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How would YOU redesign the DS?
- Thread starter jman2050
- Start date
-Move the start/select buttons underneath the bottom screen or under the d-pad.
-Make the power button into a switch on one of the sides of the unit.
-Move the (better quality) speakers to the area freed up by the above actions, above the controls.
-Without the speakers, the fliptop part only needs to be a little bigger than the size of the screen.
-Recess the touch screen into the unit a little bit, so that when the top screen is down, the flip-top doesn't stick out much.
-A semi-glossy finish on the coat, rather than the coarse unfinished texture it has now.
-Make the power button into a switch on one of the sides of the unit.
-Move the (better quality) speakers to the area freed up by the above actions, above the controls.
-Without the speakers, the fliptop part only needs to be a little bigger than the size of the screen.
-Recess the touch screen into the unit a little bit, so that when the top screen is down, the flip-top doesn't stick out much.
-A semi-glossy finish on the coat, rather than the coarse unfinished texture it has now.
After finally spending some good time with it, I have an idea of what I would have preferred.
The clamshell design is nice, but I would give this up in a second for a larger wide touch screen similar to that of the PSP. The current screens feel rather small to me and the view angle is very poor. The tilt from the shell design generally means that one screen will look better than the other due to the viewing angle. Simply shifting your hands a bit can impact your view greatly. Also, the size of the two screens is roughly equal to the size of one PSP screen. Why not use one screen and make it entirely touch based? Would be neat. The screens are my biggest complaint.
I would prefer a more rounded design with a thicker base. I spent some time with a couple GBA games as well, and I found that my hands hurt afterwards due to the thin base and square corners. I could not get a real grip on the machine. I think the face buttons should also be larger.
I would also like an update to the main UI. It seems that adjusting or using just about anything requires a reboot of the machine. I do not understand why, but it really damages the feeling of a cohesive environment.
It's a shame they didn't take a look at the PowerVR mobile solutions. As much as I enjoy disagreeing with Lazy, I do think that the PVR sounds fantastic on the mobile front. Of course, I do not know if it would have been possible (costs, availability, etc.).
I think it would have been best if they could combine the strengths of the DS and PSP hardware into one unit.
If nothing else, I would have preferred Nintendo to use much higher quality screens. I would have gladly shelled out an additional $50 for brighter, higher resolution screens with a great viewing angle.
The clamshell design is nice, but I would give this up in a second for a larger wide touch screen similar to that of the PSP. The current screens feel rather small to me and the view angle is very poor. The tilt from the shell design generally means that one screen will look better than the other due to the viewing angle. Simply shifting your hands a bit can impact your view greatly. Also, the size of the two screens is roughly equal to the size of one PSP screen. Why not use one screen and make it entirely touch based? Would be neat. The screens are my biggest complaint.
I would prefer a more rounded design with a thicker base. I spent some time with a couple GBA games as well, and I found that my hands hurt afterwards due to the thin base and square corners. I could not get a real grip on the machine. I think the face buttons should also be larger.
I would also like an update to the main UI. It seems that adjusting or using just about anything requires a reboot of the machine. I do not understand why, but it really damages the feeling of a cohesive environment.
It's a shame they didn't take a look at the PowerVR mobile solutions. As much as I enjoy disagreeing with Lazy, I do think that the PVR sounds fantastic on the mobile front. Of course, I do not know if it would have been possible (costs, availability, etc.).
I think it would have been best if they could combine the strengths of the DS and PSP hardware into one unit.
If nothing else, I would have preferred Nintendo to use much higher quality screens. I would have gladly shelled out an additional $50 for brighter, higher resolution screens with a great viewing angle.
radioheadrule83
Banned
• Make the D-pad and buttons higher (towards the top screen).
• Relocate Start and Select to below the bottom screen,
• Move the power button elsewhere (perhaps to the side or front or top of the bottom unit).
• Curve the bottom edge off a little.
I think this alone would solve some of the troubles people have. With your fingers resting on L + R you might sometimes have to unnaturally move your fingers when using D pad and buttons. Try this: holding your finger on the L trigger, place your thumb in the center of the dpad...
Still holding your finger on the L trigger, place your thumb over the power button. More comfortable? I think so anyway.
I think the space-relation between the triggers + D Pad is important. When using both (a regular occurance in GBA games) youre stretching between fore-finger and thumb in doing so. This pulls the angular bottom edge in towards your palms, which I've found can cause a little bit of an ache after long periods of play.
The DS also needs better materials. The metal used in Micro or the metal/glass-like-plastic used in Revolution and PSP would be ideal.
GitarooMan
Member
radioheadrule83 said:
This I totally agree with. The DS has a cheap look to it. They should have used better exterior materials to sexy it up a bit
FirstInHell
Banned
fiddlestick said:
Wow, you are about 15 posts too late in your sad attempt to be funny.
citrus lump
Banned
AB 101 said:Nintendo DS:
Sony PSP:
Its not easy on the eyes,but the DS is still more fun to play with. As gross as that sounds. :lol
Oh and off topic I believe Miss Alba is signed for two Fantastic four sequels.
Instigator
Banned
- Invest in a bigger screen, ditch the second one.
- Make sure the graphic hardware is not 10 years old this time.
- An analog joystick would be nice.
- TV out built-in.
- touch feature not necessary, but not an hindrance.
- They can keep the cart format, but a higher capacity storage media preferable.
- Make sure the graphic hardware is not 10 years old this time.
- An analog joystick would be nice.
- TV out built-in.
- touch feature not necessary, but not an hindrance.
- They can keep the cart format, but a higher capacity storage media preferable.
