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Portables (Games)

Nintendo Announces Western DS Game Line-Up 47

Posted by simoniker from the lotsa-stuff dept.
Thanks to Nintendo's press site for a release listing the Nintendo DS dual-screen handheld titles currently in development for a Western release. Although sharing many games with a recently announced Japanese listing, it's explained: "Many of the industry's biggest software companies confirm that they will deliver names like Madden NFL, Viewtiful Joe, Rayman and SpongeBob SquarePants to the Nintendo DS", and other new/surprising DS titles include GoldenEye from EA, an Atari Classics pack from Atari, and a Western release of the previously mentioned Caduceus surgery game from Atlus.
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Nintendo Announces Western DS Game Line-Up More

Nintendo Announces Western DS Game Line-Up

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  • Not very many original games (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ALeavitt ( 636946 ) <aleavitt.gmail@com> on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @11:42AM (#9930704)
    At first glance (yes, I RTFA) it looks like there are less than ten original titles on this list. Given the fact that the DS is supposed to be some sort of gaming revolution, opening up new control possibilities and allowing completely novel game concepts to be created, this bothers me. I realize that sequels to proven properties are more likely to be financially successful, but the DS is not the next logical evolution of a proven property. Why aren't game makers coming up with more novel concepts? The first generation of games, when gamers won't know what to expect, is the best time for such innovation. Who really needs another Bomberman, another lineup of Atari Classics, or yet another version of the Sims?

    • Re:Not very many original games (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      On one hand, the first-gen games on a system don't usually stretch the hardware's limits, as the devs are still learning the system. On the other, collections like Atari Classics would be more suited for other consoles (unless these are some old multi-screen games, there's no good reason to dump them on the DS).

      You're right, there do need to be more original ideas. I was disappointed that Nintendo didn't have any impressive and unique ideas for the second screen at E3. Maps, stats, inventories...we've all

    • Re:Not very many original games (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      More importantly, I don't see any killer app for the system there - largely because a lot of those games are retreads.

      I'm sure the Sims and FF games will do well, and Need for Speed wireless multiplay would be quite neat, but I don't see any reason for a slightly jaded gamer, non FF fan like me to get a DS. Of course, this list doesn't include Nintendo's own titles.
    • What is really needed is another FF tactics advance but hits like that are difficult to predict. The GB had pokemon of course but I can't really remember if the GBA had anything close to that or that it cruised on the GB's succes.

      The current battle seems to be that Nintendo is going for original gameplay (rayman in the lineup does not bode well for that that) and Sony is going for graphics. Who will win? Well depends. You see sony is free to add original intresting games to match the best of Nintendo but N

      • Re:Well they are library fillers (Score:4, Insightful)

        by EddieBurkett ( 614927 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @01:08PM (#9931860)
        Nintendo is just doing what it has always done. Cheap low price crappy hardware but fun. Sony is/seems to be doing quality good pricey hardware.
        Most people I know are still able to play their original NES's. (Assuming they can get the cartridge to stay down.) Granted I haven't touched it in the last year that I've had my GBA, but my original Gameboy worked near perfectly (save for a couple missing lines near the edge of the screen.) Not that I pay all that much attention, but I haven't heard of anyone having any problems with the current line of GBA's or Gamecubes. Nintendo may be selling their hardware cheaper than their rivals, but by no means is that an indication of the quality of their product.

        As for Sony, as I said, I don't pay all that much attention to these kinds of things, but even I have heard about problems with PS2's dying after a relatively short period of time. And this is from the company using the 'good pricey hardware'...
        • The hardware in the gba is and was not exactly the latest and greatest. Neither was the GB.

          I meant in like saying a celeron is a crappy cheap game system. Doesn't mean a celeron is badly made chip. Just that whoever chooses to put it in game system is being cheap.

          Sure the GBA with its old hardware has just kept working and working and working but that doesn't count. I want gloss. I want shine. I want sparkly!!!!!

          • The hardware in the gba is and was not exactly the latest and greatest. Neither was the GB.

            Yeah, but that just means that whatever technology they do use has been proven. Especially in something that's bound to be as abused as a handheld, reliability is critical.

            Sure the GBA with its old hardware has just kept working and working and working but that doesn't count. I want gloss. I want shine. I want sparkly!!!!!

            See, I prefer dull cheap things. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree...

      • Re:Well they are library fillers (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Grey Ninja ( 739021 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @04:12PM (#9934105) Homepage Journal
        Nintendo is just doing what it has always done. Cheap low price crappy hardware but fun

        NES - cart reading mechanisms tended to wear out over time, but the console itself and the carts have lasted 20 years now. The hardware itself allowed for large scrolling games. This was in an era where most games were on a single screen.

