I think that with including a Metroid demo at the launch of the system; metroid will not be a launch game. Seems kinda of stupid to include a demo of a game that launches the same day the system does (and will most likley be the #1 seller)

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

Nintendo Says 12 DS Games to Debut in Japan

1 hour, 44 minutes ago Technology - Reuters


By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd. said on Thursday it will make available 12 software titles for its new "DS" handheld game console when the dual-screen machine debuts in Japan on Dec. 2.

Nintendo is gearing up to defend its market share of about 95 percent in the lucrative handheld game console market against Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites)., in what is expected to an all-out war.

Sony is threatening Nintendo's market with the PSP, which promises advanced features such as a music and movie player. However, it has not unveiled price plans for PSP, which it is expected to launch by the year-end in Japan and by March in the United States and Europe.

"We can't comment on PSP because its price and game lineup are not clear. Our DS is aimed at attracting everyone regardless age, gender and game experience, not just children like our competitor has apparently described about our handheld console," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference.

Nintendo's DS features two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive and works with a pen-like device. It also has voice recognition and wireless communication functions.

"The touch-sensitive screen and voice recognition will lead everyone to play games from the same starting point and will provide everyone a new type of entertainment," Iwata said.

Some DS games will offer interactive entertainment such as chatting with other users and playing with a dog on the screen and may help lure the audiences who did not like conventional type of games in which players' ultimate goal is to win, he added.

A total of 124 DS games are now under development by 46 companies. The games that will go on sale on Dec. 2 include five titles Nintendo developed, such as "Super Mario 64 DS," and seven from other developers.

The number of DS games will rise to 14 by the end of the year and the prices of its Nintendo's games will range between 3,800 yen ($34.13) and 4,800 yen each, Iwata said.

BULLISH OUTLOOK

Last month, Nintendo struck the first blow in the handheld game fight with Sony by aggressively pricing DS in the United State at $149.99, at the low end of analysts' expectations.

It also set its U.S. launch date for Nov. 21, ahead of the Japan launch, and in time for the Thanksgiving holiday that starts the end-of-year holiday shopping season.

As a sign of bullish outlook, Nintendo, known for games featuring characters such as Pokemon, Mario and Donkey Kong, recently raised its global shipment target of the DS machine by the end of March to 4 million units from 3.5 million.

"It's possible that total DS software shipments will exceed our estimate of 15 million units by the end of next March," Iwata said, hinting that it may revise the goal in late November when it announces interim earnings result.

To utilize the wireless communication capability of the DS, Nintendo plans to offer a new service enabling users to download extra data such as new characters from the new Pokemon movie, to be released next summer, Iwata said.

"You just need to bring the DS and one of the Pokemon software for Game Boy Advance and you'll be downloading some unique Pokemon data while you watch the movie."

MAKING MOVIES ON ITS OWN?

Last month, local media reported Nintendo's founder Hiroshi Yamauchi wants the company to make animated movies by itself, not like the Pokemon movies that are jointly made with its partners.

"We'll decide whether we would do it or not by the end of December," Iwata said.

Helped by a stronger dollar and solid demand for games for its handheld GameBoy Advance machine, Nintendo on Monday raised its full-year net profit forecast by 20 percent.

But the cash-rich company, which has pledged a payout ratio target of 50 percent in May, would not raise its dividend forecast for this year of 140-270 yen, Iwata said.

He kept quiet about its new home game console, code-named Revolution, which is under development and is set to appear at next year's E3, the industry's annual U.S. trade show in May. ($1=111.33 Yen)


I know this is not the US, but it might give us an idea of the price of games and what games are coming.

Chris

Now this is complete madness!!! (from spong.com)

It just keeps on coming. The Nintendo conference in Seattle is showing exactly how big the DS could be, as it opens the finished console’s folded screens for the world to see – like a massive video-game peacock of greatness. We thought we knew it all, and that it would just be a matter of which games when.

But no, Satoru Iwata is about to rock the world with yet more DS revelations. SPOnG wouldn’t want to go into too many details ahead of the official announcement, and needless to say we’ll have a report direct from the conference in the next few days, but in the meantime, here is some of the amazingness that’s about to unfurl.

Remember the wireless-connectivity thing? Well, that’s not just for playing multiplayer games; it will also allow players to download games directly, seemingly out of thin air. Its main purpose will be to encourage ‘game-sharing’, so that DS owners can enjoy multiplayer gaming without necessarily owning multiple copies of that game. Right from the off this feature will play an important part in the machine’s success, and ‘game-sharing’ has been implemented for Super Mario 64 DS as well as Big Concert! Band Brothers.

And for those who praised the inclusion of a Metroid Prime Hunters demo with the conosole, the news that Nintendo is now fully embracing promotional demos will also be great news. Players will be able to simply download a time-limited demo and try before buying. Top stuff in itself, and also a strong indication that Nintendo is confident about the quality of the games.

