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[Shao]

I was just thinking about how DS is the third pillar and the new gameboy will be out sometime soon (supposedly).

This got me to thinking how it could possibly improve over the DS, and also that handheld gaming should never be done again without the touch screen. Seriously if the next GB is simply a more powerful version of the GBA SP aka PSP mk2 I wont even be interested.

Handheld gaming has evolved, the next gameboy simply has to have touchscreen also. Its like the next Sony/MS handhelds are almost certainly going to have touch screens aren't they? Its like the analogue stick all over again (but harder to copy), theres no going back now.

Playing Ouendan all day made me realise this. This thing is not a gimmick, all you trolls shut up and play Ouendan.

Whats more I dont even want amazing 3D graphics on my handheld, I dont want to play games like Resi 4 or Zelda OoT on the go, I'd Advance Wars over Warcraft or C&C. 2D wins out over 3D imo and its nothing to do with nostalgia at all, portable versions of home console games are certainly not on my wish list.

I don't want to see 2D abandoned, I dont want to lose touch screen or 2 screen gameplay either (thansk to Trace Memory). Its gonna be tough to improve on the DS but obviously its going to happen. How do the handheld gamers here feel about this and where do you think the next step will lead for both Sony and Nintendo?

 

[nVidiot_Whore]

THREE screens!!!

 

[Borys]

Cell phones. Installed base is like 10x bigger than GBA. Likely even more.

 

[Lazy8s]

Being 2D isn't the reason that 2D games seem to work better on handhelds; they tend to work better because 2D games usually have arcade style gameplay: straightforward mechanics, standout presentation. Arcade type games make the objective immediately obvious and don't confuse the experience with misplaced subtlety, recognizing the limitations of handhelds' usage environment and of their tiny screens and speakers. 3D games with arcade play work just as well on portables, like the upcoming Virtua Tennis port shows.

Because of a handheld's small size and because the proportion of its screen size to the distance at which its held creates a larger viewing angle than with a normal TV, handheld graphics actually need to be better than their TV counterparts to achieve the same level of visual quality. Increased image quality isn't lost to a small screen; it instead helps to better define the visuals within the small space.

The next big thing in mobile gaming is the technology boom looming just on the horizon. Handhelds are the largest computing segment of them all, so chip companies are racing to push the envelope and manage good capability from the perpetually 'wifi on' battery draining environment of the cell phone. Soon, millions of phones and PDAs will have console quality graphics with features like programmable vertex shading, fractional tesselation and LOD adaptive curved surface rendering, per-pixel lighting, free 4x anti-aliasing with supersampling and multisampling, and 32-bit framebuffer-independent color blending and z-buffering; some portables have already had much such performance for a while.

Beyond that, the following generation of handheld graphics technology is already promising more shading functionality and image quality than the upcoming consoles and the ability to perform more general processing workloads, like physics, on the GPU.

 

[mutsu]

I personally don't think the next Gameboy MUST have a touch screen. IF the next Gameboy has a touch screen, then the DS being a 3rd pillar will lose its meaning... it's different to the Gameboy because of the touch screen (and the 2 screens, mic of course, but touch screen is what's the most important thing from distinguishing it from the GBA).

I personally won't mind a powered up Gameboy that has graphics like the PSP, as long as they don't use stupid disc media. As long as they can invent some kind of new technology that can hold 1GB of data or something in a cartidge then I think a beefed up version of the Gameboy is all fine.

And don't underestimate Nintendo for coming up with something completely new again that will AGAIN redefine handheld gaming just like the DS did. There could be something new again for the next Gameboy.

 

[Mrbob]

What the hell is Quendan? Must be some Japanese game.

Anyway, is this a thread to discuss handheld future or just a Nintendo sploogefest? If it is the latter then I may as well not even talk about the future of handhelds. Because my future does not include a touchscreen as necessary.

 

[Legal Step]

PSP will bring us out of the ghetto fools :lol

 

[xexex]

Next Game Boy must have super-impressive graphics -- must be beyond PSP and 3D enabled cell phones, even if only a little better.

Game Boy Next needs PowerVR MBX BEATING graphics at least on par with PowerVR SGX, even if the 3D chip solution is from ATI

but Nintendo always goes for cheap graphics in its handhelds, so, i'm not expecting much.

 

[goomba]

Next gameboy might use the same interface that the revolution console is set to.

 

[Mrbob]

Ok, since this is all obviously Nintendo releated, here is what I think they should do.

Offer a PSP level portable with a comparable screen and dual analog sticks. Media must be 1.5 gig or bigger too. No touchscreen.

 

[Tellaerin]

I was just thinking about how DS is the third pillar and the new gameboy will be out sometime soon (supposedly).

This got me to thinking how it could possibly improve over the DS, and also that handheld gaming should never be done again without the touch screen. Seriously if the next GB is simply a more powerful version of the GBA SP aka PSP mk2 I wont even be interested.

Handheld gaming has evolved, the next gameboy simply has to have touchscreen also. Its like the next Sony/MS handhelds are almost certainly going to have touch screens aren't they? Its like the analogue stick all over again (but harder to copy), theres no going back now.

Playing Ouendan all day made me realise this. This thing is not a gimmick, all you trolls shut up and play Ouendan.

Whats more I dont even want amazing 3D graphics on my handheld, I dont want to play games like Resi 4 or Zelda OoT on the go, I'd Advance Wars over Warcraft or C&C. 2D wins out over 3D imo and its nothing to do with nostalgia at all, portable versions of home console games are certainly not on my wish list.

I don't want to see 2D abandoned, I dont want to lose touch screen or 2 screen gameplay either (thansk to Trace Memory). Its gonna be tough to improve on the DS but obviously its going to happen. How do the handheld gamers here feel about this and where do you think the next step will lead for both Sony and Nintendo?

I find this ironic because if the GBA 2 does include a touchscreen, I won't be interested. In fact, I'm holding out for a GBA 2 rather than buying a DS in the hopes that it won't include a touchscreen or mic. I want to play 2D games with classic 2D gameplay, which involves controlling a character with a d-pad and buttons. No tapping on a screen or drawing with a stylus. No blowing into a microphone. As long as those alternate input devices are present, companies are going to feel compelled to make their games use them somehow, and that kills my interest in those games.

If you really love the DS that much and think it's 'evolved' handhelds so well, then why not hold out for the inevitable DS 2, rather than demanding that Nintendo foist these 'innovations' on everyone, even the people who don't want them?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Cell phones. Installed base is like 10x bigger than GBA. Likely even more.

but when you filter out the people that aren't willing to pay $30-40 a pop for "state of the art" games rather than Tetris or Solitare, that installed base gets small in a hurry.

 

[dark10x]

I get the feeling that Shao is on a "high" right now. I've been there.

 

[argon]

what i want from the next GB (impossible, but one can dream)

gamecube optical discs
backwards compatible with GCN
microphone built-in
good analog control
gyroscopic control built in
clamshell design w/ 2 touch screens
wi-fi
doubles as a revolution controller
built in TV-out
able to download & play all GB,GBC, GBA, NES, SNES, N64 games from revolution network
pictochat and voice over IP telephony software built in
6+ hours battery life

 

[Jive Turkey]

Cerebral implants and holograms.

JACK IN, BITCHES!

 

[LittleTokyo]

Touchscreen is definately mandatory. Really, there is no reason not to include one.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Touchscreen is definately mandatory. Really, there is no reason not to include one.

There are plenty of reasons not to include a touch screen...