Nintendo or PSP

[Drooling Iguana]

Originally Posted by Kenryoku_Maxis

Nintendo has been known for taking ideas never thought of as being able to work and making them amazingly fun and successful. They haven't had many of these on GC, but we will see if the DS will do that. And I seem to remember people pre-judging such things as the GC controller as not being able to be used for 'X' type of game (specifically RPGs and FIghters). Boy, I proved that wrong in practice.

You mean like the R.O.B.? Or the Power Glove? Or the Power Pad? Virtual Boy? e-Reader? Any of those ring a bell? Care to provide any examples of "taking ideas never thought of as being able to work and making them amazingly fun and successful"? As far as hardware goes, I can't think of a single thing, except maybe for adding an analog stick to a console crontoller, although that was implemented horribly on the N64 and it fell to Sony to try it again and get it right.

They did have a few innovations in the hardware arena, such as the D-Pad and shoulder buttons, but I don't recall there being any great controversy about those.

As for the controller, I've found the GC controller to be a pain in the ass for any game that requires more than one button.

Yeah, you're right. I mean, Sony's the world leader in people going 'its Playstation so I'll buy it' and 'had all the good 3rd parties so I go with Playstation' and 'Nintendo sucks now and Playstation will always be better than Nintendo'. Wait...was I suppose to be agreeing with Sony....shoot.

I keep hearing about these people, but I've never seen any. I think they're a myth.

And then yeah, oops. Everyone's thought of putting 2 screens on a handheld before. It's just all thought it was dumb...or maybe you think it is and are just pre-judinging it without even trying a game and giving it a chance. I believe in the latter.

You know, there have been dual-screen games before now. It's hardly a new idea. This is just the first time anyone's used it on a mainstream console, mostly because most people realised what a stupid idea it was.

Oh yeah. I can actualy think of a few ways a game like FFTactics could actually be really fun with a touch-screen. Faster moving of characters. Pull down menues. Camera movement with a centering tool (using the stylus). Checking stats of enemies/characters by selecting them. Secondary options being enabled with the stylus. Etc.

Priest4Hire's already addressed this, and he pretty much covered it.

[h4x.m4g3]

Originally Posted by Drooling Iguana

You mean like the R.O.B.? Or the Power Glove? Or the Power Pad? Virtual Boy? e-Reader? Any of those ring a bell? Care to provide any examples of "taking ideas never thought of as being able to work and making them amazingly fun and successful"? As far as hardware goes, I can't think of a single thing, except maybe for adding an analog stick to a console crontoller, although that was implemented horribly on the N64 and it fell to Sony to try it again and get it right.

So what your saying is Sony can't think for themselves and instead picks up the ideals that Nintendo has. And what do you mean the analog stick on the N64 was implemented horribly. Most of the games i played with used the Analog Stick just fine, sure the control design was a little funky but every single game had its recommended control holding position. In fact Pokemon Stadium (God forbidd I ever have to make refrence to this game again) would show you the recommended control positions for each of the mini-games.

As for the controller, I've found the GC controller to be a pain in the ass for any game that requires more than one button.

And many people thought the X-box control was a pain in the ass. Some people like smaller controlers, some like larger ones. I prefer the original X-box controllers to the new ones because of the placement of the White, Black, start, and select buttons. It's all about preference.

I keep hearing about these people, but I've never seen any. I think they're a myth.

Are you blind. Every company has minions that follow them blindly. Sony has a bunch.

You know, there have been dual-screen games before now. It's hardly a new idea. This is just the first time anyone's used it on a mainstream console, mostly because most people realised what a stupid idea it was.

People said lots of things are stupid ideals. Just because you lack vision, doesn't mean everybody else does.

As for the secondary options all it would take would be for the programming to say "If either shoulder button is pressed down while the stylus is being clicked execute secondary option. One hand is still going to be on the DS remember.

[Priest4hire]

People said lots of things are stupid ideals. Just because you lack vision, doesn't mean everybody else does.

Yeah, we got to see lots of vision at the E3. Maps. Why didn't we think of it? A whole extra screen so we can have a map. That's pure genius. So, what can two screens do that one large one can't? Especially since only one screen can show 3D.

As for the secondary options all it would take would be for the programming to say "If either shoulder button is pressed down while the stylus is being clicked execute secondary option. One hand is still going to be on the DS remember.

