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DS Web Browser, TV tuner revealed
Well, Nintendo's big DS press conference in Japan has come and gone, with the fallout raining down upon us like a torrent of delicious, bite-sized candy. Though the main purpose of the conference was to parade the extraordinarily beautiful DS Lite about, Nintendo also took the opportunity to unveil some exciting new add-ons.As many of our readers correctly predicted, the melancholy and overly dramatic Internet browser, Opera, is indeed being released for the DS! Launching in June for approximately $30, the Opera browser is a fully featured, non-firmware web browser adapted to display pages on both screens and allow for stylus-based input. Yay!Nintendo also revealed a TV tuner add-on that simply plugs into the DS card slot and beams television programming straight to your portable. Though the chances of this little device making it to the West are slightly slimmer than the web browser, don't count it out just yet. Other points of note regarding the conference: The New Super Mario Bros. game will be released in Japan this May. Tetris DS will sell at a budget price. Calligraphy Training is coming to the DS, doing for the hand what Brain Training did for the mind. New footage of Xenosaga Episode 1-2 and Children of Mana was shown. Super Robot Wars, Dynasty Warriors and Winning Eleven 9, oh my! The last two will be using the Wi-Fi connection. Well, I guess we'd better get working on a DS-optimized version of DS Fanboy. [Via Joystiq][Thanks Keith Moloney, Khurrum and dwarpdesign!]
Japanese hardware sales: A surprise ending!
The Japanese hardware sales figures for the week ranging from 30 January to 5 February have finally shown their numerical faces. Much like the week before, we have to warn you of an impending and soul-shattering shock. Unlike last week, however, we're not being sarcastic this time. Oh no. The ranking, according to number of units sold, is as follows: PSP: 25,905 DS: 25,321 PS2: 24,780 GBA SP: 5,649 GB Micro: 3,199 Xbox 360: 2,194 Gamecube: 2,138 GBA: 115 Xbox: 101 Didn't see that one coming, did you? Sony's sleek multimedia machine beat the DS by 584 units, no doubt in an effort to spite us after our rampant gloating last time. It should be noted, however, that the DS didn't lose this week because the PSP sold more units (it actually sold considerably less), but because DS sales took an unexpected plunge. In fact, a comparison to last week's numbers shows that DS sales fell by almost 76%. Why the big drop? More hardware shortages (again) brought on by last week's stellar sales and the impending release of the DS Lite may very well be to blame. Either that, or more people finally realized just how wonderful Lumines is.
Monkey Ball producer on DS design challenges
Let's face it. There are very few things more entertaining than an adorable monkey trapped inside a translucent ball. In fact, watching my monkeys roll wildly out of control through wacky landscapes is one of my favorite past times. I love pushing them down slopes, over hills and through tunnels, only stopping occasionally to taunt them with the promise of a fresh banana. And then there's the bowling... knocking down pins with my flailing monkey encased in a sphere is something I try to enjoy on a daily basis. I also enjoy playing the game, Super Monkey Ball. You may have heard of it. The DS version, entitled Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll, is scheduled to ship sometime next week. Toshihiro Nagoshi, the game's producer, took time out of his simian schedule in order to update his 1up blog with a few reflections on developing the game's unique control system. Though the game's mechanics seem to be a good, intuitive match to the DS' unique abilities, Mr. Nagoshi notes that adapting it from the previous console versions wasn't entirely a walk in the park. "It is really tricky to create a solid control system for a user interface. First off, things don't always go according to plan - the execution and functionality doesn't always align with the concept. Often times, what you think is final and complete, isn't necessarily so. And as you work more on the functionality and execution of a concept, the more you end up changing it. So ultimately, that original idea gets changed in the end product."However, he also feels that the challenge ultimately benefited the game, with the team's trial-and-error approach eventually leading to a more refined control system. According to him, the secret is to always stay passionate and realize that there is always room for improvement. We'll see whether the design philosophy matches the game before the month is over.
