Wii & DS hook up, Pokemon plays matchmaker

sweet :)

Yep, this is going to be an awesome combo for sure. And you know what? Wireless Internet and Wireless connection between it and the console should really take off this time. I think alot of people were turned off by having to by adapters and stuff with the last gen. Will like to see how this time around fares.

Yes indeed... a simple, cordless connection will make this a breeze. My DS just got a little bit cooler.

Here's hoping Nintendo takes full advantage of this from every possible angle.

But no Tingle, please.

Actually it is more then transfering critters it is making the 2D pokemon turn into 3D characters and battle it out.

Also game editing with the DS has been raised before.

It should also be noted the Pokemon Wii title has voice chat and perhaps voice command by way of the DS.

I hope it's better than GC/GBA's usage in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. I don't think Nintendo realized how unlikely it is that you'll find 3 other people with GBAs and GC link cables to allow for multiplayer. I love Nintendo, but sometimes their vision of (offline) multiplayer is unrealistic. The fact that their next console is called Wii is a little worrisome, only because when I play games, it's just Mii. So I hope they come up with some new uses for the console/portable interaction.

"Wii and DS will share a relationship similar to the one between GameCube and GBA."

Is that supposed to be a good thing? Because if I can remember right, non of the features used were all that fun/worth-while. At least the downloadable DS demos sound promising.

@ Thomas Werewolf

I feel your pain. However, lots more people have the DS. At least I think they do. Plus, you won't have to have link cables.

I'm looking forward to it.

If you are a fan of Pokemon (like me), then it's an awesome feature with tremendous potential on both the DS and the Wii.

How about using the DS as a mini-keyboard for certain Wii games? The possibilities are endless if the DS can pick up a signal from the Wii and alter the touchscreen to whatever imput device is needed. That would open up the gameplay posibilities of the Wii even more.

It'll work. It's all wireless, and all you need is the two games, and the systems themselves.

Well gbas are fairly cheap now compared to back when FFCC was out.

Odds are the Wii will let you use the gbas and link cables to do multiplayer on FFCC.

The DS has a lot more potential for connectivity then the gba did that is for sure.

And it has tons more then the PSP has so far been shown to have.

I mean a rearview mirror you have to hold up to the screen how the hell are you going to control the game then? In game rearveiw mirrors have been around for ages and they are far better then the psp.

I bought an old GBA and cable just for the added features in Zelda:WW. It was let down. I tried to find a worth while experience with the GBA and GC combo, but really found nothing. I heard about a multiplayer pacman with the GBA that looked awesome. The problem is that it is near impossible to find a copy of it. I would buy a DS if I thought that it would add to the game experience, but it needs to be done well. The real news from the Famitsu article was the official price and release date for the Wii will be announced in September.

@Bryan, I have that Pacman game, it's really not that great.

bryan go to nintendo.com and look at the game list. If you select the right options you will get a list of all games that have gba/gc connectivity.

The DS has a lot more room for potential then the gba did. Good idea but the tech wasn't up for it on the gba.

I didn't think having 4 GBAs/Link Cables was that crazy... I had 2 GBAs (one old, one SP), and the link cables were $10. I bought three cause my brother had an SP so I borrowed that for my friends to play. So I spent $30 (price of an extra controller) and I could have a blast with 2 friends on Zelda: Four Swords and FF:Crystal Chronicles. Usually I had at least one other friend with an SP to bring or leave over my house for others to use.

Honestly, if you think online multiplayer beats out sitting on a couch with three friends screaming at the TV with you, you're insane. WCW/nWo Revenge taught me the fun of 4 players. This continued with Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, and StarFox 64. This gen I've enjoyed stuff like Urban Reign and Winning Eleven on the PS2, then F-Zero, Mario KartDD, Mario Party, Crystal Chronicles, Zelda: Four Swords on the cube. It's a blast and you should try it sometime. Game nights rock.

I'm thinking about the DS lite as a solution for on the go boredom. Especially when there is little to do in the Lab. I want some Nintendo fanboy or whatever to tell me why I should buy a DS lite and what games would they recommend. I am 20 years old. I want games that are fun and not overly kiddie.

I'm so f'inn tired of Pokemon I don't know what to do. I mean how many of those damn game are they going to put out? I think they have run out of precious stones to name the titles after. But Pokemon is so f'in boing to me. I will so not have this game in my collection

Christopher7xii: Sure it's fun to have your friends there, but not all of us are social Butterflies who have a bunch of people we trust in our house. Many of my friends are at a minimum 300+ miles away. Having them in the same room is not an option. And with nintendo, playing video games with them isn't. So.. we all get Xbox 360s and can play video games and communicate lik we are all in the same room.

I'm not a fanboy, but the games I have enjoyed the most on my DS (which I bought for a week long visit to my parents' house in the middle of nowhere) are:

Mario Kart: Especially fun multiplayer, but an okay single player game. Multiplayer, this is probably the best Kart experience I've had, and you can play with friends who don't even have the game! This can be played online too, but I haven't tried yet.

