Nintendo To Start Publishing Ebooks On the DS 216
Miracle Jones writes "Nintendo is going to start publishing ebooks for the DS in conjunction with HarperCollins. The first cartridge will go on sale December 26th in the UK, will cost around 30 dollars, and will feature 100 classic books — stuff like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen."
DRM? (Score:5, Funny)
Dickens and Austen, eh? So what sort of DRM is Nintendo going to use to "protect" this "IP"?
Re:DRM? (Score:4, Funny)
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Um, basically none. Have you ever tried using pirated content on a DS?
It's easier than easy.
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Re:DRM? (Score:5, Funny)
No need. They'll just get Fagin to "send the boys round" if they catch you doing anything untoward.
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To whomever modded this "Offtopic": What the Dickens is the matter with you?
Yet another illiterate modder who can't even be bothered to use google.
Re:DRM? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:DRM? (Score:5, Interesting)
As a matter of fact Dickens faced enormous problems with piracy at the time. It seems that certain rogue countries in that pre-Berne Convention era saw fit to disregard Dickens's copyrights and allowed pirate printers to profit by his works without paying the author so much as a penny.
Re:DRM? (Score:4, Funny)
But it gave him new inspiration to think up stories about Scrooge. He didn't pay for the inspiration that the pirates gave him, so they called it even.
Bert
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>>>certain rogue countries
United States..... they steal the works of good British men and don't have the decency to protect his copyright..... those damn colonials!
US book piracy before 1986 (Score:4, Interesting)
As far as books and the Berne convention are concerned, I think the US was probably a rogue state until, what, ... 1986?
Until then, the US had a thing called the Manufacturing Clause, which (as far as I can recall) meant that the US refused to acknowledge copyrights on any books that weren't physically made in the US. Basically, it meant that if you wanted to sell a book in the US, you had to employ a US-based printer ... if you didn't employ one of them to produce copies of your book, the US printing community had a legal green light to print as many pirate copies of your book as they liked.
Basically, the US printing lobby lobbied the government to protect them from foreign imports, and they got their way (and copyright be damned).
There are two slightly shocking things about the Manufacturing Clause:
For a while, I think that some overseas publishers were getting around the Manufacturing Clause by sending their books to the US in unbound form, and paying a US printer just to put the covers on in the US, on the basis that this counted as "manufacturing". I think this was considered by some US printers as cheating.
Re:DRM? (Score:5, Funny)
Dickens maybe, Austen though? Turn on your TV, change channel to Lifetime, watch it for whatever the equivalent of 50000000 pages is, replacing cars with chariots, and everything else with tea, poof instant Jane Austen.
I personally can't stand either of them. Dickens basically wrote the same book 40 times, while Austen is about as readable as Danielle Steele, but gets credit for being a woman writing books when women didn't right books, which is quite an accomplishment even if said books are about banal people being banal (with tea).
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As someone who had to read Austen for A-levels, your comment is spot on.
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American's love the "little man vs. big man" story, which is about all Dickens coughed up. We like rich people to be big evil robber barons, so we can hate their inhumanity.
While we're poor we read Dickens, when we get rich we read Ayn Rand.
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American's love the "little man vs. big man" story, which is about all Dickens coughed up.
If this is all you see in Dickens please give up reading and go back to TV.
PS Look up grocers' apostrophes
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You missed Jane Austen's BEN HUR?
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It's better than 99% of the shit that's written today.
And even so, you still read /.
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Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right
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You've been playing too much Space Channel 5.
"chu"
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Realistically, probably no DRM. It uses a cartridge and that alone makes it difficult to copy.
I wonder how "readable" a book is on the DS? I may have to buy a DS and this cart for my niece, assuming she can actually read it.
First ebooks (Score:5, Interesting)
The first ebooks should be should be of old Nintendo Power [wikipedia.org] magazines!
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Excellent idea. I recently got my first house and my parents finally found a reason to dump all the old magazines I had been collecting over the years on me. Hundreds of issues of Nintendo Power, EGM, Game Players, Incite, Ultra Game Players, Game Pro, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, strategy guides (from SMB3 to Chrono Trigger), etc.