DS Meet introduces online tournament system
A while back we asked you to tell us how good you really were at Mario Kart DS. Now we might ask you to prove it. You see, the guys over at DS Meet, one of a few sites that allows users to share their friend codes and meet new players online, have implemented a cool new online tournament system. It allows you to join up with existing tournaments or create your own, all via a reasonably easy to use interface.Once you've created a tournament, the site will automatically take care of rostering (though you can manually alter this as well) and keeping track of the friend codes of those competing. You also have the option of having a forum to discuss and coordinate matches with your fellow DS players. The onus is on the tournament operator to keep track of everybody's scores though, so a level of honesty may be required if you're going to take charge of a tournament. Being the best Mario Kart DS players in the known universe, we're all about the honesty.Mind you, it's not all about the snaking. With support for Animal Crossing's various competitive activities and the upcoming Metroid Prime: Hunters, it's about fishing and shooting too. It's also about competing with people from all over the world. How about a DS Fanboy reader Mario Kart tournament? Can we have a show of hands from those who would be interested? [Thanks echelon! Keep up the good work.]
Nintendo considering DS web browser?
According to the guys over at Cubed3, Reggie Fils-Aime recently dropped some hints in an EGM interview regarding potential web browsing functionality for the DS. With so many online pieces already in place, it's quite surprising that Nintendo hasn't put more effort into getting the necessary software out. Supposedly, a third-party initially expressed interest in providing a browser and Nintendo thought it best to step back and give them free reign. However, with no real results yet, Reggie suggests that Nintendo is likely step up soon and get the job done. That is, if someone else entirely doesn't get there first.[Thanks jah75157, who we stupidly forgot to thank at first.]
Nintendogs wins 2 AIAS trophies
Held at a glamorous Las Vegas location during this year's DICE summit, the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards have seen fit to bestow two sparkling trophies upon Nintendo's hugely popular digital doggie distraction, trophies which have since been buried in the garden somewhere. The game tied with the PS2's Guitar Hero in the Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering category and got the nod for Handheld Game of the Year. The rest of the awards list was dominated by God of War (PS2), a title which, interestingly enough, fits the traditional game mold far better than Nintendogs. It's very reassuring to see one of Nintendo's "non-games" have its day and get some meaningful recognition.
A very disturbing Pokemon stylus
Reader Phil Corbett sent us this photo of a Nintendo DS wrist strap and stylus that he managed to find during his exploits in Japan. As you can see, it's crafted in the image of a Pokémon character, Mew and...well, the other observation to be made makes us feel a little uncomfortable. Since the packaging is branded exclusively as Pocket Monsters and doesn't seem to feature the actual Pokémon name at all, we must assume that this isn't entirely endorsed by Nintendo. Any other explanation would indicate a dire lapse of sanity in the gaming giant's product approval department. Then again, the prominent Nintendo DS logo and Phil's insistence that it's an official product has us scratching our heads.Just imagine playing Nintendogs with this stylus. And then promptly punch yourself in the face. [Update: We've since found Rukario, another Mew and of course, Pikachu. These are all said to be official Nintendo products, though none of them are quite as embarrassingly strange as the one above. And yes, we know Pocket Monsters = Pokémon.][Thank you, Phil! And may we say what finely kept fingernails you have.]
Nintendo aims at Oprah's audience
More talk from Reggie Fils-Aime at the Las Vegas DICE summit now, as we take another look at Nintendo's ongoing philosophy of encouraging everyone in the family to play games. Reggie was again adamant about pushing the industry to open itself up to new types of gamers in addition to the hardcore guys. To further that end, he mentioned that Nintendo is looking at advertising in spaces that aren't traditionally occupied by gamers. Marketing through Oprah and Ellen? Nintendo thinks that's the next step.Reggie also reiterated the company's desire to attract women and older people to the joys of gaming. Titles like Brain Age and Nintendogs are sure to make a big difference in this noble effort of getting more and more people to pick up games (and maybe even play them). "We have been able to drive the appeal of games to a whole new segment who typically would not pick up a game. Imagine a games company targeting 50- and 60-year-olds. Imagine games as a treadmill for the mind instead of a playground for violence."If Fils-Aime is to be believed, hardcore gamers only make up 20% of the gamer market, leaving a massive 80% (our math skills are unmatched, as you can see) of people still up for grabs. And hey, if all those people were to spend money on you, that would be nice too, right?
DS Lite: Just the facts!
