Windows Nintendo DS announced

er...I'm tired, and double posted...this one had spelling mistakes, the one below didn't...

(sorry)

right...sleep

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Nintendo fan (own/have owned every system apart from the SP) but I think this is gonna fail, along with the next-gen console they're releasing. And the thing that p**ses me off is that it's not their fault...it's Sony's.

See, Nintendo had it all going well until the N64. The NES and SNES did very well (SNES didn't do quite as well as the Megadrive/Genesis, but it had a longer life), and they 0wned the handheld market with the Gameboy. Then Sony came along, released a console that (to me) was rushed (hardware wise) just to get them into the videogame market (what next, Sony cornflakes?!). Games were released by the truckful, and they made a killing, despite 99% of the games being utter rubbish (in terms of gameplay, and visuals (if I want to play a game that pixelated, I'll play Pong)).
Unfortunately for Nintendo, they left the N64 release a bit late. Only true Nintendo fans actually bought it, as everyone else thought the PS was king.

The PS2 had the same following. Millions of people bought it, despite it being the worst out of the 3 consoles available (the other two being Xbox and Gamecube (obviously)).
Sony had a cult following, which drastically affected Nintendo's sales of the Gamecube (as it did with the N64). Yes, you may argue that Nintendo don't released that many games, and they're all very colourful and child like. But at least they're quality games, not like the thousands of PS2 games that are garbage, with a small % actually being any good (I'm talking platform independent games here).

What with Sony now releasing a handheld, Nintendo (IMO) may end up going the same way as Sega. However, this is entirely down to Nintendo...they need to seriously think about whether this '2-screen' thing is actually worth the effort, or a bit too gimmicky (remember the VisualBoy - now that was gimmicky!!).

Nintendo always try to come up with new gameplaying technology (they invented the D-Pad, basic force feedback, were the first to use analog control methods, and handheld -> console linkup), but I feel that the 2 screen idea is a bit risky.

I'll probably end up buying both the Nintendo and the Sony portable machines (I don't hate Sony (as a company) - I just don't like what they did to the videogame market).

Who gives a damn?!? Ok, we have the technology to create visually stunning games, but if there's no gameplay, what's the point?
The first time I played a Pacman machine (I was about 10 - already had a NES, and wasn't really into arcades), I didn't stand there and say "Oh, the graphics look a bit crap, and the characters are very child-like", no, I thought that although being a very simplistic game, the actual gameplay was fantastic.

Any game can be enjoyed by anyone, as long as the gameplay is there.

I can pretty much guarantee that you're a Sony fan. They were the ones that introduced the idea that videogames should appeal to an older audience, not younger, and disrupted the mind of every PS owner.

I've ranted for too long, so I'm going to bed...

goodnight

 

Generally thats a very good post and I agree with pretty much all of it. You missed, though, the reason why I bought a ps2: That's that it was the only one of the new consoles I could carry on playing all my old PS1 games on. I think one of the main reasons the PS" has done so well (as well as those you mentioned) is that pretty much everyone who used to have a ps1 upgraded to a ps2, just so they could keep playing their favourite games. For me it meant the upgrade cost was only £60 - £100 for the console minus the 40 I got for selling my Ps1. and I got to keep all my games, controllers, steering wheel, multitaps etc. The gamecube isn't backward-compatible, and obviously the Xbox cant be. In the end, the fact that the ps1 used cds probably contributed most to its success. At the time it was really hi-tech (even though the games themselves werent any better than the competition) and even 8 (?) or so years on the games can stil be played without having to go to a car-boot and buying one of the old consoles again.
Just my thoughts.

 

Yes, that was the clever thing about the PS2, backwards compatibility. It's also the main reason I love my PC - absolutely huge library of games, and full backwards compatibility (well, sort of...driver dependant really).
The only other backward compatibly console I can think of is the Gameboy. Almost all original GB/GB Color games will work with the Advance/SP.

The CD thing was also a good idea. Nintendo opted for carts. which had great loading times, but bumped up the cost of games (very bad). Just gotta wonder, what if Nintendo used a CD based console, and released it a bit earlier (or, what if the Playstation never existed (after all, Sony were meant to be creating a CD based addon for the SNES, but the deal fell through...what if it actually went ahead?).

I'm just waiting to see what happens...whether the next gen consoles will actually be any good, and also whether they'll be any newcomers.

 

You didn't think "those graphics are crap" because at the time they weren't. Simple stuff.

Seeing as the PS2 is the best of the three consoles, yes I did buy one. Huge range of games, (lack of games was the Gamecubes problem) and decent controllers (unlike the Xbox) There isn't really any difference in graphics between all three consoles, and all three pretty much run just as well as the other... so the main thing to go for is games and controllers, and the PS2 beats both the Xbox and the GC on both of those points.

The Xbox is basically a worse PC. Seeing as I already have a decent PC... why would I want one? A lot of the Xbox games are also out on the PC, so that makes it almost pointless in buying. That isn't the case with the PS2.

Gamecube games just aren't really my thing. The style of the games just don't suit me: I prefer more adult games, like GTA, not cartoony childish games like Mario Sunshine (and yes, I did own a GC and mario sunshine... but I then sold it a few weeks later)

 

grr, fanboys!!

