You gamers....I really like what Nintendo is doing with the DS...

jesusphreak

I was thinking about this last night.

I think the 360 at this point is easily the pinnacle of consoles. It has ridiculous amounts of power, it looks great, it has some amazing functionality with LIVE, the Dashboard, etc, yet at the same time...it just feels really empty. For the record, I was one of those who waited in line 11 hours for my 360, so don't start calling me a fanboy.

And with a lack of new titles for about the next year or so (of course there will be new ones, but not a whole lot), I question if the 360 is worth $400 at this point in time. Are the games worth $60? Things are starting to get really expensive.

Maybe its playing what are essentially the same exact games with prettier graphics for the past 10 years, but at this point, console gaming is pretty blah.

Then I look at what Nintendo has done with the DS. Its a relatively cheap system (you can get one for $100 new), and it has an abundance of titles, with new quality ones coming out all the time. Because the games aren't the latest greatest graphical masterpieces, games don't take nearly as long to make, they aren't as expensive, and most importantly, they focus on gameplay and nothing but. With the DS's control system, all kinds of games are possible - I'd still love to see StarCraft on it - wow.

And as we look forward, handheld gaming is only gonna get more and more popular/important. We are a society constantly on the move. Wireless networks are springing up all around the country. 10 years from now, who wouldn't love to pop open a handheld and gain a few levels in the latest MMORPG?

I think Nintendo has what it takes. Its system is popular for anyone from kids to 30 year old guys, and it has so many different types of games. Let's face it, the 360 is never gonna appeal to the "Velocity Girls" no matter how hard MS tries. The DS on the other hand, who knows? Spending $100 is a lot different from spending $400.

I'd just like to hear thoughts on this.

Minisweeper

I've never played on a DS or a PSP at great length, but in my minute experiences, the ds seemed to have nothing on the psp. Except maybe the touchscreen thing. From a design perspective, especially, the psp really is very tasty. The screen is well sized and insanely detailed, and it has all the extra media type stuff. I played with DS for literally a second but i didnt see any of this (please correct me), and the design itself i generally hated it. I dont game a huge amount and i'm very unexperienced in this sector, but from the point of view i recon a 'Velocity Girl' would take, i'd choose the PSP no doubt.

Bergamot

The biggest innovation of the DS is that it was explicitly designed with features (dual screens, stylus, microphone) that would make it extremely hard to port PSP games. Since then, Nintendo appears to be applying the same reasoning to the Revolution.