About the DS, and about the PSP - my thoughts after E3

[Jonathan]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

So E3 is over. Ands what and E3 it was, more exciting than any in recent
memory. Of course the stars of the show were the Nintendo DS and the Sony
PSP.

During the show I paid little attention the the PSP, I already knew what it
was and what it had to offer, so my attention was focussed on the DS, and
man was I excited.

However, the excitement has left me and I am actually left with a little bit
of frustration. I like certain things about both systems, hate other things,
and I wish more than anything I could merge them together into one.

DS Pros:
-the double screen idea is great. touch screen even better.
-the variety of games demoed is extremely impressive. The innovation on
display was unprecedeted, IMO, and I can't wait to play these games.
-lots and lots of developer support.
-long battery life
-clamshell design to portect the screens.
-price will probably be right.

DS cons:
-apparently still a pitiful low resolution of 256x192. Marginally better
than GBA, but not better than NES. Sure there are two of them, but they are
an inch apart and only one is displaying 3d graphics at a time, that doesn't
really help. Rumoured that these are STILL not backlit, but frontlit. :-(
-no analog control. I am personally not crazy about using the stylus for
that purpose.
-It is clunky looking. defnitely needs refinement before release. The PSP is
lightyears beyond in form. I know the Nintendo fanboys will force themselves
to disagree, but even Craig Harris, the biggest Nintendo geek around
acknowledges this.
-Only N64 quality 3d. I don't know about you, but I have never liked N64
quality 3d, in fact going back to play n64 games is pretty difficult these
days. Granted Metroid looks pretty damn good, but I have a feeling it will
be the exception...
-Once again a low capacity media. Better than GBA, but 128mb is still not
much. I expect games will suffer in the sound department, and either
textures or games lenght will suffer. :-(
-may be limited to quirky "friendly" games, may not see GTA and it's
relatives.

PSP Pros:
-BIG BEAUTIFUL SCREEN! 480x272! Backlit and bright as a laptop.
-very pretty 3d quality
-analog stick that apparently works very well.
-nice sleek design.
- huge media capacity.
- lots of developer support
- will surely get plenty of so called mature games, like GTA etc.

PSP cons:
-battery life expected to be terible.
-not very original, basically a tiny PS2
-high porduction costs may result in a lot of ports
-screen will get scratched
- will be expenisve



As you can see my list of cons for the DS is much longer than that for the
PSP. Even so I still favour the DS. I just wish to hell that I could have a
DS with an analog stick and the PSP's screen for at least the top screen.

 

[Jonathan]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

"Anon" <tenn734@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ffCpc.2001$SZ4.1208@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Anybody know the specs as far as size and weight of ds & psp?? From the
> looks of the vid at E3 of the psp it looks kinda large and prolly is
gonna
> be hefty too...portability makes a big difference to me..

Both the PSP and the DS are about the same size as a non-SP GBA. (in the
case of the DS..that's when folded, of course).


> the top screen of the ds should be made wider it would certainly
> increase its appeal.

I agree, Should have been a higher rez wider screen on top. Not gonna happen
though. Hopefull they will find some way to "fill in" that wasted space at
the sides, because to looks cheap and unfinished the way it is.

> i dig the clamshell design.... protects the
> fingerprint-covered screen(s) nicely.

Me too. Second biggest flaw with the PSP. (first is battery life).

>
> as far as the psp ...not too many innovations other than making it a all
in
> one portable.and the giant screen.. i just hope the battery life will
last
> long enough to watch a single movie.

It will. Just long enough for a single movie... :-(


>
> speaking of watching movies on the psp how is that gonna be done?? i
wouldnt
> want to shell out more cash just to watch a movie on a portable.

Hehe. Me suspsects that non PSP game UMD's will be staying in Japan. There's
no way the North American consumer is going to take to buying movies that
can only be played on the PSP (and since the PSP has a lower resolution that
DVD, what the hells the point?)



> the psp, looks wise is more awe inspiring than the ds...

Well at least someone has the guts to admit it. I get mighty tired of fanboy
who pretend everything Nintendo does is great and everything sony does is
bad.

> but practically speaking im not an all in one type person... i take my
> components when i need or want them...so personally the extra's of psp are
> not all that important to me...price and gaming enjoyment are
> (though they are neat)

Agreed.

>
> perhaps the psp would better suit me if i flew back and forth to australia
> frequently.

I think the battery would run out somwhere over the pacific....

