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DS Daily: Keeping it pricey
We're always talking about bargains, and with good reason, but today we want to discuss the other end of the scale: your most outrageous, costly gaming buys.We're talking about the $980 you dropped for that rare Hot Summer Phat, or the $90+ you put on your flatmate's credit card for Electroplankton. Obviously, it'd be nice if you could keep this DS-related, but you're welcome to mention non-DS rarities you forked out for.
DS Daily: Where in the World ...
... has your DS been?Your DS likes to travel, you know! It enjoys seeing new cultures, and meeting new people. We know because it told us.So today's question: where in the World have you taken your DS? Has anybody's handheld travelled with them to all seven continents? Well, okay, Antarctica is probably a tricky one, but ... has your portable seen the other six? If so, it's seen more of this planet than us!
DS Daily: Your maximum playload
Are you the kind of gamer who takes on games one at a time, or can you happily play several titles concurrently?For what it's worth, this blogger's personal limit appears to be three. Currently, the list includes World of Goo, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (after a decade away), and Fallout 3 (my dirty secret: I also own a Xbox 360). Meanwhile, an imported copy of Chrono Trigger DS is being neglected, simply because I couldn't cope with another game where I need to keep close tabs on the story. Yes, I am ashamed.What's your maximum playload?%Gallery-27682%
DS Daily: Fluent yet?
A few months have passed since the last language trainer, My Japanese Coach, debuted on the DS, so now seems like an apt time to ask: if you bought one of the DS's numerous language titles, are you still returning each day to learn new lessons? Has the DS made you feel confident enough to converse with real people on the streets of Paris/Tokyo/Madrid?Oh, and as this is sort of related, did anybody ever pick up the hilariously inappropriate Spanish for Everyone?%Gallery-28607%
DS Daily: Winners and losers
There's a lot to love about multiplayer gaming on the DS, but playing nicely is also important, reader!With this in mind, how do you, as a gamer, take winning and losing? Are you a gracious victor, full of consoling statements for the vanquished, or do you love nothing more than gloating in the faces of the fallen?Likewise, are you capable of losing with grace, or do you get stroppy and sulky?%Gallery-40284%
DS Daily: Kickin' ass, takin' names
Today's DS Daily discussion is reserved for only the hardest of games. In all the time you've owned a DS, what's the one game for the system that has repeatedly kicked your ass with its unpunishing difficulty? Would your choice be a title already renowned for being tricky, such as Contra 4, or did you struggle with a game with a less fearsome reputation? Did you eventually vanquish your foe, or does it still sit in your collection, uncompleted and sneering at you? And if you did emerge victorious, how long did it take you to beat it?
DS Daily: Feet up? Let's chat!
For today's DS Daily, we're, like, totally tearing up the rulebook, maaan. That's right: today's daily topic is open for you to chat about ... whatever the hell you want. Just keep it clean, and let us thank you again for being awesome and reading DS Fanboy! Have a fun day, everyone, and enjoy all of your new gifts (but particularly the DS-related stuff)!
DS Daily: Pinching pennies
Nintendo announced a ton of new releases for Q1 yesterday. As line-ups go, it's packed full of goodness -- frankly, it blows the Wii selection out of the water. There are at least ten or eleven games in this list that we would typically buy on day one. Alas, our painfully slim blogging wages are going to be stretched if we buy even half of them, so we're going to have to revise where our pennies go. Have your spending plans changed with the release of the Q1 schedule?
DS Daily: On preventing piracy
Piracy, me hearties, has become a prominent issue for the DS, and one that is probably here to stay -- indeed, illegally downloading games to play on a flashcart has become almost socially acceptable in some places. And here's the biggest problem: it's not very hard at all to indulge in the practice. (Perfectly legal) flashcarts are available widely and cheaply, and ROM sites are a single Google search away.In other words, finding solutions is difficult, to say the least. Chrono Trigger demonstrated that built-in piracy checks don't exactly last long, though Level 5 might have hit upon a semi-solution with Ni no Kuni: The Another World: deny the pirates the awesome spellbook that is required to play. Put yourselves in the shoes of a videogame publisher on the verge of releasing a major title: what anti-piracy measures would you take to try and protect your game?%Gallery-27682%
DS Daily: Cover story
The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity sounds like our kind of game: cute storyline, fourth wall-busting gags, great platforming mechanics, and fairly unique visuals.But lordy, what is up with that cover? We're pretty shameless people (seriously, you should see what we don't wear while blogging), but even we would probably avoid eye contact with the sales clerk while buying this at our local emporium. It seems odd that a game with so much to offer older players could sport such kid-oriented boxart; if we knew nothing about The Chase, we wouldn't even notice this in a store.Today's subject, then: to what degree does boxart influence your buying decisions? Ever purchased a game solely because it has an awesome box? Or have you been torn over whether to get a game, only to be put off by a crummy cover?%Gallery-36566%
DS Daily: Your Thanksgiving plans
Morning folks, and a happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Today, rather than dedicate this space to talking about some DS-related minutiae, we're leaving it open for discussion about your Thanksgiving plans, and how the DS slots into your Turkey Day schedule. Do you plan to spend a quiet moment getting further through Chrono Trigger? Converting Granny to Brain Age? Playing a spot of wireless Mario Kart DS with cousins?Maybe you don't plan to pick up your beloved handheld at all. To which we say: hey, Thanksgiving is a time for coming together, and that extends to people and their DSes as well! Er, probably. I don't know, I'm British. This is all one big mystery to me.By the way, we'll still be posting today, so if you do get bored at any point, feel free to poke your head in. Have a grand day, everybody!
