Locally it wasn't sold out I found a stack of 15 at one Target, and another stack (~10) at a K-Mart. Didn't even go to check at BB or Toys'R'Us so I don't know.

Will hopefully (if my B-day money comes through) pick mine up today at work. I did grab a Spiderman yesterday at Target for $28.88, they had a lot. The only game I didn't see anywhere was Mario. It seems BB has the lowest price on Urbz at $29.99 everyone else is $39.99.

I watched some of G4TechTV yesterday it was "DS Day" and they had a DS overlay showing the current show on the top screen and all DS video on the bottom one. Unfortunately they didn't show very many upcoming titles. While I was watching they showed Mr. Driller (which I'll grab next week), Ping Pals, and Ridge Racer DS all of which release in the next 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to Tiger Woods 2005 (12/14) for some portable golf action.


Just a note Goldeneye Rogue Agent is slated for 2/7.

I've put about 2 hours into Mario.

The thumbstick control, once you get it down, is better than an analog stick in my opinion. The range of motion you get is more accurate and the screen is very responsive.

As for the game itself, I loved Mario 64, and so far, this is as good. The metroid demo is SWEET. I'm very much looking forward to the actual game to be released.

It's on the wrist strap. If you didn't find it, it's probably just stuck in the box. I missed it when I dumped everything out, then I read about in in the manual, and then looked in the box and found it stuck inside.

It also comes with an extra stylus.

If you look carefully some boxes also seem to contain the Nintendo DS unit itself as well.

Just any FYI-they have the DS in stock at Target in the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua if anyone around here is looking for it.

This thread needed a pic!

I went back to the wal-mart I bought mine at yesterday to see if they had mario in, but no dice. There were still 2 DS units instock, but the only games they had were Spiderman 2, The Urbz, Madden and Asphault something racing.

I'm doing some x-mas shopping tomorrow and will try to track down a copy.

And they said it only had N64 graphics!

Same at our WMart. I picked it up at TRU.

Wow. We went to Target at 8:50 (I thought they opened at 9, but they opened at 8).. they only had two left.

Keep in mind that I'm at my parent's this week, which is in a small town in West Virginia where stuff like that doesn't fly off the shelves.

I'm sure I wouldnt' have found one yesterday (and certainly not today) where I live (DC/Baltimore area).

more here: http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3530

I called two EBGames today and both said they weren't doing any promotion for an SP towards a DS.

Some times deals like that at EB are up to the discretion of the individual store's manager.

Yeah I felt like an idiot, I looked in the manual later that night and there it was plain as day. Speaking of the nub I like it and it does make playing Super Mario 64 DS easier. It's a lot more natural than the D-Pad, that's for sure.

--
fab

Yeah, someone was trading in an SP in front of me when I went to pick up my DS. They only gave him $25 for it. Definitely not a nationwide deal.

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fab

Damn, that is what mine looks like after a few hours of playing Mario

jk

For anyone who has dead pixels...

http://ds.ign.com/articles/568/568084p1.html

to Nintendo for stepping up to the plate.

I agree.

Also, considering that Minish Cap is a GBA game, I doubt there will be a DS Zelda for a while, which would sell me on it (even if it's a port of OOT).

I'm not liking either. Anyone who doesn't own one of the 3 consoles would be better off getting that than a PSP or DS.

Can someone please share a photo of someone playing this? I just can't see how a person holds the unit and uses a stylis at the same time. Thanks.

I don't have a photo, but I hold it by putting the pinky of my right hand under the unit and holding the stylus in that hand like a pencil. Left hand it just in the normal position.

It works pretty well, but can get a little uncomfortable.

Using the thumbstylus, I just hold it the normal way, with my left thumb in the strap and over the touch pad rather than the d-pad. That works like a charm. But the stylus is better in the the Metroid Demo IMO as it's faster and more precise for aiming.

Hmm... so I guess the only buttons you can use when using the stylis are is the left sholder and the d-pad?

It depends on the game, but yeah you will use either your left or right on the touch pad and the other hand for the shoulder button and either the control pad or action buttons. It is definitely ackward at first. This system has a definite learning curve. Especially on an analog control dependent title like Mario.

I put many hours in on Mario and got up to 52 stars. Unlocked a lot of mini games and played them for several hours. I also rented Feel the Magic and found it fun for awhile. I basically feel I gave the system a fair test and in the end I found it not for me. Mine went up on ebay today.

It is defintely a unique gaming experience and I'm happy to see so many people enjoying the DS. It wasn't for me however. I'll stick with the GBA for the time being for my portable gaming fix.

I have to be honest when I say the lack of the analog stick may be a fatal flaw this system may not overcome in the long run, especially with Nintendo porting over N64 analog heavy titles like Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64. Nintendo seems to love to put limitations in their hardware whether it be sticking to carts for too long with the N64, the tiny memory cards and small DVDs of the Cube, the rather silly lack of a headphone jack on the SP and now the lack of an analog stick on a system that really seems to cry out for one.

Using the touch pad is their answer, but it seems like a duct tape fix for a silly cost cutting measure to me. My thumb hurt like crazy playing the DS and that is something I've rarely noticed when playing GBA games. It seemed to be a combination of trying to use the digital pad for 3D motion and the actual weight of the system which I felt was a bit too heavy for comfort.

I'll be interested to see how heavy the PSP is (it will probably be a lot heavier) and how its analog stick works. Early reviews are saying the analog stick is terrible, so Sony may not have designed their hardware any better than Nintendo.

I'm going to be very interested in trying the DS again when the games have had 6-9 months to mature. By then developers may find ways to work out all the control issues that were bugging me on the launch games.