        SNES - exceptionally durable console. I don't know of many broken ones, even this many years later. The quality is also quite exceptional, with a DSP that was state of the art at its release, and capability to display many more colors than the competition of the era.

        N64 - as always, exceptionally durable. The quality of the console was unquestionable. The CPU was just a monster, with a fairly good clock rate, and the games easily blew away the other consoles of the generation. Held back mainly by a small amount of working memory and storage medium constraints. Not a nice system to develop for, but well made.

        GCN - Durable as hell. There are a few people having problems reading discs already, but nowhere even close to the number of people having problems with the PS2. Hardware is designed with efficiency and ease of development in mind, essentially the anti-N64. Console is definitely a match for the current generation, trumping Xbox's graphics in many cases but at a fraction of the cost. (Xbox has higher clock frequencies, but GameCube beats it out in efficiency and coordination of hardware. Case in point, most polygons in a console game record still belongs to GameCube (Rebel Strike))

        GameBoy - Essentially a portable monochrome NES. The durability is also unquestionable, but what really made this console great is that it didn't eat through batteries at too high of a rate, and was playable for extended periods of time.

        GameBoy Color - GameBoy with a smaller form factor and a color screen... what more is to be said?

        GameBoy Advance - This is probably the Nintendo console I am most familiar with. The hardware works together unbelievably well (ala GameCube), and functions quite well as a portable SNES, and does it without eating up batteries or compromising ease of development. Regardless of what you might think, this is truly a console for the ages.

        Nintendo DS - Nintendo has packed in wireless connectivity, 2 lit screens, a touchpad, a microphone, a speaker, and 2 fairly high performance CPUs while claiming battery life comparable to GBA SP. I am prepared to take their word on it, as it's unlike them to lie about that. Especially compared to the battery life of the PSP, that is completely undeniably awesome.

        • Re:Well they are library fillers (Score:4, Funny)

          by Ayaress ( 662020 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @04:23PM (#9934231) Journal
          SNES - exceptionally durable console. I don't know of many broken ones, even this many years later.

          Well, now you know of two broken ones. I had one die of apparant old age not long ago, but it got played very hard, though - once, I went through Chrono Trigger five times without turning the console off because the save battery in the cart was dead and I wanted to get a few endings I hadn't seen yet.

          I also destroyed one shortly after the release, but you know, that giant worm in the Tower of Hera in Link to the Past was a bitch and a half, and the thirtieth time he knocks you down to the fifth floor, you've gotta let off some steam.
          • "because the save battery in the cart"

            If you've had it long enough for the battery to die, I'd say the warranty is already expired. Just open it up and replace the battery.

            "you've gotta let off some steam."

            Ya know, the controller is right there in your hands and much cheaper. I remember way back when a friend of mine had teeth marks in his NES controllers...

    • Re:Not very many original games (Score:5, Interesting)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @12:18PM (#9931217)
      The first generation of games, when gamers won't know what to expect, is the best time for such innovation.


      Yes and no. The first generation of games will have to use the new features but I think it's easy to argue that most features aren't used successfuly until the console is about a year old, at which point the developers are more at ease with the kits and know how to get "more" out of a console. Compare Mario 64 vs. Zelda: Ocarina of Time to get an idea of the difference. Remember, at launch there's usually 1 or 2 good titles, and a lot of filler (Luigi's Mansion for the GC, Fantavision for the PS2, Fuzion Frenzy for the Xbox).

      My guess is that what "gamers won't expect" is not going to appear until 6-18 months into the life of the DS. Whether by then it would have gone the route of the Virtua Boy is beyond me.

      And for what it's worth, the Bomberman title was a highlight to me.

    • Re:Not very many original games (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rydia ( 556444 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @12:31PM (#9931377)
      You're confusing originality with... I'm not even sure there's a word for it, but something along the lines of "lack of franchises." Just because something sports the name of a franchise doesn't necissarily that it'll be old-hat, nor does it mean it won't have both new content and novel concepts. To whit, Super Mario 64 was completely off from the previous games in the franchise. Sure, it was still a platformer, but the way it played was so completely different. Difficulty could no longer come only from enemy placement, everything had to be more non-linear, and so on and so forth. So what you saw was a game that could have been old hat do a lot of crazy things to take advantage of the new system instead of simply trying to recreate previous incarnations.

