Fallopian Tube
test tag
DS
Dual-screens, wireless gameplay, instant messaging whats not to love? Heres what were all looking forward to from the DS.
1. Two words: two screens. Never before has a portable system, or non-portable system, ever utilized the use of two screens for gaming. Its a truly innovative idea and one Nintendo is really banking on to draw gamers in with.
2. Wireless capability is the name of the game for the future of portable gaming, and Nintendo is hoping to cash in on the idea with their own proprietary Bluetooth-like wireless technology as well as an as yet unnamed wider area wireless system.
3. No system can live without good games, and Nintendo seems to have a nice cache of games lined up for the DS. While not much has been outright confirmed, WarioWare and Mario 64x4 definitely got everyone at E3 excited.
4. Chat functionality. Being able to walk down to your local park and start chatting away with a friend via your DS sounds like a cool idea. Awhile ago, Nintendo announced a special deal with AOL, stating that if the company did go online with their games, they would do so with that internet giant. Perhaps well see an AOL-branded instant messaging feature for the DS?
5. Graphics processing is more and more important in games nowadays, and the DS is shaping up not to disappoint. The unit will be able to handle some pretty complex 3D graphics, taking the world of portable gaming out of the restrictions of the 2D world.
6. The touch screen. No other system has tried to use a touch screen for portable gaming (at least no mainstream portable system) and Nintendo is hoping to create some truly innovative game titles using the technology.
7. Potential innovation. The opportunity to really use the DSs two screens lies in the hands of the game developers, and if they can create some truly innovative titles that take full advantage of using two screens, the DS could go down as the most revolutionary portable ever (much to the happiness of Reggie).
8. GBA backwards compatibility. Being able to play your old Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles is a very smart move on Nintendos part, at once giving themselves a huge market of gamers who have brought their previous products, as well as those looking for something new.
9. The headphone jack. Its sad that we have so say that this is a positive, but the glaring omission of a headphone jack on the GBA SP enraged many a gamer. Thankfully, Nintendo has decided to include a jack in the DS, and will hopefully also include a pair of headphones bundled with the unit.
10. Expansion possibilities. While the DS can handle Game Boy and GBA carts, its also been mentioned that the cartridge slots could also accommodate other things, like a camera. Could the idea of gamers running around, snapping pics and then wirelessly messaging them to friends soon be a reality?
Like Newton said, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, meaning that for every good quality of the DS there are potentially drawbacks and negatives. Heres what has us worried.
1. The stylus. Many a gamer at E3 walked away from the DS with a sour taste in their mouth thanks to the units stylus, which proved to be innovative, but sometimes annoying. The biggest culprit was Metroid Prime: Hunters, which featured a control scheme that used the stylus for both strafing and shooting, a combination that ended up being far less than intuitive. Also, currently theres no place on the unit itself to store the stylus, which could lead to many a lost styli (if thats a word).
2. Size, no matter what other people may tell you, is always an issue. While the GBA SP was a nice palm-sized portable system, the DS is looking to be a behemoth when compared to that pint-sized offering. Either youre going to have to buy pants with gigantic pockets or Nintendo will need to shrink the DS a bit.
3. Age demographic. Take a look at the publicity shots of the PSP and youll see hip, young teens and early twenty-somethings running about town and generally acting cool with their sexy little device. Check out publicity shots for the DS and youll likely spot four young girls sitting on a picnic table, having all sorts of girly fun. Nintendo has always gotten struck in the rut of being deemed a kiddy system, and desperately need to break out of that image. Unfortunately, girls on picnic tables dont help them out too much.
4. Wireless support. We all know how Nintendos approach to online gaming turned out (or didnt) with the GameCube, which leads us to worry about their dedication when it comes to the DS. True, instant messaging is cool, but we were hoping to see a much more direct online approach from Nintendo when it come to the DS, as well as games that really make use of the feature.
5. Tiny buttons. Unless youre a tiny-handed freak of nature, your meaty grip will likely cover the entirety of the face buttons on the DS. Nintendo needs to either spread the button layout out a bit, or increase their size. Nothing is more annoying than accidentally pushing a wrong button, especially when its not your fault because of a faulty layout.
6. Too much emphasis on touch screen use, not enough on actual dual screen use. While the touch screen feature is indeed cool, we need to see more game titles that make use of both screens at once. And no, were not talking about games that use the second screen as a map or inventory hub. We want to see games that take the dual screen idea to a whole new level, and hopefully Nintendo can deliver.