Sounds not very portable. Consider that handheld shoulder buttons are known to be iffy anyway. So you're going to support the whole console with one hand firmly enough to keep it steady for the stylus and keep a finger free to tap the shoulder pad, eh? Sounds like a good way to get a cramp to me. Of course you could support it on a table or something, but that's not very portable, is it?

But when you realize that you always have to have that stylus in your hand while you're also jumping back and forth between the side buttons, and when you put together that even in games that ignore the buttons and just use stylus play, the need to support the system with your left hand will make keeping a hand on the D-pad somewhat difficult and may also make reaching that left trigger a bit more awkward ... you can see the problem. You basically have that one big screen for control, with the rest of the buttons and controls taking a backseat for all the really special games.

From IGN and a person who has actually held a DS.

But I'll be the first to admit that there are bound to be some games that make use of the touchscreen, and even the dual screen setup. But I'm going to need to see the proof before I buy into the idea that 2 screens are really the better approach than a larger single screen. One screen that's both wider and pushing more pixels than both DS screens combined sounds better. I'd love to see the killer app that proves the DS setup is the setup of the future, but until then I'll take it with a grain of salt.

[KefkaTaran]

Darth Vader: Interesting point you make, and definitely worth noting. Except that Dreamcast was released AFTER the Playstation.

D.I., Ken, and Priest: Better points, all around. In fact, bonus points! Free lives, even.

This thread has certainly turned far more enlightening than it started out.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Originally Posted by Priest4Hire

So, what can two screens do that one large one can't? Especially since only one screen can show 3D.

Yeah, I realize one hand is going to have to use the stylus to do things, but so do the games creators I'm sure. I doubt every game is going to use the Stylus. I'm also sure they'll be a way to utilize both screens with just the normal D-Pad and buttons, no touching the bottom screen (perhaps the theory of pushing or holding down a sholder button, already been done in some 1 Screen console games; especially fighters).

For a game such as Tactics, where you can sit the dumb thing down for 70,000 hours and no one will move, it doesn't really matter if you have to take your hand off or not, except for those who don't want to go through the hastle of doing this alot (which I admit could get annoying if not propperly moderated with the flow of the game, which its the designers job to work that pace out). But to answer the 'right-clicking thing' what could be one is such as this:

Screen A (the top screen) has the playfield. Then the bottom screen, Screen B will allow you by touching it (stylus or no) to move the camera by touching either a small map or a blank area or something (like Sim City type right clicking and dragging). Bam, instant and easy camera control, much faster and more effective than the camera control in the Original FFTactics and even Disgaea or Fire Emblem. And then say on the right hand side of the screen (second Bottom Screen B), there's a menu with your characters on it (pictures of their faces or something). By clicking on these characters faces, a menu pops up and a list of 'secondary' abilities or perhaps just specs or even items they carry or something are on them. The main screen would have their 'normal' abilities and this bottom screen would have the 'secondary' abilities. Maybe even summons or something. And the screen, because its a touch sensetive SCREEN and not just like a Tomy piece of junk 10 Dollar Nascar racer with those painted on screens or something, the contents on the screen can change. So once you select a character, the character could come up on the bottom screen and then you can do what few RPGs have ever done, allow you to customize things in battle or whatnot. See, just sitting here on my duff thinking up random stuff I see all this great things that could be done with just ONE game. And to answer after my ramble....basically, the use of a 'second screen' is the same as having kind of the right click feature. The second screen (Screen B) can utilize all the features a regular PC game might do with right clicking...but then it can also allow for MORE to be done (see above example) without having to clutter one main screen with multiple menus or breaking the players view/pace of the game/main playing field.

Originally Posted by Priest4Hire

I'd love to see the killer app that proves the DS setup is the setup of the future, but until then I'll take it with a grain of salt.

I personally don't realy see 2 Screens being the biggest thing the world has ever seen, but it might revolutionize at least the Hand-Held market and be something really nice. I don't exactly see 2 Screens working for a TV setup of course and I've always thought that's what they were trying to do with the GBA/GC connctivity. But somehow when it is going to be on the same device with the same sized screens in a way so I don't have to move my head down to my lap to see a seperate device, just move my eyes to a lower screen...I think it could be great. It could also be too wierd and not do good. We'll see which. Let's just not label it as dumb until we see it.

Originally Posted by Drooling Iguana

You mean like the R.O.B.? Or the Power Glove? Or the Power Pad? Virtual Boy? e-Reader?
As for the controller, I've found the GC controller to be a pain in the ass for any game that requires more than one button.