 

[Jonathan]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

"Ice Wipe Inc." <birdworm12@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:QyIpc.41690$TT.11598@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> You can't have it both ways.
>
> If the DS had a better screen and controls then the price would have to be
> raised, and remember there are TWO screens so Nintendo had to use
something
> that could cost low but still good enough.

The price would have to be raised, but to bump the resolution up from
256X192, to a modest 300X200 (Nomad resolution) would have had a negligible
effect on price. This is a terribly tired argument. PLaus, only one of the
screens need be higher in resolution.


>
> Didn't you hear that the DS design isn't finished yet?

As a matter of fact I did. Do you have a point?

> Personally how it
> looks means nothing if it doesn't work the way it should. And graphic
> wise...
>
> You sound like just another graphic whore.

Oh please. Gte of your high horse. I never heard so many Nintendo fanboys
whine when the cel-shased zelda came out, and I never heard so many chear
when the screenshots of the new one were revealed. Are you really trying to
say they aren't grpahics whores?

Why is it such a crime to prefer better grpahics over worse ones?




> If you think that is what makes
> a game then you'll a pretty poor player indeed.

I'll ignore your failure in the English language and say that I have at no
time stated that's what makes a great game, so I don't know where you are
getting that from.

> I would rather a game that
> has an average graphic engine with depth gameplay and the all important
'fun
> factor'.

So would I, and yet even more so, I wuld rather have both.


>
> Storage? I thought it was bigger then that for the DS, though I haven't
been
> able to find any specs for it. Same for battery life, though I did read
the
> PSP had a 10 hour limit but I highly doubt that is true.\

The PSP has 1.8gigaytes, compare the the DS 128megabytes. The specs are all
over the net, can't imagine why you would have had so much trouble.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

Jonathan wrote:

> DS Pros:
> -the double screen idea is great. touch screen even better.
> -the variety of games demoed is extremely impressive. The innovation
> on display was unprecedeted, IMO, and I can't wait to play these
> games.
With the exception being the Sonic game in this case. I hope the rest of that
game isn't based on wearing out the touchscreen...

> -lots and lots of developer support.
> -long battery life
What is the battery life in this case? I've not heard anything about it.
Although the SP's battery life (10 hours) is pretty good, I can't really expect
to see the DS offering the same stamina with two screens and a 3D graphics chip
draining most of it. Unless of course they opt for a Lithium Polymer battery.

> -clamshell design to portect the screens.
> -price will probably be right.
>
> DS cons:
> -apparently still a pitiful low resolution of 256x192. Marginally
> better than GBA, but not better than NES. Sure there are two of them,
> but they are an inch apart and only one is displaying 3d graphics at
> a time, that doesn't really help.
I'm not really convinced that the screen resolution's going to be an issue. It
wasn't for the GBA and it simply means fewer dead pixels to worry about. The
Amiga had a 'normal' screen resolution of 320x256 pixels, but very few games
actually went above 256x192 (mainly to cater for a US audience - later Amiga
games went full-screen), which was frustrating because it left nastly black bars
everywhere.

Rumoured that these are STILL not
> backlit, but frontlit. :-(
If these screens turn out to be frontlit again, I don't think I'll bother.
Watching the videos earlier this week, I became aware of the camera being
adjusted to accommodate the apparent darkness of the screens.

The problems with front-lit screens (especially the SP's) is are that:

1) They tend not to be very bright - most of the light is lost through the
viewing pane instead of lighting the screen itself.

2) Colour definition is often poor, though I suspect this is a fault of the
GBA's screen itself rather than the lighting.

3) Poor contrast ratio. In the case of the SP, it is still difficult to use in
broad daylight because of screen glare, and in darkness, only a few colours
actually jump out of the screen. Perhaps they should've used a blacklight? ;-).
Blacks are purple for some reason.

-no analog control. I am personally not
> crazy about using the stylus for that purpose.
> -It is clunky looking. defnitely needs refinement before release.
It was said that the demonstration models probably won't be the final models
released at the end of the year.

The
> PSP is lightyears beyond in form. I know the Nintendo fanboys will
> force themselves to disagree, but even Craig Harris, the biggest
> Nintendo geek around acknowledges this.
Well, as I'm not a fanboy in any regard...

