Nintendo DS is making Nintendo happy

by Ben Zackheim { Jan 6th 2005 at 10:10AM }

The Nintendo DS just enjoyed a Christmas of being the "It" item. Nothing like all the attention in the world to pump up the ego. After some hand-wringing, the device has sold well beyond expectations, delighting The Big N, as well as retailers around the world. GameIndustry.biz tries to put it all in perspective with a piece about where we all go from here. With strong sales of GBA, GC and DS, how will Nintendo follow it all up? With hundreds of titles, of course. 120 for the DS alone. Not too shabby. We're looking forward to having something to play on our DS soon. Mario DS has been played into the ground around here.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jazon @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

120 titles? That sounds like a bit much. Are you counting GBA titles in there as well? That's not fair.

I think the PSP has almost that many titles coming this year. Granted, most are the same as their cruddy PS2 extreme shovelware, so they aren't that new or exciting. Maybe 8-10 good ones. That should be enough though. You don't really need 120 games, do you?

Andrew @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

160 games according to IGN, 125 for the GBA.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/577/577553p1.html

No you don�t need 120 games but to appeal to a broad spectrum of people and not just individuals you do need 120+

LINEZ @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

yeah. who needs that many games when you got 6 GREAT GAMES for the psp? i bet all these games are for babyz. lmao! i bet they use the stoopid touch screen and retarted microfone. mario fanboys only pleaz. all the great mature games are coming for the psp. i saw in a magazine one wear you get to shoot zombies and they explode all ofer the place. sweet!

Danny @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

The simple addition of the second screen and the touch sensitivity has opened up a whole world of possibilities. Check this website for some of the ideas people have been dreaming up - http://www.gameboy-advance.net/nintendo_ds/nds_movie_player.htm. I think its great that Nintendo is doing so well with the DS, and I hope this means that the next Nintendo console will be not only super cool, but innovative and original.

Danny @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

martin @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

wow...all of 6?

in a whole year? when producers have had nearley 2 years to make em...well, thats just great isn't it?

so what you want are games that are no diffrent from your average console? well i guess thats what 'mature' gaming is all about.

funny i though this industry was all about inovation

silly me

RobTheBuilder @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Zombie guts... that makes a good game.

*cough*

Check out Band bros for some great multiplayer fun, hopefully the US version (Jam with the band) will have some updated songs.

"Mature" games = grey green and brown are the only colours you can use (unless its for blood). Gameplay must be derivative and unoriginal, with major gameplay flaws.

Possibly the only exceptions to this rule:

Killer 7 (cube first)
Resident Evil 4 (Cube first)
Halo (not as unoriginal as the rest)

I agree entirely with the PSP suffering from Shovelware syndrome.

LINEZ @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

you all jest dont get it. psp = roxor! your wussy touchy-touch games arent for serious gamers. you arent supposed to touch the screen. sony got it rite that is why they make fingerpints show up on the screen so much. jest you wate there are gonna be a whole lotta games for psp. way more than just 120. but maybe not all will be good but who cares. they are all better than zilda and metrod. you want innovition how about a huge screen and the best grafx ever!! hows that for something new and something to drool over.

martin @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

ok, now i just don't knows if LINEZ is taking the piss or just a retard...

only time will tell

well, if the later is true...innovation maybe you should look it up in the dictionary sometime, but generally means somehting new, not improved unpon

Edward @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

PSP Graphic quality isn't all that impressive. Sure, it looks better than the DS by a margin but it isn't anywhere near the quality of the PS2. Don't you find it misleading when news reports call the PSP a "minature PS2" or "near-PS2 quality" like this recent /. article?

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/06/1437244&tid=207&tid=212

The more I look at it, the more it looks like a PS1 with texture filtering. Polygon counts are low. Textures are poor and often stretched. Transparencies often have a grainy effect.

I'm starting to feel lied to and that isn't a good feeling to get before I buy a product. :(

LINEZ @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

and the psp games come on discs. grown ups use discs like cds and dvds. only kiddie systems use cartreges. sheesh. i wouldnt be seen playing a baby nentendo ds. everyone wood think dum things when they see it. now the psp is very impressive with big screen and cool colors. it is so much a system aimed at the cool crowd. when people see psp they think cool things.

and you need a long time to make grate games. 2 years is nothing. look at how long it took to get good ps2 games. but if you buy it early and wait a long time you will get grate things like eyetoy and then you can see yourself or grand turismo. then all you with ds will be crying like babys.

Falsoman @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

I don't know why you people fight... Both are great systems, i hope both do well, about Cartregres VS Discs... Discs have more storage space but check all the complains about loading times and battery life, while cartriges are bloddy fast and do not need an extra. I hope NDS get more adult games for Nintendo's sake, but i also hope that Sony fixes all the hardware troubles reported on the PSP before it comes ot of japan.

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Does anyone here spell check?

I agree with "Falsoman", I don't understand the "I like the PSP so the DS *has* to suck" or the "DS is for hardcore people and the PSP is crap" mentality. Why don't people just like what they like? Why the need to "prove" how stupid or immature or [fill in the blank] anyone is who doesn't agree with you?

I personally think both will do well, and if the games are good, I will buy both (in time of course, I will wait a few price drops!).

