Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
I'm hoping that Feel The Magic's short length will mean it won't be long until they're traded in and I can get it cheap.
The "Official" Nintendo DS Launch Thread (NSF56k)
- Thread starter Amir0x
- Start date
seismologist
Banned
borghe said:
yeah we're making progress but it takes some getting used to after playing Mario where the graphics dont really look last gen.
Hellraizah
Member
Get with it people. Anybody that knows about LCD displays knows that one dead pixel is not considered a defective unit. I have several dead pixels on my Sony LCD 23" screen, and this is not a reason to exchange it. It's only the reality about LCD screens. And you may have a dead pixed after beginning to play with your console, like 2 or 3 weeks later.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
That's why I love Future Shop's no question asked return policy and buy any LCD electronics there, and only there. Basically, you can return any item in the two week period simply because you don't like it for a full refund. You're from Canada, so you too should take advantage of that
Tortfeasor
Member
I have a stuck pixel on the touch screen on the upper right side, 2nd or 3rd pixel away from the right side. I haven't yet decided if it worth returning or not... It is really in an out of the way place, and not really that noticable. Anyone get one with no problems at all?
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Marconelly said:That's why I love Future Shop's no question asked return policy and buy any LCD electronics there, and only there. Basically, you can return any item in the two week period simply because you don't like it for a full refund. You're from Canada, so you too should take advantage of that
How much does it cost?
Spiritreaver
Member
Not completely... yet. I saw a quite a few units at my local Wal-Mart. Maybe about 5 or so, and about 7 copies of Madden, SM64, and Urbz each. They had like no shelf space for them though.
Anywho, this is also a rather small city, I don't think we even come close to breaking 100k. So that could explain why. But there's a lot of college kids and teens, so I don't expect them to be there for too long.
Anywho, this is also a rather small city, I don't think we even come close to breaking 100k. So that could explain why. But there's a lot of college kids and teens, so I don't expect them to be there for too long.
Christberg
Member
Unison said:
No kidding. This was actually the first GBA game I popped in, and it was like "wow, so this is what this game is supposed to look like." Great stuff.
Really enjoying the unit myself. Like others said, the lack of texture filtering is hardly noticeable given the screen size, so the 3D stuff actually really looks super nice on it.
The SM64 control "issues" are blown way out of proportion, too. I actually find that the game controls pretty well, although admittedly it's not as good as an analog stick.
EDIT
'oh! just realizedd I already said all this in my last post. Whoops!
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
The 15 day refund policy has no extra charge. You can basically 'borrow' whatever you want from the store, and return it 15 days later, and you won't lose any money in the process. They used to offer this refund for a full month, but a year ago they switched to 15 days, because too many people were 'borrowing' digital cameras and camcorders for their vacations, and then returning them to stores when they get back home.
Is that supposed to be a pessimistic view? I mean, I expect them to sell well a lot longer than just initial first week...
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Marconelly said:
So I can just go into Futureshop tomorrow and pick up Feel The Magic, then take it back a few days later when I've completed it? Awesome.
I don't want to be the asshole they always see though, I'll use this gift sparingly.
soundwave05
Member
Anyone have any battery estimates so far? I know between me and my brother today the DS must have been on for a good 4-5 hours already.
EDIT: About Future Shop I think with software or DVDs/CDs you can only do exchanges (for the same item) not refunds.
EDIT: About Future Shop I think with software or DVDs/CDs you can only do exchanges (for the same item) not refunds.
Crazymoogle
Member
soundwave05 said:
Bingo. Hardware might be okay, but software (as far as I've seen) is definitely not.
And I'm curious at Lyte's comments about the bottom screen for GBA games, because the touch sensitive overlay clearly seems to make it the inferior screen - there is this obvious noise effect over the entirety of it, like a light photoshop effect overlay (unless I've somehow acquired just a really bad system?)
ooh. Lots of dead pixel stuff on here. Thats unusual for LCD displays, so seems like Nintendo sourced them to a price (normally with higher priced screens the manufacturer specs a failure rate, so filters out duff ones before they hit the street. you can still get failures, but they aren't so common). Even expensive stuff like projectors are classified as functional with up to 4 dead pixels (depending where they are on the screen - eg 4 around the edge = 1 in the middle)
So at first people will simply take them back, as they and the shops are not used to these issues. But I imagine Nintendo will have to issue some kind of statement. People will either have to get used to a couple of dead pixels, or Nintendo will have to shell out some more money getting lower failure rate panels... Could get interesting
Also makes me nervous about my preordered PSP. Imports are always tricky...
So at first people will simply take them back, as they and the shops are not used to these issues. But I imagine Nintendo will have to issue some kind of statement. People will either have to get used to a couple of dead pixels, or Nintendo will have to shell out some more money getting lower failure rate panels... Could get interesting
Also makes me nervous about my preordered PSP. Imports are always tricky...
.:RaZieL:.
Member
So how big is the differnce between de SP frontlit screen and the DS's backlit.
Does it really make a difference for example when you play GBA games?
