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[Brandon F]

My least favorite Nintendo platform launch, although meteos gave me a bit of enjoyment after Mario 64 ran its course. I loathed the hardware, the gimmick, the look of the system, and the library in year 1.

The DS lite in 2006 kind of marked a major turnaround, practically transformed the DS overnight and for years it continued to build a memorable library.

 

[Nekketsu Kõha]

The fat design was such a bad choice but I think they were rushing them out, but I have seen worse launches, just thought the design of it at first was what was holding back from becoming the mainstream massive success it ended up being after the ds lite

I hated it and quickly sold it. Came back for DS Lite with phantom hourglass. The fat DS to me was horrible. Happy they actually redesigned and improved it. Also at launch all it had basically was that nintendogs right? Only thing I remember. Don't recognize the other titles.

 

[foxuzamaki]

I remember when the DS launched cinematech did episode a with a DS border around them, was fun to look at

 

[ArtHands]

Someone else did the work for me!

The reactions to it are far different than it's legacy!

oh god that reactions LOL

 

[TheJoRu]

I bought the fatty model on launch with SM64DS. At the time I actually thought the controls were fine, though in hindsight they...really weren't.

Had great times with this system. I should definitely have bought more games for it, but I was young and poor and had a Gamecube and later a 360 and Wii as well to buy games for.

Don't have it anymore, but I do have a 3DS so I might try and look for some cool DS games if I can find them cheap.

 

[WhatWeLeftBehind]

Obligatory to the point I can't believe it hasn't been posted yet. WTF, GAF?

Anyway, loved the system ever since its reveal at E3 2004. Always believed that it would win against the PSP after reading Sony would be going with a disc-based handheld. Couldn't believe the amount of journalists that were convinced otherwise and ignored the mistakes Sony was making.

Got a Japanese DS in January 2005. Man was the line-up in that first year rough. I knew the system could do way more though, Wario Ware: Touched! and Feel the Magic XY/XX proved that.

The big turnaround came with Jump Superstars. A game that is still the best Smash Bros on portable. After that we got the really big stuf like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing. What really got me going was Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Advance Wars Dual Strike and M&L: Partners in Time. Gott damn talk about a turnaround. Just on the basis of that first christmas, the DS deserved every single one of its LTD sales.

Also: a lot of people keep shitting on the original fatty DS. But that is still one sturdy ass handheld. Beats the flimsy build quality Nintendo's kept up all the way to the New 3DS. Only the Switch and New 2DS XL have returned a bit to that sturdy type of design. A little bit.

 

[Merchandise]

I think the DS was my best Christmas present ever in terms of excitement. I knew where my mom hid the presents and I saw it there while snooping and when she let me open one on Christmas Eve I went right for it. Played that Metroid demo for hours <3

 

[amishpriest99]

Do you guys remember ...

That never worked well for me. Ended up finishing SM64DS using the dpad controls. Wasn't too bad once I got used to it.

 

[m_shortpants]

This was the secret sauce that made DS fps's actually playable.

I thought that Metroid Prime played incredible with this.

 

[Phediuk]

Pretty terrible launch.

 

[Jubenhimer]

I remember first seeing the DS in News paper ad, and I was immediately intruiged by it's uniqueness. 2 screens?, 3D graphics? Even if its initial design was fugly as uck looking back on it, Seven year old me was still dazzled by it's look, especially when I later found out about its touch screen and mic. I didn't get a DS at launch, I didn't even own one until 2007, but during the system's earlier years, I went to every kiosk I could find to play this thing, even with Sony's PSP staring me right in the face, I always played the DS simply because of what it could do, and once Nintendogs dropped, I knew this the DS was special. Looking back in hindsight, the first few months of the system were extremely rough, with very little to play outside of a somewhat compromised, but still playable port of Super Mario 64, and a demo of a game that was about 2 years out from a release.

In the end though, the DS ended up being a fantastic system, I'd even go as far as to call it Nintendo's magnum-opus in mobile gaming, at least until The Switch tops it. It had everything you needed for a handheld of its time, great games, 3D graphics, intuitive controls, wi-fi, local wireless, and camera, audio and game downloads with the arrival of the DSi.