7. No analog stick makes Game Informer Online very cranky. The PSP features a tiny, sexy little analog stick, making the unit not only even more sexy, but also more user-friendly when it comes to 3D gaming. So far, the DS doesnt sport an analog stick, which has us worried.
8. The GameCube track record. While it shouldnt necessarily be a determining factor, the lackluster reception of the GameCube could ultimately hinder what sort of games we see on the DS. While ardent GameCube and GBA developers will likely strongly support the DS, what about the developers who either canned GameCube development or never supported the GBA? Will there be much reason for them to jump on board or will they simply go with the big dog Sony and get behind their PSP?
9. Price could end up being a touchy subject, although Nintendo hasnt released any official price points yet. While the original Game Boy launched in 1986 for about $150-200, todays discerning gamers seem to be more comfortable with a $100 handheld. Ultimately, it all comes down to the price that Nintendo announces, but were starting to get the idea that it could be in the $150-200 range.
10. A successful launch is something that Nintendo really hasnt seen since the days of the N64, and frankly were a bit worried that Nintendo can pull one off for the DS. Were mainly worried that Nintendo may be rushing the system and its games to better compete with the launch of the PSP. Nintendo NEEDS to have a launch line-up with some notable games like Mario or Metroid. Gamers have gotten fed up with waiting months and months for new titles on the GBA and GameCube, and hopefully this trend wont translate over to the DS.
---------------------
PSP
Its sleek. Its way sexy. It does a ton of stuff. Heres ten things that really got us drooling for the PSP.
1. The 16:9 widescreen display on the PSP has got our juices flowing, as does the ability to display 16.77 million colors. Never before has a screen been so large on a portable device, and games should look nice and vibrant on the screen. Not only that, but movies will look awesome in their original widescreen format.
2. 802.11b built-in wireless will not only make online multiplayer gaming a breeze and user-friendly, were also excited to see the possibilities for connecting the PSP to a PS2 or PC.
3. The damn sexiness of the unit is enough to make any jaded portable gamer giddy with delight. Having actually handled the unit, we can safely say that in terms of sheer sex appeal, the PSP is unrivaled. This baby is hot.
4. The games, the games! At E3, Sony showed off a trailer consisting of a mind-boggling number of titles or franchises that are PSP bound, including Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, and Hot Shots Golf. With such strong support from third-party developers, the PSP is promising a very strong line-up of titles.
5. Movie and music playback is just icing on the cake, but very, very sweet icing indeed. While playing games is definitely the main draw of the PSP, Sony is really gunning for the ability to transform the unit into a media player type of device, and were all for that. The less crap we have to tote around on a daily basis the better.
6. Accessories! Sony is planning to not only release things like a stand and special headphones, but also more notable things like an attachable GPS and digital camera as well as a add-on keyboard device.
7. The possibility of being able to use Sonys Connect to download music and other content is a smart move and one that were hoping comes to fruition.
8. Different color schemes, while all not important, is a pretty cool feature and will allow for any gamer to get the PSP in their own unique colors. Think iPod, with much more sexy.
9. The UMD is shaping up to be a nice medium for the PSP. With the ability to hold 70 minutes of video or music, as well as the fact that the discs are relatively low in cost to make, we could be seeing some low-cost games and movies.
10. While Sony hasnt commented on concrete tech specs, its pretty clear that the PSP will be able to easily handle 3D graphics, which should result in some truly impressive game titles.
But, for all the good, theres the bad; actually not bad but more like worrisome. Heres a list of caveats that currently have us wondering and waiting.
1. Battery life. While SCEA president Kaz Hirai said that the device will range from 10 to 2.5 hours, that makes us a bit worried. Wed like to see a beefier battery that can take some punishment and offer up more reliable longevity, especially for gaming. Nothing is more of a buzz kill than only being able to play a game for a couple hours before you have to stop and recharge the units juice. If the PSPs battery will crap out after just watching one movie, were going to be extremely disappointed. Either that or well have to bust out our GBAs to play games after our PSP is dead.
2. Cost is another mystery, one that could end up either breaking the unit or making it a huge success. Sony hasnt commented on price as of yet, but were guessing the unit could retail for anywhere in between $300-500, at once making it the envy of gadget freaks but also alienating it from Joe and Jane Average Gamer with average budgets.