Does it really make a difference for example when you play GBA games?
soundwave05
Member
SP games look a good deal brighter and more defined on the DS screen.
They also sound better. The DS speakers/audio output is really nice.
They also sound better. The DS speakers/audio output is really nice.
Spiritreaver
Member
Hmm, the DS dead pixel issue seems to be a lot lower than the SP at launch.. though it could be due to the low number of units (but couldn't this be countered by the fact that it has two screen pet unit?). I've seen only a handful of dead pixels complaints mentioned online.. when the SP seemed to flood boards with such topics. I'm not sure though, anyone else have a take on this?
SantaC
Member
Steven Kent from USA today reviews the DS
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/entertainment/2004-11-21-nintendo-ds-review_x.htm?csp=34
3.5/4
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/entertainment/2004-11-21-nintendo-ds-review_x.htm?csp=34
3.5/4
no dead pizels on mine,,
as for the difference between GBA SP and DS..
ds is a little brighter than SP.. but that isn't the big part.. the big part is that it is evenly lit (SP if you held it one way part of the screen was harder to see than the other part) and the colors.. LORD THE COLORS.. seriously, the only way to describe it is the SP looks like, well, the SP (or afterburner) and the DS looks like a laptop or handheld PC.
Bottom line, for single player GBA games, there is no better way to play them (not even the GBP).
as for the difference between GBA SP and DS..
ds is a little brighter than SP.. but that isn't the big part.. the big part is that it is evenly lit (SP if you held it one way part of the screen was harder to see than the other part) and the colors.. LORD THE COLORS.. seriously, the only way to describe it is the SP looks like, well, the SP (or afterburner) and the DS looks like a laptop or handheld PC.
Bottom line, for single player GBA games, there is no better way to play them (not even the GBP).
Chibbi Brady
Member
Excellent, can't wait to try Minnish Cap on it. 
Mines shipping today so hope to get it by Thursday. I've played a lot of Mario 64 using a d-pad before, so I'm not expecting any control issues. Great to hear that the minigames are a blast.
Mines shipping today so hope to get it by Thursday. I've played a lot of Mario 64 using a d-pad before, so I'm not expecting any control issues. Great to hear that the minigames are a blast.
Hellraizah
Member
Well, if Nintendo issues a statement that says they exchange the DSes themselves for dead pixels, right on, but I don't want to seem anyone come into my store for this type of (normal) problem.
Hellraizah
Member
Forget what I said, I just browsed through my DS manual, and there's nowhere where they state that a percentage of dead pixels is acceptable. They don't even speak about it, so I guess they'll have A LOT of trouble with all this.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
As for the measured DS battery life, I have so far found two quotes - one from ABC news which says:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=264873
One from PC Magazine (of all places):
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1730092,00.asp
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=264873
One from PC Magazine (of all places):
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1730092,00.asp
It doesn't work for software - you can only exchange it for that same software I think (if the game doesn't work). It does for sure work with hardware though, but there is a limit to how many times you can do that kind of return a year (I forgot what is the limit - a friend of mine worked there so I'll ask him again if you want).
Spiritreaver
Member
Battery life falls into the range, no surprise at all.
What I really want to know is how long battery life is for GBA games. It coudl quite possibly last a little longer than the SP with the larger battery. Any word on that?
What I really want to know is how long battery life is for GBA games. It coudl quite possibly last a little longer than the SP with the larger battery. Any word on that?
I'd seriously consider to skip the first PSP shipment. I don't wanna sound like a troll, but SONY is somewhat known to have problems with their first batch. But then the initial shipment is probably gonna be somewhat small, so they might all be hand picked and guaranteed dead pixel free. Maybe Nintendo is also having problems with their first batch.mrklaw said:
I wonder what Nintendo and SONY are gonna do about it. IMO they both have no choice, they must announce a "no dead pixels" policy.
I got a little one on one time with the DS last night. My neighbor, who works at Game Crazy, got one for free. He also got Urban Racing and Mario.
I have mixed emotions... The tech side of me is amazed by the technology and hardware you get for $150. It just doesn't seem possible. The gamer side of me is unimpressed. I tried the thumb strap and stylus to control Yoshi, but it was cumbersome to say the least. The D-Pad "worked" but was no substitute for analog.
Right now, I can't justify spending $150 for a piece of hardware that has no content. The games right now don't offer me enough to warrant a purchase. I will keep a close eye on things to come though. I really like the hardware and I hope Nintendo can offer some software to go along with it. I think the controls are awkward, but I will probably adjust to them over time.
I have mixed emotions... The tech side of me is amazed by the technology and hardware you get for $150. It just doesn't seem possible. The gamer side of me is unimpressed. I tried the thumb strap and stylus to control Yoshi, but it was cumbersome to say the least. The D-Pad "worked" but was no substitute for analog.
Right now, I can't justify spending $150 for a piece of hardware that has no content. The games right now don't offer me enough to warrant a purchase. I will keep a close eye on things to come though. I really like the hardware and I hope Nintendo can offer some software to go along with it. I think the controls are awkward, but I will probably adjust to them over time.