Don't know what R.O.B is....but anyway.

Let's see...Nintendo is the oldest of the BIG MAIN 3 gaming hardware makers right now and therefore, in comparison to Sony it has had nearly 3x longer to make mistakes and nearly 5x-6x longer to make some mistakes as compared to Microsoft and its only first Gen XBOX. As well, Nintendo developed the Console market we saw today, in effect going through many of the hurtles and making the mistakes later systems could view and make sure not to follow, but also created and continues to follow the philosophy of 'be innovative'. Therefore, pointing out various mistakes made by Nintendo and saying the DS is likewise crap is like pointing out the Mistakes of Microsoft in the past and saying the next Windows (not due out till like 2007 or something) is doomed to fail. Or me pointing out bad things Sony has done (the limited amount since they played off Nintendo's weaknesses) and saying PS3 and the PSP will fail because of them. But reguardless of this logic and the fact that I view that to be totally obsolete, here:

Ok...things Nintendo did that were deemed strange or innovative but went on to be successfull. I can't think of much at the moment cuz I would need to go back and look at all the stuff Nintendo has done (as in only Japan stuff and stuff that did good in Japan and not America and vice-versa, etc). Hmmm...Some Hardware: Game Boy (the most succesful piece of hardware in history and it was released with a Puzzle game...gutsy? I think so), GBSP (has recently out-sold the original GBA in half the time, even AFTER the GBA had been out first and for 3 years before it).

Some Software, Pokemon (game based on a little known Manga became one of Japans biggest FADS, not just game series, that still goes on today), Zelda (almost wasn't approved for development because it sounded 'too different' from the types of games Nintendo was making at the time).

Just Recent Software: Wind Wakers graphical style, Animal Crossing, Metroid going 1st Person....I see Nintendo doing pleanty of innovation, but I'm not limiting my scope to Hardware. Nintendo has always made the bluk of their innovation go towards their games. The reason we are in our current state of so many people being obsessed with graphics is because the other two systems used this and pushed their systems for bulk of games and better graphics (and in the case of X-BOX, purely on Ads saying things such as 'the strongest system' and 'best graphics ever'). Now Nintendo is making something that once again isn't the most powerful thing out there....yet its trying to be the most innovative and bring new things to the table for developers to utilize and gamers to use. And my theory is they may also be trying to add a few other features to it such as Internet browsing and the like to get those tech people who buy Sony Products (not PSX products) such as Cel Phones that can view IMs and stuff, cutting not just into Sony's game sales but other sales as well. Not proven, but it could happen.

As for your comments, half of what you said were based on opinion. Some feel the GC controller is the best controller ever made (its certainly one of the best if not the best I have ever used). You're the one saying the Analog on the 64 Controller is horrible while the PS2s is superior. I tend to believe the GC's analog is superior to the PS2's and while the N64s is wierd to handle at first, I can't imagine playing Zelda 64 or Mario Kart 64 using a PS2 Analog device....(and in fact the N64 analog works better than the GCs for Ocarina as well). And the Power Glove like the NES Gun didn't have enough games made for it and that's why it didn't get used much. But you don't hear people screaming the NES gun sucked, right? Because Duck Hunt is such a fun game. So the Power Glove didn't fail because it was a cruddy device, but because there was no game support for it. Same with the Power Pad (I only know of 3 games made for it).

Nintendo might have alot of quote 'failures' but look at what they have done dispite. No doubt they have always been a company trying to do innovative things and they're continuing this now. You really just think its a dumb idea so you want to slam it down, in every way including saying its not innovative because 'everyone else already thought it was stupid'. Well....seems all these companies showing heavy interest in working on the system, including EA and I believe Square, must have thought there was something to it indeed. And I'm willing to bet at least some of them, even if they thought of a 'crazy 2-Screen idea' before Nintendo ever announced it, are not thinking its quite 'stupid' or else they wouldn't be showing intrest and in fact ARE making games for it as we speak. Or....everyone does think its stupid like you said and Konami, Capcom, EA, Namco, Sega, and Ubi Soft are just setting aside resources, time and money for a project they all think is dumb. No...I believe they're making games in the hope that the DS will be both a good system and be profitable and they want to be there at the start.

So keep saying the DS is stupid, but I say you're pre-judging it. It might not be that great, but just saying it sucks because you hear stuff online and never even seeing a fully made game, let alone the finished system means quite simply you're not giving it a chance.