3. Screen scratch. Sony didnt officially comment on whether the unit would ship with a protective cover or carrying bag. If it doesnt, the beautiful PSP screen could end up a scratched mess. Lets hope that Sony does the right thing and ships the PSP with some sort of protection.
4. Size matters, and the PSP is quite a bit bulky, long, and not exactly pocket friendly. True, it fits in the palms of both of your hands, but one look at the GBA SP should give anyone looking for something truly portable a good idea of what theyre after.
5. Having to buy movies and music on UMD, DVD, and CD could get really annoying. Say you buy a DVD movie to view at home, but also want to be able to take it on the road to watch on your PSP. From the looks of it, youll also need to buy the movie on UMD, thus doubling your copies of the movie simply for the reason of portability.
6. Memory Stick, while a handy little portable system for toting around data, has us a bit worried. Sony will undoubtedly be forcing gamers to download music and video content to their proprietary media - the Memory Stick - for future viewing and use. Keep in mind, Memory Sticks arent cheap. Frankly, the idea of spending another $100 on a 256 memory stick doesnt sound too appealing, given the fact that the unit will probably be costing so much in the first place.
7. Going in too many directions at once could ultimately hurt Sony. While SCEA president Kaz Hirai has stated that the PSP is first and foremost a gaming system, the inclusion of movie and music playback could turn off those folks simply looking for a portable gaming solution.
8. The possibility that there wont be a record-enabled PSP at launch or possibly ever limits the PSP on some of its potential abilities, such as recoding lengthy audio or storing a large number of digital pictures on a UMD. True, copyright law is a harsh mistress to deal with, but it would be nice to see the PSP be able to support recording to UMD, at least in the future.
9. Extra costs could eventually cut into the PSPs appeal. With talk that there may be secondary costs in order to connect the unit with a PS2, as well as the almost mind-boggling array of accessories, the expensive launch price of the PSP could just end up being the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shelling out your hard earned dollars.
10. A successful launch is imperative for the PSP, not only to give gamers a good first impression, but also to differentiate the unit from the realm of interesting but expensive techno-gadgets, like the companies PSX uber-media center. Sony will need a solid line-up of titles and readily available product for consumer demand. With no playable software at this years E3, will Sony be able to launch in Japan this year? Thats the big question.
Dual-screens, wireless gameplay, instant messaging whats not to love? Heres what were all looking forward to from the DS.
1. Two words: two screens. Never before has a portable system, or non-portable system, ever utilized the use of two screens for gaming. Its a truly innovative idea and one Nintendo is really banking on to draw gamers in with.
2. Wireless capability is the name of the game for the future of portable gaming, and Nintendo is hoping to cash in on the idea with their own proprietary Bluetooth-like wireless technology as well as an as yet unnamed wider area wireless system.
3. No system can live without good games, and Nintendo seems to have a nice cache of games lined up for the DS. While not much has been outright confirmed, WarioWare and Mario 64x4 definitely got everyone at E3 excited.
4. Chat functionality. Being able to walk down to your local park and start chatting away with a friend via your DS sounds like a cool idea. Awhile ago, Nintendo announced a special deal with AOL, stating that if the company did go online with their games, they would do so with that internet giant. Perhaps well see an AOL-branded instant messaging feature for the DS?
5. Graphics processing is more and more important in games nowadays, and the DS is shaping up not to disappoint. The unit will be able to handle some pretty complex 3D graphics, taking the world of portable gaming out of the restrictions of the 2D world.
6. The touch screen. No other system has tried to use a touch screen for portable gaming (at least no mainstream portable system) and Nintendo is hoping to create some truly innovative game titles using the technology.
7. Potential innovation. The opportunity to really use the DSs two screens lies in the hands of the game developers, and if they can create some truly innovative titles that take full advantage of using two screens, the DS could go down as the most revolutionary portable ever (much to the happiness of Reggie).
8. GBA backwards compatibility. Being able to play your old Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles is a very smart move on Nintendos part, at once giving themselves a huge market of gamers who have brought their previous products, as well as those looking for something new.
9. The headphone jack. Its sad that we have so say that this is a positive, but the glaring omission of a headphone jack on the GBA SP enraged many a gamer. Thankfully, Nintendo has decided to include a jack in the DS, and will hopefully also include a pair of headphones bundled with the unit.
10. Expansion possibilities. While the DS can handle Game Boy and GBA carts, its also been mentioned that the cartridge slots could also accommodate other things, like a camera. Could the idea of gamers running around, snapping pics and then wirelessly messaging them to friends soon be a reality?