> -Only N64 quality 3d. I don't know about you, but I have never liked
> N64 quality 3d, in fact going back to play n64 games is pretty
> difficult these days. Granted Metroid looks pretty damn good, but I
> have a feeling it will be the exception...
The lower screen resolution should mean better graphics in theory. In practice,
we can probably expect a bunch of lazy, unoptimised ports.

> -Once again a low capacity media. Better than GBA, but 128mb is still
> not much. I expect games will suffer in the sound department, and
> either textures or games lenght will suffer. :-(
But this is gaming on the move. If I wanted in-depth games, I would use my PS2
for that, but it's unlikely I'll want to immerse myself into a gaming world on a
small handheld.

> -may be limited to quirky "friendly" games, may not see GTA and it's
> relatives.
This could change if Nintendo intend to target the 18-35 demographic. One thing
they need to stop doing is sanitising their games. There was no bloody excuse
for green blood in Doom.

>
> PSP Pros:
> -BIG BEAUTIFUL SCREEN! 480x272! Backlit and bright as a laptop.
Battery-eater too.

> -very pretty 3d quality
I'm going to wait and see the actual graphics from the games, rather than a
collection of clips that could've been rendered on anything. My main gripe with
the PSP is we didn't see the hardware itself working.

> -analog stick that apparently works very well.
> -nice sleek design.
> - huge media capacity.
> - lots of developer support
> - will surely get plenty of so called mature games, like GTA etc.
Possibly. But if you're a PS2 owner, how likely is it that you would want to pay
full whack for the game you already own just so you can use it on the PSP?

>
> PSP cons:
> -battery life expected to be terible.
Most likely - It's basically a PS2 after all, with an optical media device and a
very large screen.

> -not very original, basically a tiny PS2
> -high porduction costs may result in a lot of ports
> -screen will get scratched
> - will be expenisve
>
>
Also, the PSP will use a proprietary system for audio, video and games. For
anyone wanting to use the PSP as a portable MP3 player, they're out of luck, and
with Sony making noises about region protection, anyone from the UK wishing to
import games from Japan and the US are screwed as well.

I object to region protection on handhelds and the very idea that Sony could
charge whatever they like from country to country.

A multimedia device sounds great until the manfacturer calls the shots on what
can be played on it...

Paul.

 

[Jonathan]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

> > -lots and lots of developer support.
> > -long battery life
> What is the battery life in this case? I've not heard anything about it.
> Although the SP's battery life (10 hours) is pretty good, I can't really
expect
> to see the DS offering the same stamina with two screens and a 3D graphics
chip
> draining most of it. Unless of course they opt for a Lithium Polymer
battery.

Nitnendo has stated that battery life will be about the same at the SP, and
I have not known Nintendo to lie about these things, so I assume it is
either super efficient, or more likely it just comes with a higher capacity
battery.

> I'm not really convinced that the screen resolution's going to be an
issue. It
> wasn't for the GBA

Of course it was. It was perhaps the most annoying part about the GBA.

and it simply means fewer dead pixels to worry about. The
> Amiga had a 'normal' screen resolution of 320x256 pixels, but very few
games
> actually went above 256x192 (mainly to cater for a US audience - later
Amiga
> games went full-screen), which was frustrating because it left nastly
black bars
> everywhere.

Let's list just a few of the systems which had a higher resolution that
Nintendo's state of the art portable, just for fun.

-Sega Genesis
-Sega Nomad
-that silly Korean gamepark32.
-Nintendo 64
-SNES
-Master system



>
> Rumoured that these are STILL not
> > backlit, but frontlit. :-(
> If these screens turn out to be frontlit again, I don't think I'll bother.
> Watching the videos earlier this week, I became aware of the camera being
> adjusted to accommodate the apparent darkness of the screens.

This rumour has thankfully been put to rest by Nintendo's own website, so I
am satisfied.


>
> The problems with front-lit screens (especially the SP's) is are that:
>
> 1) They tend not to be very bright - most of the light is lost through the
> viewing pane instead of lighting the screen itself.

True, only really useful in darkness.

>
> 2) Colour definition is often poor, though I suspect this is a fault of
the
> GBA's screen itself rather than the lighting.

It's both.

>
> 3) Poor contrast ratio. In the case of the SP, it is still difficult to
use in
> broad daylight because of screen glare, and in darkness, only a few
colours
> actually jump out of the screen. Perhaps they should've used a blacklight?
;-).
> Blacks are purple for some reason.

The blacks are purple because of the blue LED's that light the screen, and
the contrast is bad becasue the LCD panel itself was poor to begin with.