Instruction manuals lead a very difficult life. No sooner had they been freed from the dark confines of a cardboard box than to be arrogantly tossed over the shoulder and left to die alone in a drawer somewhere. It's a thankless existence, one that clearly illustrates the many injustices in the world. After all, it's only trying to help you. With that in mind, we've decided to give one particular manual its due, namely the one belonging to the DS Lite. Having astutely analyzed each page, we now present to you the unaltered facts: The DS Lite can cause seizures. Unfortunately, the guidelines offered in this regard don't quite seem to match with the DS' design. Sitting or standing "as far away from the screen as possible" might be somewhat limited by the length of your arms, though it certainly explains that guy you saw holding his DS like it was trying to bite his face off. The DS Lite will kill your grandfather. Bringing the DS and its extremely deadly wireless signals within 9 inches of a pacemaker is considered to be an excellent way of speeding along that inheritance. The DS Lite does not contain latex. This is probably important. A GBA Slot Cover is included. Perfect for keeping out unwanted debris and your copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The stylus slides in horizontally on the right-hand side of the DS. It also slides out. Very clever. The Wrist Strap is no longer included. Instead, we suggest you make the DS Lite into an expensive keychain holder. On the lowest screen brightness setting, the battery should last 15-19 hours. Though we've read that spending that much time beneath a powerful flourescent light will make you go bald. On the brightest setting, it'll last 5-8 hours. Perfect to occupy you in-between PSP firmware upgrades. The Lower Screen is touch-sensitive. What a ridiculous gimmick. That'll never work.
Where for art thou, DS Lite power switch?
Thou art found, DS Lite power switch! Allaying the fears of prospective DS owners who were worried about receiving the system and being unable to even power it up, Joystiq have granted us two more pictures of the DS Lite after finding the original FCC submission document (PDF link) from whence the initial images came. They're quite a turn-on. In addition to that, we also found a shot of the AC Adapter, our current favorite. (We crack us up.)
DS gets demo downloads, online voice chat
In an announcement that undoubtedly involved a lot of determined strutting, intimidating glances and overt hand pyramids, Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that there are some interesting things in store for DS owners this year. Speaking at the D.I.C.E. conference in Las Vegas, the name-taking, ass-kicking Nintendo marketing machine revealed that the ridiculously popular handheld would soon be privy to features more often associated with a Microsoft console--downloadable demos and online voice chat.As of next month, Nintendo will be placing Wi-Fi kiosks in retail locations all across the United States for the sole purpose of wirelessly providing gamers with demos and other content. When you're within range of these kiosks, all you have to do is open up your DS, hit "DS Download Play" and start downloading the goodness. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any permanent personal storage, you can only test out one game at a time. The data will also disappear as soon as you switch the system off. It would probably be a good idea to make use of the DS' sleep mode if you want to take something home with you and amaze your parents / siblings / pets / captors. The initial batch of demos include Mario Kart DS, Meteos, True Swing Golf, Pokemon Trozei, Tetris DS and Brain Age. The Reggie also discussed the upcoming and highly anticipated Metroid Prime: Hunters. The game's online mode will support voice chat, allowing players to discuss matches, arrange settings and offer advice, all in a completely curteous manner. Or not. Brace yourself for a glut of trash-talking, n00bzor.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Live DS Lite Shots! [Updated]
Death to fancy CG mockups! Thanks to the fine folks at Engadget, we now have the first shots of a real DS Lite. So real, we can almost touch it. (Wasn't that clever?)More pictures on the other side.
DS Lite: Ready, set, import!
It's been quite well established that the concept of waiting is generally frowned upon. In fact, several non-existent studies have shown that waiting for a new gadget (such as the DS Lite) to release can be both physically and mentally harmful to the average gamer, with damage often manifesting in the form of an unhealthy mass of pent-up excitement and joy. Early effects can be seen through a multitude of odd behaviors, including (but not limited to): Lovingly staring at artwork, photographs or renders of the item in question, often accompanied by salivatory release. Intricate role-playing exercises and elaborate daydreaming. The subject pictures himself using or playing with the item for extended periods of time. The unstoppable desire to spend a vast amount of money in order to guarantee the item's arrival at the subject's home. Wow. That's strikingly similar to paging through a girly magazine... only much more pathetic. Luckily, you can now put a temporary end to your pining for Nintendo's sleek DS redesign and start your importing engines. Several sites are now accepting pre-orders for the DS Lite. In case you haven't been paying attention recently, it's due for a release on March 2 in Japan. Both Lik-Sang and Play-Asia have it for the reasonably affordable price of $169, whereas Yes-Asia says "no" to that trend and instead offers it up for a more hefty $199.99. With a US release date still up in the air, are you considering pre-ordering the DS Lite right now? And more importantly, does $169 seem like a good price to you?[Thanks Mandarin!]
