BREAKING NEWS: the Nintendo DS will be buttonless

[Psyrus]

Perhaps it involves those motion sensor things that attach to the tips of your fingers?

Or wait... Anyone remember that device for the NES that allows you to control the direction you move by the movement of your hands? No, not the power glove. By the movement of your hands. You hovered your hands over the top of this flat device a certain way and depending on the positioning of your hands, it would change the direction of how you would turn, tilt, etc. kind of like for games like Top Gun. Maybe they'll reintroduce something like that... That could mean disaster...

[david_a]

The gyroscopic idea sounds to be the most likely when you consider this.

[DooMBoy]

I'm not sure I like this idea...

[Kaiser]

video gaming is just getting worse and worse...

[Arioch]

Deathman said:

video gaming is just getting worse and worse...

Nintendo is just getting worse and worse...

[Fredrik]

Yup, Nintendo has been a failure ever since after their last cartridge-based stationary console...

[Infinite Ammunition]

A touch screen would be a bad idea since little kids generally suck at following instructions or remembering them and if they put a bunch of fingers on the screen at once that'd probably fuck it up to hell.

[Lengis]

Nintendo is trying to innovate the way we play games. Sometimes taking risks is needed in order to experience original and fun ways to play a game. They stated that simply improving the graphics from generation to generation is insufficient, when it's possible to innovate in more ways.

Once it comes out, we will know if it works or not. If it does, kewl, once again Nintendo will be the example of others to follow. If not, then we got a new Virtual Boy.

[Fletcher`]

boris said:

Maybe you have to turn it to move it. I bet it would look damn funny to see a bunch of kids moving in spasms to play it. Heh.

It'll be like one of those french vr helmets where you turn your head to move. I have one of those.

[Sporku]

Lengis said:

If not, then we got a new Virtual Boy.

God I certainly hope they don't make another system as lousy as the Virtual Boy.

[MaximusNukeage]

AgentSpork said:

God I certainly hope they don't make another system as lousy as the Virtual Boy.

a shitstained touchpad sounds much worse

[DaJuice]

Wouldn't it be cool of you somehow controlled it with your butt-cheeks?

[GooberMan]

clicky clicky

[Fletcher`]

DaJuice said:

Wouldn't it be cool of you somehow controlled it with your butt-cheeks?

Wtf I made that comment on IRC last night on my own accord.

[Sporku]

DS has separate slots for current Game Boy Advance cartridges and new, smaller DS game cards.

Heh, great. Just what we need, microscopic cartridges. The GBA carts are already small enough, and easy to lose. Why not make them even smaller?

[Bucket]

Why do they keep pushing the 2-screen thing? I think some flighty executive thought of the idea of GBA-GC connectivity and wants it to pan out so bad that every Nintendo console in the future will have multiple screens.

[DooMBoy]

DaJuice said:

Wouldn't it be cool of you somehow controlled it with your butt-cheeks?

NO

[DaJuice]

ravage said:

Wtf I made that comment on IRC last night on my own accord.

Really? I wasn't on chat last night, I thought of this brilliant innovation when I read the topic. I guess somehow my strange mind took "buttonless" and turned it to butt-controlled.

[david_a]

EDIT: Duplicate; I didn't think anybody had posted anything new since last time I checked. Why can't we delete our own posts?

[Gh0sT]

I dont know about you guys, but i see a Control Pad and buttons.
http://www.nintendo.com/e3_2004/ds/index.jsp

[Epyo]

Yep, Gooberman pointed that out a few posts up. Guess that settles that.

[toxicfluff]

Surely it'd be better to just have one large screen?

Afer all, you could split screenspace in software but there's no easy way of overcoming a physical limitation.

[DaJuice]

Probably cheaper this way, and they only have to make one screen touch-sensitive.

[toxicfluff]

DaJuice said:

Probably cheaper this way, and they only have to make one screen touch-sensitive.

True, but I don't see how touch-sensitivity is so important anyway. Personally, I'd rather just have one large screen.

[Gh0sT]

The touch screen is most likely going to be used for the "PDA" aspect of this neat little addon to the nintendo family.

[DaJuice]

The touchscreen is probably the most important feature of the unit, it opens up a lot of cool possibilites.

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Balloon Trip is a demo starring Mario's lovable baby incarnation from Yoshi's Island, and it finds you guiding him to safety as he falls to the ground. At the start of the demo Baby Mario is dropped by a stork and starts a free fall to the ground. You'll use the stylus to create cloud trails that will gently guide his descent to the ground and steer him to collect coins and avoid enemies that will kidnap him and end the demo. You'll be able to take out certain enemies by quickly drawing a circle around them, trapping them in bubbles that Baby Mario will collect along with coins. The demo forces you to make use of both screens--Baby Mario is falling in the upper screen while you draw his path in the lower one. The trick is to plan ahead and go about arranging the clouds so that they reach the baby, and then line him up for the next set you send his way. The ultimate goal of the demo is to get the little guy to the ground where Yoshi awaits to ferry him off to safety. The graphics in the game mimic the Yoshi's Island style of graphics, with some extra flourishes such as the clouds to keep it looking fresh.

The carving demo is a cool little bit of tech showing off the sensitivity of the touch screen and the graphics speed of the unit. Basically, the demo lets you choose from one of four materials: watermelon, wood, chrome, and Mario clay. Once your material is selected and on the screen, you'll be able to run your stylus over it and carve a design much like working on a pottery wheel. After you've finished you can choose to destroy your creation or display it. You'll be able to use the stylus on the screen to manipulate your work of art by turning it any way you like. The graphics in the demo weren't exactly mind-boggling, although the chrome looked quite sharp. The eye-catching aspect of the presentation is how the stylus interacts with and affects the graphics.