Originally Posted by Drooling Iguana

I keep hearing about these people, but I've never seen any. I think they're a myth.

....there's already been some in this thread, one right on page 4 right before I made the comment:

Originally Posted by snuj

I voted for the PSP, simply because I'm a big fan of PlayStation.

That was TOO much writing....but sometimes you just gotta say stuff!

[Priest4hire]

For a game such as Tactics, where you can sit the dumb thing down for 70,000 hours and no one will move, it doesn't really matter if you have to take your hand off or not, except for those who don't want to go through the hastle of doing this alot (which I admit could get annoying if not propperly moderated with the flow of the game, which its the designers job to work that pace out). But to answer the 'right-clicking thing' what could be one is such as this:

Screen A (the top screen) has the playfield. Then the bottom screen, Screen B will allow you by touching it (stylus or no) to move the camera by touching either a small map or a blank area or something (like Sim City type right clicking and dragging). Bam, instant and easy camera control, much faster and more effective than the camera control in the Original FFTactics and even Disgaea or Fire Emblem. And then say on the right hand side of the screen (second Bottom Screen B), there's a menu with your characters on it (pictures of their faces or something). By clicking on these characters faces, a menu pops up and a list of 'secondary' abilities or perhaps just specs or even items they carry or something are on them. The main screen would have their 'normal' abilities and this bottom screen would have the 'secondary' abilities. Maybe even summons or something. And the screen, because its a touch sensetive SCREEN and not just like a Tomy piece of junk 10 Dollar Nascar racer with those painted on screens or something, the contents on the screen can change. So once you select a character, the character could come up on the bottom screen and then you can do what few RPGs have ever done, allow you to customize things in battle or whatnot. See, just sitting here on my duff thinking up random stuff I see all this great things that could be done with just ONE game. And to answer after my ramble....basically, the use of a 'second screen' is the same as having kind of the right click feature. The second screen (Screen B) can utilize all the features a regular PC game might do with right clicking...but then it can also allow for MORE to be done (see above example) without having to clutter one main screen with multiple menus or breaking the players view/pace of the game/main playing field.

Interesting ideas alright. I'm just not sure how they will all work out on the small screen.

So, we have a mini-map or blank area to control the view of the main screen. Makes sense and it's been done already. However, do remember that you will need to make it large enough to be useable. Especially if you expect someone to use it with their finger. Controlling the camera via a minimap smaller than a postage stamp isn't my idea of fun. Using the second screen as an inventory system makes sense. But I'm not sure this minor convenience is worth a second screen. I'm not sure how this control scheme would allow you to customize in battle where others would not. It's easy to allow you to customize in battle, it's just that usually the idea is that battle is happening too quickly for characters to be swapping all kinds of stuff around.

Using the touchscreen for anything that would be used regularly and also using regular controls would mean constantly switching and picking up and putting down the stylus. If I was playing FFT and had to switch to a stylus every time I wanted to do a summon or some other commonly used ability I'd go nuts. The whole idea of the 'right-click' on the PC is that it's easy and convenient. Without a thought or any extra work I can just right-click a unit or area. You're suggesting that taking my hand off one side of the DS, picking up a stylus, tapping a character and then some tiny menus on the small lower screen, putting down the stylus, and putting my hand back on the controller is the equivalent of depressing the right mouse button on a PC?


Why exactly is switching to a second screen breaking the view/pace less than having a menu pop up on the main screen? At least with the latter you don't have to take your view completely off the main action. With a larger screen, say one twice the size, you could devote even a third of the screen to nothing but secondary information. If fact, that used to be fairly common. For games to make use of multiple windows. But it's since died out in favor of a full screen approach with pop-up menus or semi-transparent overlays. At least that way you don't have to constantly switch views between separate screens. Even switching to an inventory on the main screen is usually not a big deal since you aren't going to be controlling the game and using the inventory at the same time. Even with the second screen you still have to switch to the other screen, so it's the same in the end. Though one thing it would do is allow you to manipulate the inventory in real-time. Handy for a port of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles I'm sure.

Don't know what R.O.B is....but anyway.

The robot buddy that was released for the NES.

Hmmm...Some Hardware: Game Boy (the most succesful piece of hardware in history and it was released with a Puzzle game...gutsy? I think so), GBSP (has recently out-sold the original GBA in half the time, even AFTER the GBA had been out first and for 3 years before it).

