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Home > Archive > Nintendo gameboy advance > November 2004 > The problem with the DS
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The problem with the DS
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| Inferno 2004-11-18, 12:45 am |
| We've all seen the line-up of the new DS handheld system, and it looks very
promising. I'm quite sure a lot of people look forward to this new gaming
device with touchscreen and wi/fi capabilities.
It seems, though, that especially with Sony's competition, the DS will
eventually cope with the same problems as the Nintendo 64 did in the late
90's. To start off with the graphics; the DS tries to recreate the
Nintendo-64's graphical power, while the PSP is to be described as a
compressed Playstation 2.
The graphical capibilities of the PSP doesn't stop here. With the
possibility of playing movies on the PSP, it is bound to appeal to more than
only gamers; which makes the PSP a more likely choice for game makers to
develop for.
A few years ago, the Nintendo 64 was easily beaten by the Playstation,
because of the relative cheap storage system (the almighty CD-rom) and the
more powerful specs of this system.
I'm afraid that this is to repeat itself again when the PSP is released.
Nintendo does a great job in revolutionizing the handheld world; but I'm
afraid Nintendo has to cope with a competition bigger than they've ever
experienced before. With Nintendo's handheld monopoly smashed to
smithereens, simply re-creating a Gameboy Advance isn't enough. I know
Nintendo realises this too, and by integrating the touchscreen and the
fairly fancy chatting capabilities Nintendo dóes show they are capable of
not only cloning their systems, but also revolutionizing them. But my fears
are that after a while, the touchscreen becomes nothing but a gadget; the
graphics become outdated and the game development for this system will be at
a low rate.
Only future will tell what is to happen to this gaming system.
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| Jason Costa 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
| "Inferno" <magicmonster@wanadoo.nl> wrote in message news:<41974ae0$0$8328$1b2cd167@news.wanadoo.nl>...
quote:
> We've all seen the line-up of the new DS handheld system, and it looks very
> promising. I'm quite sure a lot of people look forward to this new gaming
> device with touchscreen and wi/fi capabilities.
> It seems, though, that especially with Sony's competition, the DS will
> eventually cope with the same problems as the Nintendo 64 did in the late
> 90's. To start off with the graphics; the DS tries to recreate the
> Nintendo-64's graphical power, while the PSP is to be described as a
> compressed Playstation 2.
I know it's stupid, but I'm buying the DS to be able to play GBA
games with a backlight. I don't ilke the SP's light and the way it
makes colors dull. Finally, I should be able to play all GBA games as
they actually look in game preview screenshots  I haven't even
placed an order for a DS game yet, but will probably get Mario 64 just
because of the fond memories I had of it. And of course, Animal
Crossing and that sci-fi surgery game that I heard Atlus was doing,
when it eventually comes out. Honestly, the release titles for the DS
are somewhat poor aside from Mario 64 and maybe Madden, but that's not
uncommon.
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| rkcoggy 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
| "Inferno" <magicmonster@wanadoo.nl> wrote in
news:41974ae0$0$8328$1b2cd167@news.wanadoo.nl:
quote:
> We've all seen the line-up of the new DS handheld system, and it looks
> very promising. I'm quite sure a lot of people look forward to this
> new gaming device with touchscreen and wi/fi capabilities.
> It seems, though, that especially with Sony's competition, the DS will
> eventually cope with the same problems as the Nintendo 64 did in the
> late 90's. To start off with the graphics; the DS tries to recreate
> the Nintendo-64's graphical power, while the PSP is to be described as
> a compressed Playstation 2.
> The graphical capibilities of the PSP doesn't stop here. With the
> possibility of playing movies on the PSP, it is bound to appeal to
> more than only gamers; which makes the PSP a more likely choice for
> game makers to develop for.
> A few years ago, the Nintendo 64 was easily beaten by the Playstation,
> because of the relative cheap storage system (the almighty CD-rom) and
> the more powerful specs of this system.
> I'm afraid that this is to repeat itself again when the PSP is
> released. Nintendo does a great job in revolutionizing the handheld
> world; but I'm afraid Nintendo has to cope with a competition bigger
> than they've ever experienced before. With Nintendo's handheld
> monopoly smashed to smithereens, simply re-creating a Gameboy Advance
> isn't enough. I know Nintendo realises this too, and by integrating
> the touchscreen and the fairly fancy chatting capabilities Nintendo
> dóes show they are capable of not only cloning their systems, but also
> revolutionizing them. But my fears are that after a while, the
> touchscreen becomes nothing but a gadget; the graphics become outdated
> and the game development for this system will be at a low rate.
> Only future will tell what is to happen to this gaming system.
>
>
The Japanese release lineup for the PSP is woeful. If any western gamer
can glean any fun from mahjong then they are in for a treat, but
otherwise...
The biggest factor in this equation is battery life. It killed off many
superior portable handhelds before and Sony STILL haven't confirmed it,
so unless they have a new long life battery technology that the world has
yet to see expect to see anybody with a PSP plugged into a wall socket.
And as for being a portable PS2, developers are being forced into using
"battery emulators" to scale the 3D, sound and AI power of their games to
reduce battery consumption.
