Nintendo Announces New DS Colours and Features
Turn your DS into a free mobile phone.
It’s all good news for Nintendo fanboys today. Well, it’s all good news if you live in Japan or America. If you live in Europe and like games, prepare to be peeved.
If you live in the land of raw fish and schoolgirl-panty vending machines, then you’ll soon be the proud owner of one of a range of rather splendidly coloured DS Lites, which will come in a range of colours as well as the already announced iPod-white. Well, to paraphrase Henry Ford, you can have it in any colour providing its blue. Check them out here and see the video on Nintendo of Japan’s site here
And if you live in the land of nuclear bombs and lax gun-laws you’ll soon be chatting to your mates via your DS, and also picking up free games demos in-store via your DS’s wi-fi connection. Both very, very cool features destined to push the already healthy sales of DS to giddy new heights worldwide in 2006.
Both features were announced at D.I.C.E. in La La Land yesterday by NoA's chubby-faced marketing supremo Reggie Fils-Aime. The VOIP feature in DS games will enable players to talk to people on their Friends list. The feature will mean you can chat to friends before and after games, as Nintendo outline in the press release:
"Simply click the chat icon and say what they have to say. The microphone of the Nintendo DS picks up voice communication and transmits it to the people on their friend list. Players can use the chat function before a match to agree on settings or after a battle to relive their glories."
So it’s kind of like having a free mobile phone to call all your mates with at the same time wherever you are (providing you are near a Nintendo Wi-Fi hotspot such as a McDonalds or a Hilton Hotel). Plus you have the added bonus of having the best portable games machine ever designed in the history of our species. Bargain! This is the opposite to normal mobile phones, which cost a bomb and also give you the costly extra option of being able to play the worst portable games ever designed in the history of our species.
Fils-Aime also announced that Nintendo will roll out a series of DS demo kiosks across North America at thousands of branches of all the main retail chains - GameStop, EB Games and Game Crazy - offering free demos of Tetris DS, Brain Training, Mario Kart DS, Meteos, True Swing Golf and Pokémon Trozei, along with a video of Metroid Prime Hunters. DS owners who visit the kiosks will be able to wirelessly download demos, game videos, mini-games and additional game content, all of which will be accessible until you switch off your DS. Again, we say very, very cool.
However, if you live in Europe, you can just go whistle, as Nintendo of Europe cannot confirm when these beautiful little DS Lites will be available over here. Nor can they confirm if and when we will have the awesome VOIP features on DS titles (such as on the European release of Metroid Prime Hunters, scheduled for May 5). And don't even ask about the free in-store downloadable demos and freebies....
Speaking to a Nintendo spokesperson earlier today SPOnG was told, "The voice chat feature should hopefully be available with European versions of Metroid Prime Hunters for Nintendo DS… but various regulatory and contractual issues need to be cleared first."
The spokesperson also told us that the VOIP feature will not work with imported US versions of Metroid Prime Hunters.
Boo, Nintendo of Europe. Boo! Why are we always last in line for the goodies! Well, we exaggerate, of course. It’s not really all that bad. Before you go and waste all your hard-earned on imported Nintendo games and hardware, SPOnG can assure you that at some point in the very near future Nintendo of Europe will announce the DS Lite release date. And we also assure you that we will be the first to know, kind reader.
Nintendo is also bound to announce the VOIP feature for DS in Europe – once they’ve ironed out these mysterious “regulatory and contractual issues”. We intend to get to the bottom of what these are as soon as we get some sense out of someone at Nintendo on the matter. So watch this space.
If you live in the land of raw fish and schoolgirl-panty vending machines, then you’ll soon be the proud owner of one of a range of rather splendidly coloured DS Lites, which will come in a range of colours as well as the already announced iPod-white. Well, to paraphrase Henry Ford, you can have it in any colour providing its blue. Check them out here and see the video on Nintendo of Japan’s site here
And if you live in the land of nuclear bombs and lax gun-laws you’ll soon be chatting to your mates via your DS, and also picking up free games demos in-store via your DS’s wi-fi connection. Both very, very cool features destined to push the already healthy sales of DS to giddy new heights worldwide in 2006.
Both features were announced at D.I.C.E. in La La Land yesterday by NoA's chubby-faced marketing supremo Reggie Fils-Aime. The VOIP feature in DS games will enable players to talk to people on their Friends list. The feature will mean you can chat to friends before and after games, as Nintendo outline in the press release:
"Simply click the chat icon and say what they have to say. The microphone of the Nintendo DS picks up voice communication and transmits it to the people on their friend list. Players can use the chat function before a match to agree on settings or after a battle to relive their glories."
So it’s kind of like having a free mobile phone to call all your mates with at the same time wherever you are (providing you are near a Nintendo Wi-Fi hotspot such as a McDonalds or a Hilton Hotel). Plus you have the added bonus of having the best portable games machine ever designed in the history of our species. Bargain! This is the opposite to normal mobile phones, which cost a bomb and also give you the costly extra option of being able to play the worst portable games ever designed in the history of our species.