 

[aett]

I was at GameStop picking up Metal Gear Solid 3 and my roommate, who had just received a bonus at work, decided to get a DS on a whim. We played some Mario 64, but for the most part, the system sat unused for the first year. The only exception was when he bought WarioWare Touched and we HATED it compared to the original WW games.

About a year after launch, the games started coming rapid-fire: Castlevania DoS, Animal Crossing WW, Mario & Luigi 2, Mario Kart DS, Phoenix Wright... around this time my roommate moved out so I bought myself a blue DS and probably played more of that console than my PS2 or GCN over the next year or two.

 

[Fiendcode]

You seem to forget the 3DS's launch. That was a true shitshow and I love the 3DS. It was pretty obvious shareholders pushed Nintendo to release early because people got hyped by the 3D. So we had a model that felt unfinished, lack of games and the eShop wasn't even ready yet. It was rushed and it bit them in the ass. It was only saved because of what Iwata did.

3DS had way a better launch lineup than DS did. Neither were great but 3DS was definitely better with SSF4, Shadow Wars, Pilotwings, Samurai Warriors and Ridge Racer all being pretty good. DS only had an awkward Mario 64 port and Feel the Magic really.

 

[Breakage]

I had that first gen model.It was the only DS I've owned and it was hideous; it felt like it was an internal prototype.

 

[The Main Event]

Bought mine at a Circuit City with Mario 64 DS on launch day. Was pretty excited since it was a brand new unconventional hardware at the time but looking back at the available software, damn, that was pitiful. Meteos was the first title that truly excited me.

And the DS vs PSP war was truly something lol.

 

[mebizzle]

I feel like I'm the only person that likes the Phat DS design. It really felt like a suped up SP and it was awesome to have two game systems crammed together like that

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Honestly one of the worst system launches I can remember. Terrible hardware design (for the OG DS), terrible games at launch, and a whole lotta nothing until almost a year after its release. It's astonishing that they turned it around as thoroughly as they did.

 

[sotojuan]

Weak launch for me. I waited until the DS Lite to get into the DS train and I feel like I made the right choice. I was drowning in games by then.

 

[MaximumSpider]

A slow start for the tidal wave known as the DS. I remember wanting Dash but never getting it. Got the Lite instead.
I remember my first game was Pokemon Rangers and I could not put it down if my life depended on it.

 

[7roject28]

I remember going to Gamestop and putting a preorder for the PSP. Then the cashier was telling me about the DS, which I hadn't heard of yet. He was like, yeah the PSP is cool but I'll wait for the DS. But I got a DS also when that came out. The build quality of the DS was pretty bad. That was the only that had the hinge break on me out of all clam shell designed handhelds that I had.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

The DS was almost as bad as the 3DS. DS Lite was cool though.

 

[Kyzer]

Finally got a DS Lite one year along with FF3, it was an immaculate experience. DP launch was also hype

 

[Nyoro SF]

I remember passing on the launch of the DS because I just didn't see any games that could hold my interest. Changed my mind in Japan and decided to pick up a used mint-color DS Lite in 2007.

The system is one of my all-time favorites, and I won't ever forget the good times I had with it; whether it was a single player game, ad-hoc multi with friends in college, or online multiplayer. The fact that it was region free also was quite the blessing as I sunk countless hours into Jump Ultimate Stars.

It's too bad that the launch was what it was, but at least all is well that ends well.

 

[MaximumSpider]

Finally got a DS Lite one year along with FF3, it was an immaculate experience. DP launch was also hype

I remember it being the only game I ever wanted in life after seeing all the hype in magazines and the internet. Loved it back then kinda okay today.

 

[chrisPjelly]

I have to come clean; Nintendogs sold me on the system. Those kiosks where you could interact with the touch screen and mic were MIND BLOWING to me as a kid.

 

[kunonabi]

I tuned out of Nintendo handhelds midway through the GB's lifespan so I skipped the GBA and the DS at launch. I ended up getting the DS later on so I could play Trace Memory. Very glad I did. I upgraded to the crimson DS lite as soon as it hit since I didn't care much for the og model.

