Sony Describes DS As Gimmick 453
1up.com has news, via MCVUK, that PSP VP of Studios Phil Harrison has classified Nintendo's entry into the handheld market as 'irrelevant'. From the article: "The idea of a handheld rivalry with Nintendo is an irrelevance...Those formats don't appear in our planning. It's not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it's the truth." 1up.com's commentary is well seen. From their piece: "Whether or not you fully agree, Nintendo DS can come off as gimmicky, but Sony's commentary is fairly strange." Read on for my own short commentary.
I know that, for the most part, comments like Harrisons are just the marketing version of "my processor is faster than yours" but I'm honestly surprised at the level of arrogance displayed there. Since the PSP's launch, Slashdot Games has posted article after article with titles like PSP Reception Lukewarm in U.S., PSP Not A Sellout Hit, What's Up With The PSP?, and most recently PSP Usage Lower Than Expected. This last article is especially disheartening for Sony execs because those numbers come from Japan, a nation that has traditionally been Sony's bread basket. If it's not doing well here, and it's not doing well there...do they really think that many Europeans are going to buy it when it launches there next week?
Sorny doesn't like the DS? (Score:4, Funny)
Zonk didn't actually link to 1up.com's commentary? (Score:4, Insightful)
Go figure. [1up.com]
Re:Sorny doesn't like the DS? (Score:5, Insightful)
What this means is that the Slashdot editors couldn't find a single story of more content among every submission from all the Slashdot readers.
Re:Sorny doesn't like the DS? (Score:5, Interesting)
Editors aside, articles like this one are written for one thing and one thing only: to generate hits. Why do you think fuckin' Dvorak is still writing a column this late in the game? Because his flamebait, trolling articles generate hits. I'm sure he gets absolutely pounded by email each time he takes the wrong side of a hard line on issues, and that pays the bills. His expertise in the industry is quickly fading into irrelevance. An old man in an industry moving this quickly has a very hard time making insightful observations, but drive-by criticisms and fanciful, pulled-out-of-his-ass predictions are a no brainer.
To avoid calling the kettle black, I'll state for the record that my post just might be stupid, redundant, and uninformative.
ROFL! Is this a joke? (Score:5, Informative)
The DS is outselling the PSP by 4 times in Japan and has a 1.2 million unit lead worldwide. "Irrelevant" my foot.
Re:ROFL! Is this a joke? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:ROFL! Is this a joke? (Score:3, Interesting)
I disagree. I think it's a well-placed shot at the low-end and cell phone game playing crowd. It's cheap, it's small, it looks pretty slick, and it's got a HUGE library of games. Let's face it: for most people the PSP and the DS are big and expensive. And if you just want something to fill that 10 minute gap before the subway comes, neither system's game
Re:ROFL! Is this a joke? (Score:3, Insightful)
No, if you RTFA, you'll see that he was specifically talking about the touch screen on the DS.
As for the GBA Micro, it is not a gimmick, but it is nothing special--merely another edition of the GBA that offers a more convenient size--small enough for people to carry around routinely, like they do a cell phone. As such, it will compete with the cell phone gam
Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:5, Funny)
Wait a minute...
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Insightful)
See, for example, the continued success of The Sims and it's many, many expansions over far better games.
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Funny)
Hang on, I have to assure the authorities that I have no idea where Cindy is.
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:2)
there's a market for [actual doll houses]?
Mattel seems to think so: see its Loving Family [fisher-price.com] and Barbie [barbie.com] product lines.
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually my favorite SimCity was 2000 (though the SNES version of SimCity would be a close 2nd). 2000 added things to the game to make it better and more enjoyable to me. 3000 and later added stuff that just seemed to make the game more tedious and frustrating.
Sony getting a taste of its own medicine (Score:3, Interesting)
No kidding.
Sony's managed to out-hype and out-market 2 of its game platform competitors now, with a somewhat (or majorly) inferior product.
Depending on how you look at it, the PS1 demolished both the N64 and Dreamcast - and really, it wasn't superior to either. Whether it was load times or sheer graphic capabilities, the PS1 was a pretty dreadful platform except for the fact that everyone had one, and it had thousands of mediocre games released.
The PS2 was the fin
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Insightful)
The DS for example is of far better build quality , has more games that are suited to mobility
I own both and my PSP is busy collecting dust
where as i have purchased 5-6 games for the DS and about
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:2)
Betamax SP is very high quality, and is still very much in use today. Betamax is not.
The cassette looks similar though.
Correction! (Score:2)
That second line should read:
Betacam SP is very high quality...