1 - which controllers you prefer depends on your personal preference! The fact you like the ps2 ones better is irrelevant. I personally think the xbox ones are much nicer than the ps2, but there you are.
2 - Likewise with games. You just cant say 'this console's games are better than blah' because it depends on what sort of game you like! TBH, in terms of games I think the fact the ps2 is so widespread is a bit of a negative, as there are so many hundreds of games around that new ones dont end up adding anything. eg// how many wrestling games does a console need? Since as pointed out all the consoles are equivalent graphically, surely a couple of WWF games are enough?

Read back a few pages to someone who mentioned people buying one console and then getting very aggressive whenever the topic came up to 'defend' their purchase. I think you just proved his point!

 

It all depends what you want from a games console.

The PS2 has the worst graphics, is loud and has a crappy DVD player. Also I hate the dual shock controllers. Push the analouge sticks too hard and they slip and start going round in circles because there's no grooves for them. It can only have 2 controllers without using a multitap. But then it does have hundreds of games, which most of them are crap. There's barely any good exclusive ones.

The Xbox is huge and sounds like a jet engine. The orignal controller was awful, the new S one is better though. It also suffers from having a terrible amount of good exclusives. Halo was crap and you can get it on PC anyway now.

Then you have the Gamecube. Smaller than the rest, more portable, perfect for multiplayer and taking to your mates. Best controller of the 3. Best exclusive games. Quiet. Quickest loading times of all 3. Cheapest.


Interestingly you say it's the games that make the console and then you name a game that is on PS2, Xbox and PC.

And Mario Sunshine wasn't exactly a great game so I can see why you might have been put off. If you had got some good games like Rogue Leader, Eternal Darknes, Monkey Ball then maybe your opinion on it would have changed.

 

seeing as weve just had a ps2 fanboy and a gamecube fanboy....

lests have an xbox fanboy post just to make it fair and then get back to the actual point of the thread...

 

I think you mis-read my post.
I first played Pacman around the time that the NES was in full swing. There were other arcade machines with better graphics (double dragon), so Pacman, at the time, did have terrible graphics.

Yes, the PS2 is the best console...but only in your mind.

Technically, it isn't. It has the worst spec of all 3 (and it would do, considering it was released quite a while before the Xbox and GC).

Like I said above, yes it had a huge range of games, but 75% of them are total rubbish (it's as though Sony don't really give a damn about which software companies design games, and what the games are actually like - as long as their 'number of games available' figure keeps increasing, they don't care). But, to be fair, this may be something to do with the fact that the PS2 is the hardest platform to develop for.
At least Nintendo have higher standards, but you'd expect that as they've been around for bloody ages.
Even Microsoft have a better ratio of good games:bad games, and they've been in the videogame industry for a shorter time than Sony!?

Again, another typical fanboy quote (as someone once said to me "A true fan boy doesn't let facts get in the way of their view."
If you look up the technical specification of all 3 consoles, you'll see that the PS2 is worst, with GC being higher, and Xbox on top (no, I'm not an Xbox fanboy (sorry fathazza!), these are just facts).

Again, another personal opinion.
I can't stand the PS2 pads...I don't really know too much about them, but I once heard a review on TV (when the PS2 first came out), and this guy was saying that the pads are great, and they're the best pads he's ever used. I went down to a local game shop a few days later, and after using one I couldn't see what the fuss was about. I mean, they looked and felt exactly the same as the PS1 pads?!? I presume Sony are gonna be using the same pads for the PS3, PS4 etc etc?!
Like I said above, Nintendo always designing a new pad for each system, based on the main types of games it will be used for. And Microsoft, although this is their 1st console, have offered 2 different pads (the massive ones for those of you with chubby fingers, and the slimmed down 's' version (I prefer the smaller one)).
I know you could argue that they kept the same pad because of back-wards compatibility issues, but they could've at least changed the design slightly, make it a bit more comfortable for us folk that can't dislocate our fingers to use one!

Anywho, back on topic.
I think the DS will fail becuase of Sony's PSP. It's a real pity, but there are so many Sony-heads around that I think the PSP will outsell the DS, and possibly cause Nintendo to rethink their status as a console manufacturer.

 

Yup back on topic now.

I heard that the DS is supposed to retail at around £120. Pretty good value for what is in my opinion. Games around £30

They reckon the PSP will reatil at around £200-300. Although Sony will probably sell enough to drive the cost down.

 

Well, I didn't know that!

If Nintendo can get the DS out before the PSP, they might sell more units.

But then again, wasn't the PS2 really overpriced (and still is), yet it outsold everthing else based on the popularity of the PS1.

 

The DS should come out in late November in Japan and the US. It should be early enough for them to get a foot hold on the market. And with backwards compatabilty with GB games theres certainly a large target audience.

 

Actualy, it's only going to be backwards compatable with GBA games (not GB/GBC)

I agree about the joystick thing though, it all depends on your personal prefrence (usually depends upon what I'm playing, Beat-em-ups: PS2, FPS: X-Box, most others: Gamecube).

And the only difference between PS1 and PS2 joypads is that all the buttons on the PS2 joypad are supposed to be analogue (although no-one seems to make much use of this feature much in games)