Nintendo DS FAQ
Below is the DS faq:
What exactly does DS stand for? Is it an abbreviation or something?
The DS stands for Dual Screen because the handheld has two screens, the top screen will be a normal screen while the bottom one will be a PDA like touch screen.
What will the initial launch price be for the DS and what wil be included?
The launch price will be $150. There will be built in batteries, a bettery recharge adapter, a stylus, a thumb pad, Pictochat built in, and a Metroid Prime Hunters demo.
What about the games?
Nintendo will be selling first party titles for $30 while third party games will range anywhere from $30 to $40.
When will it be released?
The DS has already launched in North America on November 21, 2004 and will launch in Japan at the beginning of December.
Is this the Game Boy Advance’s successor?
According to Nintendo, the DS will not be the GBA’s successor, but will instead just be another piece of hardware that Nintendo will support. Nonetheless, even though the DS is not technically the successor, Nintendo still needs it to sell as if it were one.
How will the batteries work for the DS?
The batteries will be like the Game Boy Advance SP. This means they will be rechargeable. They will last for 6-10 hours and will take 4 hours to fully recharge.
Can the DS play old Game Boy games?
Yes and no. The DS will only be able to play DS and Game Boy Advance games, but not Game Boy Color or Game Boy games. Game Boy Advance games will be played in their own slots.
Will the DS still use cartridges or will Nintendo finally use discs?
The DS will continue to use cartridges, but this time they will actually contain much more space and be much smaller. The carts will be a bit bigger than memory sticks, but darstically smalelr than GBA games. The discs will contain 128 megabytes or 1 Gigabit. Along with these cartridges having more space than the GBA ones, they are also supposed to load faster and cost less money.
I’ll be playing games a lot, will the touch screen get dirty?
Nintendo has already taken this into consideration and will therefore be adding more protection than the average PDA screen has. Normally PDA screens take a while to scratch as well, so having additional protection should allow your DS to stay clean.
Will the screens have back-lights like the SP?
Both of the screens will be back-lit. This will allow you to play in complete darkness.
What is the size of each screen?
Both screens are three inches diagonally.
What does the DS look like?
Refer to our DS image section.
What are the specifications of the DS?
Refer to our specifications section for this.
How are the graphics compared to the older Game Boys?
The graphics are far superior compared to the Game Boy Advance. Now Nintendo has gotten serious and is finally actually taking graphics seriously. Currently, you could compare the graphics of the DS with Nintendo 64. Since the screens of the DS are smaller than normal TV’s, the graphic will be slightly better than the N64. To see what the DS is capable of right now, take a look at Metroid Prime: Hunter screens.
So are the graphics better or worse than Nintendo 64?
Currently the screens of games make the DS look very close to Nintendo 64 graphics, but as said before, the graphics are smoother because of the small screens. Also, the specs of the DS indicate that the graphics will defnitely be better in forth coming years.
Is the DS more powerful than the PSP?
No, the PSP is far more powerful than the DS, but do not fret because you will be saving about $50 with the DS. Also, at the moment, although the PSP can play music, movies and can have almost PS2 graphics, the DS has innovation. The DS has two screens, one being a touch screen, and currently it looks as if the games for DS are better.
Will I need my link cable anymore?
Now that the DS has wireless capabilities, there will be no need for a link cable. You’ll be able to play against people within a close radius (about 100 feet). Then with Wi-Fi capabilities, as long as you are in a hotspot you can play with people around the world.
So what games can go online?
Currently there is no actual list, but it is suspected that most announced games that could be multiplayer will be online as long as Nintendo supports online play. This includes games like Animal Crossing, Super Mario 64 x 4, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Mario Kart, and more.
What games are currently announced for the DS?
There are already almost 100 games announced, but many are still in early development. The five launch titles are Super Mario 64 DS, The Urbz: Sims in the City, Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Madden NFL 2005, and Spider-Man 2.
