Nintendo of America last week unveiled the software for their latest handheld gaming system, called the “Nintendo DS.”
The handheld, set to launch Nov. 21, appeals to gamers that are bored with standard controllers for playing video games. The letters “DS” in its name stand for “Dual Screen,” calling attention to its most obvious trait — a pair of backlit screens.
Other features include a Palm Pilot-like touch screen, built-in microphone for voice recognition and wireless capabilities to connect with nearby Nintendo DS systems or, if a game allows, over the Internet.
“DS provides the road map to the future of video games,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing. “The overwhelming support of strong third-party titles, combined with Nintendo’s flagship franchise, makes this the strongest software support for any Nintendo system in more than a decade,” he said.
Third-parties, which are independent development companies outside of Nintendo that develop games, will release 10 of the 11 titles that will be available alongside the DS’s launch.
Third party developers at launch include Electronic Arts, THQ, Sega, Ubisoft, Namco and Activision.
The launch lineup from third parties will feature “Madden NFL 2005,” “Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf” and “The Urbz: Sims in the City” from Electronic Arts; “Ping Pals” from THQ; “Feel the Magic: XY/XX” from Sega; “Rayman DS” and “Asphalt Urban GT” from Ubisoft; “Ridge Racer DS” and “Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits” from Namco; and “Spider-Man 2” from Activision.
Nintendo plans to release only one game developed in-house on Nov. 21, a revision of “Super Mario 64,” a game that launched with the Nintendo 64 video game system in 1996.
The game, titled “Super Mario 64 DS,” features additions such as the ability to play as four different characters, the inclusion of 36 “mini-games,” new levels in the game’s story mode and a competitive multiplayer mode.
Four players can wirelessly link their Nintendo DS’ and play “Super Mario 64 DS’s” multiplayer mode even if only one player has the game cartridge.
“With [the wireless connection], we’re going to revolutionize the way that games are played,” Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said in Japan last week. “The DS’s wireless connection isn’t just a substitute for the link cable that was used on the Game Boy. The DS has wireless download capability, which allows it to receive a program and to execute it. With it, people can play games together using only one cartridge,” he said.
The Nintendo DS has a port for its own games and another port for playing Game Boy Advance games.
Nintendo DS games will average about $30 while the system itself will retail at $149.
Nintendo added some previously unexpected bonuses to ship with the Nintendo DS, including a wireless instant messaging program called “PictoChat” built into the system hardware.
Other pack-ins include two styluses, a “wrist strap” that is said to simulate the use of an analog joystick when pressed against the touch screen and a demo of the Nintendo-developed first-person shooter game, “Metroid Prime: Hunters.”
The “Hunters” demo features a sampling of the full game’s single-player mode and a four-player wireless multiplayer mode, Nintendo of America said last week.
Both the demo and full version of “Hunters” feature several control schemes, one of which allows for use of the touch screen to look around and the D-pad to move and strafe.
Other games plan to use the Nintendo DS’s features in creative ways, such as “Egg Monster Hero,” a role-playing game by Square Enix.
“Egg Monster Hero” shows an overall view of the battle on the top screen and a picture of a targeted enemy on the bottom, touch-capable screen. The player chooses where to hit the enemy by touching its picture on-screen in order to exploit its weak points.
Yoichi Haraguchi, vice president and executive officer of Namco, expressed his company’s optimism for the Nintendo DS. “This has a huge potential. … It is very nice that we can create games using DS that were not even possible before,” he said.
Steven Barrie, sophomore, looks forward to the DS.
“I’m really happy [the games] are only $30, because $30 is kind of cheap,” he said.
Barrie plans on buying the system when it is released, but anticipates just one of the launch titles: “Super Mario 64 DS.”
