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[evilromero]

I'll never understand this shit. The Nintendo DS just looks like it offers more fun right from the start. Sure, the PSP may offer slick visuals and very complex games down the road but right now the DS is the clear leader in content.

 

[AniHawk]

No not me!

Then I guess I'll have to sell CVX. With all his knowledge of RE, he could be worth a pretty penny.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Oh boy, I hope we all get to play this game:

won't cost more than a used car: DS (1:0)
square enix isn't going to further destroy the mana series on it: PSP (1:0)
winner: PSP (1:0MG)

 

[drohne]

hm, i hadn't considered the "used car factor." i mean, the psp is kind of cool, but probably not as cool as a 1976 dodge dart. i'd go back and revise, except that i don't want to compromise my aura of editorial infallibility.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Have some respect, man. I was conceived in a Dart.

 

[jarrod]

Isn't that a bit contradictory? Considering the vast amount of announced titles are 3rd party.

Could mean they think...

Nintendo's DS games > 3rd party PSP games > 3rd party DS games

...though personally I'd say it's more the other way around.

 

[SolidSnakex]

That's exactly the reason why the original black and white gameboy was outsold by the Gamegear, Nomad, and Lynx.

Especially considering how those companies are in the same position as Sony. Those comparisons always will be terrible and don't make any sense when compared to Sony.

 

[AniHawk]

I think the Game Gear comparison is pretty solid. Sega was at the top of their game, Game Gear wasn't exactly a flop (to my knowledge, people did go out and buy it). I wasn't looking up sales around 1993, but I got the general impression it was popular.

 

[jarrod]

Game Gear managed around 10 million sold iirc, which is definitely respectable. It had pretty strong western 3rd party support also, like Genesis/MD. Sega's strong brand name at the time definitely helped it.

Nomad was never really supported, just a neat handheld Genesis model Sega delivered for fans. I don't think Sega ever intended it to be a serious competitive handheld platform.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I think the Game Gear comparison is pretty solid. Sega was at the top of their game, Game Gear wasn't exactly a flop (to my knowledge, people did go out and buy it). I wasn't looking up sales around 1993, but I got the general impression it was popular.

It's a decent comparison, that's it. It doesn't work well when compared to the position Sony's in. They've came out from dominating 2 generations straight which no other company has ever done. They've got a massive amount of advertising ability ect. This isn't the samething as Sega or those other handhelds, not even close.

 

[jarrod]

It doesn't work well when compared to the position Sony's in. They've came out from dominating 2 generations straight which no other company has ever done.

Except Nintendo, who's dominated 3 generations of handhelds...

 

[SolidSnakex]

Yes I know that but we aren't talking about Nintendo, we're comparing those companies to Sony. If Nintendo goes in with that way of thinking, they're going to be in for a big surprise. But from what I can tell, they clearly know Sony isn't anything to joke around with.

 

[drohne]

and the game gear, like the lynx, wasn't really very portable. it was fucking huge, and went through AA batteries even faster than the psp will go through its rechargeables.

that's what impresses me most about the psp, really: we've seen incongruously capable portable hardware before -- most notably the lynx and turbo express -- but they've always sacrificed portability for power. the psp is hardly any larger than the old gba, and its surface is practically all screen. i don't know if that'll help it in the marketplace, but it sure makes me want one.

 

[Date of Lies]

Amount of money hats given to us by the company: PSP (5:0)


All I want to know now is where the fck are all the fighting games?

Capcom!!!

 

[Acosta]

I don´t like complaining about magazine features, everyone do its job they way he can and want, and god knows there is more that enough criticism .

But I don´t get this quote:

"But handheld goers have never held system power as a priority, so we'll see. "

What? so why GB crushed every other handheld system around when there was no "monopoly" and no Pokemon? Maybe it was because its beatiful and sharp screen?

If battery is not an issue, the only advantage I see for Game Boy is... none. Game Gear library was more attractive to me (at least in Europe), was more powerful and I liked more its design.