They're awesome to flip through but they take up so much space. I'd really like to keep them but shove them away somewhere but still have easy access to them. Ugh...
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My old copies of Atari Age are scanned online for quick and easy perusal; no need to keep the old yellow copies. Hasn't somebody somewhere done the same for Nintendo Power, et cetera?
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Are you sure it wasn't Zelda 2? The first issue of NP was a preview of Mario 2, which came out after the original Legend of Zelda (which was released in Japan for a system that preceded the NES).
I could check all this, but I'm at work and researching old issues of Nintendo Power could easily destroy my day.
Oh and remember how they previewed Final Fantasy every issue for like six months before it came out? I have never anticipated a game so much since.
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$30? Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:$30? Seriously? (Score:5, Interesting)
No actually you pay $19.95 for a R4 and then $11.95 for a 2gig miniSD card then download everything you can from project Gutenberg.
If you own a DS, you NEED to own a R4.
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You could write one. I would have written one if I knew there was any demand for ebooks on DS. Didn't realize that gamers were into Dickens.
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Why? "Gamers" encompasses more than frat boys playing Call of Duty 4.
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Yeah, but it's still a lot of adults who have "being entertained by toys" as a top hobby.
*ducks and runs*
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Entertainment is entertainment..... it doesn't matter if it's a video game, tv show, or newspaper serial (what Dickens published). No format is superior to any other.
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Why? "Gamers" encompasses more than frat boys playing Call of Duty 4.
I think you missed my point and decided to rant instead. Do "gamers" encompass people who read Dickens in any significant way?
Re:$30? Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the intended market is guilty parents trying to pretend that their kids will get some educational benefit from the $200 Pokemon game system they bought for their kids last Christmas.
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I think the intended market is guilty parents trying to pretend that their kids will get some educational benefit from the $200 Pokemon game system they bought for their kids last Christmas.
My kids are hooked on "My (French|Spanish|Japanese) Coach". I think that counts.
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Is there a good ebook reader software already available for the DS?
Between rounds of Lockjaw, you can read plain-ASCII or HTML ebooks in DSOrganize 3.1129, or you can read XHTML ebooks in DSLibris.
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Well, I own an R4 but it's not supported anymore. No more official firmware updates and unofficial ones are sketchy... A sibling suggested the AK2 which I'm not familiar with, but I'm sure the best replacement will rise to the top.
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Not supported anymore means nothing. I have yet to find a rom that does not work in it. Also the homebres DS comic reader works incredibly well.
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Isn't the R4 out of production now?
I'd buy a DSTT or Acekard2.1
And don't these things some how suck up more battery life? (but how much are we talking, and what about things like the M3 Perfect?)
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Well, I play with the lowest brightness all the time, and haven't really run into any problems... So I don't think that will be a big issue.
Any idea is the battery life is still noticeably hit though? I realise the DS has a battery life of like 15-20 hours for DS mode so it won't be easy to measure right now, but I'm hoping someone could chime in. I thought about using it instead of carrying around all the carts, but if I lose something like an hour on every charge, or even half of one, I'd rather just use
No need (Score:2)
If you own a DS, you NEED to own a R4.
Why? Pocket devices just aren't very good as eBook readers. If you read with any speed at all, you have to turn the page every 3 seconds. It gets old.
Right now, I often read eBooks on my Motion Computing tablet, where the screen is a little bigger than that of most hardbound book pages. And when the price comes down to something reasonable, I'll probably get a Kindle or Sony. These have a screen the size of a paperback book page, which is probably the minimum practical size for a reader.
I'll save my DS for
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CycloDS has save states. The RAM required to do this drives the price up.
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The content is free; you're paying for the convenience.
Really, how little do you value your time?
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Exactly: Most of these classic books were in the public domain years, if not decades ago.
Still, I guess they can charge what they want.
Parents buying them for their kids (Score:2)
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Something like this only has appeal as a parent if you are too lazy to spend time instilling an appreciation of books in your kid.