      So, if the only test you have for originality in a game is whether or not it is in a series, than yeah, sure, a lot of the list will upset you. I think that most of us, however, are going to wait and see what the developers DO with the new hardware using the franchise they've already built up. I, for one, am looking forward to what a touchpad can do for some of these franchises (maps and menus in castlevania, minigames in goemon, control in metroid, and whatever else they thing up), because I realize that innovation, while many times is running around in left field, is also taking what you have and making it new and exciting with new capabilities and ideas.
      • I agree with you that sequels can be innovative - your example of Mario 64 is a good one. Still, Mario 64 had many qualities that made it a Mario game. It still had goombas that you could kill by stomping on their heads. It still had platforming sequences, underwater areas, Bowser... to me, it was Mario translated into 3D. In the same way, Metroid Prime feld just like Metroid translated into 3D. The problem that I have with this is that I was playing Mario and Metroid when I was 7 years old. There can be or

      • Re:Not very many original games (Score:5, Insightful)

        by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @01:10PM (#9931879) Homepage
        Exactly. What if in that football game you could draw your own plays using the touch screen and then the game would interpret them and run them out for you. Just because you've heard the name of the game doesn't mean it can't be innovative, as my parent comment pointed out.
      • You're confusing originality with... I'm not even sure there's a word for it, but something along the lines of "lack of franchises."

        No, the complaint that there is a lack of originality was a correct one. It is just that the grandparent poster was talking about setting/character originality, while you are talking about gameplay originality. Both are very important, though the former is definitely underrated by too many gamers. (And developers! Nintendo basically ignores it nowadays - very sad.)

        A film's

  • Not _that_ Goldeneye (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Nice to see Viewtiful Joe, Bomberman, and Castlevania on there. Too bad Goldeneye will probably be a simple port of GoldenEye: Rogue Agent.

    Oh, and 'Project Rub' just sounds dirty, Sega.

  • Concerns about the lineup (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @11:59AM (#9930969)
    It seems to me that a lot of these games should probably be GBA games instead of DS games. The DS can play GBA games, but the GBA can't play DS games, so it doesn't make sense to release a DS game unless it actually makes use of some of the DS's new features. Granted, the features include the larger media and the extra buttons as well as the two screens and the touch screen, but some of these games don't sound like the sort of thing that need any of those features.

    Of course, it could be that I'm too cynical and these developers all have great new ideas. Certainly, many of them do. Even some of the games that at first prompted me to type this could, on second thought, make good use of the DS. Atari Classics, for example, sounds like nothing special at first, but then I realized that the touch screen could be used to emulate the trackball from such arcade classics as Centipede.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really don't have faith that these companies will make the best possible use of the DS, which will ultimately be what determines whether the DS is a gimmick or a revolution. I'm hopeful, though.

  • Castlevania (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jvmatthe ( 116058 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @12:05PM (#9931058) Homepage
    I sure hope Konami doesn't try to go 3D the Castlevania game. If they simply continued with the type of increasingly high-quality 2D game they've put into Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, they will have something quite special. Add in some features that really exploit the DS hardware, and the press will fall all over themselves promoting it for you.

    Konami's had their three strikes in 3D with Castlevania 64, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (N64), and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2), and should just stop trying, for now. (I guess it's three-and-a-half strikes if you count the aborted Dreamcast game.)

    Not that the Castlevania games couldn't use some work. Harmony of Dissonance had some less-than-stellar musical tracks. All the GBA games have had a nearly useless map function that needs some serious enhancements to avoid driving players mad with backtracking insanity. And they could all do with a new set of artists and creative thinkers to get beyond the same tired enemy types that have existed since the very first games.

    Anyway, I do think that Castlevania DS with a map screen that switches to an enemy profile when you're attacking would be neat. Let's hope they're doing it right so that we're not left saying "No special DS features? This could have been done on the GBA!"
  • Does anyone know if this means that the CC style games will stay Nintendo-only?

    I liked 7 but got bored with the random battles and mini-movies the later games turned into, though they had their cool points.

    I like the simplicity of FFCC's game mechanics when it comes to magic, weapons, etc. It's a pick-up and play with your friends game (which was there intent I guess) but it does have a few issues. I always thought it would be awesome on PC for multiplay.

    I suppose I'll stick to Diablo II and Dungeon Sieg

  • Slime Morimori Dragon Quest! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bluemeep ( 669505 ) <bluemeepNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @12:55PM (#9931713) Homepage
    I don't know how many other people have played this game, but I'm very interested in seeing how this turns out for the DS. The original played very much like A Link to the Past except that the hero was the tradition Dragon Quest slime. A big portion of the game revolved around you BEING a slime; you'd stretch out and snap forward for a dash, squish down to avoid things and generally ricochet off of every surface and monster you could find.

    Now imagine doing that with the stylus...

  • Cool Innovations (Score:3, Interesting)

    by xgamer04 ( 248962 ) <<xgamer04> <at> <yahoo.com>> on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @01:39PM (#9932272)
    The more things I hear about the DS, the more it sounds very interesting. I was initally pretty skeptical of the system, but the touch-screen thing really adds some cool stuff.

