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The DS Life: Doing it big
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Hazz: Hey, dude! :)Nelson: Hey, Hazz. How's your DS?Hazz: It's a little bigger than I expected! ^_^Nelson: *WANG*
Nintendo DS inspires liberals to defraud innocent Americans
Some merry pranksters pulled one over on former Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback ... and it's all because of the DS. Last month, GamePolitics picked up on a particularly atrocious entry at Blogs 4 Brownback, an unofficial site for the then-candidate that focused on the very dangerous Nintendo DS, and how it was offering predators free access to millions of children worldwide (since only children play DS, you know). Several other venues picked up on the story as well; feathers were ruffled, fingers were pointed, and many people had a good laugh and a head-shake over the level of crazy to which some people will rise.Of course, we can't blame other games writers for being taken in by the fake blog; after all, the included video at Blogs 4 Brownback was one quite familiar to us here at DS Fanboy, so we know that there are plenty of people who really are worried about the horrific and insidious dangers of Pictochat. Today, GamePolitics is reporting that it seems that Blogs 4 Brownback is nothing more than an "ultra-subtle parody," but the folks behind it deny any such accusations and claim they are the real deal. So which is it? Folks having fun at the expensive of Brownback and his supporters, or truly rabid Brownback supporters who hate Nintendo? Either way, those of us who get to read the outcome feel like winners.
Smash Bros Brawl's Pictochat level boggles the mind, but could be better
We're all very much amazed that someone decided to place a level in Super Smash Bros. Brawl based on the Nintendo DS's PictoChat functionality. With its adorable drawings and mishmash of hazards, the PictoChat world is bound to draw (haha) comparisons to Melee's Game & Watch arena: awesome in theory, annoying in practice.As excited as we are, we can't help but feel that Nintendo's missing a golden opportunity here. If the DS can have wireless connectivity to the Wii, why not give players the option of having someone draw the stage? The Wii could beam a tiny PictoChat clone program to the DS, where a fifth player could create and erase the terrain as the Nintendo Defense Force's favorite mascots duke it out. Please, Nintendo? Pretty please?
No DS in UK prisons for fear of terrorist attacks
Due to the ability to transmit signals wirelessly, UK prisons have banned the Nintendo DS (along with some other video game systems). The reason? They fear that the devices can be used to plan a terrorist attack. Of course, should they actually research the system, they'd know that the wireless capabilities of the DS are severely limited.We can imagine terrorist attacks being planned in Pictochat, but we're sure the prison guards would notice someone lurking outside the prison walls with a DS.
How to make a better Nintendo DS
Next-Generation's Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh acknowledges that the Nintendo DS is an industry-changing system, but still sees the portable console as an "unfinished project." He wrote up a wishlist of improvements that he feels would fulfill the handheld's potential, extending its shelf-life. And while we've already seen dozens of message board topics filled with wild-eyed suggestions and what-they-should-really-do ideas in the past, Eric's revisions actually sound half-way sane.So what are some of his seven steps for making a better Nintendo DS? Slap on some internal flash memory, paving the way for firmware updates and a Virtual Console setup for handheld games (GB/GBA/NGPC/etc.). Allow for an expandable, customizable system interface. Flesh out its WiFi support by integrating Pictochat and developing a unified online service. They're all great recommendations, but one has to wonder how implementing those changes would affect the portable's retail price. The DS probably wouldn't have been such a success if it weren't for its impulse-buy pricing. Still, we would love to see Eric's suggestions make it into the handheld's next revision.We're sure that our readers have their own ideas on what the next Nintendo DS should have. VoIP capabilities? A flux capacitor? Maybe just throw some Ds on it? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think would make a better Nintendo DS!
Pictoblog, picture blogging with the DS
We've always equated PictoChat with the banana peel in Mario Kart DS. It might be better than nothing, but we were really hoping for something a little more useful when we opened up that item box. Despite its polished interface and availability with every Nintendo DS system, hardly anyone uses PictoChat regularly. This can be attributed to the application's limited functionality and lack of online support. Unless you're sending phallic doodles to a nearby friend, there's really no reason for using the communication utility.Thankfully, there are several homebrew projects that better realize the DS' potential as an instant messenger or a canvas for digital artists. Pictoblog is another application that extends the system's capabilities, enabling users to sketch something out on the handheld's touchscreen, and upload the picture to a post on their blog. Pictoblog works with a number of CMSs like WordPress, Movable Type, and many others. Developer 0xtob has set up a test blog for users to experiment with, but it probably won't be long before the site is flooded with crude illustrations of the male anatomy.
DS phone, not by Nintendo
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/DS_phone_not_by_Nintendo'; Imitation is the best form of flattery: Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo has unveiled the Mitsubishi-built D800iDS, yes, a dual-screened celly that features a touch screen in place of a keypad. The D800i will even include a PictoChat-like utility, allowing users to exchange hand-written messages and crude drawings. As pictured, games will also be a key component of the new phone, which will debut in white, just as DS Lite did.DS Lite has owned Japanese sales charts since its launch (the thing prints money, really). But can Nintendo's success be so easily duplicated in the mobile phone market?
PictoChat users sign off on Ken's keynote
While waiting for Ken Kutaragi's Tokyo Game Show keynote to begin, we fired up our trusty DSs to capture the zeitgeist of the audience: a mixture of press, VIPs, camerapeople, and sneaky stowaways. Despite a slow start, the chatroom quickly filled up and, by the time the speech began, they were all chatting up a storm. Yes, we know, that DS users feedback on Sony's latest and greatest may seem a bit unbalanced, but only if you subscribe to a one console, one gamer mentality. Many of the people in this chatroom were just as excited to be there as we were, and just as hopeful that Ken had an ace up his sleeve.Read on for more clever quips and creative artwork from inside the Sony TGS keynote.
Pictochat on your PC
The guys over at DS-Play, one of several large DS community sites, have rolled out a PC version of Pictochat. Situated comfortably within your browser window, the program emulates the functions of the built-in DS program, namely sending text messages to others and displaying poorly drawn genitals. In addition, it also lets you save your supposed masterpieces for later viewing. It's not going to make you delete your current IM programs, but it does provide a neat little diversion, especially if your communication and artistic skills aren't hampered by the use of an imprecise mouse and fairly limited tools (you'll get 16 colors and you'll like it).A word of warning, however: The very first crude drawing I was presented with involved uncomfortable bodily functions. These people are everywhere.[Thanks Daniel!]
But is it art?
The connection between holding a stylus and holding a pencil is a fairly obvious one, though many would agree that the latter is more often involved with unpleasant things such as writing essays, ticking boxes in a Reader's Digest survey and, of course, stabbing people in the eye. To be fair, I did use my stylus for stabbing once, but I really can't be held responsible for my actions during a heated Mario Kart DS session. Perhaps if there was some game that allowed me to release my frustrations through artistic expression, some people wouldn't regret using homing shells so much.Apparently, there is one such a game - and we all have it. It's called PictoChat. The NDSart gallery provides a virtual wall to hang many of the masterpieces that have been created by avid touch screen artists. Instead of squeezing a sketch onto a single Pictochat screen, the pictures are segmented across the dual screens, photographed and then combined again. The work on display here is very impressive and could certainly be expanded by an online-capable PictoChat program that could allow you to save and send your drawings to friends. That is, provided they aren't still mad at you for attacking them with a stylus.[Via Infendo]
