IGN: Activision accelerometer means slimmed-down DS?

by Kyle Orland { Jul 14th 2008 at 11:00PM }

As E3 gets closer, the speculation about what will be announced at the show gets more and more out there. So now that E3 is actually here, we get this post from IGN's Matt Cassamassina positing that Activision is working on an accelerometer-equipped, tilt-sensitive attachment for the Nintendo DS' Game Boy Advance slot. Nothing too surprising about that news, but the post jumps off from there to suggest Nintendo is also working on a similar tilt-sensing cart for the DS slot. Why would they do such a thing? Because Nintendo is planning to release a new DS without a Game Boy Advance slot, of course.

Yes, IGN buried the lede a bit, suggesting two paragraphs down that "trusted insiders that Nintendo" say a new, slimmed-down DS (a la the Game Boy Micro) could be coming out soon. The new unit would have no GBA slot (thereby explaining the need for tilt-sensitive DS carts) and come in at a cool sub-$100 price, if IGN is to be believed. Of course, IGN still considers everything it writes just a rumor. We'll know soon enough, as anything from Activision or Nintendo would likely be revealed at their press conference tomorrow.

Tags: accelerometer, activision, DS, nintendo, redesign, rumor, tilt-sensitive

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Co @ Jul 14th 2008 11:04PM

I'm flippin a coin on this one.

dynnnbag @ Jul 14th 2008 11:05PM

shotgun this threads virginity

DWells55 @ Jul 14th 2008 11:44PM

The only virginity you've ever tried to take and you failed.

CubeGuy @ Jul 15th 2008 12:20AM

Well, technically, shotgun is second seat.

SKI @ Jul 14th 2008 11:07PM

New Kirby Tilt'n'Tumble please. I used to love that game, until I lost it.

F1 & The Way PC used to be. @ Jul 14th 2008 11:10PM

Soon it shall be paper thin! Just like my ipod invisa

aMac @ Jul 14th 2008 11:16PM

Shrinking the DS down is going to be tricky without also making the touch screen much harder to use.

Imagine trying to play Meteos accurately on an even smaller scale!

neko to kuruma @ Jul 14th 2008 11:23PM

I've always wanted a DS Lite, buy I've held off because I knew Nintendo were going to make another re-design sometime in the future. I really hope this is it. That way I can keep my DS Phat to play GBA games (like I did with the GBA and GBC games.) The cheaper price point is a big plus, too.

T @ Jul 15th 2008 9:15AM

Oh man, Nintendo releases a DS-slot free DS....Activision/Red Octane will crap bricks.

How will they continue to release Gutiar Hero games for DS?

mykie @ Jul 14th 2008 11:32PM

I don't understand how they can make the DS Lite any smaller.

Seriously, I think it'd disappear.

TC81190 @ Jul 14th 2008 11:34PM

Because the Gameboy Micro, that worked out so well for them before, right?

Josh @ Jul 14th 2008 11:52PM

The Game Boy Micro was released after the DS. Why buy a Game Boy Micro that can *only* play GBA games when you can get a DS that can play GBA *and* DS games?

As long as this DS redesign is released before the successor to the DS, it'll be fine.

aMac @ Jul 15th 2008 12:18AM

*points*

!

samfish @ Jul 14th 2008 11:48PM

DS needs to be BIGGER, damnit. I have a DS Phat and it's STILL too small for my tastes.

Anyway, IGN/Matt C is backing off from Kid Icarus, so I suppose we'll see this new DS around the time Hell freezes over tomorrow alongside Kid Icarus.

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jul 15th 2008 12:01AM

Okay, so Nintendo makes a new game that has tilt built in, right?

Well, if it's in the Game Card itself... it would work on ANY DS model, yeah?

Which would make the need of a Slot-2 accessory... unnecessary.

Buuuuut... Say they make a new game that SUPPORTS tilt, but doesn't have it built in.

The Slot-2 accessory comes in handy here... but this rumored Slot-2-free DS couldn't make use of said function...

See the problem with this rumor? The wisest choice (if tilt was to come to DS) is to have it built-in to the Slot-2-free DS, while releasing a Slot-2 accessory for DS and DS Lite.

CubeGuy @ Jul 15th 2008 12:23AM

Interesting to note that the Homebrew scene has had tilt for some time now.

*digs through links*

Here it is.

http://tinyurl.com/dsmotion

Tom @ Jul 15th 2008 12:33AM

Am I the only one that's wondering if you use the DS slot for a tilt sensor, then how do you play a DS game? (two slots?)

pr_master @ Jul 15th 2008 2:00AM

the game and the tilt sensor will come in the same
game card :|

whymog @ Jul 15th 2008 1:32AM

"Buried the lede," eh?

Nice to see some old-fashioned journalistic terminology on the old Joystiq.

Then again, I should have expected that from one of the authors of the Videogame Style Guide, I suppose. ;)

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 15th 2008 2:06AM

This just goes to show that if E3 is going down, it is going down swinging. They could also mean length, not with wise, which would still suck. I could see removing a GBA slot, which of course would remove production costs and size needed to fit in the hardware, but, I always felt that the GBA SP needed to be a bit thicker, so we'll see at 9 am how this turns out.