DS Daily: What's left to master?
Atlus delighted us yesterday by confirming it will release TrackMania DS in North America next March. Some of us around these parts like a good racing game, and that's something the DS has sorely lacked since its launch (Mario Kart DS being the exception).Like every platform, the little handheld excels at certain genres -- we're practically suffocating in brilliant RPGs (of both the "A" and "S" variety), text adventures owe their entire comeback to the DS, and great puzzle games are ten-a-penny on the system -- but what genres does the DS struggle with? Are there any types of game it will never master?%Gallery-37398%
DS Daily: Your Final choice?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time utilizes a specifically designed game engine that allows Wii and DS owners to play online together.Both versions of the title will look, sound, and cost (¥5,040 in Japan) the same, but there are slight benefits to each. Even with its screen-within-a-screen design, the Wii game will still feature a larger viewing area when hooked up to your TV, while the DS edition obviously has the bonus of increased portability. If you are getting Echoes of Time, which platform will you be buying it for, and why?%Gallery-33397%
DS Daily: Buy? Or sell?
Yesterday, in the "lolwut?" moment of November so far, we heard that Nintendo is making a game that will teach John Q. Public the ins and outs of the economy. Because Nintendo knows a thing or two about making games, we trust it will be an engaging experience, and the economy is something we'd like to be better informed about.Then again, the subject matter also seems random, and something that wouldn't be overly useful to many DS owners. We can understand stuff like Professor Kageyama's Math Training (most of us use math every day, and increased mental sharpness with numbers is handy) and My Japanese Coach (Japan and its language are fascinating, and many gamers have an interest in the culture), but would you regard an economy-based training game as practical to your needs? Would you purchase it?
DS Daily: On 'i'
Only one letter separates the Nintendo DSi from the original Nintendo DS, but what does that letter, an inconspicuous "i," mean, readers? Hm?Is it DSimproved? DSinnovation? DSinternet? Maybe it's just DS I, as in "this is my DS, a DS for me." Actually, that last argument could be supported by a Miyamoto quote from a recent MTV Multiplayer interview: "With DSi we've really tried to create in a way that makes the system feels much more personal to you."Alternatively, maybe it means nothing at all, but is an attempt by Nintendo to Apple-ize its handheld. Believe it or not, this kind of stuff keeps us up at night.%Gallery-33263%
DS Daily: DSindifference
Here's an unthinkable thought: could the DSi actually flop? Earlier this week, GamePro speculated that there was a distinct lack of buzz around the upgraded handheld. This viewpoint was based on the fact that DSi reservation tickets (essentially guarantees that you'll get your desired product on launch day without the need to queue for hours) have hardly been setting Japanese auction sites alight.We'd personally offer one of our limbs for a Japanese DSi at launch, but we also know that our reader's views on the DSi vary from wildly excited to massively underwhelmed. For what it's worth, we fully expect DSi to be a rip-roaring success, but it hasn't been that long since another upgraded Nintendo handheld met a frosty reaction at market. Could the DSi also fail?%Gallery-33263%
DS Daily: Most anticipated
Since the first footage of Ni no Kuni: The Another World appeared at the Tokyo Game Show last week, it has become the DS game I'm most looking forward to. A Level 5/Studio Ghibli collaboration is the stuff dreams are made of. The animation, predictably, looks wonderful. I already just want to hold the included spellbook. Maybe stroke it. Is that wrong?Plenty of other titles were showcased last week in Tokyo, so now seems like an appropriate time to see which made the most impact on each of you. Are you crazy about Chrono Trigger? Giddy about Gyakuten Kenji? Cuckoo for Castlevania? If you could have one upcoming DS title in your hands right now, what would it be?
DS Daily: The price is right?
¥18,900, or roughly $180. That's how much the Nintendo DSi will cost when it launches on November 1st in Japan. For North American importers, that's a $50 hike for a system with a few extra functions, but also with its GBA compatibility removed. At the same time, it's not a dramatic leap for Japanese consumers -- ¥18,900 is just ¥2,100 ($14) more than what a Lite costs there.In your view, is the DSi fairly priced? And what's the highest price you would be prepared to pay when it arrives in your region next year?%Gallery-33263%
DS Daily: What has Nintendo got planned?
Folks, it's time to whip out your crystal ball and join us in a bit of pointless (but hopefully fun) speculating about what MEGATONS will be announced tomorrow at Nintendo's Media Summit. We know there's compelling evidence that we'll see a DS redesign, and while that does seem very plausible, it's far from the only possibility.A quick poll of the DS Fanboy team revealed quite diverse expectations. I'm banking on Professor Layton dates for not-Japan, JC reckons there'll be a bunch of stuff about Cooking Guide, while Dave thinks there could be an iPhone-style apps store for downloading titles directly to the handheld, and/or a new Channel to go along with the new DS (or a revision to the Nintendo Channel to support it).Oh, and we all predicted a DS redesign. But to heck with what we think: what bombs do you expect to drop in the next 24 hours?
DS Daily: Has Chinatown Wars surprised you?
A bunch of new Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars details appeared yesterday, specifically the kind that would make the Daily Mail's hair stand on end. According to various magazine spreads, you'll be able to sell drugs (with their real names), tattoo fellow gang members, and hotwire cars. Rockstar itself has said Nintendo ruled out a GTA game for a younger audience.As opponents of censorship in most cases, we were delighted that Rockstar has been granted such artistic freedom in Chinatown Wars, but also rather surprised. Anyone else with us, or did you expect such controversial content all along from Rockstar, even on the DS?