Should have previewed that.
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Insightful)
The PSP has entered a slightly different environment. The proliferation of cellular phones, PDAs, laptops, and digital cameras has forced
Re:Yeah, it's a gimmick! (Score:3, Interesting)
The thing that makes the PSP expensive to operate is the use of Sony's memory format. A Memory Stick Pro Duo seems to cost (on average) about twice as much as a comparitively sized CF or SD card. While that's not a big deal on its own, the PSP's disc-based design forces consumers to buy memory cards in order to save games. In addition, since the PSP is being touted as a multimedia machine, it can be expecte
they might (Score:4, Interesting)
I think the psp is great, and I will buy one.. I am just waiting for movies I actually LIKE.. I'm more of an indie / forien flick kinda guy. So x-mas will tell me when or if I should buy.
Re:they might (Score:2)
Hey! (Score:2)
"Liver and lights", on the other hand...yeek. Can't say as I've ever had it, but I'd try it. Once.
Sony Describes DS As Gimmick (Score:2, Insightful)
'entry' (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:'entry' (Score:3, Informative)
PSP is great (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:PSP is great (Score:2)
i cant see myself dishing out $250-$300 for a system... Of course the screen is beautiful, but with threats of dead pixels and broken buttons... I'd definitely expect more... I'm more likely to get another GP32 or a GPX2-F100.. most of the games i'd play are legacy genesis/snes/sms/nes/tg16 games anyways. maybe i'm a bad statistic
Re:Emulation on the GBA (Score:3, Interesting)
The red DSs that were just released in China and Japan have an updated firmware that disables older hacks, but those have already been worked around.
Re:PSP is great (Score:3, Insightful)
Emulators... and overpriced movies...
It doesn't matter if you've got a portable Cray with a blindingly bright XGA screen that gets 800 hours of playtime on fairy dust, if there aren't any good games, it isn't worth buying.
Nintendo is doing what they always do, putting fun, addictiveness, and play control ahead of all other considerations. As a result they have a "technically inferior" product that is a much greater pleasure to own and use.
Re:PSP is great (Score:2, Insightful)
The other reason I ended up selling it was, and this will sound weak, the fact that it took a long time to load games. If I was playing Ridge Racer and wanted to switch to Tony Hawk it would just take what felt like ages t
Totally misleading... (Score:5, Informative)
He also said that the DS was not part of Sony's planning as well as it shouldn't be. He believes they're targetting different markets, so why should it?
Way too much irrelevant Sony hatred. Sony does stupid things, but not everything they do is stupid.
Re:Totally misleading... (Score:2)
Actually, the case in point is that Sony is ragging on their competitors in a particularly stupid way. If that were the first time, I'd probably think someone just got a little carried away in the "heat" of the interview, but various Sony execs have been bashing their competitors for quite some time now. It's as if they can't give one interview without resorting to bashing others with stuff that's, if not outright lies, but certainly no basis i
Re:Totally misleading... (Score:2)
Sure, there is plenty of overlap, but they aren't going after the same core market.
Think of it like a corvette and a honda...
Sour grapes (Score:5, Informative)
Of course if you want to glorify the "technical race" over gimicky things like novel methods of input (like joysticks and d-pads?) than PCs have the dedicated gaming systems beat hands down.
Re:Sour grapes (Score:3, Interesting)
Japanese hardware sales for August 15 - August 21:
System - Weekly sales (2005 sales)
1. DS: 80,945 (1,462,984)
2. PS2: 33,292 (1,322,678)
3. PSP: 23,923 (1,150,150)
4. GBASP: 16,721 (483,335)
5. GC: 3,960 (148,345)
6. GBA: 822 (17,219)
7. Xbox: 263 (9,458)
Re:Sour grapes (Score:3, Insightful)
Sony has to work hard to promote the PSP as an all-around portable entertainment machine. For me, that won't happen unless they open up the UMD spec so I can record UMDs and use them on the PSP. I don't think that will happen though.
I don't have either unit, and I am planning to sell my backlight-modded GBA because I use it only rarely now.
Right now, I am just using a Palm compatible device, and i
I think they're BOTH right. (Score:2, Insightful)
And Sony's comments are arrogant. It's the games that ultimately decide which platform is better, and having a bigger screen is no good if you have nothing special to show on it. Of course, I expect nothing less than this sort of statement from Sony. They still seem to think the Walkman glory is with them and continue to display Not-Invented-Here syndrome.
