Nintendo DS

...have no idea what the Nintendo DS is allow me to introduce you. The Nintendo DS is a totally different to Nintendo’s Game Boy console, something that can be quite hard to grasp as it is a portable console made by Nintendo! Nintendo says the DS is the third pillar (Game Cube, Game Boy Advance and DS) and will continue to support all three. The DS as you can see from the image above is a clamshell design with two screens that sit horizontally. I’ll ...
...is to look at the Nintendo DS on its own merits. A lot of reviews I’ve seen list the Nintendo DS’s features and then says something like “watch out for the Sony PSP in a few months”. Why do that, why? Surely a review of the Nintendo DS should review the console and not just dismiss it.

I was always going to buy the Nintendo DS, I’ve had almost every portable console that Nintendo have ever made and have never been disappointed. I ... more

For over a year now I’ve been looking forward to 2005 not because of the fact I am now over a quarter of a century old, no, but because 2005 is the year that the next generation of portable gaming is unleashed. In the first few days of sales in the UK the DS shifted 87,000 units, setting a new record. In the USA and Japan the DS has surpassed 4 million units in 16 weeks and it is expected that global sales will hit 6 million in March.

For those of you who have no idea what the Nintendo DS is allow me to introduce you. The Nintendo DS is a totally different to Nintendo’s Game Boy console, something that can be quite hard to grasp as it is a portable console made by Nintendo! Nintendo says the DS is the third pillar (Game Cube, Game Boy Advance and DS) and will continue to support all three. The DS as you can see from the image above is a clamshell design with two screens that sit horizontally. I’ll come on to the design and features in a little while. The DS costs £99.99 and games range from £19.99 to £29.99, although I have seen some retailers charging £35 and others on the internet charging £25 for the same titles.

My aim in this review is to look at the Nintendo DS on its own merits. A lot of reviews I’ve seen list the Nintendo DS’s features and then says something like “watch out for the Sony PSP in a few months”. Why do that, why? Surely a review of the Nintendo DS should review the console and not just dismiss it.

I was always going to buy the Nintendo DS, I’ve had almost every portable console that Nintendo have ever made and have never been disappointed. I must say though that to write this review I took a step back and looked at the DS with an open mind and the honest truth is that I think it’s great! The DS is a nice size and fits comfortably in your hands, I have heard complaints about the rectangle shape digging into peoples hands, but personally this hasn’t been an issue for me. The DS isn’t the best looking console in the world, it’s not the best looking console made by Nintendo, but that doesn’t matter. The reason it doesn’t matter is that once its open and you’re playing a game you tend not to look at the outside and marvel on how pretty it is! It may seem weird to control games with the touch screen at first, but that’s only because everyone is so used to the joy pads that we’re all accustomed to. The controls are easy to use and the touch screen adds a feeling on more control and accuracy to things. The screens are a good size and are backlit which means the colours stand out more and it manages to create some impressive 3D images. The graphics are of a high standard too, for those of you who remember the N64, well the DS can perform above and beyond the N64. I know we live in the 128 bit world these days, but how many of the 128 bit console games are actually pushing the boundries? The Simple fact is that the DS's graphics are still impressive even though the DS lacks some weight in this area.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nintendo DS – Conspiracy Theory

Yes the DS has its very own conspiracy theory! I read a report that suggests that Nintendo launched the DS as a reaction to Sony’s PSP, in order to hold it off until a new Game Boy could be launched. The theory seems to be based on Nintendo’s admission that the DS is the faster console they have developed from production to being on the shelf. I don’t believe it for a second, but if it is true then we will soon have an all singing and dancing Game Boy as well as this truly innovative piece of kit! Looks like everyone is a winner.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nintendo – The History

For those of you who think Nintendo is a spent force, think again.

Nintendo have been around since the late 1800’s when it was at the cutting edge of entertainment, producing Playing Cards!! and has always adapted and changed to stay in the game.

Nintendo have been producing video games for a quarter of a century and with the Nintendo DS they have shown a real intent to be there for some time yet. Here is a brief history of Nintendo’s handheld consoles.