Evilsmevil @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

I also agree with falsoman but at the same time most people will only have money/time for one or the other consoles. this will always create some kind of conflict as people will like to defend thier personal decision to buy one or the other. I wish i were fortunate enough to have the money to afford both consoles but luck does not shine on me! I think i aggree with nintendos statement about the prospective audience of each device. the PSP is aimed at the older gamer (not neccesarily more mature mind you) who also likes gadgets and is into the idea of convergence, for most of them it is most likely that it will not be their first sony purchase and they will probably own a ps2
The DS is someone who is interested in the innovation that having 2 screens and a touch screen may bring to gaming, they want to experience something that isnt availible on ANY of todays platforms (possibly excepting pda's but they are not realli the same despite the screen similaritys) Most likely they will NOT own any sony hardware (possibly a ps2) as they have found that another company usualy makes a better product for a better price. I have to say that i would side with the latter group as i like innovation and something new, that is not to say that the psp will not be excellent, GTA on a mobile platform promises to be an engaging experience but its not exactly something that you cant do at home.

AznFX @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

i agree w/ luke, im waiting for the price to drop (but i kinda think that'll be a long wait for us)

by that time, there will be many great games for both systems hopefully

Liam @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Geez! @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Martin, I think it has to be a terrible blend of the two!

Does anyone else find it very ironic when you hear such obvious kids (look at his attitude & spelling) calling Nintendo kiddie, I've been playing games on all consoles for 20 years and I can tell you that Nintendo aren't kiddie - one day you may mature enough to respect that (and Nintendo) LINEZ, though I doubt it!

Anywho, rant over.

Good news for the DS, I was dubious when Nintendo raised the projected sales for the end of 2004 to 2.8 Million units. But looking at things they did it, 1.3 Million in the US and 1.5 in Japan - really impressive. I wonder if the 5 Million units by the end of the Financial Year in March projection/statement will be raised again, it was originally raised from 3.5 million units.

The problem for Nintendo though is to tackle the UK, the ads will be targetting adults as that is the target audience, but the amount of children in the UK who dislike Nintendo and call them 'kiddie' may be a problem. Hopefully the 'mature' adverts can actually grab our youths attention at the same time.

Anyway I'm pretty excited, as are my mates, about the DS. Not long till the press launch event when we'll know full launch details. And the success of DS's innovation gives good hope/indication about the Revo.

Also it's surprising Sony kept quiet about the PSP at CES though!

Jed-i @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

I have this image of a home video in which I open my new PSP for the first time, start tapping the screen with a stylus, get frustrated, tap more wildly, get really, really frustrated, then start pounding on the screen until the PSP is in little pieces.

The touch screen on the Nintendo DS is so natural. No matter how nice the graphics on the PSP may be, it will seem like a downgrade. I no longer play my Xbox since getting the Nintendo DS. It just isn't as engaging. I gots to touch!

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Geez! Good point about the people who diss Nintendo for being "kiddie", yet their style of writing, word usage, and constant misspelling suggest that they themselves are kids, or at the very least aren't very mature.

I will be honest, I really do love Nintendo. I own all three current gen consoles, and I love certain games on all three (Ratchet and Clank currently owns me), but Nintendo is just my favorite. They have been since the good ole NES.

With that said, I have no problem with people bringing genuine arguments against Nintendo, because as any Nintendo fan knows, there are a lot of things they do that just seems to defy logic.

But when people dismiss Nintendo as being "kiddie and imature and stoopid" I usually dismiss those comments.

Yeah! @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Please, somebody, make that video and post it!

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

I doubt anyone would waste the money to do so! But that would be amusing.

I don't own a DS yet. I will probably get one with Metroid comes out. The PSP looks promising, though I have to wait until it debuts in the US and I hear reviews and try it myself that I decide if it will be written off.

Who knows, the DS may go on a price drop in March when the PSP is released. Would be nice for us eh?

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Geez! @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Heh, that woud be an interesting video :p

And I do agree with you Luke, though the games on Nintendo machines are really unique and great there is certain tactics/moves by Nintendo (as a company) that are a bit, well, iffy (worse for me in the UK). I suppose there is is no such thing as a perfect company, and if there was Nintendo wouldn't be it. Anyway I just feel sad that so many of today's gamers openly insult a company (usually with false comments) who have given us console gamers a great deal, without them we literally wouldn't be playing the advanced games we are - on any consoles. Nintendo effectively saved the games industry by introducing the NES when they did - and for that they will always hold a place in my heart.

> sorry if that was a bit of a ramble, had a few with a mate tonight :D

SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

The more I read Joystiq, the more I think LINES/LINEZ is just a covert Nintendo operative trolling with insane pro-Sony comments to get us all to like Nintendo more.

If that is the case, LINEZ is doing a bang-up job for the big N. Keep up the good work!

mike @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

A price drop for the DS.. which is impossible to find in stores..

sorry man.. that's insane..

2.8M sold the DS has 120 games in production NOT INCLUDING the hundreds of GBA games already on the market..

The cool thing about backwards compatibility is developers can still work on GBA games.. because DS just improves the GBA installed base

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

Huh?

tlove @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM

I would like to point a fact that many dont know. as far as storage goes memory carts have the ability to have more storage space then cd's or dvd. the only thing that keeps carts small is the cost. I like that Nintendo keeps using carts for portable gaming. It protects the games you buy better then optical disk(mini dvds.)Nintendo is still the best most inovative company in the video game buisness today and the game industry woud not be where they are today if it was not for them.