Need Hands-On With Nintendo DS? Heres Your Chance!
Sick of the wait? NOE rolls out free public tests.
Being a European gamer, and especially a Nintendo fan, can be a bind. The green eyed monster runs rampant as we watch Japanese and American fans proudly parade their freshly-gotten hardware as we sit and watch the release schedules for a glimmer of hope.
Well, by way of penance, Nintendo UK will be giving you the opportunity to experience the DS ahead of its March 11 launch date, with a national campaign of 'public touching'.
Specifically, Nintendo reps will be offering up the DS at various shopping centres, cinemas and other cathedrals of consumerism up and down the land.
The complete schedule reads:
Mall Sampling Tour
12 13 Feb: Queensgate Centre Peterborough
13 14 Feb: West Quay Southampton
16 20 Feb: Bluewater Kent
16 20 Feb: The Bullring Birmingham
04 06 Mar: Brent Cross Hendon
05 06 Mar: Meadowhall Sheffield
11 13 Mar: The Oracle Reading
11 13 Mar: St. Stephens Green Dublin
19 20 Mar: The Centre: MK Milton Keynes
19 21 Mar: Trafford Centre Manchester
25 27 Mar: The Mall Cribbs Causeway, Bristol
26 27 Mar: Metro Centre Gateshead
01 03 Mar: Buchanan Galleries Glasgow
Top Man Lock In (6pm 9pm Invite Only)
22 Feb: Top Man Coventry
22 Feb: Top Man Swansea
23 Feb: Top Man Leicester
23 Feb: Top Man Plymouth
23 Feb: Top Man Galway (Eire)
24 Feb: Top Man York
01 Mar: Top Man Bangor
01 Mar: Top Man Cambridge
01 Mar: Top Man Lancaster
02 Mar: Top Man Exeter
02 Mar: Top Man Bradford
02 Mar: Top Man Reading
03 Mar: Top Man Derby
08 Mar: Top Man Aberdeen
08 Mar: Top Man Huddersfield
08 Mar: Top Man Bournemouth
09 Mar: Top Man Guildford
09 Mar: Top Man Ballymena (N.I)
10 Mar: Top Man Dundee
10 Mar: Top Man Brighton
10 Mar: Top Man Southend
Well, by way of penance, Nintendo UK will be giving you the opportunity to experience the DS ahead of its March 11 launch date, with a national campaign of 'public touching'.
Specifically, Nintendo reps will be offering up the DS at various shopping centres, cinemas and other cathedrals of consumerism up and down the land.
The complete schedule reads:
Mall Sampling Tour
12 13 Feb: Queensgate Centre Peterborough
13 14 Feb: West Quay Southampton
16 20 Feb: Bluewater Kent
16 20 Feb: The Bullring Birmingham
04 06 Mar: Brent Cross Hendon
05 06 Mar: Meadowhall Sheffield
11 13 Mar: The Oracle Reading
11 13 Mar: St. Stephens Green Dublin
19 20 Mar: The Centre: MK Milton Keynes
19 21 Mar: Trafford Centre Manchester
25 27 Mar: The Mall Cribbs Causeway, Bristol
26 27 Mar: Metro Centre Gateshead
01 03 Mar: Buchanan Galleries Glasgow
Top Man Lock In (6pm 9pm Invite Only)
22 Feb: Top Man Coventry
22 Feb: Top Man Swansea
23 Feb: Top Man Leicester
23 Feb: Top Man Plymouth
23 Feb: Top Man Galway (Eire)
24 Feb: Top Man York
01 Mar: Top Man Bangor
01 Mar: Top Man Cambridge
01 Mar: Top Man Lancaster
02 Mar: Top Man Exeter
02 Mar: Top Man Bradford
02 Mar: Top Man Reading
03 Mar: Top Man Derby
08 Mar: Top Man Aberdeen
08 Mar: Top Man Huddersfield
08 Mar: Top Man Bournemouth
09 Mar: Top Man Guildford
09 Mar: Top Man Ballymena (N.I)
10 Mar: Top Man Dundee
10 Mar: Top Man Brighton
10 Mar: Top Man Southend
Companies:
Nintendo
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Comments
Joji 7 Feb 2005 15:07
1/12
Hooking up with Top Man means they are looking for older gamers wether that will pay off and is the right chopice we will have to wait and see.
Should also be interesting to see how many people also bag an u.s import PSP on March 24th, though this will most likely be hardcore gamers.
Choices.....which do I want more?
Should also be interesting to see how many people also bag an u.s import PSP on March 24th, though this will most likely be hardcore gamers.
Choices.....which do I want more?
schnide 7 Feb 2005 15:11
2/12
Wot, no Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex? Well they can kiss goodbye to demand for a Burberry DS then.
All the chavs round my way will end up nicking PSPs instead because of this, you mark my words Nintendo!
All the chavs round my way will end up nicking PSPs instead because of this, you mark my words Nintendo!
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YenRug 7 Feb 2005 15:15
3/12
Ermmmm, UK DS release date is 11th of March, not the 31st.
fluffstardx 7 Feb 2005 15:51
4/12
I get the feeling price is going to be a massive factor; the sheer amount of people put off the PSP by price i know is quite surprising.
Plus, Warioware...
Plus, Warioware...
kid_77 7 Feb 2005 15:56
5/12
Yay Bournemouth!!!
May as well go along, but the other half may frown at me getting 3 consoles in 2005 by April.