Tetris was hugely popular before it was packed in with the GB. It's been put on almost too many systems to count, was the center of a huge legal battle between Nintendo and Tengen, is one of the most famous computer games of all time, and has spawned countless clones. Putting an all time classic smash hit on a handheld is not gutsy. Smart? Yep. A god choice for a handheld? No doubt. But gutsy?

The SP was basically what the GBA should have been. So Nintendo released a slightly crippled piece of hardware, then a slightly less crippled piece of hardware and the second one sells. Wow, I'm amazed. If nothing else I hope the competition means Nintendo can't get away with crap like that in the handheld arena anymore.

You're the one saying the Analog on the 64 Controller is horrible while the PS2s is superior.

Actually, the N64 analog controller is poorly built. That's not some random opinion. I've taken one apart and seen how it's constructed and they are well known for wearing out too easily. Whether or not the setup is better is more a matter of opinion. But the cheap hard plastic analog stick connected to a crappy mechanism in the N64 was not as good as the rubber top and better action of the Dual Shock.

And the Power Glove like the NES Gun didn't have enough games made for it and that's why it didn't get used much. But you don't hear people screaming the NES gun sucked, right? Because Duck Hunt is such a fun game. So the Power Glove didn't fail because it was a cruddy device, but because there was no game support for it. Same with the Power Pad (I only know of 3 games made for it).

Perhaps no games were made because the items in question sucked, or were just too limited of use? If no one uses the special features of the DS what difference will it make? Innovative hardware has to be used in games to be any good. Why a piece of hardware wasn't used in many games is besides the point.

Well....seems all these companies showing heavy interest in working on the system, including EA and I believe Square, must have thought there was something to it indeed. And I'm willing to bet at least some of them, even if they thought of a 'crazy 2-Screen idea' before Nintendo ever announced it, are not thinking its quite 'stupid' or else they wouldn't be showing intrest and in fact ARE making games for it as we speak. Or....everyone does think its stupid like you said and Konami, Capcom, EA, Namco, Sega, and Ubi Soft are just setting aside resources, time and money for a project they all think is dumb. No...I believe they're making games in the hope that the DS will be both a good system and be profitable and they want to be there at the start.

That they are devoting time and money to the system speaks far more about the power of the Gameboy name than the practicality of the 2 screen setup. They could think the 2 screens are stupid, but they would have be stupid themselves to not make games for the thing. Of course they are all making games for the PSP as well. And it remains to be seen whether these developers actually use the second screen, touchscreen, and voice recognition for anything worthwhile or if they just make low cost games with token support for the DS features.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

But the DS is not a GB system and Nintendo is driving that fact into the ground. Its suppose to be Nintendo's 'Third Pillar' and a totally new system, while a new GB is in development indeed (and I'm pretty sure Its been in development since the GBA came out).

Alot of what you said also is based on opinion (as is all of our stuff). The Analog on the N64 might wear out, but I still feel it functions better than the PS2 analog which feels like I'm constantly battling to keep my thumb steady. In fact, as if there's grease in between the Analog stick and the space its rubbing against. Whreas the GC and N64, while prone to being able to wear out from rough use, doesn't do that to me (mostly thanks to the octagon shape with the divisions that hold the stick in place). Then when you combine this octagon kind of 'locking' of the Stick system with the almost standard of which 3D games have taken to the Ocarina type Camera system, the N64 and GC are just perfect to me. But then I play games like GTA3:VC or Zone of Enders and I'm constantly in a battle with positioning the camera cuz when I push a L2 button or something, that good 'ol greasy PS2 Shock Joystick wiggles around and I end up not having the camera behind my character. I can almost nevr get the camera behind Tommy in GTA:VC unless I actually think about it. And I don't want to have to think about moving the camera....I've played Ocarina for 6 years and got use NOT having to think about the Camera. But anyway, its all opinion based on that and I could talk all day about what functions I think are better on this controller over that one....we're talking about two different things. You're talking about its hardware quality and I'm just taking about how it responds in the various games I have played.

And if you don't think the lack of software helping make a piece of hardware sell or functionable, then you've missed the whole point of selling consoles and why Sony is ahead right now....the power golve came out with little functionability in a limited amount of games. It could have been great for all I know (never got to use it) but I know the reason it failed was because no games were made specifically for it. So software is the very reasn it failed and so in effect, what you're saying I didn't say...is what I said. But it hardly matters, because I was trying to show him how the NES Power Glove and the DS can hardly be compared and we can't judge a piece of hardware that hasn't even come out yet with something done in the past that isn't even being created for the same function....

