Late Night Consoling
So how about that Nintendo DS announcement, huh? I must admit, my first reaction was the same as IGN's: whiskey tango foxtrot? I'm willing to hold off on any real opinions until I actually see the thing, but my initial thoughts aren't particularly favorable. There are two trends in gaming on Nintendo platforms that really have annoyed me lately: card-based fighting systems (as seen in PSO III, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Pokemon, Baten Kaitos and so on) and pointless connectivity with the GBA. I played both Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Zelda: The Four Swords, and in both cases I really wished I didn't have to keep looking down so damn much. As this is likely to be a somewhat portable system (I'm picturing the same thing that packav posted in the comments) obviously looking down won't be as much of an issue. But even without that, is dual-head gaming really going to keep Nintendo fresh and innovative? I guess I should be pleased that this new dual-head system will prevent the DS library from being 100% ports from older platforms, but I really wouldn't be surprised if the launch titles read like the same launch titles they've always had: Zelda DS, Mario DS, Mario Kart DS, F-Zero DS etc. But still, I'm going to wait until we know more before making any predictions about the thing. My confidence in the PSP is not total either, as those rumors about a $400 price point have it well outside my price range...and I buy everything! If this is really an innovative (and hopefully low-cost) alternative to that, Nintendo could have a hit this holiday season.
| Latest DS Details: Backlit, Vertically Oriented There's still a whole lot we don't know about Nintendo's DS system, but there are a few things that have been clarified since last night. First up is 1UP's technical details news item, which confirms that yes, the two screens will be backlit. Note that these are literally backlit, unlike the GBA SP, which is actually front-lit. Also, GameInformer has posted a Q&A with Beth Llewelyn of Nintendo of America, who dodges a lot of questions, but does say that the DS will have its two screens oriented vertically. Also note that she hints that GBA compatibility may be in the cards (but shoots down any chance of GameCube compatibility). |
| Getaway creator uh...gets away. gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Brendan McNamara, the director of The Getaway during his tenure at Team Soho, has relocated to his native Australia, where he's started a new company with other former Soho-ites. They've already been in place for six months, and is working on a "third generation Playstation title." Considering how long it took to get The Getaway out the door, it's probably a good thing that they started good and early. |
| TimeSplitters 3 Signed by EA Electronic Arts announced today that they have signed TimeSplitters 3, the latest shooter from Free Radical Design. The game is scheduled for a 2005 release on unnamed platforms, and is said to include online multiplayer, although if EA and Microsoft haven't come to an agreement by then, it seems unlikely it will feature support for Xbox Live. |
| Guilty Gear, SVC Chaos on Xbox Live Big news out of Japan for fighting fans today, as SNK Playmore and Sammy announced plans to release Guilty Gear XX #Reload and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos for Xbox, complete with support for Xbox Live on both titles. |
| The Tricky World of Translation Lost In Translation--Japanese and American Gaming's Culture Clash is the name of a new article is up at Gamasutra tonight that talks with John Ricciardi, a former editor at Electronic Gaming Monthly who now works at Tokyo-based Interone Inc, which has translated such games as Xenosaga Episode 1, Soul Calibur II and Tales of Symphonia. Aside from talking about the crazy world of translating games, he also talks about why Western-developed games don't do particularly well, and why some games needed to be changed for Japanese release (like those freaky eyebrows that were added to Ratchet & Clank). Note that free registration is required to view article. |
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| MX Unleashed Q&A GameSpot has posted a Q&A with Robb Rinard, the senior game designer at Rainbow Studios on their upcoming motocross game MX Unleashed. |
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| DRIV3R Q&A HomeLAN is the latest site to conduct a Q&A with Martin Edmondson, the head of Reflections Interactive. As he's done in a handful of these already, Martin comments on their upcoming game DRI3VR. |
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| Final Fantasy XI Q&A Also new at HomeLAN tonight is a Q&A with Yasu Kurosawa, the online producer at Square Enix USA. Yasu fields some questions about the imminent launch of the PS2 version of Final Fantasy XI, and touches on topics like cross-platform compatibility and the plans for rolling out upcoming updates across both platforms. |
| Misc. Media/Previews | |
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| Cube.IGN has posted a look at the truly bizarre title known as The Guy Game. |
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| GameSpot has new previews of Drakengard and Winning Eleven 7. |
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| GameSpot goes hands-on with Breakdown and Team Xbox has a hands-on look at Rallisport Challenge 2. |
| Nintendo has launched their official Metroid: Zero Mission site. |
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| New shots from ESPN Major League Baseball (PS2, Xbox) are up at GameSpot, IGN has some new shots from Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (GC, PS2, Xbox), Planet GameCube has an import review of Bonk's Adventure (GC, PS2) and Team Xbox goes hands-on with MVP Baseball 2004 (GC, PS2, Xbox). |