I love books because it my parents took the time to instill an appreciation of books in me. My kid loves books because, every day, we help her establish and grow her love of books by having her read, reading to her, providing her with new and challenging reading material, and setting an example by reading ourselves. Except in extreme cases (e.g., learning disabilities), it's just
Those are two things that go together naturally... (Score:2)
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Well, Nintendo has pushed the Brain Age games and "keeping your brain young", so this seems like a logical step for them. Targeting only Britan with it's initial launch (which doesn't currently have Kindle available locally) seems like an interesting way to gauge the market in areas that don't have a worldwide-known competitor.
about time, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
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I've used that extensively and really liked it. I never really thought that reading a book on the DS would be worth it though, but maybe this from Nintendo will change my mind.
I'm studying - I swear! (Score:4, Insightful)
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Now there just needs to be an alt-tab equivalent so you can flip over to the ebook and pause playing tetris long enough to convince them that you're reading.
Or you can try to build an e-book reader into the pause screen of Lockjaw [pineight.com].
Selection (Score:5, Funny)
I know I was just clamoring to get my my hands on the Jane Austin books when I was a kid. If only there was a way to get it digitally, and in a form where I could read it while making people think I was playing video games! Oh, that would have been too much to ask.
Ah My Eyes! (Score:5, Insightful)
The DS has a decent screen, but I think I (and most everyone else) would start getting a headache in about five minutes if they tried to read lots of text on it. After five weeks, I'd be lucky to see anything at all!
Re: Ah My Eyes! (Score:2)
Yeah, atually trying it out would be too hard. Let's just guess at the results.
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"Let's just guess at the results."
Welcome to the internet, my friend.
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I was thinking the same thing. For those unfamiliar with the specs, the DS has 2 256x192 pixel (62mmx 46mm) screens, giving it a dot pitch of .24mm. In terms of resolution this puts it above most 320x240 PocketPCs, but well below newer devices such as an iPhone/iPod Touch at 320x480. The bigger issue is that a .24mm dot pitch is extremely coarse for a mobile device (.24 would be around that of a desktop monitor) - compared again to the iPhone at .16 or so, it doesn't give much room for font anti-aliasing.
Yo
ClearType (Score:2)
The bigger issue is that [the DS Lite screens'] .24mm dot pitch is extremely coarse for a mobile device (.24 would be around that of a desktop monitor) - compared again to the iPhone at .16 or so, it doesn't give much room for font anti-aliasing.
But each pixel has blue, green, and red components side-by-side, so you can get closer to .08 if your reader software uses subpixel [wikipedia.org] antialiasing.
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Are there no RPG's that have a lot of text for he DS?
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The 26th is days too late (Score:2, Funny)
to buy a most hated Christmas Present. Can you imagine a kid getting this, "Yay, a new DS game" "Boo, it's just books."
all they need is some pretty artwork (Score:5, Funny)
and it'll be like a DS RPG, but with better stories and fewer boss battles.
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*BAM* Objection!
Good luck. (Score:2)
It's already exhausting staring at that thing for hours, especially with Japanese RPGs which already feature a novel's worth of writing to begin with. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it will be trying to read a book with that thing.
In the very least, I think the DS needs a much higher resolution screen before they start considering anything like this.
UK? Text in English? (Score:4, Funny)
Damn! Sure I can buy it on Ebay, but I speak American.
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but I speak American.
You're not supposed to speak to it, or listen to it, you are supposed to *read* it.
Hell, some folks read Hieroglyphics, Sumerian and Mayan, without being able to speak it.
Just look at English as a challenge for you to learn how to read another ancient language.
I don't think that last sentence came out quite right.
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Did they forget about the DSi? (Score:2)
Region coding (Score:2)
The DSi is about to come out and NoE decide to publish a collection of public domain books on cartridge?
Nintendo DSi is the only major handheld video game system whose games are region-locked.
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There's no reason they can't release this, AND do what you're suggesting once the DSi actually, y'know, exists. No reason to ignore possible profit now when it wouldn't interfere with profit later.