    I can see a Madden with the option to scratch out custom plays with the stylus and Goldeneye with the ability to tap enemies (aiming) and punch in key codes on bombs/security systems for little mini-puzzles. The options are very open!

  • Where's Mavis? (Score:3, Funny)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @02:30PM (#9932801) Homepage Journal
    Hey where's Mavis Beacon Teaches Hand Writing? With the touch screen, a good edutainment writing title should be a snap!

    Okay, just kidding, but it still concerns me that there's little in that list of games that introduces new and innovative gameplay. Sega's Project Rub sounds potentially interesting given Sega's history of unusual games, Seaman for instance. Hmmm maybe Project Rub is a follow up to Seaman wherein tactile interaction with the creature is included... A lot of potential for "echi" titles there if Nintendo gets desperate!

    Anyway, the biggest concern with the second screen is that so far the most interesting uses I can think of are for things that are hardly games. If Nintendo were trying to make a new PDA, then I can think of lots of things to do with a touch sensitive screen. But gaming uses are a bit of a stretch. I'm also concerned about how this screen is going to wear over time. That will probably have the effect of suppressing the used market or eliminating it altogether. Any way you slice it, Nintendo is taking a big risk here.
  • Make a DS player for my Gamecube.
    • Uh, how would that work, exactly? Where's the 2nd screen? Where's the stylus write on?

  • The revolution will be dual screened. Or not. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by superultra ( 670002 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2004 @07:25PM (#9935562) Homepage
    This list doesn't look like the revolution Nintendo promised. This could very well have been the lineup for the last GBA, and it is especially not the kind of lineup I'd really want going up against the PSP. Compare Sony's lineup [portagame.com] with Nintendo's, and there's some obvious overlap. This is bad news for Nintendo, as ports will hurt Nintendo. For the touch and dual screen to really work they need to be implemented from the bottom up, not as an afterthought. What's more is that when we're talking $200+ price tags, the kids going on vacation playing Spongebob and Monster Rancher in the back seat, it's the 24 year old riding the bus to class playing Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo (at least in the US). Without an effective touch and dual screen implementation, any ports will inevitably look better on the graphically more powerful PSP.

    Those that aren't ports and are indiginous to either system seem to be kid oriented titles on the DS and conversely more "adult" titles on the PSP.

    Now, to be fair, the handheld market is obviously doing fairly well among kids and neither company can ignore that. As much as I hate to admit though, I think that Sony's pulling a Playstation here on this. The proliferation of cellphones and mp3 players means people - adults - are used to having electronic devices in their pockets, and that's a relatively untapped market so far. Toss in a Grand Theft Auto PSP in the American launch lineup, and it may well be the end of Nintendo as we know it.

    Sure, Nintendo's isn't a bad lineup persay, and it remains to be seen what Nintendo will pull out of their hat. But this is definitely not the lineup of someone fighting tooth and nail over what is essentially the last bastian of the their once grand empire. This is instead s reminiscient of a clueless company who thinks that Goldeneye will sway the GTA3 junkies.

    Gee, that sounds familiar. I think that Nintendo might be in for some deja vu here. I'm thinking this smacks of PSX v. N64, only tinier. Here's hoping it's not, because I do love Nintendo and I think that the DS could be something really great in video gaming, a pinnacle moment in innovation. Nintendo just needs to start acting like it is all.
    • Without an effective touch and dual screen implementation, any ports will inevitably look better on the graphically more powerful PSP.

      That's not true at all. If anything games on both systems will look the same. That's the way it works now. Many games on the xbox and gamecube look identical to the PS2 version because the developers like doing straight ports.

      Finally, all they did was release the *names* of the games, how can anyone here possibly judge the games based on the title?
      • Many games on the xbox and gamecube look identical to the PS2 version because the developers like doing straight ports.

        Go read the reviews of games that appear on both and find me an Xbox one that says "this looks identical to the PS2 version." When comparing the two, the reviewers nearly always point out that the Xbox version looks "slightly" better, sometimes more than that. The only exception I can think of is the last Need For Speed, whose XBox port was developed by a less capable EA studio than th
    • Thanks for the pessimism, but I'm afraid you might be right. I know of no parent that would be willing to pay $200+ for such a device, unless they're rich and spoil their child.
  • I'm interested in seeing what they're going to do with the Gundam Seed game. I'm imagining the top screen being used to display the battlefield (3rd person view), and the bottom screen displaying the controls of the strike/gundam you're piloting (pilot view). Adjust one of the controls (say, activate a special armor) with the stylus and the mecha responds.

    I'm interested in seeing what is going to happen with the DS platform. I'm holding judgement on the system until we start seeing what some of these ga

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