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DS Lites invade McDonald's in Times Square
Yesterday, we told you about a series of DS Lite demonstrations being held at various McDonald's joints in New York City. While some of you made the astute observation that the nearby Nintendo World Store made that sort of thing a bit redundant, it didn't stop one of our fellow bloggers, Andrew Yoon, from stopping by and shoving his camera into every available face. The fact that Mr. Yoon writes for PSP Fanboy will be conveniently glossed over.He summed up the event as follows: "The DS guys aren't timely. They arrived half an hour late." "The games playable include New Super Mario Bros, Tetris DS, True Swing Golf, Brain Age and Big Brain Academy." "Every person that plays will get an iced coffee and cool (but useless) frisbee thing." "It seemed like a success: people asked, 'Where's the nearest Toys R Us?' so they can buy these suckers." "A mom seemed completely entranced by Tetris DS." Entranced mothers could likely be taken as a good sign for Nintendo's ongoing Touch Generations campaign, and events such as these are a great way of grabbing the attentions of those who call every single gaming device "a Nintendo." More pictures follow in the second part of the post.
Sample the DS Lite at an NYC McDonald's
If you live in or around New York City and have yet to part with your old DS in order to embrace the Lite, you may want to stop by a McDonald's in the next few days and try the system out for yourself. Several of the burger joints will have demo units to try out and, if you're lucky (or a rampant kleptomaniac), you might just walk away with a free iced coffee, a handful of Nintendo vouchers or even a DS Lite. These are the times and places you need to barge in:Thursday, July 13, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:220 West 42nd StreetNew York, NY 10036Friday, July 14th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:1560 BroadwayNew York, NY 100364:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:427 10th Ave and 34th StreetNew York, NY 10001Wednesday, July 19th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.mMcDonald's Restaurant at:946 8th Ave and 56th StreetNew York, NY 10019Just be sure not to get your filthy hamburger grease all over the precious things.[Thanks to Elicia Baker at MWW.]
Japan gets black DS Lite too, America sulks
Many would gladly offer up their lunch money for an opportunity to get their hands on the coveted black DS Lite, but unfortunately that simply isn't good enough for the Japanese and European schoolyard bullies tossing the sleek device back and forth over the head of a constantly leaping and visibly frustrated America. Nintendo of Japan's official website has been updated to reveal the Jet Black DS Lite which sees release this September, just a few months after Europe got the dark dual-screener. Unless the Nintendo of America headquarters are equipped with cauldrons of bubbling oil and other defensive devices that deal with vehement rioters, it would seem likely that the darkest Lite won't dally too long before finally landing on North American shores. Rioters keen on seeing the Noble Pink variant, however, will likely have to wait a bit longer. Attacking Nintendo HQ astride unicorns and flinging colorful streamers at the walls has been shown to be decidedly less effective at stirring up interest -- trust us, we found out the hard way.[Thanks creamsugar!]
Moogle joins Mario Hoops team roster
A recent Famitsu scan seems to indicate that the obscenely colorful cast of Mario Hoops: 3 on 3 will be joined by a fluffy Final Fantasy favorite -- Moogle. Franchise crossovers are always amusing, though we thought that Square Enix would at least have the good sense to toss Quina Quen from Final Fantasy IX in there. We're convinced that Mario would rather have a freakish, grammatically challenged cook on his team as opposed to a little white creature that's probably a bit crap at playing basketball. [Via 4CR]
Smile for the DS Lite camera [Update 1]
This video depicts a supposedly makeshift camera (which, to be honest, looks a little scary) hooked up to a DS Lite and, thanks to some homebrewin' magic, it starts taking pictures. Barring the horrendous framerate, it seems like an amusing device with equally amusing future applications. The thought of taking a snapshot of someone's face, only to doodle on it with a stylus is pleasing in ways best left unmentioned. Still, there's every chance that it's an elaborate fake, with homebrew software merely displaying some images taken previously with a real camera. It's hard to make a decision on the legitimacy based solely on this video, though we expect the homebrew crew to quickly show up and put things into focus. Either way, at least we got the whole "doodling on people's faces" imagery out of the deal.[Thanks Nushio & MikeLacks!][Update 1: Check out the originating site here. Thanks David R!]