Advance Wars/Age of Empires : both great turn based strategy games. Advance Wars is probably the better game, very difficult at the highest stages as well. AoE has (AW may also) a quick game feature that creates a random map to play on, so it has a lot of replay value.

New Mario Brothers: a pretty difficult but still accessible game in the vein of mario brothers 3

Metroid Prime: Hunters : a fun FPS style game. take some getting used to, but it's fun.

My girlfriend bought me Animal Crossing so I could play with her, but I honestly don't use it too much, just when she wants me to go check out her town.

I also bought Brain Training because I have realized lately my quick math skills are really suffering (been out of school a few years now) and I wanted to keep my wits sharp. It's fun for five minutes at a time, there are various challenges and tests. Not really a game, but it's good for what it is.

I'm really thinking about getting the Tetris DS game, also. Haven't made the plunge on that yet.

i would recommend the ds + the following games LongshotX:
Pheonix Wright:ace attorney, Mario Kart DS, Resident Evil Deadly Silence, and New Super Mario Bros., there are many more i want to put down, but i dont want to have to put reasons for them all so here goes so far: Pheonix Wright is one of the most original and entertaining games i have ever played, finding lies in testemonies with the evidence you found earler after the guy that migged you for the evidence you had has fled the scene, its magical!, Mario Kart is an excellent game and the multiplayer is EXCELLENT!, Resident Evil i put in here because its a good game and isnt kiddie whatsoever.and dont even pretend you dont want the new mario bros.! as for why you should buy the ds, well, 1. youll never be bored again, if you buy nintendogs youll never be lonely and if you have friends who have ds's youll never regret buying one!, hope that helps!.

I reported this piece quite a while ago (hours wise) and still no credit. Its cool though, at least it got published.

Cant wait for Wii pokemon though.

Longshot there are various review websites that cover all the DS games released so far. Keep in mind what the reveiwer says and determine if the negatives are that large to keep you away. Often a game rated fair by a lot of websites but terrible by some are often very fun or diverting enough.

Lunar Dragon Song isn't that bad since if I am on a plane or waiting for the plane on the connecting for three hours it keeps me occupied.

You know, back in the old days[?] DC tried this with a remote you could plug in and take out of the controller.It had these little Pokemon type characters you could do stuff with but I never did figure out how to work the thing. Now after a bajillion years I plug it in and the little buggers are still staring back at me-nothings changed-I'm still as puzzled as ever! lol lol

"I'm so f'inn tired of Pokemon I don't know what to do."

And the terrible bastard that forces you to play each and every single Pokemon game constantly deserves to be burned in Hell.

I've got a novel solution for people who are tired of a particular game series - don't play them. It's remarkably easy.

@ Josh, dude get Meteos. I tried to play Tetris after playing Meteos and
couldn't do it. Meteos is THE puzzle game to get on the DS IMO. Tetris is still fun to an extent but I had so much more enjoyment out of Meteos.
The potential of the GC/GBA link was there in Final Fantasy CC. I played it with my girlfriend for weeks. It allowed for some cools things like being able to shop in separate stores in towns and separately stockpile on supplies. The problem is the cables. Too much was required to make it work and the GBA wasn't powerful enough to be anything more than a separate map/inventory /option screen.

Since the DS is wireless, it should be sweet. DS is also powerful enough to give decent representation of in game (Wii game) characters. There's possibilities here boys...

@ Longshot

Advanced Wars and Age of Empires is great if you're a strat game fan.

Metroid Prime Hunters is awesome. Best FPS on a portable with accurate controls to match.

Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time - Great RPG

Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow - Speaks for itself really one of the best in the series

Tony Hawk American Skateland - shows what the DS can do and has some great online options

Bleach - Import- If you can find/afford this game. Buy it. BUY IT!!!!!

JumpSuper Stars - import It's like Smash brothers except with manga characters be prepared to download the translation sheets though.

Resident Evil is good - I know it was mentioned

Mario 64 DS I enjoyed. even though a lot of people couldn't get used to the stylus control.

Next: Pokemon Breeder! Now you too can create monstrosities of nature! Too much inbreeding creating those 'special' pokemon that no one wants? Well, just take them out back with your special PokeMulcher, and BAM, instant PokeFood for the rest of your horrible creations!

To be honest, something like Pokemon is practical. However, something that merely exists for Connectivity could be on DS alone. Eiji Aonuma even stated that Zelda: Four Swords and Connectivity was what convinced them to make DS the way it is.

Still, with THREE screens, I think something innovative can come of it, Pokemon gameplay especially. :)

Pokemon is probably the only reason I will even consider getting...that console with the stupid name. That series of games is singularly brilliant - simple so a child can play it and enjoy it, and yet so complex that it really takes an adult mind to truly master the game in all its intricacies. Breeding, stats, effort values, awesome move combos (MIMIC + IMPRISON FTW!)...it's just so great. And it's amazing to get a "worthless" character like Shuckle or Blissey and turn them into real fighters.