Re:I think they're BOTH right. (Score:3, Insightful)
Hold the train, somebody better be rewriting history.. many claim that the 64 controller hasn't been beat.
Re:I think they're BOTH right. (Score:2)
The N64 controller got a lot right (the ergonomics were great for exampl
But that was exactly Nintendos intention! (Score:4, Insightful)
That was exactly Nintendos intention. You can have hold it analog-button (for, say, Jump-N-Runs), digital-button (for example for puzzlers) or analog-digital (such as for FPS). That way, developers are forced not to use too many buttons. You may like this or not, but for most non-hardcore gamers, it's a great idea.
The software rules our world... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The software rules our world... (Score:2)
Re:The software rules our world... (Score:3, Insightful)
The DS _is_ a gimmick... (Score:3, Insightful)
The way I see it, the pinnacle of handheld gaming is the GameBoy Advance SP.
WOW (Score:2)
I will now talk out of my ass. (Score:5, Funny)
Desperation? (Score:5, Interesting)
I think Sony have missed the point about battery life and original software something which saw the end of the Game Gear and the Atari Lynks(sp?)
Is the PSP technically superior to the DS? Yes, Was the Game Gear technically superior to the Game Boy? Yes. Which console won?
Re:Desperation? (Score:2)
As a DS owner (Score:5, Insightful)
That being said, the rest of the device is a dream. The games that have come out for it (or are right around the corner) are almost always sure winners: Nintendogs, Kirby, the new Sonic, the new Mario, Castlvania, the upcoming Animal Crossing, Lost in Blue, Meteos, Advance Wars DS... I held off on buying a DS until yesterday (a few run-ins with coworkers playing Nintendogs finally sold me), and I think the library of games and creativity shown in each one really, genuinely offers something new to gamers. This is mostly because of the stylus interface, but they use the wireless and flip-top covers in wierd unique ways as well.
The only thing else I could ask for would be that it played the old GB games, an analogue stick, and maybe a nice emulator (ala PSP). And considering that the PSP has all of those, that brings me to my point: the only reason the DS won me over for Portable Platform Money-Sink 2005(tm) was because the games are awesome.
Yield; PSP firmware (Score:2)
The dual screen rarely brings anything to the device that a larger screen or better use of existing screen real-estate doesn't.
Yield is an issue with bigger screens. It's a lot cheaper to manufacture two 192x256 pixel screens with fewer than n defects than to manufacture one 384x256 pixel screen. That's part of why the PSP, with its 480x272 pixel screen, had to be delayed in Europe, because Sony couldn't get enough yield out of its LCD supplier and had to divert units from the originally planned Europea
Re:As a DS owner (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, I also have a DS. For the DS I've been addicted to Mr. Driller (doesn't use the touch screen well, but the extra vertical height does help), Yoshi's Touch and Go for a long time (tons of fun once you get the hang of it. Can get very tough), Kirby Curse Canvas (amazing use of the pen). I played Meteos for a while (just isn't the same without the pen), I'm playing Advanced Wars now (doesn't really need the touch functionality) and Nintendogs.
I can't wait to try that surgery game (can't remember the name right now), the new Castlevania (though the touch screen looks like a gimmick there), Animal Crossing (pen would help A LOT, the GC version had me addicted for months), and many more. Lost in blue looks quite interesting too.
The good DS games can be classified in two ways: Those that use the 2nd screen well (Castlevania for the map, Advanced Wars for the second front/status info, Mr. Driller for the extra height), and those that just wouldn't work the same without the pen (Yoshi, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, etc.)
The PSP looks better. No question. But so far I've enjoyed my DS FAR more than my PSP. Right now, the DS is the clear winner in my mind.
To be fair, there are many things (Burnout: Legends, GTA: Liberty City Stories, and more) that I think will bring the PSP into being a force. But the fact is that it has been stalled for a few months. I have no doubt it will pick up TONS of steam, but it sure took it a long time to get out of 1st gear (not that the DS was a speed demon there either).
Re:As a DS owner (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:As a DS owner (Score:2)
Re:As a DS owner (Score:3, Insightful)
Okay, now imagine for a second that you're using the touchscreen with no second screen. A nice game of "CRAP, I CAN'T SEE AROUND MY HAND!"
Now does the second screen make more sense?
Problem with PSP (Score:2)
Now don't get me wrong, hardware-wise PSP is very high quality - that company has got amazing engineers. Unfortunately, it also has a management that acts a lot like Microsoft's (bully on the block) when they're obviously not in that position.
