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Well, the DS has been shown, whoopee, I bet Dringo wet his pants this afternoon.
So, anyway, this dual screen malarky, revolutionary? A brilliant change to the way games are played by the industry?
Well, guess what, I don't agree, and I'm going to be called a Sony fanboy, or at very best, an anti-Nintendo zealot for it ;)
Anyway, here's my gripe, there's nothing revolutionrary about the DS what-so-ever. People are talking as though they have never seen dual screen hardware in gamers lifetime, well, I hate to dissapoint you all, but the dual screen handheld format was tried, tested and loved by us golden oldies a little short of 20 years ago.
[URL]http://www.infa.abo.fi/~buck/misc/gizmos/pix/nintendo.game+watch.mickey+donald.open.jpg[/URL]
This picture shows a NINTENDO Game And Watch handheld single game device from almost TWENTY years ago.
[URL]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/nintendo_ds_comms/[/URL]
This image shows an almost identical looking handheld game platform, released by the very same company, but claim this dual screen arhitecture to be new, revolutionary, and well, good.
I'm not saying there may be some niche elements available to gamers, but I feel that most games developers will not use the additional screen for anything useful. Football games will have a top down radar, metroid will have a map, mario kart will have the track and player positions, basically world information about locations and the layout of the world will be used on this screen.
There is a good reason for this too, people can only concentrate their vision to a single focal point at a time. No one can concentrate on both of those screens at the same time, so one screen will be used for gameplay, and the other for displaying information.
This is a good thing given the paltry size of the DS screen, it means the game screen can be uncluttered with HUDs and the like but concentrate solely on letting the player play the game.
I will be truely amazed if anyone on this forum can come up with an original gameplay dynamic which could actively use the two screens of the DS in a way that could not be done on a single screen.
I'm even thinking of having, say, a heat sensor camera on the top screen, and a normal view on the bottom. This would be done MORE effectively on a single screen as a current day frame rate is at a higher reresh rate then the ability of a person to change their point of focus from one screen to the other. Sinply hitting a button to change views whilst focusing on a single point is a more natural way of playing a game.
So, I suppose I have set myself up for a fight by challenging the might of Ninetndo, again, but surely there are more innovative things happening in the world of gaming than a twenty year old handheld design being rereleased to a massive fanfare with no clear cut example of how this creates a revolution.
Nintendo should be commended for spinning up some dust to hide Sony's far nore impressive PSP handheld entertainment device.
The PSP is much more of a students system, good games, good movies, good sounds, wireless and one decent big widescreen which will let people who commute, or like to enjoy the comforts of their bedroom in some glorious sunshine.
The DS is not a gaming revolution, it's a bit like 90s pop music, a remix of something old people liked twenty years ago, just with more colours and more marketing hype. Take the DS with a pinch of salt, it's not worth the hype.
So, anyway, this dual screen malarky, revolutionary? A brilliant change to the way games are played by the industry?
Well, guess what, I don't agree, and I'm going to be called a Sony fanboy, or at very best, an anti-Nintendo zealot for it ;)
Anyway, here's my gripe, there's nothing revolutionrary about the DS what-so-ever. People are talking as though they have never seen dual screen hardware in gamers lifetime, well, I hate to dissapoint you all, but the dual screen handheld format was tried, tested and loved by us golden oldies a little short of 20 years ago.
[URL]http://www.infa.abo.fi/~buck/misc/gizmos/pix/nintendo.game+watch.mickey+donald.open.jpg[/URL]
This picture shows a NINTENDO Game And Watch handheld single game device from almost TWENTY years ago.
[URL]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/nintendo_ds_comms/[/URL]
This image shows an almost identical looking handheld game platform, released by the very same company, but claim this dual screen arhitecture to be new, revolutionary, and well, good.
I'm not saying there may be some niche elements available to gamers, but I feel that most games developers will not use the additional screen for anything useful. Football games will have a top down radar, metroid will have a map, mario kart will have the track and player positions, basically world information about locations and the layout of the world will be used on this screen.
There is a good reason for this too, people can only concentrate their vision to a single focal point at a time. No one can concentrate on both of those screens at the same time, so one screen will be used for gameplay, and the other for displaying information.