And the first time most of us ever heard of Tetris was when the Game Boy came out. So, eventhough it had been a PC game and succesful with some people, the majority of people never knew what it was. In fact, for the majority of us, the only puzzle game we had ever played was the Apple IIe Picture puzzle.... So to put a puzzle game on a system and then even boothes for people to look at it I think is gutsy. Once you play it, you know its damn fun. But just looking at it walking by, I bet alot of initial people passed it by.

Oh yeah, who says you have to pick up a stylus to click on the bottom screen? I could invision myself using my thumb to click on it (pending on if thumb marks don't stick to the serface). I'd be great to just be playing Tactics and then suddenly I want to know how strong say a White Mage was against Fire Magic....just pick my thumb up from off the D-Pad and press on the face of my little White Mage then she pops up and it tells me all her stats. Place thumb back on D-Pad and move White Mage to Blocking Position. Never even picked up my hand.

[Priest4hire]

But the DS is not a GB system and Nintendo is driving that fact into the ground. Its suppose to be Nintendo's 'Third Pillar' and a totally new system, while a new GB is in development indeed (and I'm pretty sure Its been in development since the GBA came out).

Yeah, it just happens to have backwards compatibility which means that gamers must choose between GB/GBA games on a GBA or SP, or all that and DS games on the DS. Nintendo can call it a third leg all it wants, but it's going to be received as the next GBA. And if Nintendo releases another GBA that doesn't have backwards compatibility to the DS it will piss off all the people who invested in the DS. Not to mention devs who still have DS games in the pipeline.

And the first time most of us ever heard of Tetris was when the Game Boy came out. So, eventhough it had been a PC game and succesful with some people, the majority of people never knew what it was. In fact, for the majority of us, the only puzzle game we had ever played was the Apple IIe Picture puzzle.... So to put a puzzle game on a system and then even boothes for people to look at it I think is gutsy. Once you play it, you know its damn fun. But just looking at it walking by, I bet alot of initial people passed it by.

Other than the copy that was sold on the NES before Nintendo decided to grab the game for the Gameboy? It only sold 2 million copies, so I guess it wasn't big. No, Nintendo grabbed Tetris and went through all the bother and hassle because they knew it was huge. It can be argued that it was partly the draw of Tetris that helped move the GB.

Oh yeah, who says you have to pick up a stylus to click on the bottom screen? I could invision myself using my thumb to click on it (pending on if thumb marks don't stick to the serface). I'd be great to just be playing Tactics and then suddenly I want to know how strong say a White Mage was against Fire Magic....just pick my thumb up from off the D-Pad and press on the face of my little White Mage then she pops up and it tells me all her stats. Place thumb back on D-Pad and move White Mage to Blocking Position. Never even picked up my hand.

Your thumb is a terribly imprecise control method. Kiss goodbye those menus and mini-maps. Just the pics and stat screen is about all that would be good for. Which is fine, but worth the cost of an extra screen, the time cleaning the fingerprints off (minor though), and most importantly the problem of scratching? Considering you could achieve the same thing by moving the cursor or control box over to your white mage and clicking on her? Not really. Convenient but not that critical or convenient.

Thing is most of the stuff that has shown for the DS has fallen into the neat or cute catagory. But what's needed are games that make you think that they couldn't be done any other way. Otherwise what's the point of spending money on neat or cute gizmos that could have gone towards more power. Developers can always use more power to innovate after all.

On the other hand if Sony can't get the battery issue under control Nintendo may have nothing to fear after all.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

I decided to go do some reading up on the systems again. Here's some interesting things I came up with. The more I read up on the hand-helds, the more potential I think it has, in both the ability to make innovative and surprising games and its hardware aspects. And Graphics aren't everything in hardware. Sometimes even without the most powerful graphics, you can actually make games that are more technical and do more things than those that just have more Pixels on screen or ability to press more polygons (which I think is the main point Nintendo keeps trying to press with the Device).

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IGN: What was the concept and design process like for the Nintendo DS? Did Nintendo hand over a dual screen, touch screen wireless system to designers and say, create something? Or did designers dictate its creation with ideas that just wasn't possible in current systems?