Japanese sales charts: DS just scraping by
The hardware sales figures for the week ranging from 23 January to 29 January have arrived and we simply had to share them and the rather shocking turn of events they reveal. The ranking, according to number of units sold, is a follows: DS: 106,081 PSP: 30,657 PS2: 24,580 GBA SP: 5,946 GB Micro: 3,042 Gamecube: 3,036 Xbox 360: 1,976 GBA: 179 Xbox: 128 As you can see, the DS is still having a hard time being accepted by the Japanese public, barely making an impact after selling more units than every other console combined. Clearly, this abysmal failure is indicative of the DS' embarrassing lack of trendy multimedia features, cutting-edge graphics and the ability to play the Will Smith classic, Hitch. Hopefully, Nintendo will learn from this sorry state of events and start focusing on the things that matter.[Thanks DownloadingData for reminding us!]
Metroid Prime: Hunters beta test feedback
Our level of anticipation for Metroid Prime: Hunters, Nintendo's forthcoming first-person blasting, bounty hunting, morph-balling, Wi-Fi connecting, pad jumping, pirate bashing extravaganza, is clearly reeling out of control. When we're not scouring the Internet for tasty globules of information, we're subliminally influencing others to do it for us. Naturally, we were quite pleased to be pointed in the direction of an article written by the ever-grimacing NOA_Andy over at Nintendo's website.It details some of his experiences with beta testing Hunters over the Wi-Fi connection service and, perhaps unsurprisingly given his involvement with Nintendo, all of them are good. The lobby system is said to be greatly improved over that of Mario Kart DS, allowing the user to choose when to stop searching for opponents and when to actually start playing. The issue of lag didn't come up either, though given the small scale of the test, it may yet to come back to haunt us when the game launches towards the end of March.Things sound promising, but we're still quite interested in seeing more of the game's single-player side. Actually, let's turn that into a question: Are you buying the game primarily for Wi-Fi play, or do you want a strong solo experience too?[Thanks Will!]
Alternate DS Lite colors conjured up
Being a Nintendo product, the DS Lite is likely to show up in approximately 3,452 different colors within just a few years of its release. There's nothing wrong with that, mind you. In fact, an avid photoshopper on the Nintendo forums has already peered into a possible future and taken snapshots of some DS Lite variants that roam the post-apocalyptic wastelands in vicious packs. There's a ton to be found after you follow the link, but we find the one above to be the most desirable. It's already gotten our wallet's greenlite. Get it? Green Lite? We're here all week. No, seriously. We've got nowhere else to go. [Thanks Daniel Warpool!]
Nintendo: Converging design
With the unveiling of the DS Lite, a snazzy update to Nintendo's ludicrously popular portable, it has become all the more interesting to note that whilst the Japanese giant is striving to grow and transform the gaming industry, it's undergoing a transformation of its own. We all associate certain, highly immovable things with Nintendo, things like portly plumbers, pointy-eared princesses, pink marshmallow things and Shigeru Miyamoto. Yes, until he's been proven to be an actual human, we're calling him a thing. But how about things that are sexy, sleek and sophisticated? Do those terms sound like they belong with Nintendo? If their current design trend is anything to go by, the answer to that question is a resounding, yet alluring "yes". This change is only an aesthetic one, mind you, as Nintendo's gaming vision has never been more focused than it is today. Shigeru's still there, but now he's slipping into a fancy dress, gently applying lavender lipstick and blowing you a kiss.And that's quite possibly the most disturbing mental image we've ever created. It would be best to abandon it immediately and get to the point: Nintendo's new systems look great!
