Reggie: DSiWare about quality, not quantity, third-party titles coming soon

Sorry, I meant to write 'this doesn't include Gamecube and PS2' or PS3, 360 for that matter.

Here's another 10: Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation, Atelier Annie, SMT: Devil Survivor, Knights in the Nightmare, Bleach 2, Inazuma Eleven, Monster Rancher DS 2, Rhythm Tengoku Gold, Star Fox Command, Rune Factory 2 (although I admit, I don't play much Rune Factory anymore).

Add onto that all of the RPG remakes and ports, and I'd say the DS is rock solid.

are you serious? The DS is THE RPG machine this generation, the Wii not so much. Just to prove my point I will list a few different types of RPGs on the DS:

RPG (your regular RPG, also called JRPG): pokemon, final fantasy III & IV, Etrian Odyssey I & II, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden: Tierkreis, the dragon quests (IV, V and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker), Rhapsody, Magical Starsign,

ARPG (RPGs with elements of Action games): FF Crystal Chronicles (Ring of Fates and Echoes of Time), Avalon Code, Shuffle Dungeon, Children of Mana, Elebits, Legacy of Ys (some people even classify Zelda as an ARPG rather than just an Action game)

SRPG (Strategy games with a lot RPG elements): Age of Empires, Luminous Arc (I & II), Rondo of Swords, Disgaea, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, FFTA2

Hybrids (games that mix the gameplay elements between these three sub genres of RPGs): Rocket Slime, Valkyrie Profile, The World Ends With You

just to give you a taste of the variety of RPGs found on the DS (not to mention other genres, like adventure games and platformers/action games which the DS also has quite a variety of, not as much as it has RPGs, but still enough to warrant mention. I also have not listed everything available or coming out and I know I'm missing a few, can't recall all the games).

The Wii only has Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn,Tales of Symphonia Dawn of a New World, and Baroque (maybe one or two more that I am missing). It's going to be getting Arc Rise Fantasia, but it's still NO WHERE near the DS in the RPG genre. So yes the two systems are at the moment radically different. In short the DS has a lot of third party love, but the Wii does not :(

"In short the DS has a lot of third party love, but the Wii does not :("
Just what do you define "third party love"? The developers beating sticks at the thing?

HotLimit and your lists aren't convincing either. It just further proves that Nintendo barely contributes, some 3rd parties make shovelware, some make cheap ports (really, 40$ for essentially the same damn Chrono Trigger, seriously), and the rest makes games that are really hit-or-miss.

You know what else fits that description? The fucking Wii.

Well about 5 of my top 20 are 1st party, and that's pretty much par-the-course for all systems I own. Anyway, your point was that the two libraries were similar, and if you didn't understand, my point was that the DS has a large library of fun original games (first party or no), supplemented with plenty of remakes and ports which are BIG favorites to people who didn't get to play the originals.

I didn't list any ports or shovelware (shovelware is increasingly becoming a term used by 'internet journalists' who can't write to justify their poor taste), and I have no idea what you mean by 'hit-or-miss'. That usually means there's an element of luck, but I'm pretty sure there was no luck involved in developers creating games that are engaging and fun for more than 10 minutes.

Anyway, I thought you were defending the Wii at first, but now that that's not the case, just don't compare it to the DS.

I could be wrong, but I don't think they expect many people to use the cameras for much other than playing around every now and then. It'll probably get the same level of use as the original DS's "Pictochat". If something is just that small of an accessory, it doesn't make sense to put much cash into making it top of the line quality.

As someone that has just picked one up the difference is very, very apparent.

The DSi is very much (now) the Nintendo Twist on the PSP with much better build quality...in a nutshell.

One of the things I've come to learn as 1. an old man (nearly forty) and 2. a pro software developer is that game review sites lack a bit of general objectivity and do a lot more fan service that real editorial. Here is what I mean:

The DSi has ONE THING "wrong" with it...and that depends solely on who you are:

It doesn't play GBA games. Really. Now, if you have (still) 40 or more GBA games...this is a horrible loss. If you have that Guitar Hero game, maybe there too. If you got the Metroid Pinbal and can't live w/o the rumble...booo Nintendo.

What it adds tho with the new "System Menu" is not only *highly entertaining* but it is designed to *make you smile*.

Now, if you are an 18-22 year old young person, some of the little touches might not effect you the same way...but there a hell of a lot of us "geezers" out there and Nintendo has got our number. Believe it. It isn't about how many megapixels the camera has, it is about the fun you have with the realtime manipulations...especially WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE.

This generation of gamers is sort of detached from the whole social interaction part of gaming; it is all dark rooms and online. For me and mine, gaming was something done with your friends...at your house...with real live people.

The built-in software captures much of this. The music player has at least 10 *interactive* visualizers (think playing a minigame with your tunes), 4 audio filters and a sort of live remixing paradigm that you can jump right into.

The screens are much nicer, of course. The SD slot? C'mon now. The whole (very) Wii-like makeover? There is much, *much* to like about it hardware wise. It is a definite upgrade and will carry that platform for quite awhile.

There is so much jade and cynicism based on "specwhoring" that I think you end up in the "just don't get it" pile because you can't see the forest for the trees.

I suppose they will be popping up demo stations everywhere real soon now. DS fans/owners that do NOT have a vested interest in a backlog of GBA titles (pretty much anyone that has purchased one post "Touch Generations" line) that see it for really-real for themselves and use it will be wanting one.

It is really a much nicer all-around product than the DSLite...it really is.

-K