>
> The
> > PSP is lightyears beyond in form. I know the Nintendo fanboys will
> > force themselves to disagree, but even Craig Harris, the biggest
> > Nintendo geek around acknowledges this.

> Well, as I'm not a fanboy in any regard...

And thank God for that!


> > -Once again a low capacity media. Better than GBA, but 128mb is still
> > not much. I expect games will suffer in the sound department, and
> > either textures or games lenght will suffer. :-(
> But this is gaming on the move. If I wanted in-depth games, I would use my
PS2
> for that, but it's unlikely I'll want to immerse myself into a gaming
world on a
> small handheld.

That's you, and perhaps the majority of people. I however do not have time
to play videogames much these days, and pretty much all my gaming is done in
portable form, on lunch breaks, etc. So I would be happy to have full lenght
immersive games on the go.

>
> > -may be limited to quirky "friendly" games, may not see GTA and it's
> > relatives.
> This could change if Nintendo intend to target the 18-35 demographic. One
thing
> they need to stop doing is sanitising their games. There was no bloody
excuse
> for green blood in Doom.

Absolutely not. Nor the hostages in the new Metal Slug game that no wear
shorts and tshirts.

>
> >
> > PSP Pros:
> > -BIG BEAUTIFUL SCREEN! 480x272! Backlit and bright as a laptop.
> Battery-eater too.

The screen isn't the battery eater on that system though. In fact it
probably is one of the most power efficent components. The battery eaters
will be the disk drive, and the 3D hardware.


>
> > -very pretty 3d quality
> I'm going to wait and see the actual graphics from the games, rather than
a
> collection of clips that could've been rendered on anything. My main gripe
with
> the PSP is we didn't see the hardware itself working.

I saw actual screenshots of the Tales games, which is 2d, oddly enough, and
frankly the extra resolution makes a huge difference, no question about it.

>
> > -analog stick that apparently works very well.
> > -nice sleek design.
> > - huge media capacity.
> > - lots of developer support
> > - will surely get plenty of so called mature games, like GTA etc.
> Possibly. But if you're a PS2 owner, how likely is it that you would want
to pay
> full whack for the game you already own just so you can use it on the PSP?

Well i certainly would be unlikely to buy a version of a game I already had
on my PS2. However I don't own a PS2 and never will, so....\

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.nintendo,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)

Jonathan wrote:
>
> Nitnendo has stated that battery life will be about the same at the
> SP, and I have not known Nintendo to lie about these things, so I
> assume it is either super efficient, or more likely it just comes
> with a higher capacity battery.
>
I wonder if it's that 1000mA battery they were supposed to be releasing for the
SP?

>> I'm not really convinced that the screen resolution's going to be an
>> issue. It wasn't for the GBA
>
> Of course it was. It was perhaps the most annoying part about the GBA.
I personally didn't really have a problem with the GBA's resolution, but then
that's just me. It was a marked improvement on the Game Gear so that was
probably why I was happy.


> Let's list just a few of the systems which had a higher resolution
> that Nintendo's state of the art portable, just for fun.
>
> -Sega Genesis
> -Sega Nomad
> -that silly Korean gamepark32.
> -Nintendo 64
> -SNES
> -Master system
>
All, with the exception of the GP32 designed to work on a TV (which has a
natively high resolution to begin with), not a small LCD screen. When the GBA
came out in 1999(?), colour TFT screens were still very expensive.

>
>
>>
>> Rumoured that these are STILL not
>>> backlit, but frontlit. :-(
>> If these screens turn out to be frontlit again, I don't think I'll
>> bother. Watching the videos earlier this week, I became aware of the
>> camera being adjusted to accommodate the apparent darkness of the
>> screens.
>
> This rumour has thankfully been put to rest by Nintendo's own
> website, so I am satisfied.
>
I wonder if the screens' brightness can be adjusted this time around. I always
thought the GBA's screen needed a seperate contrast/brightness control.

>> 3) Poor contrast ratio. In the case of the SP, it is still difficult
>> to use in broad daylight because of screen glare, and in darkness,
>> only a few colours actually jump out of the screen. Perhaps they
>> should've used a blacklight? ;-). Blacks are purple for some reason.
>
> The blacks are purple because of the blue LED's that light the
> screen, and the contrast is bad becasue the LCD panel itself was poor
> to begin with.
>
I thought the SP used a single striplight?

Paul.