 

[AniHawk]

I don´t like complaining about magazine features, everyone do its job they way he can and want, and god knows there is more that enough criticism .

But I don´t get this quote:

"But handheld goers have never held system power as a priority, so we'll see. "

What? so why GB crushed every other handheld system around when there was no "monopoly" and no Pokemon? Maybe it was because its beatiful and sharp screen?

If battery is not an issue, the only advantage I see for Game Boy is... none. Game Gear library was more attractive to me (at least in Europe), was more powerful and I liked more its design.

Lynx came out the same time as the Game Boy, and Nintendo didn't have a monopoly of the market, just the right game at the right time.

Historically, that's what it takes. Super Mario Bros. (NES), Tetris (Game Boy 1st life), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Pokemon (Game Boy 2nd life), Final Fantasy VII (PSX), Halo (Xbox).

Truthfully, I don't see that coming out for any system. Just more of the same, with a bit of variation on the DS. I think that will be what really will make people take notice of either system.

 

[Che]

And when I thought there's nothing worse than IGN's reviews, IGN's articles appear to change my standards again.

 

[Tellaerin]

Movies > Gameplay ?

Superior CPU and GPU > touchscreen and stylus

 

[Acosta]

Lynx came out the same time as the Game Boy, and Nintendo didn't have a monopoly of the market, just the right game at the right time.

Historically, that's what it takes. Super Mario Bros. (NES), Tetris (Game Boy 1st life), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Pokemon (Game Boy 2nd life), Final Fantasy VII (PSX), Halo (Xbox).

Truthfully, I don't see that coming out for any system. Just more of the same, with a bit of variation on the DS. I think that will be what really will make people take notice of either system.

You missed GTA 3/Vice City.

I believe DS is more than a "bit", but it´s up to the developers to profit it.

Tetris on Lynk or GG wouldn´t have been the same story. Specially for a game like Tetris you want your system work the maximum time possible, and you want your system is small enough to fit in your pocket (hardly in the case of a Game Boy, impossible for Game Gear and Lynk). You don´t need panoramic screens, analog sticks or incredible technology.

Tetris is exactly the reason I believe that in the handheld market, battery counts, a lot. Tetris or Pokemon are that type of games that you pass hours and hours without noticing it. Change 10 hours for 5 or less and you will have a lot of people pissed.

Other thing is that Sony is able to open a new market where the people don´t care about battery, but for the quality of its entertainment and the beauty of the tech. And I don´t deny Sony can do it, because I feel it that way too (I wouldn´t have a PSP preordered months ago if not). I will have DS and PSP and will enjoy them, but in different ways.

But actually, that market doesn´t exist in the videogame handheld industry. So claiming that battery has not been important in handheld looks completely wrong to me.

 

[Deg]

But actually, that market doesn´t exist in the videogame handheld industry. So claiming that battery has not been important in handheld looks completely wrong to me.

THey will crush GBASP and DS by tapping into this unknown new market.

 

[Bluemercury]

Superior CPU and GPU > touchscreen and stylus

So movies>gameplay;
cpu and gpu>touchscreen and stylus;

but,movies,cpu and gpu> battery life???

judging by the last portables NO.

 

[Brofist]

For me the touch screen is pure gimmick, I'll never use it. It's as though Nintendo knew were going to get killed as far hardware power, so they tried making the DS the "revolutionary handheld". If Sony gets around the price and battery life concerns, the PSP will blow that thing out.

 

[Bluemercury]

For me the touch screen is pure gimmick, I'll never use it. It's as though Nintendo knew were going to get killed as far hardware power, so they tried making the DS the "revolutionary handheld". If Sony gets around the price and battery life concerns, the PSP will blow that thing out.

If that was the case they could just bump the graphics chip..............after all arent they working in GBA2 which ultimately will kill psp power wise?

 

[Deg]

So movies>gameplay;
cpu and gpu>touchscreen and stylus;

but,movies,cpu and gpu> battery life???

judging by the last portables NO.