This is a good thing given the paltry size of the DS screen, it means the game screen can be uncluttered with HUDs and the like but concentrate solely on letting the player play the game.
I will be truely amazed if anyone on this forum can come up with an original gameplay dynamic which could actively use the two screens of the DS in a way that could not be done on a single screen.
I'm even thinking of having, say, a heat sensor camera on the top screen, and a normal view on the bottom. This would be done MORE effectively on a single screen as a current day frame rate is at a higher reresh rate then the ability of a person to change their point of focus from one screen to the other. Sinply hitting a button to change views whilst focusing on a single point is a more natural way of playing a game.
So, I suppose I have set myself up for a fight by challenging the might of Ninetndo, again, but surely there are more innovative things happening in the world of gaming than a twenty year old handheld design being rereleased to a massive fanfare with no clear cut example of how this creates a revolution.
Nintendo should be commended for spinning up some dust to hide Sony's far nore impressive PSP handheld entertainment device.
The PSP is much more of a students system, good games, good movies, good sounds, wireless and one decent big widescreen which will let people who commute, or like to enjoy the comforts of their bedroom in some glorious sunshine.
The DS is not a gaming revolution, it's a bit like 90s pop music, a remix of something old people liked twenty years ago, just with more colours and more marketing hype. Take the DS with a pinch of salt, it's not worth the hype.
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Aha, and wait!
Remember Pac man Vs, the Nintendo game that came with R:racing and was multiplayer?
That could easily be adapted for use on a DS.
Played in multiplayer, Pac man would have a third person view and a map, whilst the others would have their view on the lower screen, and the others ghosties views on the top screen.
Could it be done on a singular screen? yes. Could it be done on a singular PORTABLE screen? Not very well.
Remember Pac man Vs, the Nintendo game that came with R:racing and was multiplayer?
That could easily be adapted for use on a DS.
Played in multiplayer, Pac man would have a third person view and a map, whilst the others would have their view on the lower screen, and the others ghosties views on the top screen.
Could it be done on a singular screen? yes. Could it be done on a singular PORTABLE screen? Not very well.
Did you read the post?
'I doubt it will be used for MANY games'
i.e. it will be used for some
That some will be Metroid.
And Pac Pix, which sounds quite fun.
'I doubt it will be used for MANY games'
i.e. it will be used for some
That some will be Metroid.
And Pac Pix, which sounds quite fun.
Edgy wrote:
> The stylus will be for on-screen keyboards, picture messaging, etc.
>
> I doubt it would be used for many games.
Metroid uses the touch screen to target and fire at enemies.
> The stylus will be for on-screen keyboards, picture messaging, etc.
>
> I doubt it would be used for many games.
Metroid uses the touch screen to target and fire at enemies.
My GP32 can last hours for films and stuff, and, even then, I can have roms and stuff on my SMC.
If you want multimedia, get a GP32 for #80.
If you want something new, something fresh, some revolutionary, get the DS.
If you want multimedia, get a GP32 for #80.
If you want something new, something fresh, some revolutionary, get the DS.
2 hours for films 10 hours for music I think.
Hedfix wrote:
> Hand up who expects the DS to have the better battery life too?
PSP has a battery life of '2 to 10 hours'
Who's betting it's 2?
> Hand up who expects the DS to have the better battery life too?
PSP has a battery life of '2 to 10 hours'
Who's betting it's 2?
FinalFantasyFanatic wrote:
> 2 screens alone isn't all that interesting.
> It's the touch screen that will rock - think of the uses. Go on, I
> dares yee.
I can spank Mario and finger Peach with my pinkie?
> 2 screens alone isn't all that interesting.
> It's the touch screen that will rock - think of the uses. Go on, I
> dares yee.
I can spank Mario and finger Peach with my pinkie?
seful for racing games, yes?
Hand up who expects the DS to have the better battery life too?
2 screens alone isn't all that interesting.
It's the touch screen that will rock - think of the uses. Go on, I dares yee.
It's the touch screen that will rock - think of the uses. Go on, I dares yee.
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