Nintendo Gamer's Summit 2004

Thanks to Gamemethod, who writes "We took a few days last week to go to the Nintendo Enthusiast Summit , to check out the hot newness. In the lineup were some DS final impressions along with a host of game previews and galleries."

Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[Firehawke]

The DS is still holding its own against the PSP for the most part, especially with the battery life confirmation and pricetag foulups from Sony, but I think Sony might be able to draw an ace from its software lineup yet.

Can't count out the DS either, however, with the sheer number of preorders going on. It's going to be interesting to see how this matchup goes, and I think it'll all come down to software and to a lesser extent the price/battery life points.

In fact, I'd pretty much say that unless Sony pulls an ace out, Nintendo may wrap this one up within two years: as software hits second generation and afterwards, the strain on the hardware and battery life will be increased and Sony's having serious battery issues as it is.

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[rabbot]

The PSP isn't even in the same league as the DS. Right now the DS doesn't haven anything to compete with except the SP. Either way Nintendo wins.

Sony can't win this fight by making their system more powerful and pumping out hundreds of crap games like it can with the PS2. The handheld market just doesn't work that way, never has.

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[xenocide2]

I'm not entirely sure that's accurate. Portable developers do like to work on the cheap, and battery management works against that, but the DS may land closer to the Virtual Boy than the SP. If Nintendo DS has a hands down lead, what launch title are you looking forward to?

Don't underestimate the power of innovation to scare off consumers.

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[the morgawr]

I don't think the DS will have the same problem as the virtual boy: It was a pain in the butt to use the Virtual boy. You had to find a table that was the right height and adjust that stupid stand, etc. If they'd just put a head strap on it, it would have been much easier to use.

The DS however should be simple to use. My only concerns are that it's a little big and that I would be able to use the stylus unless I put the device on a table or something similar.

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[Metroid72]

Don't underestimate the power of pre-sales. Thats a good number to forecast A REAL installed base. Many developes take a wait-and-see attitude before commiting to a system.

Why do you think MOST games come out for PS2? Isn't it the likelyhood of bought bigger given its market share?

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[Jane_the_Great]

I'm looking forward to Mario 64 at launch and Metroid Prime: Hunters and Mario Kart DS a few months down the road.

I think that one telling sign in how the DS is going to do, out of the gate, is that some retail shops have stopped taking preorders for the DS due to demand. I don't think the Virtual Boy ever generated that kind of buzz. I also think that the DS may be a popular sell because it is backwards compatible and thus, people can trade in their GBA systems for credit towards a DS.

Finally, no one can b

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[Metroid72]

I think you should understand by now that we're talking about two different systems here:

In my opinion:

PSP -> portable system aimed towards gamers that want the most powerful system around with the ability to rival TV console counterparts with movie and other media playing capabilities

GBA -> portable system aimed towards gamers seeking a different experience. That's why nintendo stresses that it's no GBA successor, I think it's an experiment on their end.

After playing for so long, I find myself buying PS2, Xbox and GC games that I just play for a couple of days, and then put back into a dusty shelf. It started for me probably around when FFVII came out, I realized that my favorite games are just iterations of the same game. Zelda = same, Metroid = Same, FF = Same, RE = Same, Madden = Same game w/ updated stats, MGS = same. Look at the newer games: the new GTA and Halo2 (although great games... are just a formula that works and it's being exploited to the max)

I think that TRUE gamers really have something to look forward here. I'm tired of playing the same game over and over.

Don't get me wrong here, GOOD developers will always find ways to brign freshness to favorite franchises and some other developers will take risks and try a new concept, but this whole videogame thing going mainstream has prompted this "wall stret-next-quarter-profits-view" to making games, that only hurts the end user experience. (yeah, yeah, I know, now we have REAL music in games, famous actors doing voiceovers and more cultural references... but WE get that in movies)

Hopefully the new possibilities that the DS brings to the table will force developers to think out of the box (not just put-the-inventory window-or-different-view on the second screen) mindset, but all the cool things that can potentially be done.

Oh, BTW, I'll just wait and see to get my DS AND PSP until next summer.

Let the games begin....

Re:Looks like Nintendo still has the lead..

[mausmalone]

See, I would almost be swayed by the whole "PSP is a portable media player" argument, except that it doesn't support any standard media type. Sure, I could buy all my movies and music over again, but something tells me that that even real PSP enthusiasts will really be looking for it for playing games.