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Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · 02:43 AM

Meh, I rather have one big 6' screen that worked with existing Gameboy games. The PS2 handheld system sounds 10x better to me.

http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/fullstory.asp?id=5624

Misanthrope · Jan 21, 2004, 02:41 AM

k

dillerX · Jan 21, 2004, 02:47 AM

Originally posted by Misanthrope:
k, ****er.

FIXED

Misanthrope · Jan 21, 2004, 03:38 AM

Originally posted by dillerX:
FIXED

Aria agrees.

Cellery · Jan 21, 2004, 04:28 AM

A handheld GameCube would have been cooler than that, I'm having flashbacks to this:

Also, welcome back after your hiatus, SHOS.

MindFad · Jan 21, 2004, 04:31 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
The PS2 handheld system sounds 10x better to me.

Like 100%, 83%? Come on�we know how you love pulling percentages out of your ass.

Sounds better especially when there's not even any info about the damn DS, I bet.

My initial thoughts: Virtual Boy 2, baby!

I think I'll pass unless they have some really great ideas for games with this new machine, and if developers jump onboard. Still, I'm interested in specs, details, and actually seeing the thing. Could go either way, but I'm currently underwhelmed and would've been more excited to hear about a GameCube successor.

Diggory Laycock · Jan 21, 2004, 07:33 AM

Hey - I remember Nintendo Game systems with two screens:

Game & Watch is Back!

disectamac · Jan 21, 2004, 07:43 AM

I've never seen that model before

They really labeled the button "Jump" eh? It had no other function or possibility of doing anything other than jump?

Diggory Laycock · Jan 21, 2004, 07:53 AM

Originally posted by disectamac:
I've never seen that model before

They really labeled the button "Jump" eh? It had no other function or possibility of doing anything other than jump?

This is from about 1982 - games weren't that sophisticated back then.

philzilla · Jan 21, 2004, 07:58 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Meh, I rather have one big 6' screen that worked with existing Gameboy games.

a 6 foot screen? yeah. portability at its best. i'm 58% excited, but i read somewhere that it sucked.

iWrite · Jan 21, 2004, 08:15 AM

Of course you did.

Axo1ot1 · Jan 21, 2004, 09:39 AM

Originally posted by philzilla:
a 6 foot screen? yeah. portability at its best. i'm 58% excited, but i read somewhere that it sucked.

Woah woah woah. I think he made a typo. 6 feet has got to be around 92.6% bigger than what he meant.

philzilla · Jan 21, 2004, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by Axo1ot1:
Woah woah woah. I think he made a typo. 6 feet has got to be around 92.6% bigger than what he meant.

meh, feet are sooo 1971. i'm all about metres. (obligatory emoticon coming up -> )

Hawkeye_a · Jan 21, 2004, 10:05 AM

Hehe... hey i love my GameCube n all, but i gotta be honest.... im a bit worried about this Nintendo DS.
2 screens ? jeeze, you can 'simulate' as many screens as you want using software. No new hardware is needed for that functionality. im a bit disappointed cause ....im not so sure this is what the gaming industry needs.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 21, 2004, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by Diggory Laycock:
Hey - I remember Nintendo Game systems with two screens:

Game & Watch is Back!

Ha ha, ya that seems about it. I also smell virtual boy 2.

This is really just a product to take some of the thunder away from the PS2 portable that makes the gameboy look like the above picture.

Superchicken · Jan 21, 2004, 11:56 AM

Sigh not another virtual boy... I'm wondering who's pet idea this was... I dono... I hope this ends up being vapour ware, almost all games have start menus where you can pick different items and stuff like that... but a wider screen with simulated screens would be better than two displays... Or like one smaller one I could deal with that but why would you have two?!

GoGoReggieXPowars · Jan 21, 2004, 12:05 PM

Originally posted by Diggory Laycock:
Game & Watch is Back!

I have one of these on my desk at home:

Still bitter I couldn't find my sister's Donkey Kong two-screen like that picture.

Naplander · Jan 21, 2004, 12:15 PM

We haven't even seen prototype images yet, and already there's bitchin. Sheesh.

Could be a really nice new way of playing games. and it will have 1gig of memory. Thats more than my powermac.

Just don't see how people can say "oh, it's crap" when it hasn't even been shown yet, and details are still so vague.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 21, 2004, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by Naplander:
Could be a really nice new way of playing games. and it will have 1gig of memory. Thats more than my powermac.