1980 Nintendo released the Game & Watch series. Basically a simple monochrome LCD screen with one pre-programmed game.

1989 Nintendo launched the original Game Boy. A chunky grey box with a green monochrome screen that went on to become the biggest selling games console of all time and the name now synonymous with handheld gaming.

1996 Some 7 years later Nintendo re-launched the Game Boy as Game Boy Pocket, much slimmer (30% smaller), but with a larger screen and improved LCD display reducing the sometime poor visibility on the original Game Boy when playing faster games.

1998 Game Boy goes colour! Very similar in size and shape to the Game Boy Pocket but with an infared port and at last colour!! Nintendo also released a printer and digital camera attachment for the Game Boy colour.

2001 And what a year! Nintendo launched the Game Boy Advance. Completely different to all previous Game Boys, this one was horizontal instead of vertical and had vastly improved graphics, colours and sounds. The GBA was backwards compatible with all older Game Boy titles.

2003 The GBA was re-launched as the GBA SP, a much smaller unit with a clam shell design. The GBA SP also had an illuminated screen. The GBA SP has had many face lifts over the years, including the tribal tattoo, classic NES and Girlie Pink!

In these 16 years Nintendo has shifted over 100 million Game Boy units and changed the way people play games on the move, the DS will simply change the way we play games!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nintendo – Innovation

Maybe it is the Japanese history that keeps Nintendo looking for new angles and new ways, but over the last few years Nintendo has continued to bring new games with new ideas, not simply churn out year after year the same games (Electronic Arts is a good/bad example whichever way you look at it, every year we get a new Fifa game and every year its basically the same game with something slightly different). This may be the reason why people tend not to give Nintendo much time of day in this country, but thankfully Nintendo continues to drag us kicking and screaming to new games and new innovations.

Mario 64 – The father of all 3D platform games, I admit this has given many developers licence to release really bad games with decent graphics, but that’s laziness on developer’s part, the potential for great platform games in 3D is there and Mario 64 set the standards.

Donkey Konga – Last year saw the launch of Nintendo’s Bongo’s and the Donkey Konga game that was a new twist on the usual Dance Mat type game. This year they released Jungle Beat which saw the Bongo’s used as a controller for a platform game.

GBA link – Nintendo launched a number of titles that allowed people to link their GBA to their Game Cube. The most recent and most successful use of this link was Zelda: Four Swords, which switched the game play from Game Cube to GBA with great effect.

Boktai – A GBA title that let you influence the game with Sunlight! Really!!

Hey You Pikachu! – An N64 game that game packaged with a headset and voice recognition action.

There are plenty more examples, but if I’m not careful you’ll stop reading as I’ve hardly even got onto the DS yet!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Menu

When you turn on the DS you’re asked a few details to customise the DS to your tastes. It will ask you the time and date, your birth day and things like your favourite colour. The next time you turn on the DS you will come to a menu screen that lets you choose between the DS game or GBA game. It will also let you choose to start a multiplayer game or to use Pictochat the built in software. You can set the DS to bypass the menu and load the DS game as soon as it’s turned on. You can also select which screen to play GBA games on.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>DS Cosmetics

If anyone out there is basing their decision of buying any games console on how the console looks, they need serious help! After all it’s not what it looks like but how it performs, what it is capable of and what games are available or will be available that matter! At the moment the DS comes in one colour, Silver with a Black back, more colours are due and will probably out in Europe towards the end of the year. Size wise the DS is about the same size as a £10 note, it really will fit in your pocket!

