What a year it has been for Nintendo. I mean, first we have very few games come out for the GameCube, less overall buzz for GameBoy Advance games, and the constant storm of criticism for its business decisions. It’s nice to see the Nintendo DS released at such a time. While some called the success or failure of the GameCube to be the deciding factor of Nintendo’s future, it certainly hasn’t ended up that way. The GameCube has done quite well and while not making Sony or Microsoft run away scared, it has held its own in an increasingly demanding market. The Nintendo DS seems to be the first in a long line of innovative ideas from the company intended to make people turn their heads and spread their wallets. The concept is far from ordinary and the impending competition from the PSP has made some people a bit antsy but the Nintendo DS has turned out to be an excellent machine. The only thing it currently lacks is excellent titles.  

From the initial announcement of the system, most media outlets have praised the DS for its innovative concepts and potential. For those who don’t know, the Nintendo DS is a “Dual-Screen” system. The top screen is just like that of the GameBoy Advance Sp. Its backlit and completely solid. The bottom screen, which is located directly below the first, is a touch screen. A stylus comes included with the system and the bottom screen features options for full interaction. A game can literally be split in half using the two screens, like in Mario 64 mini-games where you must make trampolines for Marios that fall from the top screen. 

The technology powering the system isn’t as powerful as the Sony PSP, but it has enough to do its duty. The system features technology similar, but more powerful than the original Nintendo 64. This allows the system to play updated versions of Mario 64 and Rayman DS (similar to Rayman 2). The system does lack texture filtering though, which sometimes gives games a pixilated look, but only close up. After playing Mario 64 on the system firsthand, the combination of the top screen used for playing and the bottom used for minigames and a map showed that Nintendo is aiming to pique the interest of developers looking to try new things.  

The system handles very well also, as holding the DS isn’t as cramping as holding an SP was for five hours at a time. There is no analog control, only a D-pad, but a welcome addition was the two new buttons that make it similar to the SNES controller setup. The shoulder buttons are also a lot less cramped and feel more natural when playing shooters.  

The design aside from the control setup is also quite interesting. Essentially the system seems as if it’s an extended SP, since the main screen section is about the same size as the earlier GameBoy and seems to just stretch out. Currently only silver is available, but it works very well for the DS and will probably be the signature color of choice for buyers even when more colors do become available. 

Arguably the biggest problem with the DS right now is the selection of games. Some compare the current crop of games to the Nintendo 64 early months in which there was practically nothing of interest. Thinking of that puts both good and bad thoughts in my head. On the one hand we have the potential for killer titles to pop out a few months after the systems release (just like the Nintendo 64) or, we could get something like the GameCube now, where substantial releases are months and seasons apart. I’m quite optimistic about the system, and I would be comfortable in saying the system will pick up its pace in the near future, but Nintendo is very unpredictable. Currently the only game that is truly worth picking up at the moment for the system is Mario 64. An excellent platformer that changed the way we look at games would normally be an awesome thing to keep in your system for weeks on end, but lets face it, it should have been out launch day for the Nintendo 64 and there is only so much you can do with a familiar game until it collects dust just like your N64 version.  

Small quibbles aside, the Nintendo DS is an excellent handheld system that will only be as good as the games that are released for it. The unending potential of such games like WarioWare and Animal Crossing are making the system’s future look bright. If Square-Enix and Capcom can deliver solid versions of Viewtiful Joe and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, then we can expect a lot more periods of this system being a hot seller. 

*Note that right now Nintendo DS stocks are very low across the country. Sales were very high in November and it’s much harder to restock consoles and handhelds than video games. Nintendo hopes to have America replenished (for awhile) by Christmas*