The Mario face demo was just that, a demo that had Mario's and Wario's mugs in the lower screen. The demo was much like the tech demo in Mario 64 that let you manipulate Mario's face. You'll use the stylus to grab the characters' faces and stretch them in a number of ways. Whose face you'll be tugging at is determined by which of the pair's 2D versions jumps down the warp pipe in a rolling guide that plays out on the upper screen. In it, the two characters are running around underneath blocks that correspond to the four buttons on the lower screen, which you can select with the touch pad to get brief explanations of what they do. Basically the buttons affect what your manipulation of the face does. One lets you stretch various parts of the face anyway you like and sends whatever piece you had hold of ricocheting back to normal once you lift the stylus. The second button forces the face to hold whatever ungodly stretched form you drag it in even if you remove the stylus and "let go." The third lets you rotate the image anyway you want with the stylus. The fourth lets you switch from normal or toon-shaded graphics. Finally the last button lets you choose to play with either Mario's or Wario's face by calling down the appropriate guinea pig from up top.

The table hockey demo was a simple version of table hockey that you played with the stylus. The top screen displayed the area around your opponent's goal, while the lower touch screen displayed yours and let you control your paddle with the stylus. The game had a slightly space-age feel to it, since your goal and that of your opponent featured energy shields that had to be hit with the puck once in order to give you a clear shot. The demo featured sparse graphics that pretty much re-created the basic look of an air hockey table. However, the demo's big draw was naturally its simple but addictive gameplay. Once you get the handle of using the stylus, it's possible to pull off some fancy blocks that give the puck some spin.

The special-effects demo offered three modes of effects, selected by hitting one of three icons on the lower touch screen, which displayed various special effects in the upper screen on the fly based on your actions. The first option let you mess around with an assortment of cubes that displayed erratic light patterns as you jostled them every which way. The second option let you push around circles that would yield different patterns of effects. The third option let you select one special effect by tapping any circle in a grid--which took up much of the lower screen--and waving around your stylus, repeating the effect. The effects included everything from clouds and fireworks to spinning batons.

The Pikachu demo offered a virtual Pikachu to love or abuse with your stylus. The hopelessly peppy critter alternated between the two screens. You're only able to interact with him when he's on the lower screen. In addition to following his whims, you'll see onscreen text will let you know when he wants some attention. You can also call up a menu that lets you play with him in a variety of ways. You can use musical instruments, such as a xylophone, or even draw (well trace, really) over him with the stylus. The graphics in the demo surpassed their nearest cousin, the Pikachu in Nintendo 64's Hey You Pikachu!, but they weren't quite as crisp as the Pikachu in the GameCube's Pokémon Channel.

The last demo we tried, the submarine demo, was said to be Miyamoto's favorite. The simple game, featuring a submarine, took place on the upper screen, while the sub's controls appeared on the bottom. The goal of the demo is to get your submarine across a stretch of ocean. The trip will force you to raise and submerge your sub as well as deal with obstacles such as rocks and enemy ships that block your way. The controls consist of dials that you'll manipulate with the stylus. You'll be able to adjust the craft's depth, pitch, and speed on the fly and fire off torpedoes as the need arises. The mechanics, while simple, took some getting used to. They offered a fun "lunar lander"-style challenge as you tried to beat the clock. The graphics in the game were simple but clean, and there were some nice effects for water bubbles and the sub.

All told, the Nintendo DS is an interesting piece of hardware, and it's the most versatile piece of hardware the company has ever put out. The design is unusual--we're a little iffy on the stylus considering how easy it is to lose those things, but the number of features crammed into it is certainly impressive. Compatibility with the GBA is a good thing, and the tech behind the hardware is certainly sound. The tech demos we saw made a case for why the DS is a platform that may offer some truly unique experiences. However, that's just part of the story. In addition to the demos, there were several games on display for the system that we checked out. Namco's Pac-Pix and Pac'n Roll, Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh!: Nightmare Troubador, Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Square Enix's Egg Monster Hero, Hudson's Bomberman, and Nintendo's own DS Picto Chat, WarioWare Inc. DS, Super Mario 64 4x4, and Metroid Prime Hunters all showed off some unique and interesting ways to use Nintendo's new hardware. The Nintendo DS is currently slated to ship this fall. Look for more on the system from the E3 show floor and in the coming months.

[Ultraviolet]

I still like the butt idea.

[Gh0sT]

This system lloks to be very promising in more than just the game aspect, I see this Chat fucntion becoming a big hit with kids and teenagers, even some adults. I still feal as though nintendo should use this system in more than just games, make some PDA style programs, maybe store them on a ramcard or something of than nature.

[Janderson]

Lengis said:

A quote from Famitsu's president Hirokazu Hamamura has sent the gaming world into a state of deep confusion.

"This will not be a machine where you push the 'A' button or 'B' button and move the direction pad, but a completely different way to interact with the device."

This interesting quote has sprung many ideas and a while ago it was suggested that the DS would have a touch screen. Expect proper details on Tuedsay at E3.

They're replacing A and B letters with C and D.

[geekmarine]

Well, I personally think this whole thing sounds rather nifty. I don't know if I'll be able to afford it (heck, I don't even have an SP yet, though I want one badly), but still, if I ever DO get the money, I'm definitely gonna get me one of these things.