Tetris Party Live

I was going back & forth over which version of Tetris Party to buy for my 3DS:

Tetris Party Deluxe, which is a cartridge that has more game modes, can be playable on my 3DS *or* my DS Lite... but costs $24.99(!) at Best Buy...

Tetris Party Live, which only has the basic Tetris game mode and online multiplayer (which I will probably never use), is downloadable & only playable on my 3DS... but costs $4.99.



Kinda easy to decide when you put it that way.


I figured if I somehow made a horrible mistake and wanted the version other than the one I first bought, I'd be out a bit over $5 bucks, but if I'd bought the cartridge first & realized I only wanted the basic game... that's $28 bucks (with tax) I'd have wasted.

So I've been playing Tetris Party Live for the last couple days. There are actually 2 modes in the basic single player: endless, and "clear 150 lines".

The problem is that I seem to TOTALLY SUCK at Tetris. I've been trying the 150 lines, but by the time I get to 70-80 lines, it simply gets too hard for me to get past. So every game I play ends around the 10 minute mark.

Compare that to Lumines/Lumines II, and while they get very difficult, the difficulty ebbs & flows, so there's a bit of a respite to the relentlessness of the pacing. And I can usually play a 30 minute session of Lumines. But Tetris Party Live, it just speeds up & up until you die (which in my case is very quick)

It's very annoying. Maybe I'll get better, but it just seems a bit, I dunno, harsh with the difficulty ramping up. I don't seem to make any improvement no matter how many games I play. They *ALL* end in about 10 minutes.

And the game generally is very plain. There is a little bit of customization with background & music, but overall it's not a great looking game. Plus, why does it not make use of both screens to play? The top screen is totally wasted, and you can't even choose to display the gameplay on the top rather than on the bottom. The top screen displays the computer when you're playing against it, but it would've been nice if it could've been used better for single player.

Consider yourself lucky, you Lumines PSP players who may've eyed Tetris with envy.... (though Tetris is available on the PS Store so if you were actually envious, you could just buy & download that...) even though Lumines could be considered a "Tetris rip-off", it's still has fairly well-balanced gameplay & great production values to give good gaming sessions, rather than the unrelenting chews-you-up+spits-you-out difficulty of Tetris Party Live.




later
don

ZAGG 75% OFF sale

I've been fairly quiet recently, but I had to post about this:



ZAGG (makers of the Invisible Shield screen protectors) is having a pretty good sale. Among their other products, it seems they have the Invisible Shield for 75% off for certain devices, like the DSi & PSPgo. There are others on the list, check this link for the deets.



later
don

DSi XL is big

I just have to say this. When I see the DSi XL in pics like this:




I can't help but think of pics like this:




It just makes me think of things that are WAY TOO BIG than what they should be, y'know?



later
don

DSi XL size comparison

Oh man... the DSi XL just continues to crack me up.

Kotaku has posted some pics showing how big it is compared to the previous DS Lite & DSi. What, no original DS comparison?? Come on!



But wow. That's kinda... big.

And then check out the pic of it beside a Wii game case:



Holy. It's seriously the size of a Wii game case when opened????

And some video from the Kotaku story of the DSi "in person":




When the DSi was announced, I was tempted by the slightly larger screen compared to the DS Lite. But the DSi XL *definitely* has a larger screen, no bones about it. Same resolution, so I'm not sure how graphics will look just resized up to that. And I'm not sure I really want a DS that's the size of a PSP-1/2/3K. That's something nobody asked for. I'd really like to hold a DSi XL (better start working out now so I'm strong enough when it comes out, hehe) just to see what the feel is like.

But I'm really loving my DS Lite right now. It's a decent size, and just a fun little system. The red & black colour scheme is really nice too.


later
don

DSi XL coming to North America & Europe

What was first rumoured for Japan seems to be confirmed for everywhere else now. The DSi with the larger screens is coming, called DSi XL in North America & Europe (called DSi LL in Japan)

But check out the size comparison between the 2 DSis..... holy smokees.




