I'm hoping display models will start popping up. The new Nintendo catalog prominently displays the DS so the ball has started rolling. My local EB manager played it at the vendor show and was told he would receive one but I'm thinking at launch or maybe a week before. Still torn on what games to pick up, I gotta get at least two and Mario is one.

the stylus for play has me a bit turned off.
anyone have info on FPS game or is Metroid it? Also any details on the new pokemon?

Pokemon Details that I've read:

� Pokemon Dash DS (a racing game) : Inserting a GBA pokemon cart will unlock extra race tracks shaped as pokemon.

� The next RPG games will be called pokemon pearl, and pokemon diamond.

� There will be new pokemon to catch

And they'll re-release Yellow, Red, Green, Ruby, and Sapphire in SP format (since you can't really "battle" or trade with the old carts using the new SP). Can't wait!

Nintendo knows how to milk a franchise, even one past it's prime, and I applaud them for it...

I preordered mine from gamestop. The store said 11/23 is when they are getting them in.

http://news.spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=7834

SPOnG News



Nintendo DS Bomberman joy orgy inside
So, how many players does it support?
20th Oct 2004


Amazing multiplayer game get!The answer friends is eight. Eight players! Eight! The same number as legs on a spider (also crab) and tentacles on an octopus. (Scorpions also have eight legs it should be pointed out.)

All of which means that the 10 player joy orgy afforded by the Sega Saturn version of the game, without question one of the greatest digital experiences predating streaming �specialist� content on the Internet, will be almost matched.

What�s more, the wire hell of the Saturn multitap will be a long-forgotten memory, as of course, the DS is wireless. You see? It�s like heaven in a news story.

Also confirmed is the inclusion of two maps, one on the DS� top screen and one on the bottom, both connected. Enhanced strategy get!


Here's a little info on Bomberman.

Chris

Fuji, Gamerush does not pre-order systems since they can't guarantee availability...

Thanks GizmoDVD, that makes sense. Do they preorder the DS games though? I'd think I'd see them up for preorder soon...

The box art- revealed!



Kind of cool. I dig Samus at the bottom.

I have a GBA and hardly play the thing but my girlfriend will be picking one of these up.

Does anyone know how different the new Animal Crossing will differ from the Gamecube version?

Yeah and maybe someone will hack it and install 200GB hd in one so it can store all the games, but have big bulge in the pocket.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/10...s_6111164.html

Japan retailers report big DS preorders

On preorders alone, the Nintendo DS is the third best-selling system in Japan this week.
TOKYO--The Nintendo DS is the third best-selling video game console for the week of October 11-17, Nikkei BP Consulting reported today. Of course, the machine isn't out until December 2 in Japan, but electronics retailers are including preorders for the system in their sales calculations.


First place in this week's chart went to Nintendo's other handheld, the Game Boy Advance SP. The standard PlayStation 2 hardware was ranked at second place, and fourth place was taken by preorders for the upcoming redesigned version of the PS2. The Nintendo GameCube came in at fifth place.

By Hirohiko Niizumi -- GameSpot
POSTED: 10/22/04 10:59 AM PST


Chris

Less then a month away!

I haven't decided whether I can't wait for it and use my money to buy one, or wait for my mommy to buy if for me for Christmas!

Chris

I would love to buy one....but I'm going to wait it out and see how the market reacts to this and the PSP. I'm surely not alone with the "waiting" crowd, am I?

I'll probably wait a bit, just to see if my GBA SP becomes "obsolete."

I have zero interest in the PSP, so that doesn't factor into my decision.

I was sort of on the fence, going to wait and see the PSP, but I just read an interviewer with a developer of the PSP and when asked about battery life he claimed it would last well over a length of a movie. TO me that says 2-3 hours battery life. Otherwise it would have been two movies length. So DS here I come!

Maybe he's thinking in terms of "LotR: The Return of the King" or "Lawrence of Arabia?"

I'm still in the waiting crowd too. I thinking why the hell hasn't Bestbuy or Circuit City begun to offer pre-orders? Where are the hands on demo units?

I'm still in the waiting crowd too. I'm thinking why the hell hasn't Bestbuy or Circuit City begun to offer pre-orders? Where are the hands on demo units?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...advertising_dc

Nintendo Says 'Touching Is Good' in Sexed-Up DS Ads

Sun Oct 24, 1:05 PM ET

By Michele Gershberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese game maker Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd. (7974.OS) is sexing up its U.S. advertising to launch the DS handheld device, promising mature players that the gadget is not their little brother's Game Boy.

The No. 1 maker of handheld game devices is spending $40 million in its largest product launch, bracing for all-out war with Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). (6758.T), which is expected to debut a portable device soon after the Nintendo DS hits U.S. stores on Nov. 21.

But in an unusual move for Nintendo, known for games featuring animated characters Mario and Pokemon, the new ads aim to titillate with the tagline "Touching is Good."

Teaser spots start on Monday, playing up the dual-screen device's touch controls. A woman's sultry voice invites the viewer to come a little closer and get a feel.

"When you're a kid you're always told you can't touch anything," said Perrin Kaplan, vice president of marketing at Nintendo of America. "Touching is good. You're grown-up now, so read it how you want."

Nintendo spent $27 million on U.S. advertising in the first half of 2004, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

In another departure, Nintendo will launch the model in the United States before Japan to capitalize on the earlier holiday shopping season. The strategy adds a positive marketing edge for U.S. gamers keen on a first stab at new gadgets.

Print ads appear in young men's magazines Maxim and Blender, with a buxom woman holding a DS model and advising, "How to Score! ... Start listening to her needs, playa!"

Longer television commercials will air from Nov. 18 on programs such as animated comedy "South Park." Publicis (PUBP.PA) agency Leo Burnett created the ads.

Industry analysts said Nintendo's ads should draw young adults who are keen on gadgets and the image they project.

"The Game Boy Advance has always been a kids platform," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "The DS is going to move up the age scale ... and they are going to put some more mature content on there,"

Nintendo's aggressive pricing of $149.99 for the new model is expected to be well below the cost for the Sony PlayStation Portable, which plays music and movies. But both are vying for a more upscale audience.

"Nintendo is differentiating products in a category they already own," said P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research. "Hard-core enthusiasts will buy both (devices). The mainstream won't until the prices come down." (Additional reporting by Franklin Paul)


Chris

They had a mature ad for the SP wit a guy in bed too. I'll find it and post it. Was mildy funny.

If they're smart they'll track down former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders for the ad campaign.

"Nintendo DS wireless technology: Now you're not just playing with yourself!"

I thought the DS was spposed to be released in two colors, black and silver. I haven't heard anything recent, nor have I seen preorders for anything other than silver, was this changed?

Boy, what a memory!

Chris

I think I just read in Game Informer that it's shipping as silver only, at least at first.

That's one thing I think Nintendo of America has really dropped the ball on. Multiple color choices is a really neat option they should always offer on their systems.