DSi-pointment

[ProjectileVomit]

Damn, currrently Nintendo is only appealing to the casual gamers, who buys into the incessant stream of shitty games on Wii. They completely shun the original fanbase of normal gamers that crave for games of higher calibor. This new DS marks the decline of Nintendo as it would rather go multimedia than focusing on improving the games' quality. The paradigm shift of Nintendo's audience already started with the release of Wii, where there is hardly any good 3rd party games and the 1st party games that are considered "good" are the old stuff (i.e. Smash Bros, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc). Very soon Nintendo will fall into EA's way of business and fuck up its franchise with yearly updates and crappy multi-media system that does not advocate good gaming.

 

[Jumplion]

Damn, currrently Nintendo is only appealing to the casual gamers, who buys into the incessant stream of shitty games on Wii. They completely shun the original fanbase of normal gamers that crave for games of higher calibor. This new DS marks the decline of Nintendo as it would rather go multimedia than focusing on improving the games' quality. The paradigm shift of Nintendo's audience already started with the release of Wii, where there is hardly any good 3rd party games and the 1st party games that are considered "good" are the old stuff (i.e. Smash Bros, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc). Very soon Nintendo will fall into EA's way of business and fuck up its franchise with yearly updates and crappy multi-media system that does not advocate good gaming.

Really now, what else could Nintendo do to "improve" the DS? Everyone, their dogs, their dog's brothers/sisters, and the Martians on Venus have DSs. What the hell could they do to improve on something already collasally succesful?!?!?!

While I am worried about Nintendo, seeing as how they most certainly do not make anything other than games and systems not music and camera gear, I can understand why they are doing this as they can't really improve much to their system already. It's partially a way to compete with the PSP in some way but mostly just to get everyone to switch and buy more DSs.

 

[Graustein]

Damn, currrently Nintendo is only appealing to the casual gamers, who buys into the incessant stream of shitty games on Wii. They completely shun the original fanbase of normal gamers that crave for games of higher calibor. This new DS marks the decline of Nintendo as it would rather go multimedia than focusing on improving the games' quality. The paradigm shift of Nintendo's audience already started with the release of Wii, where there is hardly any good 3rd party games and the 1st party games that are considered "good" are the old stuff (i.e. Smash Bros, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc). Very soon Nintendo will fall into EA's way of business and fuck up its franchise with yearly updates and crappy multi-media system that does not advocate good gaming.

Because there's no gaming applications for a system with SD card support, dual screens, one of them touch, an improved microphone and cameras.

None at all. Nope, by taking out backwards compatibility they've completely destroyed any potential the DS has.

 

[Funfrog211]

I want to kill Nintendo now. Like ProjectileVomit said, they are only appealing to casual gamers.

They are turning it into a PSP.

I would rather have longer battery life than a camera in my DS. And only 3 megipixels? Really now.

The only way to save themselves is to release Mother 3 in English, and we all know that it is more likely to remember 2000 digits of pi.

 

[ProjectileVomit]

I guess it's Nintendo's way of making more money (don't they have enough already?) off the consumers that already own the DS lite or original DS. Sadly, unaware casual gamers will still eat this new DS up like a freshly bake delicious apple pie. Although normal gamers' are disappointed by this (I am, and I'm sure many of you are too), Nintendo can just tell us hardcore gamers to "fuck right off" since their making the majority of profit off casual gamers that would rather play Imagine BabyZZZZZ over Jump Ultimate Stars or Pokemon Platinum. DSi is comparable to Game Boy Micro, since it is created to make more money from the most of the people that already own a copy(s) of their system. And like Game Boy Micro, this update is not ameliorate the system, but worsen Nintendo's reputation among normal gamers as a whole.

P.S Cookies for those who spot the Yahtzee reference.

 

[Shivari]

Just make it a cell phone, already...

And .3 megapixels?!? What kind of crap is that? My $10 webcam POS from 2003 is better than that!

The inside one is .3 megapixels, which will probably just be used for avatars of the player. The camera on the outside has 3 megapixels I believe. That't the one you'll use to take pictures of stuff.

 

[Jumplion]

I guess it's Nintendo's way of making more money (don't they have enough already?) off the consumers that already own the DS lite or original DS. Sadly, unaware casual gamers will still eat this new DS up like a freshly bake delicious apple pie. Although normal gamers' are disappointed by this (I am, and I'm sure many of you are too), Nintendo can just tell us hardcore gamers to "fuck right off" since their making the majority of profit off casual gamers that would rather play Imagine BabyZZZZZ over Jump Ultimate Stars or Pokemon Platinum. DSi is comparable to Game Boy Micro, since it is created to make more money from the most of the people that already own a copy(s) of their system. And like Game Boy Micro, this update is not ameliorate the system, but worsen Nintendo's reputation among normal gamers as a whole.

P.S Cookies for those who spot the Yahtzee reference.

No, seriously, please tell me what the hell they can do to the DS right now that won't make it a multi-media device?

While I do admit, nintendo is relying on "casual" gamers (I don't like to use that term) a bit to much, if you've seen announcments and showings of games in the Nintendo conference you can see that they are trying to do their best to give "hardcore" gamers what they want.

