With less than a week before this little wonder hits the shelves I was wondering... Who here is excited about the Nintendo DS? I for one sure am. I love portable gaming, and Nintendo continues to excell at this particular market. While support for the Gamecube was not as great as it could have been, the GBA continues to bring in the dollars for nintend, allowing them to come up with new and innovative ways to entertain. The second screen with the addition of touch control as a PDA has on a dedicated gaming machine is a very bold move. In addition, I believe the DS will stand up to the PSP despite the PSP's slightly more advanced graphical capabilities, especially with the inclusion of wi-fi connectivity and a built in microphone.
Furthermore, the DS is coming out with massive support from third parties, this is in addition to its backward compatability with GBA and gameboy games(Note, the DS is not a gamboy but a separate and innovative handheld. Nintendo is currently working on the next iteration of the gameboy). A couple of games I'm looking forward to are Mario 64 DS, a special tweaked (think more levels and gameplay enhancement) edition of the game that created the 3-D platformer genre, and Final Fantasy III, yes the very same one that has never seen the (legal)light of day in the US, albeit updated as the FF Origins compilation on the PSOne and utilizing the touch screen. It will be amazing to seee what other developers can come up with for this pocket wonder.
But you say, "Nintendo is a kiddie company, the don't make games for older teens and young adults." The truth is, Nintendo targets all age groups, and is actually putting a lot more focus on the 18-25 market with the DS. The advertizing campaign by Nintendo lately has been decidedly more mature. I've encounterd a two page ad for the DS in Maxim Magazine, and the commercials have been high tech and high concept. That's not to say that the DS will not be accesable to kids, because let's face it, whiny little brats will always get their parents to shell outbig bucks for the latest thing. There will be more youth oriented games, but I assure you, you may find them to be incrediblly fun to play, perhaps quirky but definately fun. No doubt The DS will be one of the hottest items this holiday season. And at a price point of $150 US it won't break the bank to get one, especially if you've got a lot of fun old GB or GBA games to play as well.

I'm really excited about the Nintendo DS - I was disappointed by the March 2005 European / Australian release date, so I was going to import one. However, the fact that there are already 2 million preorders, and only 1 million will be shipped in the first shipment, means that i'd have to wait until next March anyway - so I may as well buy locally.

Super Mario 64 DS and Final Fantasy III DS are the two titles i'm looking forward to most as well - Feel the Magic XY/XX also looks like a great title.

One quick note - the DS can play GBA games, but it cannot play GB games. The way they've redesigned the 'Extension Port' means it can only accept normal GBA cartridges - the e-Reader won't fit, either. But still, i've got my SP to play my GB games and my e-Reader games anyway.

Thanks for that bit of info on the extent of compatability. Looks like I will still need my GBA after all.

I played it today in one of the game stores near me. It only had some chatroom thing and a metroid demo. the chat thing seems kinda cool, not sure how its gonna work exactly. I didn't really like the way the metroid game played, but the graphics were real nice, and the system itself seems really cool. and yea 150, may not break you, but that is quite a bit for a handheld system

Ah yes, Pictochat and Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, those both come preloaded on every DS. Another game worth noting that is slated for the DS is a new Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.

Also, $150 isn't that bad considering the technology involved as a release pricepoint. Compared to the $300 pricetag on the PS2 when it launched(and if you got one then you've no doubt had to service it a few times) it's actually damn decent. Plus, with nobody to compete at this point they can have it a little high. Heck the could possibly even plan a pricedrop to coincide with the release of the PSP.

Also, First Hunt is supposed to be a hell of lot better controlling with the thumb strap - although the sensitivity isn't quite right (hopefully they'll fix it by the full game), it's nearly as good as WASD/Mouse control, apparently.

I just hope they get the 'analog stick simulator' thing with the touchpad right for Super Mario 64 DS.

I've actually preordered two, one for my brother and one for myself.
Mine will be here with Feel the magic, mario, and Spiderman 2 sometime next week :)

Been excited about it since E3.

so does the ds have better graphics now? and i'm thinking of buying a ds depends on cost really for me but it looks the shiz right now...

