In the DS, Nintendo has finally created a piece of hardware to match the quirky production aesthetic that has characterized its long line of games. Crammed with everything short of a tiny Konga drum, the Nintendo DS will challenge developers to take full advantage of its dual display, touch screen, wireless, and microphone capabilities. Sure, it's a bit on the large side and looks a little funky. But if every useful device with a crazy design got nixed in development, we wouldn't have helicopters or beer hats. It has been years since anyone opened up a new frontier in gaming: the DS has opened several all by itself. With the DS's first volley of titles looking as promising as they do, it's only a matter of time before Nintendo shows us something else we've never seen before.