You're blowling this (hehe, blowing) a bit out of proportion. Nintendo themselves are making the "casual" games, the rest is just shovelware. It's that's Nitnendo's doing this to themselves that you should be angry at.

 

[ProjectileVomit]

What I'm looking forward to is Nintendo actually trying to create something as good as their old IPs rather than focusing on improving (psha right) their system. When's the last time you see a good Nintendo game that is not a sequal? Oh, Project Hammer has such a potential to be successful as a new IP. On the bright side, I'm looking forward to the release of MadWorld, and maybe this game will be as good as or maybe even better than No More Heroes.

 

[olicon]

THe only thing that pisses me off is that I already own a DS light. I have been waiting forever for expansion to do those things--and they finally released it.
I'm thinking about selling off my DS Lite when this new version comes out. (I have been using my DS Lite for music and an organizer already with some homebrew help, and has been looking into purchasing the DSOpera for a while (but it's not available in Thailand where I live.) Now that these functionality will come prepackaged, I couldn't be happier.

 

[Hey Joe]

I bought a DS light last month, and this announcement has me feeling the buyer's remorse blues big time. Although what I can make out of the whole thing is that this new DS is basically the old one with a crappy camera thrown onto it. Therefore, it will set new sales records all over the world.

What Nintendo should be doing is releasing mature, fully developed games that challenge gamers perception of handheld gaming. Of course the chances of that happening are akin to a snowball's chance in hell.

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

OK, I call it: BS. (I know that sounds harsh, you have a fine thread and registered a fine opinion of which I take a completely different stance)

This DS is a lot more than "just another DS iteration". While it does not represent the major design shift that the move from the gameboy line to the ds line represented, this is definitely a Gameboy to Gameboy SP shift.

More unit power will mean more games and more power dedicated to those games (so maybe galaxies won't start chugging when more than 200 enemies hit the screen)

the built in camera is painting the way for visual response games (like that expression recognition title that would require a camera peripheral for the DS, no I don't remember titles or details, google it) and makes user game creation options much more feasible (take a pcture and the game builds a level little big planet style for you, how awesome is that?)

The advancement in the microphone will mean better pitch recognition and more advanced use of this feature (no more shout or blow into the microphone to make stuff happen limitations)

The online and memory storage capabilities will mean more content is more accessible and cheaper. and open up the doors for unique game-types. Maybe we will finally begin to see a GPS title or a game that starts using some of the epic server side world recreation software that is beginning to pop up so our shooters in parisian neighbourhoods can actually take place in parisian neighbourhoods.

Maybe it is because I am a game designer that I see all the awesome possibilities that the DSi opens up, and yes it is up to game publishers, most of whom would much rather release the next Fantastic Four video game in lieu of trying anything new and exciting. But, look at what the Wii has done for console control (none of which is being used for appealing to a core gaming audience, but what if it were?) look at the possibilities that exist in the iPhone.

And, I guarantee that anyone who is a gameboy player, disappointed or not, will be purchasing one at some point. 1. It will be better than the DS ad 2. How long after the DSi release do you think Nintendo will continue to ship Lites?

I agree with some of your points battery life and such but your jumping the gun a bit, I also thought of the camera being used as a visual game interface or putting your face on a character.etc but I think it's unlikely because I believe they included it as a gimmick, at the conference the guy who announced it said it's because they want people to always have it on them.

Whether the downloadable games will take advantage of the upgrade is really up in the air atm.

Obviously there is a lot of potential, but Nintendo doesn't always take the initiative.

 

[mark_n_b]

I agree with some of your points battery life and such but your jumping the gun a bit, I also thought of the camera being used as a visual game interface or putting your face on a character.etc but I think it's unlikely because I believe they included it as a gimmick, at the conference the guy who announced it said it's because they want people to always have it on them.

Whether the downloadable games will take advantage of the upgrade is really up in the air atm.

Obviously there is a lot of potential, but Nintendo doesn't always take the initiative.

Given that I am not a prophet of greece I will concede that none of this is an actuality. But it is up to consumers and designers to see potential that is offered by a system if it is ever to happen.

If you refuse to get excited about something (not you personally the grander you of example) you are fully capable of sealing it's fate. See E3 as a prime example of this.

I find the potential exciting, and no one can deny that this potential is being offered up on a silver platter.

A cynical "I don't see either Nintendo or the gaming industry taking advantage of this potential" is a fair analysis, but the idea that the DSi is not significantly different from the DS is (for the reasons I stated) is not something I believe.

If it had three touch screens every one would be messing themselves in excitement... this isn't three touch screens, but there is a lot packed into this.

Question: for anyone who knows, will both screens be touch responsive or just the one? and will multi-touch be introduced? I haven't heard so I'm guessing the answer is no, but I haven't taken a lot of time to look into it too much yet.

 

[Altorin]

I won't be buying it, just because I have much more important stuff to spend my meager fortune on right now.

If it were a new system, I'd consider it, but I already have a DS.

I don't think adding bells and whistles takes anything away from it as a gaming system. Sure, the UMD movie thing is a big joke, but I'm not seeing anything alarming in the DSi announcement, except that it's just a DS, and not something more.