May as well go along, but the other half may frown at me getting 3 consoles in 2005 by April.
SPInGSPOnG 7 Feb 2005 16:05
6/12
fluffstardx wrote:
I get the feeling price is going to be a massive factor; the sheer amount of people put off the PSP by price i know is quite surprising.
I try not to broadacast the fact that I only know chavs.
Plus, Warioware...
That's putting off a lot of your friends too, is it?
Ditto 7 Feb 2005 16:35
7/12
Oh village life!
I don't live near any of those.
But touching is good, and I want a touch.
I don't live near any of those.
But touching is good, and I want a touch.
Blue Ray 7 Feb 2005 17:09
8/12
a lock in at Top Man is NOT going to get adult gamers interested, though N are def looking at older gamers in using Top Man: 12-15 instead of 7-10yr olds
fluffstardx 7 Feb 2005 21:39
9/12
Rod Todd wrote:
I try not to broadacast the fact that I only know chavs.
Plus, Warioware...
That's putting off a lot of your friends too, is it?
Plus, Warioware...
That's putting off a lot of your friends too, is it?
Most of the people i know are computer programmers, IT specialists and geeks. One of them likes the PSP. All of them love Warioware on the Cube. None of them think the button placement issue on the PSP is good news.
The reason the price puts them off? They own iPods or the like. They hate Memory Sticks for their reliability issues. They see no point in using a UMD of a film when they own portable DVD players or have no time to see a movie on the move. They will own the Playstation variants anyway, so playing a game twice isn't exactly exciting to them. Frankly, all it has are the new, exclusive games- any they are quite few. But the stuff developers are saying they can do with DS- genius. THAT convinces people who still play Atari 2600s to buy a system. Graphics? Overrated.
ku16610 8 Feb 2005 10:53
10/12
Unfortuatly the games on the DS are pants too and the yes i`m sure the mini games will keep you happy but for my mind the system is plain inferior call it what you may.
Ridge racer is a joke on the DS on the psp its a joy to play i dont care what a system looks like but my games have to be fun , mario 64 was not fun control system wise. In the end i got so bored of my DS i had to buy gba games so i would have something decent to play on it , it seems like every deleveloper seems to think a few mini games will save his failing title. So ppl dont be stupid try both before you buy . Also if the pro nintendo fools spout crap about un original games u can point out to them that not one of the line up titles for the jap psp is the same as its ps2 countrerpart. Maybe it makes nintendo owners happy to point out mistruths and falicys , who knows they lap that stuff up like popcorn from old man nintendo.
Ridge racer is a joke on the DS on the psp its a joy to play i dont care what a system looks like but my games have to be fun , mario 64 was not fun control system wise. In the end i got so bored of my DS i had to buy gba games so i would have something decent to play on it , it seems like every deleveloper seems to think a few mini games will save his failing title. So ppl dont be stupid try both before you buy . Also if the pro nintendo fools spout crap about un original games u can point out to them that not one of the line up titles for the jap psp is the same as its ps2 countrerpart. Maybe it makes nintendo owners happy to point out mistruths and falicys , who knows they lap that stuff up like popcorn from old man nintendo.
Pandaman 8 Feb 2005 21:30
11/12
You silly Europeans and your release dates!
NiktheGreek 8 Feb 2005 22:04
12/12
Oh, they won't come to the recently-opened Topman near me... I think I shall cry.
In which ways might they be failing? It seems like many of the bigger initial DS releases have been fairly successful commercially and in some cases critically.
Yes, but there's no doubt that it's relying on franchises as heavily as the DS. I certainly won't defend Nintendo's insistence on adding it's established franchise characters to games that don't necessarily need them (Yoshi's Touch & Go, Pokemon Dash, Super Princess Peach), but PSP developers aren't being much more imaginative in their use of established names (Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo). Both sides aren't exactly straying far from the norm, to be fair.
Which mistruths? As far as I'm aware (and I admit I don't visit too many message boards where this kind of console-bashing goes on), most of what has been reported about the PSP is true. Of course there's been the dead pixels issue with the DS too, so it's not all one-way traffic. Anyhow, I can't think of any serious post-launch lies that have been spread about the PSP by Nintendo fans.
ku16610 wrote:
it seems like every deleveloper seems to think a few mini games will save his failing title.
In which ways might they be failing? It seems like many of the bigger initial DS releases have been fairly successful commercially and in some cases critically.
So ppl dont be stupid try both before you buy. Also if the pro nintendo fools spout crap about un original games u can point out to them that not one of the line up titles for the jap psp is the same as its ps2 countrerpart.
Yes, but there's no doubt that it's relying on franchises as heavily as the DS. I certainly won't defend Nintendo's insistence on adding it's established franchise characters to games that don't necessarily need them (Yoshi's Touch & Go, Pokemon Dash, Super Princess Peach), but PSP developers aren't being much more imaginative in their use of established names (Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo). Both sides aren't exactly straying far from the norm, to be fair.
Maybe it makes nintendo owners happy to point out mistruths and falicys , who knows they lap that stuff up like popcorn from old man nintendo.
Which mistruths? As far as I'm aware (and I admit I don't visit too many message boards where this kind of console-bashing goes on), most of what has been reported about the PSP is true. Of course there's been the dead pixels issue with the DS too, so it's not all one-way traffic. Anyhow, I can't think of any serious post-launch lies that have been spread about the PSP by Nintendo fans.