I disagree the success of every console has been proven by the sheer power they have. In Watts that is?

or me the touch screen is pure gimmick, I'll never use it.

Its true despite it being a proven control method for general usage outside of games like a keyboard and mouse, you wont use it.

 

[Brofist]

I think for gaming it's kinda of gimmicky, even if a proven control method in other ares.

For gaming I can't be bothered with a touch screen. Part of the reason I like video games (and this is actully true mostly of Nintendo games as well) is I like a quick escape from my day to day routine. I like to keep it simple, which is why I don't play hardcore simulation style games etc...I don't like to feel like I'm at work when I'm playing games.

 

[AssMan]

In the end we know who'll have the most 3rd party support.

 

[Brofist]

Same as the console with the most 3rd party support now.

 

[Acosta]

For gaming I can't be bothered with a touch screen. Part of the reason I like video games (and this is actully true mostly of Nintendo games as well) is I like a quick escape from my day to day routine. I like to keep it simple, which is why I don't play hardcore simulation style games etc...I don't like to feel like I'm at work when I'm playing games.

If you think the Nintendo DS games will be "hardcore simulation style games" I can´t imagine how you will deal with that "complex 3D worlds" of PSP. Maybe you should get a Game Boy instead.

They will crush GBASP and DS by tapping into this unknown new market.

I doubt the usual market of GBA simply dissapear once PSP is out. And I doubt very much that PSP can replace GB taking on count that few parents are going to buy "the ultimate handheld videogame experience" at least is half of whatever price has Sony in mind.

Sorry to ruin your "console wars" dreams of global dominaton, but the reality will be that no one is going to crush anyone. Each system is addresed to different markets.

 

[ge-man]

Same as the console with the most 3rd party support now.

It isn't that simple. The third party section of this article is one of the things that I found completely idiotic. Nintendo owns the portable market at the moment--to say that Sony can transfer their console success into that realm is a leap of faith. Consoles and handhelds are not the same in terms of prioities.

 

[Tellaerin]

So movies>gameplay;
cpu and gpu>touchscreen and stylus;

but,movies,cpu and gpu> battery life???

judging by the last portables NO.

Where do you get 'movies>gameplay' from? Because I prefer a system with a conventional design and more powerful hardware to one that offers weaker performance but has a novel input scheme? Sorry, but a touchscreen does not automatically equate to 'superior gameplay'. Hell, it doesn't even equate to gameplay that I want. I enjoy playing action games with a d-pad and buttons--controlling the action by tapping/drawing on a touchscreen with a stylus doesn't feel like a videogame at all to me. That's something that Nintendo seems interested in pushing down peoples' throats with the DS, and I really don't find it appealing. Aside from the touchscreen, the PSP can do everything the DS can, and then some. So I'm wrong for being more interested in the machine that offers designers a broader canvas for creating the types of games I want, ones that can be played without an electronic doodlepad?

As far as battery life goes, I suspect that the battery situation's a lot less dire than the naysayers claim. It's not a big issue for me anyway, since the unit should still be able to hold enough of a charge to carry me through the daily commute, and leaving it plugged in overnight to recharge is no big deal. YMMV. *shrug*

 

[Kobun Heat]

I enjoy playing action games with a d-pad and buttons--controlling the action by tapping/drawing on a touchscreen with a stylus doesn't feel like a videogame at all to me.

Video games are played with a joystick, not some weird cross-shaped pad. Tapping this thing with my thumb doesn't feel like a videogame at all to me.

Oh burn.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Oh burn.

So you really think touch screens are going to change gaming the way DPads did?

 

[ge-man]

I doubt that the stylus will drastically change the way games are played at the moment, but I don't think the option hurts either. I hope developers remember that it's an option and not something that needs support, thus giving us more gimmicky game features rather than something substantial like Johnny Nightrain's idea for on the fly play making in Madden.

 

[Kobun Heat]

So you really think touch screens are going to change gaming the way DPads did?