Japanese hardware sales, 26 June - 2 July: You've got red on you
Oh, the horror. Be sure to keep angry fanboys and dubiously trained pet bulls away from the monitor this week, as it displays an awful lot of red. Even the mighty DS Lite experiences the strange sensation of slipping, possibly caused by the tight grip of an overweight sibling. The ranking, according to number of units sold:- DS Lite: 153,566 3,456 (2.20%)- PSP: 25,935 1,198 (4.84%)- PS2: 23,133 2,334 (9.16%)- DS Phat: 3,504 6,628 (65.42%)- GBA SP: 2,919 829 (21.91%)- Xbox 360: 1,897 728 (62.28%)- Game Boy Micro: 1,443 59 (3.93%)- Gamecube: 1,002 195 (16.29%)- GBA: 17 8 (32.00%)- Xbox: 8 2 (20.00%)As a commenter jokingly suggested last week, it's awfully difficult to resist the temptation of traveling to Japan and purchasing 10,000 Xbox consoles, just to ... exacerbate things. [Source: Media Create]
DS Fanboy vs. GBA Movie Player
Deep within the recesses of the DS Fanboy labs, the SD version of the GBA Movie Player has been enduring poking, prodding and occasional squeezing for quite some time now, up until the point where failure to post a review would be deemed by many as inappropriate and downright offensive. Doubly so considering that said labs don't actually exist. Compelled by the logo prominently emblazoned all across this site, we mainly tested the device on the Nintendo DS and the DS Lite and were pleased to find that the device performs surprisingly well. There is a caveat, however, one that should loom over your online purchase like an owl slowly circling a confused mouse, waiting for the opportune moment to swoop down and devour a furry feast. Once you look up and become aware of the bird of prey, you'll be better equipped to determine whether or not the Movie Player is worth your money. Ignoring it will only lead to disappointment which, going by this ill-conceived allegory, means you will get eaten by an owl. A big one.Essentially, the problem with the GBA Movie player isn't a problem with the GBA Movie player at all. It's that thing it plugs into. As a media playing device, the DS is a bit crap.
DS Lite pwned Japan in June
As if those weekly hardware charts weren't enough to convince you, Next Generation has put up a report that once again underlines just how well the DS Lite is performing in Japan. The words "ridiculous", "ludicrous" and "criminal" certainly spring to mind when noting that the Lite sold 575,000 units last month, making for a grand total of 2.6 million thus far. New Super Mario Bros. has been flying off the shelves with equal aplomb, right into the hands of 1.8 million nostalgia-craving gamers. It has become one of eight DS games to break through the meticulously guarded million sold barrier. As part of those who initially thought the DS to be a silly device that would be beaten to a pulp in the handheld gaming ghetto, we've been proven wrong again and again. And again. Let's be honest now. Did you expect this to happen back in 2004?
Happy Fourth of July
From everyone here at DS Fanboy, we wish you fine lot a fantastic Fourth of July, one free of work stress, responsibility, and aliens intent on blowing up every recognizable landmark in sight. We recommend you play some DS games, but that you avoid using your DS Lite in the vicinity of fireworks displays -- it's hard enough spotting fireworks in broad daylight.If, like me, you're not of the appropriate geographical position to celebrate this holiday, remind yourself that you don't always need a reason to avoid work and play DS games instead.
New Super Mario now stomping across Europe
Not content with conquering Japan and America, the newly revamped, newly released, New Super Mario Bros. now set its non-insidious sights on Europe, land of collosseums, queens and curiously leaning constructions. Nintendo of Europe has announced that the game has shipped to stores, just in time to be snatched up over the weekend. Expect Mario to hit his presumed homeland of Italy in full force, devouring mushrooms and smashing bricks, though sadly not fixing leaky plumping. If you haven't purchased the game already, check out its updated official site and catch yourself whistling along to the music.
