http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-11-nintendo-ds_x.htm
I’m not too thrilled at the look of Nintendo DS.
and the power of Nintendo 64.
I’d rather go for Sony’s PSP.
Do you think that Nintendo made another mistake?
Well, Nintendo’s track record in the handheld market is more than solid. It’s taken on nine major handheld units and crushed them. Also, there is the price point. One hundred and fifty dollars vs. two hundred and fity plus. And the last point is the fact that I can play my GBA games on it. The PSP will have to do everything short of giving me a blow job to be able to beat that. But then again I bought both an Atari Lynx and a Dreamcast thinking they were going to be big so who knows?
Give me the power of an N64 in a handheld anyday. Finally a decent portable AKI engine wrestling game!
I’m starting to see comparisons drawn between the PSP and N-Gage. Not a good sign. Apparently Sony has not been forthcoming with their development kits and folks are upset. Think that’s from IGN. Possible 411mania.com, but not sure.
The DS is high-concept. I don’t think that has EVER worked out for Nintendo.
OTOH, the PSP is very sexy. There’s one picture of someone playing GT on it that is mindblowing. But unless Sony violates the laws of nature, there is no way that thing is going to be reasonably priced. I would be hard-pressed to buy a big bulky portable over the next gen consoles which will be coming out at the same time.
The PSP is nothing new. It can’t do anything current consoles can’t do, in the games deptartment the only thing it has going for it is portability. It may be able to play mp3s or whatever but there are already smaller, more convenient pieces of hardware to do that.
The DS, on the other hand, looks to be something new and interesting. It’s something that hasn’t really been done before on a gaming system. Whether the two screens are a great innovation or a pointless gimmick I’m still undecided about, but because it’s actually trying something new it’s piqued my interest.
Poinless gimmick, i think. I’ve owned just about every system since N.E.S (except all the Sega Genesis add-ons) and I just thin the Nintendo DS can’t win this time. Actually I’ll take that back. Nintendo DS will be for the kids and older folks that still love the simplities of Nintendo. Sony’s going to get the crowd they are going for, which are the late teens to early 30’s crew, that want there games hardcore with lots of bells and whitstles. I’ll probably get them both, but I think I’ll be happier with the PSP. I’ll give the DS to my wife. She’s a huge GBA fan.
Note to Sony: Throw a harddrive in (Not any thing on the level of the IPOD just about 3 to 5 gigs). Let me throw my mp3s on it. I’ll definitely won’t have a problem paying 300 to 400 bucks.
Eh. The DS has the power of a several-year-old system, and the PSP has the power of a current one.
However, the DS is going to be popular for the same reason the PS2 was. It’ll start right off the bat with a massive selection of games. It remains to be seen whether the PSP will be able to keep up.
I hope I’m not interpreting that the way I think I am. If so, here is my tongue-in-cheek reply:
Oh, good thing Sony is around to cater to those gamers with complex tastes. I’ll let those hardcore play their hardcore games while I blissfully amuse myself with the simplicities of Nintendo. Ooooh look, a shiny red ball! Tee hee!
If not, please disregard the previous tongue-in-cheek reply.
I’ve just started getting in to GBA games, so I think if I get only one, it would be the PSP. The graphics are amazing on the thing, and … well, that’s all I know. I love Nintendo, but I have not felt their latest games.
I’m sure the price of each will sway my decision. I’ve heard the DS will start at $150, which is very cheap for what it’s packing. But if the PSP has better games, I’d pay more for it, of course.
The DS being backwards compatible is something to think about as well, and will most likely sell tons of systems jsut for tetris.
sorry for rambling, it’s late
I wonder what the battery life is on those.
The PSP looks tempting, but I’ve heard it only lasts 2.5 hours(!) on a set of batteries. Sheesh, even my Atari Lynx could manage 4…
Ok, maybe I did say that the wrong way. Letma sum it up like this.
Games on the DS: Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon (which is cool)
Games on the PSP: GTA, Metal Gear, and SOCOM
Nintendo has kept gaming into the family entertainment bubble. They believe in games that EVERYONE can get into, play, and have a good time. Sony on the other hand will okay a game to be released on ther system just because it is entertaining, not caring about the total demographic. I guess I just shoulda said mature instead of hardcore. :smack:
(Disclaimer: I work for Sony. I pitched a game for the PSP. Colleagues of mine on the other side of the office are working on a PSP game right now. On the other hand, I also own 3 GBAs … .)
While I might be biased, I think Sony wins in every department except for price point. The PSP has a sexier form factor, it’s got a larger screen, and more power.
I think duel screens smells like a gimmick. (As a designer, I’d rather have one big screen to work with than two medium-sized screens.)
I’m heading off to E3 right now. Maybe I’ll post some more to this thread after I’ve had a chance to play both systems.
IGN.com has some beautiful video of a FPS Metroid game running on the DS. Runs wonderfully. I’ve not seen video of the PSP yet, but I agree, I love the size of that screen, and I’d really love to be able to get one…if the price doesn’t kill me.
I’m leaning towards the PSP at this point. I have a GBA SP, and like it, but find myself wanting games that are a bit more complex. While I don’t think it’s fair (or entirely accurate) to characterize Nintendo’s output as for the “less mature,” they do cater to an audience that includes a lot of kids. As a result, they have a lot of simpler games. Not a bad thing at all – I enjoy the heck out of Pokemon Pinball, which is really simple – simply an observation.
Another thing the PSP will have going for it is the controls. The DS has the same control setup as the GBA – D-pad and 4 buttons, plus (I am assuming) two (could be four) shoulder buttons. The PSP, on the other hand, has D-pad, 4 buttons, presumptive shoulder buttons and two analog joysticks. I prefer using a joystick to move around over the D-pad.
Plus, I prefer a single large screen over two screens. I worry that I’d be moving my focus back and forth between two screens and losing track of what’s going on.
Then again, I’m enough of a geek that I’ll probably wind up with both eventually. 
The gaming press seems to be raving about the DS, and I must admit the stylus and touch screen seems like a pretty cool idea to me - it makes the dual screen aspect so much more than the gimmick I thought it was when it was just another screen. There’s some real potential there.
And it plays the entire existing Game Boy library, can’t complain about that.
Add me to the list that thinks the DS looks GREAT! I think the 2nd screen will be a Godsend for RPG’s and Racing games which use a map.
I’ve all but completely dropped out of the entire world of video gaming, but even I’m liking what I’ve heard about the DS. Backward compatibility and what look to be really cool games at launch put it over the PSP for me.
That said, PSP looks really cool, but a predicted high cost and poor battery life have me unconvinced.
Oh, good point.
The DS definitely looks good - and it has 4 buttons, not counting the shoulder buttons I’m sure they have! That was my major disappointment with the GBA. There’s no excuse for a 2-button game system in this day and age.
Now, if the DS doesn’t have shoulder buttons… shakes fist
It does have L and R shoulder buttons. IGN discusses it here.
Then it is done properly.
I just hope it actually uses them, unlike any of the GBA games I’ve played.
shakes fist again