking about! Handhelds and consoles are totally different!"
GamerZero said:
I think that it's going to be this year. Assuming that Nintendo wouldn't announce Wii+/Wii2 in the same year as the DS2, if Nintendo were to announce the DS2 next year, that would mean that they would have to announce Wii+/Wii2 this year (unlikely) or in 2012 or later, which I'm not sure about.
Or maybe Nintendo will be Nintendo and do something crazy that none of us anticipate and make a load of money off of it. Who knows?
frankie_baby
Member
pirata said:
i'm thinking they'll only announce it this year if it'll also release this year
PataHikari
Banned
Or maybe they won't announce any new console and just let the DS keep on selling.
ratcliffja
Member
ShockingAlberto said:
Bah, I was excited about it from the very start. I thought it could be really big, even before they announced touch screen support.
Willy105 said:
The way I see it, when creating a new untested control scheme, there are three important metrics: does it make it easier to use, does it add functionality, and does it make it more fun.
Nothing was made simpler or easier to do by removing buttons - in fact, it was quite the opposite. A control scheme that registers rolling and occasionally basic walking as sword slashes, and then sword slashes as rolls or basic walking, is not a good one.
It didn't increase functionality either - pretty much everything Link can do can also be done in the other Zelda games. The little added functionality in the game - the ability to draw paths for some items - could have easily been done with a d-pad or analog stick since you can't move while using it anyway.
The last one is the most subjective, but the most important; even a control scheme that makes things more complicated and removes functionality could be fine if it's still enjoyable to use. But... it's not. Having every action mapped to the touch screen is more frustrating than fun. There is no added enjoyment from tapping on an enemy to attack him compared to using a button, or from guiding Link indirectly by pointing him in a direction compared to guiding him directly with a d-pad or analog stick.
In short, it adds absolutely nothing. So what was the point? Why even bother with the full touch screen controls? Just because it's on the DS? Having it control like a normal Zelda and using the bottom screen for a map and quick access inventory may not have been as different or exciting, but it would have been a better use of the DS' features, as it would have both added functionality and simplified stuff.
abstract alien
Member
Calcaneus said:
I don't remember anything overly negative being said about nintendo until this happened.
Princess Skittles
Prince's's 'Skittle's
Probably when Halo was released?Calcaneus said:
Threads like this are full of amazingly bad predictions:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21041
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21041
It wasn't "hate" until Gamecube. Really.
It was a festering sore during the N64 era (carts...LOL!) and people started with the "kiddy" stuff during the SNES era because of Mortal Kombat (and NOBLOODOMG!).
The real hate kicked in when Gamecube was competing with Xbox for second place in the console wars because PC gamers truly hated Nintendo, and still do. Most of those people who left PC gaming behind became Xbox fans and so Nintendo was truly the enemy because Nintendo had all these kiddy games on their kiddy console that looked like a purse. That drags down the perception of videogames keeping them from being accepted as mature thoughtful entertainment events and it makes those people angry.
...so now that Nintendo has made videogames somewhat mainstream again, it angers those people even more because it's not the brilliant self-important "artistic" games that brought videogames back to the masses, it's waggle and minigames (to use their lingo) and it's just one big joke because the masses are teh dum.
That's how I see it anyway...
It was a festering sore during the N64 era (carts...LOL!) and people started with the "kiddy" stuff during the SNES era because of Mortal Kombat (and NOBLOODOMG!).
The real hate kicked in when Gamecube was competing with Xbox for second place in the console wars because PC gamers truly hated Nintendo, and still do. Most of those people who left PC gaming behind became Xbox fans and so Nintendo was truly the enemy because Nintendo had all these kiddy games on their kiddy console that looked like a purse. That drags down the perception of videogames keeping them from being accepted as mature thoughtful entertainment events and it makes those people angry.
...so now that Nintendo has made videogames somewhat mainstream again, it angers those people even more because it's not the brilliant self-important "artistic" games that brought videogames back to the masses, it's waggle and minigames (to use their lingo) and it's just one big joke because the masses are teh dum.
That's how I see it anyway...
Calcaneus said:
Well, it certainly has become more visible. Back in the day, the only outlets for this 'hatred' were schoolyard shoutfests, letters columns in specialty magazines, and mostly unseen posts in early BBS rooms. Now-a-days everybody has a voice and an audience.
And it's fair to mention that hatred for Nintendo was kind of cultivated over time. People who normally would have just done their own thing were convinced by advertising that Nintendo was uncool, and kiddy, first with the Genesis Does advertising and later with Sony's Crash Bandicoot campaign. Fans of other consoles were pretty much conditioned to 'hate' Nintendo.
FoneBone said:
There were also a few really prescient observations on the logistics of the twin launches
Finally, a proper gloves-off DS vs PSP thread. Lovely
An issue that noone seems to be mentioning is that PSP will miss the holiday sales in the US. If both machines sell according to their companies' expectations, the end of March we will see 4 million DS vs 1 million PSP. That's quite a big headstart, and I don't actually think Sony will be able to manufacture the PSP quick enough to keep up with the DS for a while, even if there is demand.
Gamewise it doesn't really matter any more. Everyone knows that Nintendo can sell a system based on their games alone. Look how many people bought a GBA for Pokemon and even the Famicom Mini series
PataHikari
Banned
KevinCow said:
Except this isn't true.
To your average person, pointing where you want the character to go, and touching the enemy that you want to attack, is much simpler to grasp.
To hardc0re gamerz, maybe it's more difficult, but for the rest of the world it's not.
Dave Long said:
Pc Gamers don't hate Nintendo. The gaming intelligentsia hate Nintendo and that happened with the N64/GameCube. They are people who grew up with Nintendo (and most never have played PC games) and they are unhappy that Nintendo still views games as toys and not self-important "artistic" and "mature" games that they feel games should be. Nintendo is not also joining the technical arms race that so many of the intelligentsia want. It is simple and I heard this on the Bitmob podcast, it doesn't matter how good the game is they don't wwant to play because of graphics.
Dave Long said:
Not really. IMO, Nintendo games are an example of the kind of gaming one cannot get on the PC (outside emulation of course). As such, a Nintendo console and/or handheld has always been a perfect supplement to a good gaming PC.
People who abandoned the PC for the Xbox were never dedicated PC gamers anyway; they simply liked the type of games one could formerly only find on PCs, but they lack appreciation of the things that define the PC as a gaming platform, or they just got lazy. The PC continues to offer the kinds of gaming the consoles (not only Nintendo's) do not have available and as such there's no conflict.
Nintendo's detractors are predominantly found among fans of its console brethren.
charlequin
Banned
FoneBone said:
Krazy Ken Kutaragi said:
Yes they will, Ken. Yes they will.
Flakster99
Member
I see posters such as junkwaffle and wonder where they went? ;(
Good times, good read.
Good times, good read.
viciouskillersquirrel
Member
What the f*ck is this shit? Aiming a cursor with any sort of precision using a d-pad or analog stick is a frustrating chore with a tremendous learning curve. Drawing a line using a stylus isn't.KevinCow said:
I ragequit a few times on Uncharted, for instance, because trying to aim the gun using the analog stick feels to me, a gamer who was absent for the two analog stick generations, like trying to steer a car with my feet. There's a level of abstraction inherent in using analog sticks or d-pad (i.e. on-screen movement is based on the first integral of the input) that isn't present if using (say) a mouse or touchscreen.
But yeah, both PH and ST would be worse games if you had to aim the arrows, whip,
sand rod
I understand that you might prefer d-pad and buttons because they're what you've grown accustomed to, but don't pretend that they're an inherently superior form of control.