Corpses in the wake of the big N (Score:5, Insightful)
Game Gear
Nomad
Lynx
That portable TurboGrafix16 (Name anybody?)
Wonderswan, Wonderswan crystal / color
GP32
NeoGeo pocket, NeoGeo Pocket color
Tapwave Zodiac
Ngage
That's just a short list off the top of my head, I'm sure that there are others that a more thorough search would reveal.
The PSP is simply not in the right price/battery life/durability range for most people to be attracted to it. It will do well with the money-to-burn crowd and with the hard-core gamers who buy everything, price be damned. As for the casual gamer that is the bread and butter of the industry, I forsee it remaining sort of "meh".
Re:Corpses in the wake of the big N (Score:2)
Re:Corpses in the wake of the big N (Score:2)
A friend had one and I would borrow it to take on road trips. In it's day, it was truly awesome. About the size of the original Gameboy, full color screen, played the same games (in that awesome thick-credit-card format) as the at-home system. You could also get a TV tuner add-on for further leetness. I remember playing Splatterhouse, Bonk's Adventure & Blazing Lasers for hours on school trips, rolling in the geek cred for having the hype color "gameboy" with
It's almost as if.. (Score:2)
movie playing isn't? (Score:2, Insightful)
My thoughts exactly (Score:2)
Yeah but... can it (the PSP) play DS games? (Score:2)
And I'm not buying a PSP if my favorite game [ign.com] only comes for the DS...
From the link:
"The touch screen comes into play with a new ability where players can "shatter" weak bricks with their finger or stylus, or draw magical symbols to defeat enemy creatures."
Rune magic, anyone?
My hopes for the DS - Partly open it up (Score:3, Insightful)
-----
A request for Nintendo to open up the GB DS
(BTW, is any of this even possible?)
(Please note that while there is some comparisons between the Nintendo DS (DS) and the Sony Personal PlayStation (PSP) my comments should not be construed as a judgment on which unit has better games or is better for gaming. My comments and ideas are limited to the DS' ability to be expanded past it's current usage, which could possibly expand it's total customer base, and not about corporately generated games. While I mention Python as the interpreter of choice, Ruby should also be strongly considered. BTW, I know the name sucks but I'm sure someone will come up with something better.)
The "App-Yan"
I propose that Nintendo makes or allow someone else to make a device that fits into the DS game slot on the DS which allows users to run Python applications. Applications would be stored and loaded from a removable SD card.
The "App-Yan" parts:
Hardware:
External housing design and dimensions: the dimensions would very similar to the "Play-Yan", Nintendo's mp3/mpeg4 player that fits into the GBA slot on the DS.
SD or SDIO slot: Python scripts and/or related data files would be stored here. No propriety software should be required to copy files to and from the SD card. Open data standards should be used whenever possible. Also somewhat similar to the "Play-Yan".
>256M non removable internal flash memory: This would be used for the storage of the Python interpreter et al and, at the user's choice, Python scripts or related data.
A/D converter on the "professional" model: It's about expanding the DS and a "professional" version with multiple A/D converters would expand the DS' use, for example, for automated data collection.
Software:
Python interpreter: the Python interpreter, a signed Nintendo application, would be stored on the App-Yan's internal flash memory. It could be updated by Nintendo to address security flaws and bugs. Scripts could be run allowing for a text output or with a full GUI. GUI objects could be accessed from either the DS' internal GUI widgets or from standardized custom widgets accompanied with the interpreter.
Signed script validator: Some groups have the need to ensure their scripts arrive at the user's DS unmodified. A built in public key signature system could be used to insure scripts arrive as they were intended.
Why the DS?
The DS, like previous versions of the GB, is well designed and a nearly indestructible device. They have been successfully used in environments that normally would kill off similar electronic devices. The closest example of a device that can stand up to similar abuse would possible be a "hardened" PDA (either Palm of PocketPC OS based in a custom enclosure) costing at least four times the cost of the DS/AY (DS with an "App-Yan" device). The DS' low cost, durability and touch screens make it an ideal candidate for this project over other portable devices. The use of a GB for nongaming use is hardly new. The Singer Izek sewing machine (now out of production) used a GB as a stitch and pattern controller.
What's the benefit to Nintendo?
This project would expand the current customer base and places used. Many would say the "holy grail" of a portable gaming system is to allow for its use in a public school setting. This might be possible using the "dynamically generated exams" example sited below. While the DS performs well as a portable gaming system added uses would generate additional console sales which would generate added games sales. While Nintendo is still the king of the overall handheld gaming market, the Sony PSP has presented itself as extremely strong competition. With Sony's le
Re:My hopes for the DS - Partly open it up (Score:2)
A request for Nintendo to open up the GB DS
For one thing, there is no "GB DS".