Yes, actually. If it turns out I'm wrong you can go ahead and laugh at me, but yes.

Touch screens further connect the player to what's going on onscreen. There's little to no 'learning-the-controller' phase. People jump right in. If you look at the two arcade games most popular in bars, they're the perennial golf game that uses only a trackball, and the MegaTouch machines where you use your finger.

Whether Nintendo can make it a market success or not really depends on a lot of things, but touchscreen has enormous potential to reach out to non-"gamers", which is a major step this industry needs to take at some point. So yeah, I'm a believer.

 

[Acosta]

Because I prefer a system with a conventional design and more powerful hardware to one that offers weaker performance but has a novel input scheme? Sorry, but a touchscreen does not automatically equate to 'superior gameplay

But a touchscreen, microphone and two screens does something that PSP don´t: trying something original.

PSP will have awesome games and will be great, but will be exactly the same type of handheld we have been playing since Game Boy. Is that what you want? perfect, I want it too.

But that doesn´t make Nintendo DS "a gimmick" with just a novel input scheme to offer. No one of the demos I played at E3 was like other, all was novel ideas I haven´t experienced before because nobody had thought in a stylus as a way to play. Nintendo is ofering something not conventonal, I won´t call it revolution or any other PR term, but it´s neat, well thought and for my experience, really fun.

Personally, I am glad Nintendo trying this and not a "Game Boy 2 with GC power", this way I feel encouraged to buy both because I will obtain different experiences for sure.

 

[Acosta]

So you really think touch screens are going to change gaming the way DPads did?

Why not? wouldn´t be the first time Nintendo does something like that.

I am with Kobun Heat about it depends of a lot of things. Maybe Nintendo DS will finish being a big flop at all. But I will never blame Nintendo for trying.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Yes, actually. If it turns out I'm wrong you can go ahead and laugh at me, but yes.

Touch screens further connect the player to what's going on onscreen. There's little to no 'learning-the-controller' phase. People jump right in. If you look at the two arcade games most popular in bars, they're the perennial golf game that uses only a trackball, and the MegaTouch machines where you use your finger.

Whether Nintendo can make it a market success or not really depends on a lot of things, but touchscreen has enormous potential to reach out to non-"gamers", which is a major step this industry needs to take at some point. So yeah, I'm a believer.

Right now atleast the thing just screams "gimmick". Nothing shown so far really looks like it could change anything. There's some nice stuff, but nothing that's going to become a staple in gaming. That could change as more games are announced.

I'm with Tell on this, i'd much rather have a DPad and analog stick for controlling my characters than a DPad and a stylus.

 

[Makura]

And here's a shot of the IGN staff hard at work coming up with those scores:

LOLOLOLOL

 

[Makura]

The third party score is a joke. Try again IGN.

 

[mashoutposse]

Oh burn.

Buttons have always been naturally conducive to enjoyable game play, so translating the conventional keyboard arrowpad into a D-Pad for a handheld controller seemed like a better way to do things on its face.

Touchscreen control, however, is inherently clunky for the vast majority of game genres.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Right now atleast the thing just screams "gimmick". Nothing shown so far really looks like it could change anything. There's some nice stuff, but nothing that's going to become a staple in gaming. That could change as more games are announced.

This is your argument? I know it's a little early in the morning still, but this is pure fluff. I'm giving a theoretical argument on what touch-screen does for the player's experience, followed up real-life examples of how touch-screen gaming is popular in the mainstream. You haul out the old 'gimmick' line yet again.

Do you really just have nothing?

 

[Acosta]

Right now atleast the thing just screams "gimmick". Nothing shown so far really looks like it could change anything

Why? because you say so? Given for my experience, it change quite things because it opens new gates.

Maybe you could tell us about your experience with Nintendo DS and how do you felt playing it (because I am sure you have played given your security).

 

[Tellaerin]

Yes, actually. If it turns out I'm wrong you can go ahead and laugh at me, but yes.