Is it 1 gig of storage though? The PS2 portable will use mini DVD's so it will hold even more then a gig.

willed · Jan 21, 2004, 12:40 PM

Sounds like a gimmick to me - obviously there will be some games that make good use of two screens, but lazy developers won't bother thinking about it much. What's wrong with one screen anyway?

Brien · Jan 21, 2004, 01:06 PM

I wonder if Nintendo will go the way of sega after the PSP...

Millennium · Jan 21, 2004, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by Naplander:
Could be a really nice new way of playing games. and it will have 1gig of memory. Thats more than my powermac.

Careful; that was measured in gigabits, not gigabytes. Nintendo is still playing that old game, I see. They used to do it with cartridges all the time, to inflate public perception of the game's size. All the other game companies did this too, mind you, but I thought that trick had died long ago.

1 gigabit of memory is roughly equal to 128 megabytes. That's still very impressive for a console -particularly a handheld console- but it's not what we usually think of when we talk about a gig.

scaught · Jan 21, 2004, 01:48 PM

look here, fanboys. i cant believe you arent sick of this stupid ass that gets pulled out everytime a videogame company makes an announcement.

this nintendo thing and the playstation thing will both play different games. buy the machine that plays the games you want to play.

does it seem really gimmicky to have a portable device with 2 screens? ya. wait til you see what it looks like and what nintendo wants to do with it. but really, what does it matter if it has games you want to play? isnt that all that matters?

why would anyone think any differently about this type stuff?

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jan 21, 2004, 03:43 PM

Th thing that got me was the Gameboy advance. No backlighting and it didn't fit in your pocket. A year later they come out with the GameBoy SP that has backlighting and nice and small. Makes you wonder why they didn't come out with that one in the first place. It is not like backlighting and "small" was invented in that year.

Minty Fresh · 04:08 PM

Originally posted by brien:
I wonder if Nintendo will go the way of sega after the PSP...

I highly doubt it. Although the PSP will probably be the most competition Nintendo will have ever seen for them in the portable market. Sony's obvious dominence in the console busisness will definately help them in the portable market when they release the PSP. But...Nintendo has literally owned this markert since the release of the original Game Boy 14 years ago in 89! They have crushed all their competitors since then...who tried to compete with their own portable systems...the Game Gear, Turbo Express, Nomad, Neo Geo Pocket, Wonder Swan, N-Gage...

Superchicken · Jan 21, 2004, 04:15 PM

Technically I think N-Gage crushed themselves

I've thought about this more, and I think it could do well, they might be giving it dual displays so it can fold... we'll have to see but... yah... I hope it's not another virtual boy.

Minty Fresh · Jan 21, 2004, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
Technically I think N-Gage crushed themselves

HAHA Yeah...that POS was probably the WORST design scheme I have EVER seen! The fact alone, that you had to take it apart...just to put a game in was outrageous!

Minty Fresh · Jan 21, 2004, 05:33 PM

Here's some info from IGN on the DS.
---

Nintendo DS features two connected 3-inch backlit TFT LCD display panels -- one on top of the other, according to a Reuters report -- and two separate processors. The device features an Arm9 main processor and an Arm7 sub processor.

The portable will not use GameCube optical disc or Game Boy Advance cartridge based media. Instead, it will play software on semiconductor memory of up to 1 Gigabit, according to the manufacturer.

"Players can look forward to being able to manage their game progress from two different perspectives, enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge. For example in a soccer game, users can view the whole game on one screen while simultaneously focusing on an individual soccer player's tackle or goal on the other screen."

"We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century," explained Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president.

"We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now," said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa.

The Nintendo DS will be on-hand at E3 2004 in fully playable form, according to the company. It will ship in the last half of 2004.

---

nforcer · Jan 21, 2004, 05:55 PM

If true, I can't see the point of really having 2 screens. View the game from 2 different perspectives? Switching back and forth between screens would be headache inciting for me. But if they can do something really neat with it, it would be interesting. I'm doubting it though.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jan 21, 2004, 05:58 PM

I think a bigger screen with picture in picture would be better.

quandarry · Jan 21, 2004, 06:32 PM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Meh, I rather have one big 6' screen that worked with existing Gameboy games. The PS2 handheld system sounds 10x better to me.

note to self...

shoot anyone who uses meh!

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jan 21, 2004, 06:37 PM

Originally posted by quandarry:
note to self...

shoot anyone who uses meh!

You want my home address?

Cellery · Jan 21, 2004, 06:50 PM

I enjoy my GBASP, but this seems like it's going in the opposite direction- It's going to be bigger, probably have shorter battery life due to 2 CPUs and 2 TFT screens, and cost more. I'll stick with the SP for portable stuff and consoles at home.