For another thing, the Nintendo DS has already been busted wide open. See PassMe [dspassme.com].
Re:My hopes for the DS - Partly open it up (Score:3, Insightful)
Meanwhile, opening up the console prevents Nintendo from making money on those dev
New GP32 with Linux (Score:5, Interesting)
Quite frankly, I think I'd prefer the new GPX2 [gpx2.com] over either of them. It's the successor to the superb GP32, and plays Xvid, Divx Ogg (and others), out of the box, has 128Mb and an SD slot, USB2, 8 hours of battery time for video playback (2xAA batteries), runs Linux, and actually has emulators (MAME etc.) on the feature list!
They highly encourage homebrew software.
No thanks (Score:2)
Re:No thanks (Score:2)
[GPX2] doesn't have 3D acceleration.
Neither did most PCs when Quake and Quake II were released, but that didn't stop Carmack-san from making kick-*** software rendering engines.
Re:New GP32 with Linux (Score:2)
Now if they can get this intro production (photos at that site look like they are all rendered) at a reasonable price, with good emulation, then count me in!
When your best game is a gussied up port... (Score:3, Interesting)
I own a PSP and am very disappointed that the only good games were the launch titles, and many of those games were ports (Tony Hawks Underground 2, Darkstalkers). And I didnt buy a Nintendo DS because I thought nobody was releasing games for it. The sad part is that a bunch of interesting games are out right now in Japan, Some RPGS, which the PSP in America has none of, Astonishia Story, Breath of Fire III, although america is getting one in november, that is a while to wait. Also Japan has just seen some other games released such as Star Soldier, Megaman Dash, Taiko No Tatsujin, Sengoku Ace III-Sengoku Cannon, Heaven Key Earth Gate, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Popolocrois ponogatari, Shin Mimi Bukuro, Higanjima. Thats not a complete list, those are just the ones that looked interesting to me!
If sony actually cared about this system, why only release six games in the three months after releasing it? What kind of half-baked strategy is that? Even the prospect of using it for webbrowsing or emulators doesnt seem all that tempting compared to the increasing amount of quality software that seems to be comming out for the nintendo DS, if only the Nintendo DS wasnt the size of a brick I might buy one.
Sniff, sniff (Score:2)
Sony is right, in a way (Score:5, Interesting)
Just play Pac-Pix or Kirby Canvas Curse and you'll see the DS has a future, albeit in its own niche. Furthermore, the touchscreen and the microphone make the DS better suited for Internet gaming than the PSP, however sexy the latter might be. I know the PSP can use external USB devices, but we all know how the market responds to add-ons.
Sony is just jealous that Nintendo's gimmick product is outselling theirs worldwide, and is actually making a profit. Now imagine when Nintendo announces the next-gen Game Boy.
The big N's next-gen handheld could use an architecture similar to the Gamecube (as has been rumored) so that the development environment can be shared between the GCN, the Revolution and the GBA2. Things are not going to get any easier for Sony. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the PSP2 comes with an embedded mic and a touchscreen.
Now don't take me wrong, I have both devices and love them, but Sony trying to make a stupid comparison at this point can only backfire.
Re:Sony is right, in a way (Score:2)
I don't believe this is true. I can't remember a single piece of hardware that Nintendo has pushed harder. From launch to selling world-wide in under 4 months? That hasn't happened from the big N. (Well, I don't think it has hit China yet, but even that is comming soon)
Nintendo may consider the DS experimental, but they are not acting like they consider it "just"
Seriously (Score:2)
Re:Seriously (Score:2)
Plus, the all-black PSP really wouldn't make a very good icon, especially when browsing on a smaller screen.
Timing (Score:3, Insightful)
This has really wiped out the PSP as a platform for the time being, though. Lumines is great but it's not $300 great, and there's nothing else I want, even a little.
They really should have done the mass-portage, best of PS1/PS2, and dribbled the stuff out until Christmas.
Atari (Score:2)
Love my DS... (Score:2)
The DS is far from a gimmick. What's really going on is Sony is shocked that their "superior" handheld device isn't selling so well at all (latest numbers for last week show the DS selling more than all other game systems combined in Japan, where Sony *should* be doing better).
It's kinda like why the iPod sells so well over the competing MP3 players. The iPod plays music. It does it well. No need for all these other "features". In the same way, the DS lets you play really fun games. That is all. It d
Company exec trashes competitor's product (Score:2)
Seriously, is this really newsworthy?