Ok, I want to tell you about the hinge! Ok, so it’s not very exciting, but the hinge on the DS is big and durable this thing is not going to break! Actually the DS feels very well made and very tough, but not too heavy. The hinge allows you to lock the screen into an angle that suits you and the game you’re playing. The DS has dual slots. The slot on the top is for DS game cards. Basically you push the game card in and that’s it, to get it out just push the card down and it pops up so you can take it out. The 2nd slot is for Game Boy Advance games, but no matter how hard you try to jam one in, you cannot use old Game Boy games, trust me I’ve tried!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Controls

Far more important than how a console looks is the controls and the DS has options coming out of its ears! Those of you who remember the SNES (if you don’t, shame on you) will be familiar with most of the DS controls. There are 4 buttons on the right hand side of the bottom screen A,B,X and Y. Just above these are the always present Start and Select buttons. As with the Game Boy Advance the DS has two buttons on the top (shoulder) of the console. The DS has what looks like a standard D-pad to the left of the bottom screen, it looks standard as it is + shaped, but unlike previous Nintendo controls this one is a lot flatter and wider and is so much easier to use and control. The DS’s Power button is tucked inside the console so you can’t accidentally turn it on when the clamshell is shut.

Ok, so the DS has the standard buttons you’d expect to find on any console, but it also has two new ways to interact with games that you won’t find anywhere else, yet! The bottom screen on the DS is a touch screen, and can be used in so many ways from a simple point and move to an analogue controller and more. The possibilities of a touch screen are endless and developers can bring unique parts to games or completely redesign the way you interact with the game. Some people see this as a gimmick, but it adds new dimensions to games and lets you have far more control over things. The DS also comes with a built in Microphone. This control is used in games like Wario Ware: Touched and Project Rub and at the moment is only simple, blow up a balloon etc. However, in the future we could be using voice recognition to control games.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Multiplayer?

On previous portable consoles if you want to play multiplayer you need a few cables and usually a couple of copies of the game, no longer. The DS operates a wireless network, Wi-Fi, (anyone with a pacemaker please read the warning booklet and don’t hold the DS over it when in networking mode, or use on a plane!). This means that 16 DS’s can link up and with no wires you can sit anywhere up to 100 feet apart, walls will reduce the range but even with a wall on some furniture you can be 30 feet apart! The DS also allows for people to play with one copy of the game, the DS’s will download the necessary information in about 90 seconds, more complex games will require more copies of the game, but simple multiplayer titles can make the most of the download option.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Wi-Fi latest

Nintendo recently announced that later this year it is launching a free Wi-Fi service that will allow people anywhere in the world to play against each other. Once the service goes live people will be able to access it from any Wi-Fi hotspot (café’s, service stations, hotels or at home. Nintendo is working on a version of it’s Animal Crossing to make the most of the Wi-Fi service.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sounds

Not the most important thing on a portable console as most of the time you’ll wind people up if you’re sat on a bus with the volume on full. However, The DS speakers offer virtual surround sound and the headphone socket pumps out real stereo. The speakers have a pretty decent output; I can’t really think why you’d need them to go any louder.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Game Cards

The DS uses a new type of Media that looks very similar to the memory cards you use in your digital cameras; basically it’s around the same size of a £2 coin. As it is not a disc based media there are no loading times, which means you have more time to play and less time waiting while it loads. The DS cards can hold 1GB of data and will allow for more complex games than was possible on the Game Boy consoles. The DS maintains Nintendo's universal format for portable consoles. Basically you can play a DS game from US or Japan on your UK DS.

The full list of games available at launch were:

Asphalt: Urban GT (Racing)
Mr Driller: Drill Spirits (Puzzle)
Ping Pals (Chat programme)
Pokemon Dash (Racing)
Polarium (Puzzle)
Project Rub (Mini Games)
Rayman DS (Adventure)
Retro Atari Classics (Retro Compilation)
Robots (Adventure)
Spider-man 2 (Action)
Mario 64 DS (Adventure)
The Urbz (Sim)
Tiger Woods PGA tour (Golf Sim)
Wario Ware: Touched ! (Mini games)
Zoo Keeper (Puzzle)

Upcoming games include:

Mario Kart DS (Racing)
DS Wars (Strategy game)
Nintendogs (Dog Sim!!)
Metroid Prime: Hunter (First Person shooter)
Animal Crossing DS (erm….life sim?!?)
There are loads more that I can’t think of too, I’d also expect a new pokemon game at some point.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>What’s in the box?