 

[Graustein]

Question: for anyone who knows, will both screens be touch responsive or just the one? and will multi-touch be introduced? I haven't heard so I'm guessing the answer is no, but I haven't taken a lot of time to look into it too much yet.

I seriously doubt it, considering that if that were the case they'd be yelling it from the rafters. They touted the DSi's slimmer design and larger screens, but not enhanced touch capabilities? Leads me to believe that enhanced touch capabilities aren't included.

 

[tiredinnuendo]

OK, I call it: BS. (I know that sounds harsh, you have a fine thread and registered a fine opinion of which I take a completely different stance)

This DS is a lot more than "just another DS iteration". While it does not represent the major design shift that the move from the gameboy line to the ds line represented, this is definitely a Gameboy to Gameboy SP shift.

More unit power will mean more games and more power dedicated to those games (so maybe galaxies won't start chugging when more than 200 enemies hit the screen)

the built in camera is painting the way for visual response games (like that expression recognition title that would require a camera peripheral for the DS, no I don't remember titles or details, google it) and makes user game creation options much more feasible (take a pcture and the game builds a level little big planet style for you, how awesome is that?)

The advancement in the microphone will mean better pitch recognition and more advanced use of this feature (no more shout or blow into the microphone to make stuff happen limitations)

The online and memory storage capabilities will mean more content is more accessible and cheaper. and open up the doors for unique game-types. Maybe we will finally begin to see a GPS title or a game that starts using some of the epic server side world recreation software that is beginning to pop up so our shooters in parisian neighbourhoods can actually take place in parisian neighbourhoods.

Maybe it is because I am a game designer that I see all the awesome possibilities that the DSi opens up, and yes it is up to game publishers, most of whom would much rather release the next Fantastic Four video game in lieu of trying anything new and exciting. But, look at what the Wii has done for console control (none of which is being used for appealing to a core gaming audience, but what if it were?) look at the possibilities that exist in the iPhone.

And, I guarantee that anyone who is a gameboy player, disappointed or not, will be purchasing one at some point. 1. It will be better than the DS ad 2. How long after the DSi release do you think Nintendo will continue to ship Lites?

Hm...

I don't know that you've really thought this through all the way to the end.

Awhile back we had a thread on the PSP and what should be done to improve it, and I stepped up and said, "Burn the project, bury the witnesses, add the second nubbin and a slight power boost, and release the PSP2." Sony can't add the second nubbin to the general PSP without making all the new games unplayable on the older system, and that's not terribly unlike what you're describing.

Envisioning a world where a host of games are released that require these new odds and ends might be fun, but the DS lite has already fully saturated the market. Can you imagine the backlash to starting to release several games that required the boosted power to run properly? And don't even get me started on how bad an idea it is to make more handheld games that require you to talk at them.

In the end, I see these new features being used in sales pitches, but then never really used for design, simply because Nintendo released this model as another DS. If this had been released as the DS2, with a different game type and everything, then that might fly, but this is basically an upgrade to push the DS into more of a multimedia center role, and expecting Nintendo to capitalize on its new abilities for hosts of future games is unrealistic at best.

And for the record, the DS has those online capabilities now. And they're clunky and terrible and useless to anyone with a decent blackberry.

- J

 

[Jumplion]

Given that I am not a prophet of greece I will concede that none of this is an actuality. But it is up to consumers and designers to see potential that is offered by a system if it is ever to happen.

If you refuse to get excited about something (not you personally the grander you of example) you are fully capable of sealing it's fate. See E3 as a prime example of this.

I find the potential exciting, and no one can deny that this potential is being offered up on a silver platter.

A cynical "I don't see either Nintendo or the gaming industry taking advantage of this potential" is a fair analysis, but the idea that the DSi is not significantly different from the DS is (for the reasons I stated) is not something I believe.

If it had three touch screens every one would be messing themselves in excitement... this isn't three touch screens, but there is a lot packed into this.

Question: for anyone who knows, will both screens be touch responsive or just the one? and will multi-touch be introduced? I haven't heard so I'm guessing the answer is no, but I haven't taken a lot of time to look into it too much yet.

You know, what you just said could be stated,with some alterations, for the PS3.

Just sayin'.

 

[oAmadeuso]

Well it's a pity. I was hoping for the next generation of handhelds not a re-design.

Wide screen, faster processors, multi touch (both screens) etc
Shame

It's not a bad bit of kit dont get me wrong it's just not a reason to get rid of my lite.
And the lack of GBA compatibility is a kick in the nuts. I still play metal gear and Advance wars.
They'll could release the classics for download to the SD card ala VC but why should I pay twice?

Now the camera.... well I actually like it. Could create some interesting games that use it.
Depending on what the re-fresh rate is like you could create some cool "augmented" reality
games.....

but lets face it. It's mainly going to be used to look up the skirts of women on the train isnt it?
It'll sell millions

 

[darrinwright]

Shorter Battery Life and no support for GBA games/Guitar Hero = NO THANKS.

 

[Blu3Forever]

It does not play mp3... it will only play aac music files, so you had better get used to converting all your music files NOW :S