Nintendo DS user reviews (Titanium)

Pros Dual Screens; Touch Pad; Plays GBA games; Comfortable to hold; Great Value for price; Nintendo titles (Mario, Wario); WI-FI, chat, downloadable games in the future; Price of new titles -$39 and below

Cons Graphics not as good as PSP; No control stick; lack of console titles (EA Sports); Need add-ons for MP3/video playback

Summary The DS is great handheld gaming device. Even though the graphics are not up to par with the Sony PSP, they're definately a step up from the GBA. The dual screens give many games a new perspective.

Speaking of Gameboy, I can play all of kids favorite games on this machine, so when I finally get tired of this unit I can give to my kids without having to purchase more games. Until then, there some good titles out there (WarioWare Twisted, Metroid, Asphalt Racer, ZooKeeper, Ridger Racer) that are cool to play on this device. Having the touch screen and mic do make the experience of playing games on this device feel completely fresh. My only gripe is there should be more sport titles for this device (imagine being able to use the touchpad to draw up a play for you team to run...wow that would be cool.)

It would have been nice if Nintendo would have included MP3 and Video playback "out of the box". However, "PLAY YAN" is on the way late this year in the USA (it's available in Japan - www.lik-sang.com $89 USD). Play Yan is a media player that plugs into the gameboy slot (works with GBA as well). It accepts SD cards and comes with software to allow you to play your favorite MP3, AVI, MOV, etc.. My guess is this add-on will probably sell for under $50. If you're like myself and can't wait until then take a look at Movie Advance (www.movieadvance.com and www.lik-sang.com $24 USD..also on EBAY). This neat add-on use a Compact Flash card instead of SD, but does the same things as Play Yan plus allow you to play SNES games that you can download (see www.gbafilm.com). Sound quality is great for music (better quality can be had using CD as source, but MP3 still sound pretty decent). Video quality is also decent especially when convert using the standard and Hi modes (remember this is not a dvd player).

Nintendo has also signed a agreement with Palm to licensee their OS to allow the DS to be used as PDA. This suite of tools expected to be on the market later this year is called V-Pocket (set to debut at E3).

The DS was never really meant to compete head to head with the PSP. Nor was it to be a stopgap or bridge until the next GBA. It was meant to be new breed gaming device aim at the 18+ market. If the PDA tools (V-Pocket) and Media Player (Play Yan) had been on the market before the launch of PSP my belief is that more people would definate see the value of this device. I only hope Nintendo hurries up with these add-ons. Until then this a still a great gaming device with a lot of unfulfilled potential.

Pros Great innovation that can challenge developers.

Cons Horrible Game lineup.

Summary So far, I have had my DS since January 7th. Looking at the DS, the SYSTEM has gone beyond my expectations and has shown me a whole new way to play games. However, I'm wondering if there will ever BE games. With the PSP towering over it, the big argument from DS owners is that it's about GAMES, not all the other stuff-music, movies, photos, etc.
However, as it stands now, the PSP has about the same number of games as the DS. Hmmm...One came out in November...One came out about 3 weeks ago...Do you notice a problem there? Sure, everyone can say, "OMGWTFBBQ THER R 150 GAMS 4 TEH DS ANONSED U R STUPID!" Listen up. I've had my DS for about three months, so far I have seen 2 games that interested me. 2 measly games! And one was a port! And in the next few months, they have a fair amount of games coming out. 60% of which is a movie game (which 95% of them suck horribly) or a puzzle game. If I wanted a puzzle game, I'd buy a palm pilot and get an organizer with it!
So, for my review I gave it a 7...This system has HUGE potential, but Nintendo made a giant blunder on organizing their games and rushed their release date. So I bought my brand new PSP and have had more enjoyment in one week than I have in three months of DS. So my opinion: If you are really set on getting a DS NOW, go ahead. If you are thinking this would be a cool buy right now, wait. Wait for them to catch up on their games so you have something to play.

Pros Touch Screen, built in mic, dual screens, backward compatability

Cons Should have included a "C" stick instead of the 4 way directional pad...

Summary In my opinion, I think that this system has a lot of room for new and exciting games. The touch screen really puts you into the games. Now I will admit, using the touch screen to control the characters took some getting used to. But after a while it accually helped with accuracy and stability. The dual screens are bright vivid with color and the framerates are excellent! The sound quality of the unit has far exceeded my expectations. Sound quality is sharp, crystal clear, and loud! I was blown away by how much louder the DS is compared to the SP. Plus the simulated surround sound is amazing! I rather play without headphones because the effect is more open and noticable. The weight of the unit is not really that bad. If you load a DS game and a SP game at the same time, you may feel a little weight problem. But all in all its pretty light. I cant wait for the newer games to embrace the built in microphone. Imagine saying a command to the DS and the unit responding to it. For instance, to cast a spell just say the spell and bam! There is your enemy up in flames! How cool! There could be a zillion different ways to use this funtion.. can't wait! Battery life is to be expected. I think I may have got about 4 hours of straight play before the unit starts to flash red. But with powering two screens and two ARM processors, I can live with it. The only down fall is the controls. I really hoped for a "C" stick instead of a 4 way directional pad. The C stick gives you way more control over your game than a 4 way. Or possibly have dual controler C sticks on either side. The processing power of the unit only about 100Mhz or more, but the graphics are still awsome and I think the expandability of the unit will make it hit.

Pros Bright backlit screens, sensitive touchpad, GBA compatability for expanded library.

Cons Few DS games, and nothing to truly put this system on the market ... yet

Summary The DS is one of my favorite devices so far. The touch screen is used creatively in the line-up of games currently on the market, but could use a real jump start from any new, up and coming developers ready to break some ground. Battery life is no issue, especially when playing GBA games, as 1 screen doesn't suck nearly as much life as 2. Quick recharge time after the initial charge and long battery life, in my experiences. While playing GBA games I've gone as long as a whole week, up to 2-3 hours a day on 1 charge. I can't speak for the future PSP, nor do I care to, but the DS has a long life ahead of it.