Right, so you open your shiny new grey and black DS box, but what wonders does it hold?

Nintendo DS – Shock horror, in the Nintendo DS box is a Nintendo DS!

Stylus - Actually there are two styluses, one in its slot on the DS and a spare one in case you lose the little fella.

Thumb Stap - Basically a little bit of rounded plastic attached to a cord so you can control games using your thumb, but without leaving a greasy stain all the time. It takes a while but once you can use the thumb strap it really is easy to use and adds more accuracy.

Instructions - I know that you’re not going to rip open the packaging in the mad excitement of getting your hands on the instruction booklet, but it does contain concise info on how to use your DS.

PictoChat - The DS comes installed with Pictochat. Basically it is an instant messenger type application for the DS. It uses the wireless network and allows you to send messages or draw pictures.

Metroid Demo - A limited number of consoles will have a demo copy of Metroid Prime Hunters bundled in too. The Metroid Prime series on the Game Cube have been first person shooting games and this version follows in the same format. I’ve never been a massive fan of the Metroid Prime games, they just never got my interest. After playing this demo I must buy the full game! The touch screen controls are so easy to use and give you a real accuracy of shooting and movement and the graphics are superb.

Power: As you’d expect the DS comes with a power adapter. What you will notice pretty soon is that there is no place to put your AA batteries! The DS has a built in battery pack that has a life span of 6-10 hours and will keep this performance for over 500 charges. However, the DS unlike other items with built in battery packs allows you to replace the battery pack by removing one screw, what all you ipod users wish was the case!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Statistics and facts

Ok, I’m guessing many of you will skip this section, but for those of you who want to know what’s under the bonnet of the DS, here you go.

Size: (when closed) 148.7mm wide
84.7mm long
28.9mm thick

Top Screen: Back-lit 3” semi-transparent reflective TFT colour LCD screen with 256x192 pixel resolution and 0.24mm dot pitch.

Bottom Screen: Same as Top Screen but with transparent analogue touch screen.

Colour: Capable of displaying 260,000 colours.
The numbers may mean nothing to you, but in English this means a crystal clear full colour display capable of keeping up with fast action as displaying depth in 3D.

CPU’s: DS contains 2 processors. An ARM9 (66Mhz) and an ARM7 (33Mhz). The GBA SP runs on a single ARM7 (16.8 Mhz).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Competition and future

I will admit that there are technologically advanced portable consoles out at the moment. The Sony PSP has superior graphics and has the ability to play movies and MP3’s and the Gizmondo (trust me it exists, it was launched a few weeks ago but at the moment has very few decent games) has more features than a Swiss Army knife! The DS has an add on in Japan called the Play-Chan to enable it to play music and probably movies in the future, but to be honest I don’t care. It may just be my opinion but the most important thing for a portable games console to do is play good games! There is no arguing that the PSP will be a sought after piece of kit, but if I want to listen to MP3’s I’ll buy an MP3 player, as a dedicated MP3 player will be better than a hybrid. Nokia’s N-Gage seems to prove that right! I’m sure that the PSP will do very well and I’m not saying that I’m not interested in getting one, but I think the DS has the potential to be create some very exciting and innovative games, and not just focus on how the game looks.

The DS is not a gimmick and it’s not just for kids, it is already a massive worldwide success and I can only see it’s future getting better and better with more innovative games! The truth is that the touch screen control is so easy to use and offers so many possibilities, as long as developers make the most of it! The DS is apparently very simple to design for and hopefully developers will use this to push the possibilities and innovate games, rather than knock out any old tat just because it doesn’t take them long to do so! The DS takes everything Nintendo had learnt from its other consoles and adds new features like touch screen, wireless networking (which will be a standard feature on all next generation consoles such as Revolution, PS3 and Xbox2) and sound interaction. The future of gaming could well be influenced by the DS, and I hope that it is!

The PSP will be out in a few months, but so what, I already have my 1st choice for Portable console!
 

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