Hideki Konno: It was a paring between the hardware and developers at Nintendo, but really it was the software developers that drove many of the new features of the system. Developers would send ideas to the hardware designers, and the hardware designers would come back with, "well, how about if we did this?" It definitely was a collaboration.
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[Action use of the Stylus at Work. Note: I also am weary of the use of an action game with a stylus, but I'm keeping my mind open to see what it's like]

Hideki Konno: Again, I'm a little biased since Metroid Prime: Hunters is my project, but the way you control Samus with the stylus is pretty innovative. And, of course, the shooting style, too. In past Metroid games to target another enemy you had to unlock the target on one and move to the next. With the DS, it's possible to choose how you shoot the enemy. You can conceivably target multiple enemies on-screen at once by location tapping with the stylus and you can also lead your target by shooting just to the left or right as he moves. So it's a different experience for each user.
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[The ability to draw characters and use them in a game.......I'm there! Incorperate that into an RPG and just WOW!]
IGN: What do you think is the most impressive use of the touch screen so far?

Takashi Tezuka: The most innovative thing I've seen so far is in Pac Pix where players draw Pac-Man and that drawing comes to life on the screen. Nobody has ever seen anything like that before. Which one did you think?
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[Ehh...good and bad.]
IGN: Will connectivity with the GameCube or Game Boy Advance come to the Nintendo DS?

Takashi Tezuka: We've definitely thought of that. It's in the discussion stages right now, so don't be surprised if Nintendo announces something like that.
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[I hope its even more Accurate than a PalmPilot]
The touch screen technology is incredibly sensitive and mirrors the same amount of pin-point control that PocketPCs and Palm Pilots have been enjoying for years
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[Will it go GB? I hope not, because Nintendo could make a GB system with 1 screen and probably floor PSP because it comes after, with the combined sales of DSand a GB3. But who knows, PSP could be good. For once I'd like to see Sony not sit on its butt thinking it can do no wrong with a system.]
We're still not sure why Nintendo is still insisting that this system is a third platform and not the continuation of the Game Boy line, and as of this writing the company still swears that the Nintendo DS will be separate from the Game Boy. Don't be surprised if Nintendo shifts its stance on where the DS positions itself by the time the unit ships this year.
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[When things look good early, we can hope for better later]
It definitely seemed like Metroid Prime: Hunters was there only to show off its 3D capabilities, and I was impressed simply because this early in the game (point of time), developers have managed to get a 3D game looking that good. Imagine when companies get a bit tighter to the hardware what they'll be able to do.
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[We question it because its unique, but we need to see it in action to truly judge]
Analog control is one thing, but direct, precise pinpoint control is entirely another…and it's really exciting to anticipate what creative designers can pull off on such a device.
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[Obviously, Nintendos will probably be cheaper]
Price, too…neither Nintendo nor Sony were willing to show their hands here, but obviously the less expensive they are, the better it is for us. And in all honesty, looking at both systems, Nintendo will have the edge with a much more affordable and aggressive pricepoint.
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[He's got a point...]
My biggest issue with the PSP is that, really, it's just a shrunk down current-generation console. In theory this sounds great, since you can take PS2-quality games on the go. But the problem here is going to be simply one thing: expectations. Budgets for PlayStation 2 game development encroaches and many times exceeds the million-dollar pricetag. And the GBA market has proven that US consumers aren't willing to pay a premium for portable games over console titles.
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[Ouch.....Looks like no AAs here...]
1.8 gigabyte discs versus 128 megabyte carts means that developers aren't quite as restricted in their game designs. On the flipside, a drive is something that requires a motor, and that's an element that will come into play a lot more than people realize. After talking to developers, it's clear that, since the battery life of the PSP will significantly drop when hitting the drive to load data, game designers will most likely be encouraged to steer away from the "streaming" style of data retrieval.
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[That's Great!.....but not for new games...]
Which boils down to the real problem: because the budgets will most likely be reduced on the PSP developments, developers may resort to the logical conclusion: porting is the cheapest way to get games on the platform.
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[Just because I couldn't resist...::cough::Sony Obsessed::Cough::]
"...the PlayStation Portable stands a better use of becoming a permanent pocket or purse accessory than anything else before it, and likely anything else to come (until Sony comes out with something new, that is.)" <--Note: Total disreguard to the fact that any other company exists. -_-

[Pidgeot]

Originally Posted by Priest4hire

Last time I checked Sony never announced the price. So how do you know it will be between 300 and 375 Euros?

It is the predicted price. It's not official, but in my experience, it's going to be pretty close.