I just hope the online connectivity means that they'll be able to pass out promotional "tickets" or characters over the internet.

Re: connectivity - a few games that used GBA connectivity were just brilliant. I disagree with Crazylink - I think Pac Man Vs. was loads of fun, and my friends and I have all enjoyed it immensely. Four Swords is also a ton of fun. Wind Waker's connectivity was lame, FFCrystal Chronicles just plain sucked overall (GBA or not), and Animal Crossing's GBA connectivity was so-so.

What I really hope to see is some multiplayer cooperative games a la Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and whatnot really shine over the internet with this stuff.

Add TRAUMA CENTRE to that list of essential DS titles please.

As for connectivity and Pokemon, there would be more of a fuss made if Nintendo left out that option in their Poke-games i think. The single screen i saw for this game this morning (uk) looked rather gorgeous i have to say.

Finally someone mentioned Trauma Center. It's a unique and absolutely brilliant game.

And I second the motion of Meteos over Tetris, especially if you know other people with DSs. It's terribly fun and frantic.

On topic, the connectivity sounds fun and easier than that of the previous generation. And Sony's planning some too--they recognize that the idea has serious merit.

I haven't played a Pokemon since Red and Blue (though I might pick up Diamond/Pearl if it's good and different enough), but if it works out well, more power to N. No pressure to play it if you don't want.

I will only be interested when something other than pokemon is used.

does any one know if you will be able to download virtual console games and then upload them to the DS?

not again :(

I really wish Nintendo would stay away from the gimmicky connection things. I can understand the Wii as a DS demo download station--that's cool--but I hate it when a game on either system needs the other system to unlock some feature.

Please, Nintendo, let each console be a strong, independent entity.

Pixel the transfering of characters is a bonus since you can make the handheld pokemon you have in the associated games transform to 3D and fight it out.

From statements the title looks to be online.

As for an rpg guess what the audience age of most pokemon buyers is? It's below the age where they understand what an rpg is or even like it.

Thank you everybody that took the time to write down some good games. I might even get the DS this pay check. :-)



Joystiq needs to get with the program and change this comment system similar to what Engadget did. Because it sucks. Especially these stupid stars.

Pokemon isn't all that bad. The new Trozei game is very addicting and fun.

There is a new version of Meteos in production for the US. It's being co-branded by Disney, but it will also have internet multiplay available (the first Meteos came out before WFC was up and running). I would wait for that one as it's sure to be a much expanded game, and internet multiplay means you can get good multiplay going even if you don't have a lot of nearby friends with a DS.

While inspired design will always be a necessity, I believe this has far greater potential than the GameCube/GBA combo.

The WiFi makes things far less complex with the need for accesory cables eliminated, much as DS and PSP multiplayer is far more convenient than when cables were a requirement.

The Ds also provides a much better client to content served by Wii games. 4 Megabytes of RAM is far more for developers to work with than the scant memory in the GBA. The GBA is designed to run code directly out of ROM to minimize hardware cost but the DS, like its spiritual ancestor the N64, is much more dependent on RAM for its operations. While constraining the amount of 3D models, textures, and other assets to have code running entirely out of RAM, Wii games using the DS as secondary displays and input devices will have the freedom to do much more than could be done on the GBA. This is of course in addition to the niceties like the 3D capability, dual displays, touch input, and increased number of action buttons compared to the GBA. Just having lots of RAM counts for a lot.

There is also potential for the DS to share in the Virtual Console. Mapping to the DS screen(s) and controls would likely require a separate emulation environment but adding a few bucks to the Wii download to allow sharing the same game with the DS will make it a win for Nintendo, the game IP owner, and consumers alike.

Part of making that work would be a secure flash memory cart for the DS that will allow non-volatile storage while keeping Nintendo and other concerned parties happy on the piracy issue. This would also serve as an avenue for online sales of native DS games.

This generation is going to see a lot of changes to how this business works.

What I would like to see is Wii/DS connection functionality which doesn't require additional software for Wii. E.G. a game like http://www.wccf.jp/ (If you've seen this in arcades it'd be obvious why it would work perfectly on a DS) and the Wii allowing the TV to become a spectator cam.

The Pac-Man game that came with R:Racing Evolution was pretty neat. Player 4 used a GBA link and was Pac-Man and players 1-3 were ghosts on the main TV and could only see so far. The Pacman player could see the whole level on the GBA. The game has a minimum of 2 players and the 'Cube could be the other 2 ghosts if you didn't have 4 people. You would take turns being Pacman and see who could get the highest score.

If the Wii can connect to the internet and DS can connect to the Wii, don't you think it should be possible to play DS games like metroid online with other players by using the Wii instead of using a PC or going to McDonalds?

I think it would be more practicle and logicval to make a DS play online using 1st party hardware.

Does anyone see the 'problem' in this?