Nintendo DS Design Finalized (July 30, 2004)

[ChrisReid]

Nintendo has finalized the name and design of their next portable system. It's a bit sleeker than their E3 model and apparently a little more compact. The price and release date are still undecided, but Nintendo has reiterated the unit will be on sale in the next several months. The system features two screens, with the bottom screen acting as a touch pad and second monitor. There's a microphone input for voice recognition, and wireless play is supported. Although new games will be in a separate format, older cartridges such as Prophecy Advance will continue to be supported.

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Original update published on July 30, 2004

 

[Wedge009]

Mmm, pretty. I'm glad they decided to return to the original GBA shape. I thought the whole idea of placing the buttons that way was to reduce cramping. Seems like the GBA SP was a return to the orignal GB button layout for the sake of compactness.

 

[Spien]

It's a big "Game & Watch" of doom. That being said... it's pretty nice.

 

[KrisV]

Game & Watch is still a lot of fun. I can't wait to play a dual-screen game on this thing.

 

[Wedge009]

SSBM's Mr Game & Watch is an idiot, though.

 

[ChrisReid]

I'm sort of torn on which format I like. The GBA/DS shape is more comfortable, but I don't find the GBC/SP layout cramped at all, and it is quite compact. This shape is necessary for the double screens however, and I'm very excited to try that.

 

[iCe]

that thing looks bizar, with 2 screens

 

[ChrisReid]

It's very cool. The bottom screen is a touch pad. They'll be doing lots of creative things with it.