If that feature in itself isn’t enough to ensure that every DS owner takes their machine everywhere they go, then Iwata-san’s lateral thinking concept of cinema convergence certainly will be. An upcoming Pokemon movie will apparently, communicate with DS owners in the audience, offering all kind of gimmicky interaction. If that’s to become a regular thing, perhaps the ‘Revolution’ is starting…

Frankly, we’re still reeling. As soon as SPOnG’s assorted heads stop spinning, we’ll get back to you with even more DS excitement.

I was starting to come down off the fence and am just about ready to drop the lettuce for one of these. Every new thing I hear is making my interest grow. My girlfriend is still getting one on launch date, so hopefully I can resist and play around with hers to make my final decision.

I LOVE the game sharing concept.. it was awesome for the GBA but it was limited as hell (that and the damn wire madness!!).

Wow. That is even more than I expected.

Perhaps this really could create a whole community of handheld gamers. If it becomes as (or maybe even more) ubiquitous than the GBA then that opens all sorts of possibilities. Maybe a "real life" game where there are certain hotspots to find.

This concept is intriguing, but I have a hard time believing it'll work in America. In Japan, sure, since they're much smaller, the population is very concentrated, and they already have a much superior wireless infrastructure in place. Which is why they get all the cool cell phones and stuff. Even there, though, it's a daunting prospect, unless they announce some huge partners soon.

Here in the US, wireless hotspots have picked up, but it's naive to think that they'd be able to span the country when even the multitude of cell phone companies can't do it. More likely, they'd have some kind of base station at Best Buy or TRU or something where people could go to download stuff.

Or am I missing something?

I've got a wireless hotspot in my home so I'm fully on board for this. BTW, if you can sit in the audience at a Pokemon movie and get free downloads during the film of exclusive Pokemon characters, that alone will probably guarantee the success of this handheld in Japan and probably the US. That is just freaking brilliant. Imagine if they expand this and have special promotions at special hotspots where you can get exclusive downloads for your DS. You will have freaking DS owners running around all over town for this like the people looking for the Halo 2 phone booths.

Yup, Nintendo has freaking sold me on the DS. This is definitely going to be a fun little handheld to own. They are taking a lot of ideas they had with connectibility with the GBA and taking them to an amazing extreme.

The DS is capable of acting as its own repeating broadcast network. So in your words, each DS would be its own hot spot, and as long as one DS on your network was within a spot that had access to the desired data you could have access to it.

Read some speculation I posted on the last page for more details.

Nintendo has certainly intrigued me with all their ideas. It does sound like they are really thinking of new ways to change handheld gaming. Lets just hope it all turns out as rosy as these press releases make it sound. Haven't really been interested in a handheld, but I am certainly more and more intrigued by the DS. Plus seeing Mario 64 x 4 has peaked my interest.

We our finally seeing the benifits of Nintendo's work with the GBA connectivity. Many people were very critical of it, thank goodness Nintendo doesn't listen very well and pursues their ideas.


Rrrrrrr Rrrrrrrevolution....

Nintendo really seem to have their shite together with the DS unlike the PSP. Some more details from C&VG.com:


WORLD EXCLUSIVE: SECRETS IN SEATTLE - STUNNING NEW DS ANNOUNCEMENTS REVEALED!

Details of Nintendo top-brass presentations and unbelievable revelations inside!

13:04 As you must be aware by now Nintendo are holding a huge press conference in Seattle today and tomorrow to make a series of announcements about DS and reveal new details.
Well, check this out: we don't have to wait for the announcements to be made. We know them already.

After introducing the DS and discussing its innovative control methods including the touch screen and in-built mic, Nintendo president Saturo Iwata will drop the first of several awesome bombshells.

The DS's much-vaunted wireless features won't only let you play multiplayer games - you'll actually be able to download games and play them. Nintendo are calling this feature "Game Sharing", and it means that multiple DS owners will be able to play multiplayer using only one copy of the game.

This instantly obliterates the problems of everyone needing to have a copy of the game to play multiplayer, and makes Nintendo's boast that you'll be able to play 'anyone, anywhere' absolute truth. Nintendo plan to promote production of titles with this "Game Sharing" feature, and several early titles including Super Mario 64 DS and Daigasso Band Brothers will support it.

Revolutionary? Yes, and it gets better. Nintendo plan to implement downloadable demos to let you play time-restricted versions of games before you buy them. Initially it seems that this will be restricted to retail outlets.

And more? Yup. Plans are afoot to implement connectivity between the DS and the movie screen during showings of Pokemon movies. Iwata will discuss how DS owners with a GBA Pokemon game cart in their DS will receive bonus materials beamed straight to them!

It seems that DS's wireless capabilities are beyond anything we expected. As you can imagine, the potential for these kind of features is amazing.