Touch screens further connect the player to what's going on onscreen. There's little to no 'learning-the-controller' phase. People jump right in. If you look at the two arcade games most popular in bars, they're the perennial golf game that uses only a trackball, and the MegaTouch machines where you use your finger.

Whether Nintendo can make it a market success or not really depends on a lot of things, but touchscreen has enormous potential to reach out to non-"gamers", which is a major step this industry needs to take at some point. So yeah, I'm a believer.

Show me a horizontally- or vertically-scrolling shooter, fighter, or racer that's as playable with a stylus as it is with a conventional d-pad, and I might be inclined to believe you. Until then, I'll have to stick with my assertion that while the stylus-based input scheme might be well-suited for certain types of gameplay, it's no replacement for a d-pad in the genres I'm partial to. As long as enough people continue to enjoy gaming as it exists now, the input devices associated with those games will continue to dominate.

 

[SantaC]

isn't it awful quiet about the DS even though it's just 3 months away from launch? They talk more about the PSP even though it's 2005.

Nintendo needs to get agressive with DS very soon in their marketing.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Touchscreen control, however, is inherently clunky for the vast majority of game genres.

And perfectly fluid for many others, as well as types of games that haven't been invented yet.

The games we play on consoles with standard controllers are designed around a D-pad and buttons. Translate them over perfectly to the DS and force the use of a stylus and yes, they'd be clunky. But that's not what the DS is going to provide - it's about new types of games, new genres, and redesigns of old ideas that work better with the control stick.

Typical of people with no creativity or imagination to assume that nobody else has any, either.

EDIT:

Show me a horizontally- or vertically-scrolling shooter, fighter, or racer that's as playable with a stylus as it is with a conventional d-pad, and I might be inclined to believe you.

You're answered above as well. I appreciate your hardcore old-school flavor, but I'm sorry that you'll never play a videogame that's not exactly like those. You're going to be missing out.

 

[SolidSnakex]

This is your argument? I know it's a little early in the morning still, but this is pure fluff. I'm giving a theoretical argument on what touch-screen does for the player's experience, followed up real-life examples of how touch-screen gaming is popular in the mainstream. You haul out the old 'gimmick' line yet again.

Do you really just have nothing?

Because until it's been proven to work in this market, it is a gimmick. It hasn't been proven to work yet. And alot of people are still skeptical about how it's going to work in certain genres. I don't see how it's a fluff argument. You're giving the optimistic view on the features future and i'm given the skeptics side. I don't see what the problem is with that. I'm sure alot of people thought the Virtual Boy would be the next big thing in videogames too, and look at where its at now.

 

[ge-man]

isn't it awful quiet about the DS even though it's just 3 months away from launch? They talk more about the PSP even though it's 2005.

Nintendo needs to get agressive with DS very soon in their marketing.

TGS is this week I believe. There's suppose to be a western 3rd party blow out tommorrow as well IIRC. Nintendo will start pimping the DS very hard this month.

 

[SantaC]

TGS is this week I believe. There's suppose to be a western 3rd party blow out tommorrow as well IIRC. Nintendo will start pimping the DS very hard this month.

that's what I want to see. Nintendo themselves wont be at TGS though.

 

[kaching]

The problem with most of the comments about battery life is that they continue to be myopic, as if the only portable devices that exist are in the Gameboy series.

But since the last serious challenge that Nintendo faced in the portable gaming space, the entire portable device market has expanded and diversified significantly. Many more people have become exposed to and regular users of laptops, PDAs, camcorders, digital cameras, portable DVD players and so forth, all of which have battery life in the same range as the PSP.

I can certainly appreciate why some of you would personally prefer battery life over raw performance, but you can't simply project that personal preference onto an entire potential market when people have clearly shown they are willing to accept shorter than GB battery life in exchange for more advanced or more powerful featuresets.

 

[nubbe]

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." - Charles Duell, Director of US Patent Office, 1899

Seems like most people have this attitude... and so dose Nintendo in a way… so they try to change it.