Minty Fresh · Jan 21, 2004, 07:58 PM

Going on what we know...could this be what it might look like? HAHA

Sorry for the bad photoshop job...but I did it pretty fast.

wataru · Jan 21, 2004, 08:22 PM

mishap · Jan 21, 2004, 10:49 PM

Nintendo DS is a cute idea and a waste of time for everyone except for the people with nothing else to blow their cash on.

the ffuture aparently sucks. when will the end of 2005 ever get here?

BlackGriffen · Jan 21, 2004, 10:56 PM

There's an interview about the new GBDS over at GameInformer.

Some choice highlights:

Billy:_ Will the unit be backwards compatible with the Game Boy Advance or the Game Boy?

Beth:_ We haven�t announced anything about that, yet.

Billy:_ The press release also stated that there�s two separate 3� TFT LCD screens on the DS._ Are those 3� actually square or could that mean the screens are 3� high, but could have a wide screen?

Beth:_ They are 3" diagonal -- so a little bit bigger than GBA screens.

Billy:_ I also read that developers can use both screens as one if they so choose.

Beth:_ Yes, you can use the two screens as one big monitor._ I think it�s one of those things that the developer will have the freedom to do what they want to do.

Billy:_ Will the screens be side-by-side, or vertical?_ Also, will the screens be set right next to each other or will they be separate, much like the classic Game & Watch designs?

Beth:_ The will be in the vertical position._

I've got some questions of my own, namely:

How big will the final unit be (minimum size while open given a 3:4 aspect ratio: 3 3/5" tall by 2 2/5" wide)?
Will it freaking have back lighting?
To hinge, or not to hinge? How would they be able to put a hinge between the screens and maintain durability and keep the screens touching?
What will the power source be?
Will it have a built in headphone jack?
How many buttons?
What sort of graphics?
Will the screens be flat, or will there be an angle between them?

I guess we'll find out in a few months...

BlackGriffen

Hawkeye_a · Jan 21, 2004, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by mishap:
Nintendo DS is a cute idea and a waste of time for everyone except for the people with nothing else to blow their cash on.

I kinda agree withthat statement. i was honestly hoping for something cool i could hook upto my cube to enhance gaming experience, instead i get a marketing gimmic... "get 2 screens instead of 1" lol

BlackGriffen · Jan 21, 2004, 11:33 PM

More info.

Apparently the screens will be back lit. The babelfish translation of the official press release also points to the idea that the gigabit thing refers to the cartridges ("software housing media").

Also, from the link:

The primary processor is based on the ARM9 architecture, and the secondary processor is based on the ARM7 architecture. Which screens the two processors are coupled with is unknown. Clock speeds have not been revealed, but according to ARM's website, the ARM7 family is capable of speeds ranging from 75 to 133 MHz, while the ARM9 family clocks from 185 to 230 MHz. For reference, Nintendo and ARM's custom GBA CPU runs at 16.8 MHz. The DS likely features highly customized versions of the processors, however, so these clock speeds should be taken as mere speculation.

BlackGriffen

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 22, 2004, 01:12 AM

Wonder how many minutes the battery will last.

Minty Fresh · 01:47 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Wonder how many minutes the battery will last.

With two 3" backlit screens, and 2 CPU's...they're gonna have to have a pretty hefty battery in there to get a good run time out of it!

Brien · Jan 22, 2004, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Wonder how many minutes the battery will last.

2.871 EE^23

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 22, 2004, 01:51 AM

This about sums it up:

http://pocket.ign.com/articles/463/463511p1.html

MindFad · Jan 22, 2004, 01:55 AM

Top notch IGN editing.

Diggory Laycock · Jan 22, 2004, 08:59 AM

http://www.uncleclive.co.uk/

has some nice pics

ryju · Jan 22, 2004, 09:31 AM

I'll just stick with my original white GameBoy Advance and play Mario Golf

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 22, 2004, 10:33 AM

This is hilarious

mishap · Jan 22, 2004, 07:44 PM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
This is hilarious

should i understand this? or would i just be embarrassed if i did?

on the battery issue: just throw in two SP batteries... 10 hours battery life. how clever.

funkboy · Jan 22, 2004, 08:59 PM

This sounds awesome.

I hope one of them is a touch-screen LCD. That would really make it a new, next-step in gaming.

I've been waiting for someone to do this for a long time.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jan 23, 2004, 12:42 PM

Seems the screens will be vertical which sounds stupid. Anyway, the opinions of games magazines so far is hugely negative:

http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1454872,00.asp