You're All Missing The Point (Score:3, Insightful)
I imagine that this product is not geared to twitchy eight year old kids, but a bid to capture older generations (35+). First they came out with their memory enhancement games that had broader appeal to non-gamers. This is just another step in that direction.
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It certainly fits in with Nintendo's marketing philosophy, which is to broaden the appeal of its platforms beyond traditional gamers.
Economy of scale in tech hardware ultimately trumps everything. It doesn't matter how far "behind" you are on tech specs, if you sell enough units eventually you can challenge your competitors in any market segment by any metric they choose.
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I'd rather have battery life and novel controls that everyone is going to copy next generation than "better graphics".
How many people were actively looking for touchscreens on things like netbooks before the DS? Motion control before "Revolution" was said to have it?
PDAs have touch (Score:2)
How many people were actively looking for touchscreens on things like netbooks before the DS?
Anybody who had used a PDA. But back then, they weren't called "netbooks" but "tablet PCs".
More details... (Score:2, Insightful)
The article submitter (Miracle Jones) just posted a good article on this here [fictioncircus.com].
Nintendo's New Business Model (Score:2)
Before they kept selling the same titles over and over again (buy the classic NES games for the SNES, and then again for the GB, and now again on the Virtual Console!) and now they're selling public domain works.
In all fairness, I guess reissuing old games is better than letting them fade away into obscurity when most people don't have the old systems to legally play old games anymore.
I just wish Nintendo would focus more on new products. My N64 and Gamecube both gathered dust from not enough quality relea
Ugh, more propietary formats (Score:3, Informative)
Is anyone else sick of proprietary ebook formats?
I have an N810 that I bought primarily for an ebook reader since it runs it runs Linux, the theory behind my purchase was someone out there had or would probably would create something that could read most formats, or I could find converters that could convert many things to some format it could read.
And then Amazon released the kindle with it's ultra-proprietary ultra-PITA format. There's mobi, Microsoft's format, and I'm sure Sony has something since they have a reader, and Sony is the biggest proponent of proprietary formats ever.
My personally preferred format is OEB [openebook.org] which is really just html with an xml document specifying book information. That FB reader that my N810 uses renders beautifully and pre-populates author/title information for me.
Does anyone know of a converter for some of the DRMed proprietary formats that convert to OEB? I have Linux (Ubuntu) and windows available to run things on.
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Baen books offers non-DRM sci-fi e-books (including many free ones). I've been reading the 1632 series on my Nokia 770 tablet. Michael McCollum offers his books (Gibralter Earth, etc.) at his site (http://www.scifi-az.com/) without DRM.
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There's an unfortunately named application, it's called clit. It should do the job nicely. However, having programs like clit and gimp on my computer... hmm.
Even more unfortunate for us Linux users.. You need Wine to make use of clit.
Objection! (Score:2, Informative)
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Two things:
1) This is about normal books on the DS, not interactive novels. One is passive, the other is not.
2) You call four Phoenix Wright games and half a dozen other interesting titles "a lot"? It definitely seems impressive compared to what any other current-gen gaming console or handheld has, but compared to the level of books that are published throughout the world (heck, even compared to the number of book hits each year), that's nothing.
How to get & convert AZWs (Score:2)
I would purchase virtually every book I read from Amazon if I could get it in a format my Nokia N810 can read, but they're determined to lock you into their Kindle, it's pay to play service, and it's proprietary AZW format.
Does anyone know how to get your purchased kindle books other than wireless delivery, and also, how to convert them (preferably to OEB)?
I haven't tried yet, but I'm not even sure they'll let me buy an ebook if I don't have a kindle I can tie to my Amazon account for them to send it to.
mixed message (Score:2)
Tag "dumbestfuckingidea" (Score:2)
Will they have "David Coperfield?" (Score:2)
Will they have "David Coperfield?"
That's "David Coperfield" with one P, by Edmund Wells.
Cheap (Score:2)
"will feature 100 classic books"
You mean books that they won't have to pay licensing fees for?
Re:finally! (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, I can see it now:
Call me Ishmael
*Turn Page*
Re:finally! (Score:5, Funny)
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Yay, I have 20/20 vision again!
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In which alternate reality was this?