Like Newton said, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, meaning that for every good quality of the DS there are potentially drawbacks and negatives. Heres what has us worried.
1. The stylus. Many a gamer at E3 walked away from the DS with a sour taste in their mouth thanks to the units stylus, which proved to be innovative, but sometimes annoying. The biggest culprit was Metroid Prime: Hunters, which featured a control scheme that used the stylus for both strafing and shooting, a combination that ended up being far less than intuitive. Also, currently theres no place on the unit itself to store the stylus, which could lead to many a lost styli (if thats a word).
2. Size, no matter what other people may tell you, is always an issue. While the GBA SP was a nice palm-sized portable system, the DS is looking to be a behemoth when compared to that pint-sized offering. Either youre going to have to buy pants with gigantic pockets or Nintendo will need to shrink the DS a bit.
3. Age demographic. Take a look at the publicity shots of the PSP and youll see hip, young teens and early twenty-somethings running about town and generally acting cool with their sexy little device. Check out publicity shots for the DS and youll likely spot four young girls sitting on a picnic table, having all sorts of girly fun. Nintendo has always gotten struck in the rut of being deemed a kiddy system, and desperately need to break out of that image. Unfortunately, girls on picnic tables dont help them out too much.
4. Wireless support. We all know how Nintendos approach to online gaming turned out (or didnt) with the GameCube, which leads us to worry about their dedication when it comes to the DS. True, instant messaging is cool, but we were hoping to see a much more direct online approach from Nintendo when it come to the DS, as well as games that really make use of the feature.
5. Tiny buttons. Unless youre a tiny-handed freak of nature, your meaty grip will likely cover the entirety of the face buttons on the DS. Nintendo needs to either spread the button layout out a bit, or increase their size. Nothing is more annoying than accidentally pushing a wrong button, especially when its not your fault because of a faulty layout.
6. Too much emphasis on touch screen use, not enough on actual dual screen use. While the touch screen feature is indeed cool, we need to see more game titles that make use of both screens at once. And no, were not talking about games that use the second screen as a map or inventory hub. We want to see games that take the dual screen idea to a whole new level, and hopefully Nintendo can deliver.
7. No analog stick makes Game Informer Online very cranky. The PSP features a tiny, sexy little analog stick, making the unit not only even more sexy, but also more user-friendly when it comes to 3D gaming. So far, the DS doesnt sport an analog stick, which has us worried.
8. The GameCube track record. While it shouldnt necessarily be a determining factor, the lackluster reception of the GameCube could ultimately hinder what sort of games we see on the DS. While ardent GameCube and GBA developers will likely strongly support the DS, what about the developers who either canned GameCube development or never supported the GBA? Will there be much reason for them to jump on board or will they simply go with the big dog Sony and get behind their PSP?
9. Price could end up being a touchy subject, although Nintendo hasnt released any official price points yet. While the original Game Boy launched in 1986 for about $150-200, todays discerning gamers seem to be more comfortable with a $100 handheld. Ultimately, it all comes down to the price that Nintendo announces, but were starting to get the idea that it could be in the $150-200 range.
10. A successful launch is something that Nintendo really hasnt seen since the days of the N64, and frankly were a bit worried that Nintendo can pull one off for the DS. Were mainly worried that Nintendo may be rushing the system and its games to better compete with the launch of the PSP. Nintendo NEEDS to have a launch line-up with some notable games like Mario or Metroid. Gamers have gotten fed up with waiting months and months for new titles on the GBA and GameCube, and hopefully this trend wont translate over to the DS.
---------------------
PSP
Its sleek. Its way sexy. It does a ton of stuff. Heres ten things that really got us drooling for the PSP.
1. The 16:9 widescreen display on the PSP has got our juices flowing, as does the ability to display 16.77 million colors. Never before has a screen been so large on a portable device, and games should look nice and vibrant on the screen. Not only that, but movies will look awesome in their original widescreen format.
2. 802.11b built-in wireless will not only make online multiplayer gaming a breeze and user-friendly, were also excited to see the possibilities for connecting the PSP to a PS2 or PC.
3. The damn sexiness of the unit is enough to make any jaded portable gamer giddy with delight. Having actually handled the unit, we can safely say that in terms of sheer sex appeal, the PSP is unrivaled. This baby is hot.
