Nintendo DS = Gaming PDA?

[RedruM]

Dont know, just wondering what you people think of the new Nintendo portable system which was unvailed today, they say its between the N64 and the GC in terms of graphic power, which is quite good, if I were to see Goldeneye or Ocarina of time remakes on this I'd wet me pants, not to mention the original games that will be designed for it, keyword being original.

Has dual screens, yes two for those who done know.
bottom one is touch sensitive
includes a stylus
Dpad, 4 face buttons and two shoulder, SNES style, and select/start.
screens are bigger, brighter, and better resolution than the current GBA
Backwards compatible with GBA games.
Includes a mic for ingame voice commands/chat
includes wifi capabilities for multiplayer.
10hr rechargable batteries
Oh and a flipping clamshell design...

These are just some of the main features I can remember off the top of my head so they may not be all of them or 100% accurate, price is said to be around 150.


this is of course metroid, which looks identical to the Gamecube version.

This most likely will have some sort of PDA capabilities or it would be a complete waste of potential, they did mention that it is planned to be used for chatting. At the moment, my thoughts on this is...
I want it.
With this and the new Zelda game, Nintendo really got my attention this E3 to say the least.

You can read more about it here... http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/513/513188p1.html

[spiral]

i dunno about the game quality and graphics quality.

But the design is freaking ugly imo. It looks like something from 10+ years ago.

[RedruM]

[Jinks]

I think it looks a lot of fun. But the Gameboy Advance is one of the more annoying things I've bought, simply because the price of some pretty short or SNES remake games. Currently in the UK I have to find 30 quid dropping to 20 quid for budget. Making it more expensive than XBOX.

Just checked online Advance Wars 2, 20 dollars in US, equivalent 50 dollars in UK. You can see the problem.



I'll probably end up buying one with a Zelda, but PocketPC's have the mobile phone market coming in to subsidise our products. It's good to know Stylus Games are seen as the future knew that it was a good domain name.

[RedruM]

[sponge]

[Bjorn Keizers]

[James S]

[Brig]

[SiGen]

[theandyman85]

[RedruM]

Sony PSP



From IGN.
Scheduled to be launched in Japan at the end of the year (North America and Europe get it in the spring of 2005), The PSP is available in PlayStation 2 black with a 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD display that boasts over 16.7 million colors and a resolution of 480x272. Dimensionally, its numbers are 170mm x 74mm x 23mm with a weight of 260 grams. Basic portable functions like built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector, brightness control and sound mode selectors are among the lineup of features, and the buttons mirror that of a PlayStation 2 controller almost exactly (Square, Triangle, X, and Circle face buttons, a digital pad, start, select, and an analog thumb stick populate the face, with two shoulder buttons on the top).

Additionally, the new system comes standard with USB 2.0 and 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless LAN connectors that allow for multiple PSPs to be simultaneously connected to one another. Data and software can then be downloaded either by using the wireless LAN connections or through the use of a Memory Stick Pro Duo. The PSP also adopts the small high-capacity optical medium Universal Media Disc, the UMD. This format not only allows for 1.8 GB of space, it also provides an extremely versatile format for games, music, and video.


Nintendo DS




Also from IGN.
The unit will feature a clamshell design and two back-lit LCD screens positioned vertically. Both screens are of the same resolution and are three inches diagonally apiece. Nintendo anticipates developers creating games with two independent perspectives, or the ability to hold chats with players during gameplay.
The lower screen will offer PDA-like touch capabilities, using either a finger or the included stylus pen. This enables users to activate an on-screen keyboard to send text, or draw directly to the screen. The touch screen will feature a tougher scratch-resistant film for extra durability.

Also built into the system is a microphone that can be used for several gameplay elements. The microphone is sensitive to any sound, and the software can be written to recognize anything from hand-claps to full-on voice commands. Nintendo even anticipates giving players the ability to chat voice over wireless internet.

That's right, the system will feature wireless connectivity, both using a Nintendo proprietary technology as well as 802.11 support for a wide array of network capabilities. Nintendo has mentioned the possibility of linking the system in hotspots all over the world for connectivity with players thousands of miles away. The system will even support single cartridge multiplayer much like the Game Boy Advance, where specially-written games can be sent wirelessly to cartridge-free Nintendo DS systems.

My opinion.
well thats some of the main features, no real stats on graphic power but the PSP is ahead in that I'm sure, with all the graphic power and big screen the PSP is fairly big in size (larger than what it looks like in the pic), a little too big if u ask me, with the use of disc type media for large memory capacity, along with its biger screen and advanced graphic power, battery power will surely take a large hit along with the price, I'd agree with rumors of around 2-3 hours of play which is horrible for a portable gaming system, if it were to compete with the DS it would take a large battery which will ultimately weigh this sucker down even more. It appears Sony is taking the GameGear, TurboExpress, Lynx aproach towards Portable gaming, which is not a good sign IMO. I like the DS's design, if they made the appearance more sleeker and futuristic, which I think they might (hopefully), all the better. Also the DS is said to use the stamp size SD type memory.

[Jinks]

Obvioulsy PSP has no Stylus so it can't do any new games.

But I didn't read PSP processor in that monster post.

Nintendo DS is ARM7 and ARM9, okay I wan't one now!
Just want one I'd rather code for PocketPC.

Processors and other info at.
http://www.nintendo.com/e3_2004/ds/index.jsp

[RedruM]

yea power to the stylus!

well here are the CPU and graphic spec on the PSP from you know who...

As its CPU, PSP will make use of twin MIPS R4000 32 bit processors running at max 333 Megahertz. One of these units is referred to as the Media Engine, and is to be used for sound, movies and I/O management. In addition, the system will include a so-called VFPU floating-point vector unit with calculation capability of up to 2.6 Gigaflops. This latter unit is meant for assisting the CPU in 3D calculations.

Memory for the system is divided into two areas. In all, the system is expected to feature 8 Megabytes main memory with bandwidth of 2.6 Gigabytes per second along with two megabytes of sub-memory, also at 2.6 Gigabytes per second, which will be used by the Media Engine.

Outside of the CPU and main memory, the system will of course include a graphics-processing unit (GPU). The GPU is made up of a Rendering Engine and a Surface Engine and has access to 2 Megabytes of VRAM with a bandwidth of 5.3 Gigabytes per second. The hardware will include support for traditional polygons as well as curved surface primitives along with such things as clipping, morphing and more, freeing up software from having to deal with these. Sony claims a theoretical polygon performance of 33 million polygons per second.

To be honest thou, these specs dont really mean a whole lot to me, they seem like overkill acctually, I think DS's power is just right, not too much or too little.

[Andy]

That wi-fi is a great idea; that'd make me go with the PSP on its own.

I do kind of like the dual screen thing too, but then I realize Nintendo will be in charge of creating the media for those games. Overpriced children's games are not my thing -- even if they have dual screen output.