Whatever (Score:2, Insightful)
Hmmm.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Ahhhh - the ostrich marketing ploy strikes again (Score:2, Funny)
"The DS is no threat to our superior PSP! Our valiant PSP will outsell it at every turn!"
Another attempt for Slashdot to be more (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't see any posters at this time who have recognized Zonk's post for what it is -- an attempt for Slashdot to be more than just a blog. The last major push for that backfired, nobody liked what Jon Katz had to say. Since day 1, Slashdot has been an approval system for links that we the readership submit. The editors have made some attempts to editorialize and have occasionally been flamed for it, but the editorials have been very light and Slashdot's readership has been flat for over a year.
Slashdot can continue to mature and grow readership by doing a little research. Dig up some links from the past and make a comment. Zonk could have taken a small step in either direction by posting how well (or not) the DS has done to continue to refute Sony's stance (or show that the issue is still unresolved).
Thanks, Zonk, for taking a small step in the right direction. We don't want a Slashdot newspaper, over-editorializing everything, but some light commentary would entice readers to get our feet wet in new subjects and make Slashdot an easier read for new visitors.
Editorial Integrity (Score:4, Insightful)
Well great. We know where Zonk stands. Now why can't we mod him down for redundancy?
Re:Mine is better than yours... and more expensive (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Gameboy (Score:2, Insightful)
Was there any legitimate excuse for DS not having FULL wi-fi capability at launch? I don't even mean being able to hack it and use a web browser like PSP, I mean playing online games with people all over world using free wi-fi at Starbucks.
Sony has every right to not think of Nintendo as a threat in the new handheld market: Nintendo, once again, dropped the ball when it comes to ONLINE GAMING.
Re:Gameboy (Score:2)
They didn't drop the ball, they just were better at figuring out what people actually want. I'll get a PSP when a couple games come out for it that strike me as remotely interesting. For the time being, I have a wireless PDA that plays movies and browses the web just fine.
Some hotspots require a web browser (Score:5, Informative)
Was there any legitimate excuse for DS not having FULL wi-fi capability at launch?
The Nintendo DS does have full Wi-Fi. It's just that none of the current games use IP over Wi-Fi.
I don't even mean being able to hack it and use a web browser like PSP, I mean playing online games with people all over world using free wi-fi at Starbucks.
One problem is that you'd have to use a web browser in order to connect to some hotspots in restaurants and elsewhere, as they will route your packets to the Internet only if you can connect to an SSL web page and read and accept the TOS. Some even need you to enter a code printed on the receipt. That's part of why Nintendo wanted to roll out its own hotspot network before launching IP capable games.
Re:Some hotspots require a web browser (Score:2)
You can do WiFi in a peer-to-peer manner, you know. If a device can speak 802.11b, it can act as an access point.
Access point to what network? (Score:2, Informative)
You can do WiFi in a peer-to-peer manner, you know.
A lot of existing Nintendo DS games do use the ad hoc mode of 802.11b.
If a device can speak 802.11b, it can act as an access point.
I thought that in order to act as an access point to a given network, a device had to be able to speak both 802.11b and the layer 2 used by the network (one of Ethernet, DOCSIS, and DSL).
Re:Gameboy (Score:5, Interesting)
None, right? Which PSP games support infrastructure wireless co-op or VS play?
Re:Gameboy (Score:2)
The DS SDK, and the system, were sent out early to get a head start on Sony, so Wifi was incomplete. You will be able to hook it up to a router (w/ certain games, the likes of THPS and Mario Kart) around October or November, when the first online games start coming out.
Re:Gameboy (Score:2, Insightful)
NEC was. It took the rest of the industry 10 years to catch up to the turbografx handheld.
Re:Zonk... (Score:2, Insightful)
Lemme fix that for you there, Zonker.
"Since the PSP's launch, Zonk has posted article after article with titles like PSP Reception Lukewarm in U.S., PSP Not A Sellout Hit, What's Up With The PSP?, and most recently PSP Usage Lower Than Expected. "
Re:Zonk... (Score:2)
The guy's clearly a raving Nintendo fanboy, and all semblance of balance has long gone.
(Speaking as someone who owns a GameCube and a Game Boy Advance.)
Re:Translation (Score:2, Informative)
If you look back at handheld gaming history, I don't think *any* "widescreen" format (system oriented horizontally instead of vertically) has ever been a big hit.
Game Boy Advance sold well even before the SP came out.