Japanese hardware sales, 19 June - 25 June: the bigger they are
... the harder they fall. The Japanese population's brief rekindling of their romance with the DS Phat, showing a massive 1559% increase in sales last week, seems to have died out for now. Our obese friend takes the sharpest fall this week, with slimmer, trimmer machines like the Game Boy Micro and DS Lite faring better. The ranking, according to number of units sold:- DS Lite: 157,022 15,535 (10.98%)- PS2: 25,467 4,730 (22.81%)- PSP: 24,737 84 (0.34%)- DS Phat: 10,132 12,616 (55.46%)- GBA SP: 3,784 858 (18.48%)- Game Boy Micro: 1,502 208 (16.07%)- Gamecube: 1,197 195 (19.46%)- Xbox 360: 1,169 238 (16.92%)- GBA: 25 5 (25.00%)- Xbox: 10 5 (33.33%)The rest of the chart seems intentionally unremarkable, with the Lite reigning on top and the spinless Xbox sweeping the ground floor. Very soon, it will be expected to clean up the explosion of confetti and glitter accompanying the launch of the Noble Pink DS Lite.[Source: Media Create]
Japanese hardware sales, 12 June - 18 June: Phat's back
Quite possibly the only sane thing we've received from Japan this week, the Japanese hardware sales charts show it like it is -- no silly comparisons, half-truths or fuzzy mathematics in sight. The ranking, according to number of units sold:- DS Lite: 141,487 9,460 (7.17%)- PSP: 24,653 2,997 (13.84%)- DS Phat: 22,748 21,377 (1559.23%)- PS2: 20,737 1,756 (9.25%)- GBA SP: 4,642 526 (12.78%)- Xbox 360: 1,407 307 (27.91%)- Game Boy Micro: 1,294 360 (21.77%)- Gamecube: 1,002 41 (4.27%)- GBA: 20 10 (33.33%)- Xbox: 15 5 (25.00%)Aside from the soothing abundance of green, the most noticeable aspect of this week's chart is undoubtedly the DS Phat's performance, indicating either a surge in its popularity or a surge in desperation amongst those who couldn't track down a DS Lite. Perhaps it's time to import a black one from Europe?[Source: Media Create]
View Opera Browser box art through a web browser
These web browser things are fantastic innovations. We fully understand why Nintendo would want to have one on their DS. They no doubt envisioned situations such as these, where you could use the newfangled technology to actually look at images online, images depicting anything from adorable kittens to Japanese box art. The guys at Game Watch were quick to take advantage and have "uploaded" the two versions (one for each DS model) of the Opera Browser packaging. We know. Being at the helm of cutting-edge technology can be quite frightening.Larger images "after the break". Whatever that means.[Via Nintendo Gal]
DS Review: touching is good
We often consider ourselves to be the experts of touching, a label which has far more connotations than practical uses. Still, it has allowed us to become very intimate with Nintendo's latest portable, one that many would argue to be an open celebration of poking and prodding. In the above video, the esteemed and obviously mature Mark Slutsky explains why the DS has gained this reputation and why whipping it out in public is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. [Thanks Mark!]
Black DS Lite's flesh compared to PSP, DS Phat
Spudstercool, the tipster that sent us shots of the black DS Lite yesterday, was busy last night taking a few more photos of his black DS Lite alongside his PSP and now discarded DS Phat. This thing is hawt. Some answers to questions in the earlier comments thread: The DS Phat goes for around £70 on eBay.co.uk although GAME stores will give you £40 towards a DS Lite if you give them your DS Phat. The North American release date for the black DS Lite is, as yet, unannounced. You can import a U.K. DS Lite to your country without worrying about region encoding for games, but you'll still need to figure out a way of converting the UK DS Lite's 3-pin 230V/50Hz power adapter to your local mains power.