Fils-Aime also announced that Nintendo will roll out a series of DS demo kiosks across North America at thousands of branches of all the main retail chains - GameStop, EB Games and Game Crazy - offering free demos of Tetris DS, Brain Training, Mario Kart DS, Meteos, True Swing Golf and Pokémon Trozei, along with a video of Metroid Prime Hunters. DS owners who visit the kiosks will be able to wirelessly download demos, game videos, mini-games and additional game content, all of which will be accessible until you switch off your DS. Again, we say very, very cool.
However, if you live in Europe, you can just go whistle, as Nintendo of Europe cannot confirm when these beautiful little DS Lites will be available over here. Nor can they confirm if and when we will have the awesome VOIP features on DS titles (such as on the European release of Metroid Prime Hunters, scheduled for May 5). And don't even ask about the free in-store downloadable demos and freebies....
Speaking to a Nintendo spokesperson earlier today SPOnG was told, "The voice chat feature should hopefully be available with European versions of Metroid Prime Hunters for Nintendo DS… but various regulatory and contractual issues need to be cleared first."
The spokesperson also told us that the VOIP feature will not work with imported US versions of Metroid Prime Hunters.
Boo, Nintendo of Europe. Boo! Why are we always last in line for the goodies! Well, we exaggerate, of course. It’s not really all that bad. Before you go and waste all your hard-earned on imported Nintendo games and hardware, SPOnG can assure you that at some point in the very near future Nintendo of Europe will announce the DS Lite release date. And we also assure you that we will be the first to know, kind reader.
Nintendo is also bound to announce the VOIP feature for DS in Europe – once they’ve ironed out these mysterious “regulatory and contractual issues”. We intend to get to the bottom of what these are as soon as we get some sense out of someone at Nintendo on the matter. So watch this space.
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Comments
gamereview 10 Feb 2006 19:38
1/5
WOW!!!!! I really love this design, and I know I'm trading in my original DS for DS Lite and I like how the buttons are slightly bigger I guess to have better feel but I like how it looks when its closed it reminds me of a IPod. It would be great if nintendo let you download music on this device but I'm getting this for sure.
siberdib 10 Feb 2006 21:18
2/5
Wow that thing sure is a looker. Ill be getting me one of those when its released here in Europe methinks...
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Joji 10 Feb 2006 23:18
3/5
Indeed it is a sweeter DS design, and I'm sure it will get to us all in due time. I'm damn sure many of us will be importing this baby though.
The very worrying thing is the bit about Metroid Prime Hunters. Why won't the the work voice chat function work over the net for an import copy? And if I actually waited for an official eu/u.k copy will I be restricted from playing and chatting with DS gamers outside the u.k?
The DS is making strides online and the voice chat function will make it better. I'd be very insulted if I couldn't contact and play against gamers regardless of where they are from.
I know Nintendo might be getting a bit funny after Xbox Live already doing something similar on a possibly larger scale, but if the online service is cut down in any way, it will only serve to make their online attempt look half hearted.
I'll have to hold until something more concrete becomes available, but I hope they don't start to withhold options, that then force you to buy official games to get the most out of your gaming.
The very worrying thing is the bit about Metroid Prime Hunters. Why won't the the work voice chat function work over the net for an import copy? And if I actually waited for an official eu/u.k copy will I be restricted from playing and chatting with DS gamers outside the u.k?
The DS is making strides online and the voice chat function will make it better. I'd be very insulted if I couldn't contact and play against gamers regardless of where they are from.
I know Nintendo might be getting a bit funny after Xbox Live already doing something similar on a possibly larger scale, but if the online service is cut down in any way, it will only serve to make their online attempt look half hearted.
I'll have to hold until something more concrete becomes available, but I hope they don't start to withhold options, that then force you to buy official games to get the most out of your gaming.
Ditto 11 Feb 2006 10:35
4/5
I love the blue on. It's so cool.
When are these out? These same time as the white one?
I'll definatly be picking one of these up in Japland. Forget the lack of great games, this console is cool as f**k.
When are these out? These same time as the white one?
I'll definatly be picking one of these up in Japland. Forget the lack of great games, this console is cool as f**k.
brandon_r87 11 Feb 2006 20:52
5/5
lack of great games? the ds has awesome games!
but anyway, i didnt realize how good the ds lite looked until i saw these pics, especially the one with the stylus going into the system. personally, after seeing the white one, i don't see how anyone could consider the colored ones. the white one just looks perfect. my current ds has taken some damage around the case and the speakers make obnoxious humming sometimes, so its about time for an upgrade. hurry up and release this thing stateside nintendo! and don't forget europe either :)
but anyway, i didnt realize how good the ds lite looked until i saw these pics, especially the one with the stylus going into the system. personally, after seeing the white one, i don't see how anyone could consider the colored ones. the white one just looks perfect. my current ds has taken some damage around the case and the speakers make obnoxious humming sometimes, so its about time for an upgrade. hurry up and release this thing stateside nintendo! and don't forget europe either :)