Sgt. Killjoy
Member
What way could you redesign it in a way that would sell more systems? i can't think of any. I would want the top to be flat instead of the indent it is now. But thats not too drastic.
fiddlestick
Banned
FirstInHell said:
unlike your avatar with a old lady that most likely died from that tomour :\
Sgt. Killjoy
Member
Taichu said:
But how could you hold that and play MP:H?
RaySpencer
Member
sliding top screen would work ...but then the screen would be open and uncovered, would end up getting scratched to hell like my old GBA 
MaestroRyan said:
Wow, you write for a website?
Very few things should change really. It's ugly when closed but looks nice when open, just as good as the PSP. But I don't think the PSP is that great either. It looks a little cluttered and the gloss front is horrible. The front should be more like the back.
The_Sorrow
Banned
yea psp looks better but not half as good games as ds
but DS needs bigger buttons
but DS needs bigger buttons
JoshuaJSlone
Member
That's more of a DS 1.5 than DS SP.surume said:
Most games I've played have this as a menu option, though it's certainly lacking for GBA play.golduck342 said:
Make it with round corners and put the speakers in the touch screen side part. Lose the normal screen panel parts near the screen (So basicaly it's only the screen) and lower the touch screen so it'll close. Make it chrome on the lower part and shiny in the from part. Makes all the buttons a little transparent.
the psp looks nice but the both its d-pad and its analog stick are complete crap as far as I'm concerned. the d-pad makes 2d fighters unplayable and based off of RR the analog stick isn't all that hot either. The only thing I'd change for the DS is remove the GBA slot and make it thinner.
sorry it's so shotty. I am stuck using my trackpad to do edits.
Since everything is going widescreen this setup just makes more sense to me. Our eyes are naturally a wide perspective so looking at it this way would be easier. and two screen split in a clamshell would be better than a true widescreen because this way you can protect them both. And dual touch pads wouldn't hurt. A single pad would be bias towards right/left handed people.
Since I firmly believe that the GB Micro is the last of the Gameboy line, I will speculate on DS generation two.
-same basic design, but refined shape to make it more comfrotable.
-D-pad and face buttons are made pressure sensetive.
-top screen is widscreen, and higher resolution, say 400X225
-Gamecube quality visuals.
-bottom screen stays the same to ensure backward compatibility.
-shoulder buttons are analog.
-same basic design, but refined shape to make it more comfrotable.
-D-pad and face buttons are made pressure sensetive.
-top screen is widscreen, and higher resolution, say 400X225
-Gamecube quality visuals.
-bottom screen stays the same to ensure backward compatibility.
-shoulder buttons are analog.
In addition to my suggestions earlier, I'd have the new DS be able to LINK up to another GBA, GBC or GB or a GameCube for that matter. I would also throw back in GameBoy and GameBoy Color support. If Nintendo did this while maintaining a reasonably small handheld, the new DS would simply be the ultimate Nintendo handheld, or overall handheld, depending on whether or not movies and music are important to you. It would also make every single Nintendo game playable between just the DS and the Revolution, which is an amazing feat.
As radioheadrule83 said, the D-pad and ABXy buttons should be higher up. The first time I played Yoshi's Island on DS was pretty uncomfortable compared to GBASP. Got used to it, but it shouldn't be that way.
The screens should be at least as big as the useless border surrounding each one. Just that extra space would destroy the perception that the DS has "tiny screens." The bottom half's two segments (silver, black) should be even, not the silver jutting out past the black.
The width of the top half and the bottom half should be the same and the unit should close tightly like the GBASP. As is, dirt and dust can easily get inside the gaps that remain when you close the DS.
Also, the width of the entire unit should be shortened not just to get rid of all the dead space on the unit, but to make it easier for smaller hands to reach the touch screen when using thumb strap or bare thumb controls. Those first few times playing the Hunters demo and Mario 64 DS really killed my thumb stretching it out so unnaturally. The dpad and abxy buttons would be moved in closer to the screens as well.
Here's a rough 'chop of what I imagine:
The screens should be at least as big as the useless border surrounding each one. Just that extra space would destroy the perception that the DS has "tiny screens." The bottom half's two segments (silver, black) should be even, not the silver jutting out past the black.
The width of the top half and the bottom half should be the same and the unit should close tightly like the GBASP. As is, dirt and dust can easily get inside the gaps that remain when you close the DS.
Also, the width of the entire unit should be shortened not just to get rid of all the dead space on the unit, but to make it easier for smaller hands to reach the touch screen when using thumb strap or bare thumb controls. Those first few times playing the Hunters demo and Mario 64 DS really killed my thumb stretching it out so unnaturally. The dpad and abxy buttons would be moved in closer to the screens as well.
Here's a rough 'chop of what I imagine:
I don't think anyone here is making carefully detailed mock-ups or specifications. It's just a few general things that most of us agree on: the unit needs to be somewhat smaller, sleeker, better positioning of the buttons for comfort, larger screens, and easier to reach touchscreen for thumb comfort. All of this could've easily and realistically been done by Nintendo.
GaimeGuy said:
Like I said, it's just a quickly done rough image to convey a general idea. Some simple cutting, pasting, and cropping. Didn't even whip out the grid, rulers and guides to line it all up correctly and wasn't concerned with the placement of the power and select/start buttons since that can fit nearly anywhere with no problem. But if that general design were done right, by a group of engineers, it would definitely be a better design than what we got now. A reasonably smaller DS, with screens a bit bigger (not unrealistically huge like some would want), easier to reach touch screen, less dead space, and more natural button placement like GBASP. What's so horrible about that?
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
fiddlestick said:
not to make games for it? i don't get it
GG-Duo said:
That's the T-Mobile Sidekick II, which has a sliding screen but can manage to close itself with the screen exposed. This would be a great idea for GBA games. I'm sure it would be very much possible to have the thing close with the two screens facing together.
^Would be a good mode for GBA games.