Japanese hardware sales, 5 June - 11 June: outnumbered
The sheer volume of words being displayed on the front page of this blog is, quite frankly, entirely ridiculous. It's time for a change. It's time we inundate you with the accountant's best friend and the alphabet's greatest foe. It's time we unleash the Japanese hardware sales charts for the week ranging from 5 June to 11 June and thoughtfully observe their effects on the human body. The ranking, according to number of units sold:- DS Lite: 132,027 3,587 (2,65%)- PSP: 21,656 2,939 (11,95%)- PS2: 18,981 468 (2,53%)- GBA SP: 4,116 248 (5,68%)- Game Boy Micro: 1,654 384 (30,24%)- DS Phat: 1,371 212 (18,29%)- Xbox 360: 1,100 145 (11,65%)- Gamecube: 961 163 (20,43%)- GBA: 30 6 (20,00%)- Xbox: 20 23 (53,49%)For those perplexed by the friendly arrows, rest assured that their intention is only to indicate whether a platform's sales have increased or decreased since the last week (followed by the exact difference and a percentage). For those perplexed by the previous sentence, we politely suggest that you try attending school for once.[Source: Media Create]
DS Lite mega-review
Only those boys over at Arstechnica could post a review so awesome, so comprehensive in its scope, that it could only be called a mega-review. They go through just about every nook, cranny, and caveat that the shiny new system has to offer, including a size comparison to a brick and a low-key Seinfeld reference. What should you know? The battery isn't necessarily all Nintendo cracked it up to be. You'll only get around 6 to 7 hours on the brightest setting, though that can be significantly lengthened by lowering the veritable solar flare coming from your gaming device. Dead pixels appear to be a problem, so be sure to check your unit before messing with it too much. The outer coating is surprisingly scratch-resistant, despite the fingerprint-showing gloss. Good for sliding into your pocket. It's sexiness rating is somewhere on the level of a young Catherine Zeta-Jones. That's REALLY sexy. Bottom line: you should get one. Wait for the other colors if you must, but don't let this slice of portable heaven pass you by.[via Joystiq]
The DS Lite is "smaller than a brick"
Arstechnica has posted a comprehensive five page review of the DS Lite, with a large portion dedicated to comparisons with the DS Phat. This isn't the first review of the DS Lite, but it could possibly be the most well thought out. Here are the key points of the review:The screens Greater viewing angle - "it's now possible to watch someone else playing the system and actually see the screen" Brighter - "the upgraded screen may be worth the price of an upgrade alone" Dead pixels - "my unit has a stuck pixel on the top screen" Flimsy? - "the bottom screen seems to be floating in the system case, not held down tight like the DS [Phat]" The feel Lighter - "the system is lighter, making it easier for me to cradle it using the tips of my fingers" Buttons - "The D-pad is a touch smaller... and a bit less satisfying in the click department" although "the buttons on both DS products are a little bit on the small side" Central microphone "makes games that use voice recognition easier to play." The battery Six hours usually, although "it's not hard to get eight hours of battery life as long as you don't continually keep the system on its brightest setting." The overall feeling from the review is that if you're a DS virgin and have been mulling a purchase, now is the time to jump in. If, however, you're a DS Phat owner and haven't decided whether it's worth trading in for the updated hardware, the suggestion from this review is go for it. "If you're a casual gamer or a hardcore fan who takes your portable everywhere, you'll like the way your games play and look on the DS Lite".
Japanese hardware sales, 29 May - 4 June: How bizarre [Update 1]
Oh, look. It's the weekly Japanese hardware sales chart. Every time I look around, it's in my face. The ranking, according to number of units sold:- DS Lite: 135,614 149,411 (52.42%)- PSP: 24,595 2,632 (9.67%)- PS2: 18,513 1,285 (6.49%)- GBA SP: 4,364 2288 (34.40%)- Game Boy Micro: 1,270 743 (36.91%)- Xbox 360: 1,245 3 (0.24%)- Phat DS: 1,159 2,967 (71.91%)- Gamecube: 798 318 (28.49%)- Xbox: 43 35 (43.75%)- GBA: 30 14 (31.81%) Whether it's a rare planetary alignment or mass hypnosis, something irregular is surely to blame for this weird state of events. Microsoft's consoles are the only ones not to take a sales plunge this week -- even the DS Phat's fall from grace sends it hurtling past the Xbox 360. How bizarre.[Update: Quite bizarrely, some of the numbers were from last week. Corrected.][Source: Media Create]