So it's really like having a portable PS2 with its nuts cut off, then.
No thanks. I think I'll be sitting on the fence on this one, playing my
NES style GBA never having to worry about the battery. Ever!
--
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| Paul Evans 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
| rkcoggy wrote:
quote:
> jcwatchdog@msn.com (Jason Costa) wrote in
> news:37cabe21.0411141930.15f33450@posting.google.com:
>
>
> <snip>
>
> Doesn't sound THAT stupid. I modded my old style GBA with an
> Afterburner frontlight (they aren't backlights in the true sense) and
> that was so bright that it DID make the colours look washed out. When
> you include fingerprints and scratches caused to the interior and the
> screen when fitting the darn thing as well, then the GBA SP that I
> now have is like heaven.
>
> The main difference to me has been not having to replace the batteries
> every two hours with NiMH rechargables though. I've never sat and
> played 12 hours straight without plugging the GBA SP back in to
> charge it up to the max again which has meant that I actually take my
> GBA around with me now.
>
> Maybe you could get both when the DS comes out. After all, the SP
> will be cheap, and it is a LOT more portable than the DS, seeing as
> it's larger than even the old GBA. After all, the light on the SP
> screen isn't THAT bad.
It's not so much the frontlight on the SP that's a letdown (I've seen frontlit
PDAs that look almost as good as backlit ones) but the screen itself. It just
isn't very responsive to light, and it's not helped much when you get screen
glare from just about every light source imaginable (with exception to the
frontlight of course).
Before I bought an SP, I played a few games on an emulator (the SP wasn't around
then, and I wasn't impressed with the dark screen on the GBA), and the vibrant
colours that reminded me of the 16-bit days persuaded me to go out and buy an SP
on its day of release. I was actually quite disappointed when I switched it on
and discovered that the bright and vibrant colours of Zelda LTTP and Sonic
Advance (I bought both with the SP) I was used to on the emulator were
disappointingly dull and washed-out, with reds suffering the most.
The DS is giving me the chance to play my GBA games on a true backlit screen,
and although I will obviously be buying DS games for it as well (when it comes
out over here in March next year), I am more looking forward to seeing Zelda,
Sonic Advance 1-3 and Metroid Fusion in their full glory, complete with stereo
sound! ;-)
Paul.
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| Tom Brown 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
| Inferno wrote:
quote:
> The graphical capibilities of the PSP doesn't stop here. With the
> possibility of playing movies on the PSP, it is bound to appeal to
> more than only gamers; which makes the PSP a more likely choice for
> game makers to develop for.
The fact that the PSP playes movies makes it appeal to more than only
gamers, and therefore makes it a more likely choice for game makers?
Ignoring the total lack of logic in that statement, don't count on the movie
capability of the PSP to sell many units. Since we can't transfer any video
we already have on the computer/DVD to the PSP, anyone who wants to watch
movies on it will have to buy them again. Who is going to spend $50 on a
movie that will only play on a PSP!?!? Not many people.
The games themselves will make or break the DS and PSP...
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| Inferno 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
|
"Tom Brown" <tombrown@flingersnit.com> schreef in bericht
news:GPKld.1134$aG3.114@fe1.columbus.rr.com...
quote:
> Inferno wrote:
>
> Since we can't transfer any video
> we already have on the computer/DVD to the PSP, anyone who wants to watch
> movies on it will have to buy them again. Who is going to spend $50 on a
> movie that will only play on a PSP!?!? Not many people.
We'll just watch and see...
| |
| Jason Costa 2004-11-19, 12:46 am |
| rkcoggy <rkcoggynospamforme@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<cna1kf$6t2$
quote:
> Maybe you could get both when the DS comes out. After all, the SP will be
> cheap, and it is a LOT more portable than the DS, seeing as it's larger
> than even the old GBA. After all, the light on the SP screen isn't THAT
> bad.
>
I have the SP, I bought it when it first came out It's not bad,
it just doesn't look the way it's supposed to look (like on my Sega
Nomad). I've been much happier with the SP than the Glacier GBA I
had. I didn't mind the size, but I HATED the screen. I ended up
buying a fool Flood Light attachment, which made the GBA about 3-4
times as heavy and looked ridiculous (and there was still glare and
dark edges on the games!).
From the screens I saw of a side by side comparison, it seems the
DS is alomst identical in size (when closed) to the original GBA,
which wasn't too big. The SP is definitely more portable though.
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| lanstrider 2004-11-22, 6:45 am |
|
Tom Brown wrote:
quote:
> Inferno wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> The fact that the PSP playes movies makes it appeal to more than only
> gamers, and therefore makes it a more likely choice for game makers?
>
> Ignoring the total lack of logic in that statement, don't count on the movie
> capability of the PSP to sell many units. Since we can't transfer any video
> we already have on the computer/DVD to the PSP, anyone who wants to watch
> movies on it will have to buy them again. Who is going to spend $50 on a
> movie that will only play on a PSP!?!? Not many people.
>
> The games themselves will make or break the DS and PSP...
>
>
Ain't that the truth!
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