Erm.
Yes, it has "better" graphics. I don't know what it used to have. It's got 64-ish graphics, apparently. I dunno exactly what it can do.

so does the ds have better graphics now? and i'm thinking of buying a ds depends on cost really for me but it looks the shiz right now...
If you are considering price when deciding to buy the DS or not, don't consider. Just buy it.

If you are looking for a totally new and exciting way to play video games, get the DS.

If you just want a PS/PS2 that is portable, get the PSP.

I also played the Metriod Demo at a local game store with two different button configurations. I really enjoyed it, me and friend played over the wireless LAN/interweb and it was very good imo.

screw the DS, I'm gettin a PSP...

Erm.
Yes, it has "better" graphics. I don't know what it used to have. It's got 64-ish graphics, apparently. I dunno exactly what it can do.


If you are considering price when deciding to buy the DS or not, don't consider. Just buy it.

If you are looking for a totally new and exciting way to play video games, get the DS.

If you just want a PS/PS2 that is portable, get the PSP.

oh ok thanks for the information

My mom picked up a DS, Super Mario DS, Feel the Magic and Mario and Luigi today for part of my Christmas present extravaganza. I don't know if I can wait until Christmas for the damned thing :(

I was suprised at the number of systems my local wal mart had (around 50 I would guess). I doubt that is any indication as to how well the DS is selling though, as I live in hickville.

I played the Metroid demo all the way through. It was quite enjoyable, and I found controlling the game with the stylus pleasing (mayhap because I own a Pocket PC). I was slightly disappointed by the size of the screens, however. I was expecting them to be much larger than they are. One would be hard pressed to tell the difference in size between the DS screens and the GBA screen without having the systems side-by-side.

I don't see the DS doing particularly well against the PSP at their given price points. $50 isn't much more to pay for a much larger screen and better graphic capabilities. Of course, anyone with half a brain would be able to look past the flashy graphics to see which system has the better games. But, the world is filled with fucktards that spend $5000 ricing out their 1996 Chevy Malibus and 1992 Honda Civics with the latest and greatest in ricing attire so they can look like the cool kids in The Fast and The Furious, whilst blowing out their speakers to talentless electronic music. These idiots would buy a PSP over a DS just so they can look cool. "Fuck having fun and inventive system, I want what the cool kids are buying!"

I fucking hate Sony.

I hope it will be much better

Got it, Love it.
The mini-games on Mario 64 DS are so damn addictive. I can just imagine what Warioware will be like.

I got my DS today. I'm shocked. Spiderman 2 didn't really please me, but feel the magic had me laughing. It's great fun, and looks great too. Also...the potential and ease of using the touch screen is amazing. Can't wait for some RPG's, personally.

Mario DS is weird at first, but just as addictive and fun as it ever was.

From what I've played of Warioware, it's really funny. Like chopping vegetables and upturning bowls.

The PSP will outsell it though, because it's not got sony's cock on it.

the trailer I saw of warioware looked... horrible. really boring.

feel the magic looked cute. I think I'mma get it. :-* is there a complete list of games for the DS anywhere? ;(

I don't see the DS doing particularly well against the PSP at their given price points. $50 isn't much more to pay for a much larger screen and better graphic capabilities. Of course, anyone with half a brain would be able to look past the flashy graphics to see which system has the better games. But, the world is filled with fucktards that spend $5000 ricing out their 1996 Chevy Malibus and 1992 Honda Civics with the latest and greatest in ricing attire so they can look like the cool kids in The Fast and The Furious, whilst blowing out their speakers to talentless electronic music. These idiots would buy a PSP over a DS just so they can look cool. "Fuck having fun and inventive system, I want what the cool kids are buying!"

I fucking hate Sony.
I love you

That is one reason I hate Sony myself.

I fucking hate Sony.

I sure did, and Super Mario 64 DS ;]

the DS is great the remakes of classic nintendo games are truly awesome!

Super mario 64 has been the only Rm... ;o

the DS is great the remakes of classic nintendo games are truly awesome!
How much is it?

How much is it?
$149.99 in the U.S. It's also not that hard to call up a local game store yourself.

Everyone keeps on mentioning Feel The Magic. What is this game? It's not one we sell at my store.

i played mario the remake and ive seen some great screenshots of some more games like metriod,yoshi etc.