I got to play two of Gameloft's DSi offerings, "American Pop Star: Road to Celebrity" and "Real Soccer 2009." The thing I wanted to know most was how these two DSi versions of existing games make use of the DSi functionality. I was told that "American Pop Star" lets players take their own photos with the DSi camera that will appear throughout the game, like on magazine covers (pictured). Meanwhile "Real Soccer 2009" takes the DSi photos and can display them on the soccer ball, the giant stadium screen, a team flag or as a player's face. It seems that a lot of DSi titles will let players take photos that appear in the game, but it'd be nice to see more innovative ways of integrating the DSi camera function.
During the DSi development panel, DSi design director Masato Kuwahara showed some early handheld prototypes that never made it to market. Like this Game Boy Advance predecessor from 1995, the first prototype for a next-gen color handheld system, shown next to a DSi:
"There's no way you're fitting that thing in your pocket," Kuwahara said via a translator. "You would be shocked to see how big that device was." He also said that the graphics engine wasn't proficient, and that there were performance issues.
The next prototype shown was a touch-screen adapter that Kuwahara designed to attach to the Game Boy Color. He said it was not "favorably received" by the software development team because the LCD screen didn't have a backlight. He also revealed that Miyamoto liked the adapter when it was used on the GBA SP, but it was not brought to market. Kuwhara was disappointed but said, "I'd like to to think my prototype led to the appearance of the Nintendo DS."
Earlier this month, Nintendo representatives stopped by MTV's New York offices to show us the American version of the DSi. Here's what we thought of it. Read more...
"You ask very good questions!"
That's what Nintendo's lead designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, said to me near the end of our interview last week, before issuing a surprisingly frank explanation of what the wildly praised "Super Mario Galaxy" and "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" could have done better.
Then, things got even more unusual. He put me on the spot and started interviewing me. He wanted to talk about hardcore games. (Guess which first-person game he lavished praise on?)
And he wrapped it all up with a tease about the new Wii "Punch-Out!".
Read about all of that and more in this third and final part of my interview with Mr. Miyamoto ... right below. Read more...
Sometime in 2009, Nintendo of America will bring DSi over to the U.S.
With its dual cameras, larger screens and increased media functions, the revised handheld is primed for the same demographics Apple's after with the iPhone and iPod Touch.
But that's not who Nintendo expects will gravitate to the DSi at first.
"Right out of the gate [the DSi audience] is probably the hardcore gamers," Nintendo of America spokesperson Charlie Scibetta told MTV Multiplayer last week. "They're usually the early adopters that want to get the latest version of something, and they'll be the ones that put it through its paces the hardest and give us all kind of feedback and tell us what they like and don't like. [laughs]"
Right now, Scibetta pointed out, most hardcore gamers have a DS Lite, so Nintendo is mostly selling to expanded audiences this holiday. That cycle begins anew when Nintendo releases the DSi -- first appealing to the zealous hardcore (who may just import a DSi, he admitted), then the expanded audience.
Hardcore gamers of MTV Multiplayer, will you be buying a DSi?
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Here are highlights from a transcript of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's announcement-rich address in Tokyo this morning, now presented in English on the official Japanese site:
Nintendo's Sales Goal For Nintendo DSi: "The ultimate sales goal is not "one device per household" but "one for each person."
How Music Playback On DS Isn't What You're Thinking: "Another new function, 'DSi Sound' audio player, is not meant to be an ordinary audio playback mechanism. Since it is something Nintendo offers, we have aimed to design it so that people can "enjoy playing with sounds." ... "There are a variety of features such as the function to play back sounds with special effects and the reverse-run ability as well as an instrumental play back or a sort of Karaoke function which can erase the vocal data which are programmed to be generated at the center of two speakers."
Why It's Ok That The DSi Camera Isn't Amazing: Read more...
Our Patrick Klepek has been filing me news from Nintendo's San Francisco event. He's throwing a lot of announcements and release dates at me, all official. Wii and DS owners, take note:
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) - November 16
Wii Speak Channel (Wii) - November 16 (Talk to four groups of people at once, using Wii Speak peripheral, free with purchase of Animal Crossing)
Club Nintendo service - "by the end of the year"
The Conduit (Wii) - Q1 09 (FPS; supports 16 players)
Dead Rising (Wii) - Winter 09
Rhythm Heaven (DS) - First Half 2009
Fire Emblem NES-remake (DS) - First Half 2009
Sin and Punishment 2 (Wii) - 2009
"Walking", "Math" DS Games - 2009
Mario and Luigi RPG 3 (DS) - 2009 (With Bowser now helping out)
Punch-Out (Wii) - No release date yet (No mention of Motion Plus support)
UPDATE: Full Nintendo Press Release... after the jump Read more...
At the kick-off presentation for Nintendo's two-day event in San Francisco, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has told reporters that the newly announced Nintendo DSi won't be arriving in the U.S. until "well into calendar year 2009."
Citing strong sales of the current DS Lite, he downplayed the need to introduce the DSi in America any time soon. The NoA president said that DS sales in the U.S. have a ways to go before they reach the penetration in Japan (where, he did not note, sales had slowed as those of the PSP have picked up).
More from the Nintendo event as we get it....
The announcement from Tokyo of the new Nintendo DSi promises all kinds of new features to Nintendo gamers, including photo-taking and downloadable applications.
But DSi owners won't have a Game Boy Advance slot. What will they lose?
More than you might think... Read more...
The rumors were right. At a press conference in Japan tonight, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed the latest iteration of their handheld: the Nintendo DS-i.
At first glance, it doesn't look much different than the already available DS Lite. But there are some major additions to the hardware, including:
* Two 0.3 megapixel (640x480 resolution) cameras, one on the outside, another on the inside
* Larger screens -- they're now 3.25 inches (vs. 3.0 inches)
* SD card slot for memory expansion and plug-n-play with Wii Photo Channel
* Built-in web browser
* Support for the "Nintendo DS Store," which will sell "Nintendo DS Ware," much like the WiiWare service already available on Wii
* Ability to play MP3s via SD cards
The DS-i is also slightly smaller, but form factor came at a price. Nintendo has removed the Game Boy Advance slot, removing compatibility with that device's games. But Nintendo could potentially sell those games through the DS Store.
Nintendo said the DS-i will be available on November 1 in Japan for 18,900 yen (roughly $180 over here) in two colors -- white and grey-black. Unfortunately, the rest of the world won't see the DS-i until 2009.
Nintendo of America is holding a two-day press event in San Francisco starting tomorrow, however. We should know more about the worldwide plans then.
[Image Credit: Watch Impress]
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