After Iwata concludes his speech Shigeru Miyamoto will take to the stage and demonstrate a number of games including Nintendogs and Mario 64 DS.

He'll be joined by Yuji Naka, president of Sega's Sonic Team, who will demonstrate I Would Die for You (also known as Feel the Magic: XY-XX) and announce that a DS Sonic game is also in development.

This will be followed by a confirmation from Square-Enix that Final Fantasy III, previously only available on NES, will be coming to DS with overhauled visuals and new control features.

A new Pokemon game, called Pokemon Diamond, will be confirmed. Pokemon Dash, which is a Japanese DS launch game, will also be demonstrated, and the president of the Pokemon Company will show off how extra tracks can be unlocked by inserting GBA Pokemon game carts.

But the most exciting game announcement for Nintendo fans? We've heard that Miyamoto will confirm that a Legend of Zelda: Four Swords game is in production for DS.

Hopefully more details about this huge news will emerge at the presentation, and we'll keep you up to date.

So how's that? Awesome wireless revelations, stunning cross-platform connectivity, and the possibility of a new Zelda game to chow down on. Don't say we're not good to you.

More info as it happens.

Okay, I'm in. No more debate.

I reserved mine on Monday.

So where is the best place in the LA area where I can trade in my GBA Advance and my old Gameboy Colors, so I can get this sucker for free?


Chris

Chris, I'd at least hold on to one of your GBCs if you've got any GB/GBC games you may want to play at some point again.. the DS is only backward compatible to the GBA, and you'll probably get very little for the GBC units themselves. (I see them on sale all the time for $15).

I dont have a gba, so im getting a DS for sure, Metroid, Mario, and that Final Fantasy 3 game are gonna be great.

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

Nintendo Unveils Lineup for DS Handheld

Thu Oct 7,12:27 PM ET Technology - AP


By MATT SLAGLE, AP Technology Writer

Madden NFL 2005 and Spider-Man 2 are among the dozen video games Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. says it plans to offer for is new DS handheld system within a month of the product's November launch.

Nintendo said it expects about 25 games for the dual screen player by early next year. About 120 games are in development.

Analysts said the relatively large number of games being made by third-party developers such as Activision, Electronic Arts and THQ bodes well for Nintendo heading into the busy holiday shopping season.

The DS version of the popular Madden games will show 22 players on the field on one screen, with the other showing key action. People will be able to compete against each other using the system's built-in wireless capability.

EA, the world's largest game maker, also will have Tiger Woods PGA Golf Tour and The Urbz: Sims in the City, which puts characters from the Sims in an urban setting.

The DS debuts in the United States on Nov. 21 and in Japan 10 days later.

The black and silver paperback book-shaped device will come pre-loaded with demo version of the sci-fi shooter Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt to "whet gamer's appetites," said Nintendo of America spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan said.

A completed version of the game — one of the company's marquee franchises along with Mario — comes out early next year.

Two other remakes of popular Nintendo titles that will see new life on the DS are Super Mario 64 DS and the racing game Mario Kart.

IDC analyst Schelley Olhava said Nintendo's lineup had a good mix of genres that should appeal to a variety of tastes.

"They have brands that resonate well with gamers," she said.

The $149.99 DS has a chat and messaging program so users can scribble notes or pictures on the touch-sensitive screen.

Prices for the games will be in the $30 range, Kaplan said. Additionally, it can play more than 550 older Game Boy Advance games.

"It's launching in every way that consumers are going to want to have it at the beginning: the right price, the right package, the right features and the right games," she said.

A handful of games already have been announced for rival Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites).'s PlayStation Portable, including the racer Need for Speed Underground Rivals and Tiger Woods, both from EA.

The sleek black PSP arrives in the United States next year.


Chris

$30 games!

I'm sure select top-tier games will come out at $35 or $40 much like some GBA games do. (though those are usually the same top-tier games that get a $20-25 first week sale at Best Buy or Circuit City).

The past few weeks have been real exciting for the DS.

Quit talking me into buying one of these Pixy! I'll have to wait until I get a job. The wireless features make me think this thing is going to be huge. It's a much more interesting feature than playing movies.

I'm pretty happy with my Limited Edition Nintendo Classic GBA SP but damn if this thing isn't getting interesting.

I might wait for the first price drop but it sounds better and better every day.

All of this news is exciting, but the launch titles aren't exactly blowing my skirt up. I'll definitely be getting a DS, but I think I'll wait until some of the first party titles hit the market.

This will be a big selling point in Japan and probably in the US.

That is all I needed to hear. I'm going to order mine this weekend. If the games end up in the $30 range the success of this system is looking very good.

Am I reading this right? (I haven't opened this thread in a few days, I just got hit with a lot of cool stuff).


I am totally sold on this thing.

Ridge Racer DS!!

Advance Wars DS woo!

http://www.gamespot.com/ds/strategy/...w_6109910.html