4. The games, the games! At E3, Sony showed off a trailer consisting of a mind-boggling number of titles or franchises that are PSP bound, including Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, and Hot Shots Golf. With such strong support from third-party developers, the PSP is promising a very strong line-up of titles.
5. Movie and music playback is just icing on the cake, but very, very sweet icing indeed. While playing games is definitely the main draw of the PSP, Sony is really gunning for the ability to transform the unit into a media player type of device, and were all for that. The less crap we have to tote around on a daily basis the better.
6. Accessories! Sony is planning to not only release things like a stand and special headphones, but also more notable things like an attachable GPS and digital camera as well as a add-on keyboard device.
7. The possibility of being able to use Sonys Connect to download music and other content is a smart move and one that were hoping comes to fruition.
8. Different color schemes, while all not important, is a pretty cool feature and will allow for any gamer to get the PSP in their own unique colors. Think iPod, with much more sexy.
9. The UMD is shaping up to be a nice medium for the PSP. With the ability to hold 70 minutes of video or music, as well as the fact that the discs are relatively low in cost to make, we could be seeing some low-cost games and movies.
10. While Sony hasnt commented on concrete tech specs, its pretty clear that the PSP will be able to easily handle 3D graphics, which should result in some truly impressive game titles.
But, for all the good, theres the bad; actually not bad but more like worrisome. Heres a list of caveats that currently have us wondering and waiting.
1. Battery life. While SCEA president Kaz Hirai said that the device will range from 10 to 2.5 hours, that makes us a bit worried. Wed like to see a beefier battery that can take some punishment and offer up more reliable longevity, especially for gaming. Nothing is more of a buzz kill than only being able to play a game for a couple hours before you have to stop and recharge the units juice. If the PSPs battery will crap out after just watching one movie, were going to be extremely disappointed. Either that or well have to bust out our GBAs to play games after our PSP is dead.
2. Cost is another mystery, one that could end up either breaking the unit or making it a huge success. Sony hasnt commented on price as of yet, but were guessing the unit could retail for anywhere in between $300-500, at once making it the envy of gadget freaks but also alienating it from Joe and Jane Average Gamer with average budgets.
3. Screen scratch. Sony didnt officially comment on whether the unit would ship with a protective cover or carrying bag. If it doesnt, the beautiful PSP screen could end up a scratched mess. Lets hope that Sony does the right thing and ships the PSP with some sort of protection.
4. Size matters, and the PSP is quite a bit bulky, long, and not exactly pocket friendly. True, it fits in the palms of both of your hands, but one look at the GBA SP should give anyone looking for something truly portable a good idea of what theyre after.
5. Having to buy movies and music on UMD, DVD, and CD could get really annoying. Say you buy a DVD movie to view at home, but also want to be able to take it on the road to watch on your PSP. From the looks of it, youll also need to buy the movie on UMD, thus doubling your copies of the movie simply for the reason of portability.
6. Memory Stick, while a handy little portable system for toting around data, has us a bit worried. Sony will undoubtedly be forcing gamers to download music and video content to their proprietary media - the Memory Stick - for future viewing and use. Keep in mind, Memory Sticks arent cheap. Frankly, the idea of spending another $100 on a 256 memory stick doesnt sound too appealing, given the fact that the unit will probably be costing so much in the first place.
7. Going in too many directions at once could ultimately hurt Sony. While SCEA president Kaz Hirai has stated that the PSP is first and foremost a gaming system, the inclusion of movie and music playback could turn off those folks simply looking for a portable gaming solution.
8. The possibility that there wont be a record-enabled PSP at launch or possibly ever limits the PSP on some of its potential abilities, such as recoding lengthy audio or storing a large number of digital pictures on a UMD. True, copyright law is a harsh mistress to deal with, but it would be nice to see the PSP be able to support recording to UMD, at least in the future.
9. Extra costs could eventually cut into the PSPs appeal. With talk that there may be secondary costs in order to connect the unit with a PS2, as well as the almost mind-boggling array of accessories, the expensive launch price of the PSP could just end up being the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shelling out your hard earned dollars.
10. A successful launch is imperative for the PSP, not only to give gamers a good first impression, but also to differentiate the unit from the realm of interesting but expensive techno-gadgets, like the companies PSX uber-media center. Sony will need a solid line-up of titles and readily available product for consumer demand. With no playable software at this years E3, will Sony be able to launch in Japan this year? Thats the big question.
