Dr. Sudoku: The next Tetris?

23 Comments by Blake Snow Jan 19th 2006 9:00PM
Filed under: Portable, Puzzle

A new title based off the already existing puzzle craze game, Sudoku, will be hitting the GBA this February. The game appropriately entitled Dr. Sudoku will feature more than 1,000 puzzles and will be the first in a series of Sudoku games to hit game systems. It's getting quite the buzz too, being called the "next Tetris" on one account.

Business Week writes: "My bet is, this puzzle will be big -- bigger than Bejeweled and lots of other titles. It might, in fact, yet become the biggest thing since Tetris. It's still early days in the game's popularity: Sure, it's available from MSN Games and Verizon, for instance. But it's yet to make it onto most cell phones, PCs and gaming systems."

Puzzle lovers, look out for this one upon its release next month.

(Page 1) Reader Comments

jopojelly: Jan 19th 2006; 9:22PM

ehh, its cool and all, but people might get bored after a while (i've done like hundreds, meh)...too bad it won't include cool variations like nonominos.

will it include ways to write notes on the puzzle? Whenever i do a hard one I need to be able to write down all the possibilities in orderr to figure it out.

i don't know if this game will be "tetris" calibur....but we'll see.

Lolersticks: Jan 19th 2006; 9:27PM

I can't be the only one who absolutely LOATHES this game, can I?

Tetris, on the other hand, was fun.

larryh: Jan 19th 2006; 9:29PM

no possibilty of multiplayer, plus people can just buy it in book form,

Einhanderkiller: Jan 19th 2006; 9:50PM

Sudoku is boring. -_-

Ryuukuro: Jan 19th 2006; 9:51PM

If they can make a slightly simplified Sudoku with a twitch factor then it will be HUGE. But cheap Sudoku games are already out there.

I can play http://www.websudoku.com/ for free. No ads, no silly graphics, just pure brain-pain fun.

NullSpace: Jan 19th 2006; 10:00PM

http://www.websudoku.com/

DarkElf109: Jan 19th 2006; 10:01PM

What makes tetris fun isn't only the puzzle aspect. It's the fact that it's timed, always building up on you, and always getting harder and harder. Sure, sudoku puzzles can be rated in difficulty, but where's that feeling of optimistic hope as you try to fit that long piece vertically when you're already over the 75% line?

Muy: Jan 19th 2006; 10:10PM

I like Sudoku... but the "Next Tetris"??? I don't know... it isn't just as "pick up and go" as Tetris.

This puzzle "game" requires soo much more thought than reflexes.

But don't be surprised to see me doing Sudoku puzzles every chance I get.

Asz: Jan 19th 2006; 10:28PM

Sudoku isn't exactly my bag, but if its from Success, then I'll pick it up anyway. Success is the best handheld puzzle developer around in my opinion and i'll gladly drop $30 on any game they create. They've made tons of goodies for the GBA, I suggest you take a look at what they've done in Japan, you'll be pleasently surprised if you're a puzzle fan.

BatzRadio: Jan 19th 2006; 10:46PM

Sudoku's okay - but I'd rather see new Picross games for the DS.

I mean, the platform was made for it.

Come to think of it, a new Sokoban (Boxxle) game would be good for the DS too. Of course I'm biased on that, since it's my latest phone game addiction.

GlitchCog: Jan 19th 2006; 10:48PM

Tetris > Math

Mouse: Jan 19th 2006; 10:59PM

Holy Jesus..
My wife may never talk to me again.

Mike: Jan 19th 2006; 11:00PM

The "next-tetris" is already here.

Its called Lumines.

cyberfelon: Jan 19th 2006; 11:26PM

Mike, you misspelled Meteos ;)

Matt Cahill: Jan 20th 2006; 1:06AM

Indeed Mike, Lumines for life.

Kenofthedead: Jan 20th 2006; 3:38AM

It's funny.

When I played the game a decade ago, people looked at me as though I was a fool for enjoy such a puzzle.

Now it's all the rage, just with a new name.

Funny how things change like that.

I won't buy a game of this unless it has a random factor in it to make new puzzles. Though I could see a DS version doing quite well, or a Revolution or X-Box Live Arcade catching on.

PaulBlake: Jan 20th 2006; 8:57AM

A Sudoku game for GBA - Good.

A Nikoli ( http://www.nikoli.jp ) Puzzle Collection game for GBA featuring all their non-word puzzles, including:

* Divide by Box
* Fillomino
* Hashiwokakero
* Heyawake
* Hitori
* Kakuro
* Masyu
* Number Link
* Nurikabe
* Light Up
* Ripple Effect
* Slither Link
* Sudoku
* Where is Black Cells
* Edel (AKA Picross)
* All the language independent ones on their Japanese site which strangely haven't been put on the English site.

Now -that- would ROCK. Especially if it could generate random puzzles. My vision for such a game would involve a point system to unlock a puzzle, and to progress past a particular point in one puzzle type, you have to play another puzzle type to earn more points.

Jim Christian: Jan 20th 2006; 9:19AM

Erm...."will be the first in a series of Sudoku games to hit game systems. "

Sorry to be pedantic, but 'Go! Sudoku' (http://www.gamespot.com/psp/puzzle/gosudoku/index.html?q=go%20sudoku) has been out and available for the PSP since Dec 05...

I should think it's ultimately more playable on a GBA or DS though.

riffgod: Jan 20th 2006; 9:36AM

Awesome. I'm addicted to sudoku. Carrying around my gba sp is alot easier than carrying around a book and a pencil.

Joseph: Jan 20th 2006; 9:38AM

Boooooooooooooooorring! This game is like the cryptoquote in your newspaper, only using numbers. There's really no skill involved. Basically just play the puzzle long enough and you'll eventually "get it". I can't understand the recent trend in this puzzle! Why don't they make a "Jumble" instead. Or better yet, make a gba game of scratch tickets. Dr. Mario and Tetris Attack for life yo.

Mike: Jan 20th 2006; 10:59AM

RE: 18, i can understand why DS might be better suited to Sudoku, but what's your reasoning for GBA vs PSP?

RE: 14, maybe its because i'm a bit of a PSP fanboy, but i find Lumines to have more staying-power than Meteos. Both are great though. :)

Jonathan Harford: Jan 20th 2006; 12:11PM

PalmOS device-owners may appreciate this:
http://www.scss.com.au/family/andrew/pdas/palm/myprogs/sudoku/

cmonkey: Jan 20th 2006; 1:22PM

Comparing Tetris to Sudoku is apples to oranges. Tetris is solely a videogame. Sudoku has been around on paper for decades. Porting it to DS or PSP doesn't suddenly make it a Tetris-killer. Sudoku works (and will probably always work) better on paper than a screen anyway.

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