 

[BlakeofT]

This thread reminds me of the mannequin hand promotion and how weird that was.

 

[Randomizer]

Talk about a system with first year drought. Had to import Meteos, Touch! Kirby & Electroplankton from Japan just to give myself something to play after the UK launch. Although it did eventually develop a great library and turned out to be possibly my favourite handheld.

 

[p_xavier]

Loathed the system. Couldn't understand how someone could play the DS while the PSP was available. I never liked N64 style graphics, so was biased. I still love my 3DS though and got the chance to buy 2D DS games for it.

 

[ghibli99]

I received one as a gift that Christmas with SM64 DS. I think the only other game I got around that time was Yoshi Touch & Go... wondered if I'd made a mistake even receiving one as a gift. LOL Then the flood/momentum came along with the DS Lite, and it went on to become arguably the best handheld I've ever owned, up there with the PSP and GBA.

 

[HotHamBoy]

DS launch was rough. One of Nintendo's worst but better than the 3DS. Awful hardware.

Mario 64 was just an extremely unfit game for the platform. I feel like the system didn't really get its legs under it until Mario Kart DS - one of the best games in the franchise.

Of course, it was really the DS Lite that gave the system a new lease on life and launched it into the stratosphere. Great redesign, timely New Super Mario Bros, Animal Crossing, Touch Generations/Brain Age "blue ocean" initiative.

Went on to be a real powerhouse.

My first ever import game was Osu Tatakae Oundan.

I remember going to Gamestop and putting a preorder for the PSP. Then the cashier was telling me about the DS, which I hadn't heard of yet. He was like, yeah the PSP is cool but I'll wait for the DS. But I got a DS also when that came out. The build quality of the DS was pretty bad. That was the only that had the hinge break on me out of all clam shell designed handhelds that I had.

The DS came out in all regions Winter 2004. The PSP didn't release in NA until March 2005 and in UK Sept 2005.

Your story doesn't make sense.

 

[pinkurocket]

The dual screens were genius, the touchscreen even better.
It's all so normal now, but drawing a line and having it become a platform felt amazing. I remember some endless jumper in Wario Ware Touched, that kept me amused for ages. It's so silly now since those types of games have become mobile trash nowadays. .

 

[crabhammer]

I got really good at Mario 64 on the dpad. It'll never be ideal, but I somehow made it work. Feel the Magic was a cool, strange game and I never did get around to the Rub Rabbits. Those first like 8 months were pretty rough, I guess. I think after those two launch games all I got was Wario Ware Touched a couple months later.

But fuck man, by Summer 05 that console was on fire. Canvas Curse and Meteos in June. Advance Wars and Nintendogs in August. Castlevania, Ace Attorney, and Trauma Center in October. Mario Kart in November. I'm sure I'm missing stuff too. What a year!

I was a little skeptical of the touch screen at first, but ultimately I ended up being totally wrong. It's a great interface for controlling video games, and having a second screen is perfect utility for games like the Metroidvanias where a persistent map is so much more convenient and streamlined than having to pause the game to bring up a map screen or have screen real estate taken up by a mini map.

I actually ended up owning several of these. I sold my phat to get a DS lite when they first came out. That ended up getting stolen from me in high school (with my unfinished copy of Yoshi's Island DS. RIP). The replacement I bought, I accidentally broke the screen on so I had that one repaired, and then I grabbed a DSi at launch which I had till the 3DS dropped. I actually dug the feel of the DSi a lot, but I think the Lite is still my favorite aesthetically.

 

[Theslammer]

I tuned out of Nintendo handhelds midway through the GB's lifespan so I skipped the GBA and the DS at launch. I ended up getting the DS later on so I could play Trace Memory. Very glad I did. I upgraded to the crimson DS lite as soon as it hit since I didn't care much for the og model.

That's kind of what I did, but moreso a bit after the Game Boy Color. For whatever reason, I didn't want to buy a GBA even though a lot of the games looked good, and then I skipped the DS launch.

However, New Super Mario Bros. convinced me to get one, despite the reputation it has as a weaker Mario game, because I missed 2D Mario a lot.