That's freakin'...... huge. And check out that Stylus! "Is that a DSi stylus in your pocket or are you just happy to yadda yadda".

My initial response is that this whole thing is hilarious. Nintendo is making this console for OLD PEOPLE who can't see as good as they used to, who would appreciate a more grippable stylus....

Man. I can't stop chuckling when I look at the size of that thing. Sony is so obsessed with smallifying the PSP they're willing to break compatibility with its own library, and Nintendo thinks people want a handheld that can double as a life raft. It's all so nutty.

Though I'm not at this point saying the DSi XL (sheesh, even that name! *chuckle*) is bad. Bigger screen is actually cool, and the stylus like that is actually nice too.

I'm just shocked that this isn't around April 1st, because if it was, I'd never believe it. Especially the name.


later
don

DSi getting bigger screens next year?

Hmmm. So there's this rumour that the DSi will be getting a bit bigger screen-- from 3.25" to 4". A minor upgrade, but with no additional cost. I wonder if the overall size of the DSi will be increased, too? Because it seems like it's a bit longer than the DS Lite already, though it also looks thinner.

I guess that Nintendo has established their history of messing with their handhelds with all the Game Boy variants they've released over the years. But it is annoying that all these companies have followed the terrible example that Apple has set with doing minor iterations of a product instead of a true upgrade. It seems to be the norm that all these companies are going to be releasing a "new" version of their hardware every year. I have no doubts that Sony will release a new PSP-variant next year. It will probably not be "PSP2", but just another minor "upgrade"... probably another PSPgo with a slightly bigger screen OR more onboard memory (32GB, perhaps?). It won't be both, because then what can they save for 2011?

And it's also kind of funny that Nintendo DS has increased the size of their screen with their minor upgrades, keeping the same resolution... while Sony PSP has *decreased* the size of their screen... keeping the same resolution......



later
don

Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi

Much like the Wii interview, Nintendo's Global President Satoru Iwata sits down and interviews his minions the DSi design team to get their thoughts on this 3rd interation of the DS.







Despite being interviewed by their boss, there's some candid comments... like how constraining it was to have to try to make a "new" system that wasn't a "new" system:

Kuwahara:

One thing that was difficult was developing the project while keeping in mind how to sell it. What I mean is, it wasn't a completely new piece of hardware, so we couldn't plan on there being several big titles to be simultaneously released with it.

Iwata:

Because it's not an entirely new platform. It's the third console in the Nintendo DS line.

Kuwahara:

Exactly. So, to put it simply, we have to be able to sell the console on its own. It also has to be able to meld into the already-existing DS market.

Iwata:

That's right.

Kuwahara:

That was the source of some frustration for me. I couldn't move forward at full blast, but if I didn't move forward, it wouldn't feel new. It was quite a dilemma.

Iwata:

In other words, you would have felt freer if you could have ignored the technological precedents and the existing market for the DS, but since you had to restrict yourself to the DS platform, figuring out how to be innovative within that framework was a big challenge.

*[this is the part where Iwata goes, "O RLY"... pulls out Kuwahara's employee review file, and Kuwahara recants everything he just said... hehe just kidding.]*


One weird idea: originally the DSi was going to have 2 DS cartridge slots! I'm not sure why they really pushed for this, but when they passed the prototype around, the team really didn't like it... apparently it added a lot of bulk to the system. So they had to do a last minute change to make it the slimmer DSi we (will) know.

Another weird thing: SD card support was not a popular idea, and had to be pushed on them by Shigeru Miyamoto:

Iwata:

Early during planning, software developers in favor of SD cards weren't in the majority. If you use SD cards, the size increases, and at that stage it was difficult to visualize clearly what SD cards would bring to the system and what it would lack without them. But Miyamoto-san wanted to use them. When asked if he was certain, he said yes and promised that he would make the use of it. (laughs)

*The full interview is here, in 2 parts.*


I'm not a big fan of incremental hardware updates and passing them off as "new systems"... unfortunately Apple taught Nintendo & Sony how to scam people that this works.... but the DSi is still an interesting console. If was buying a DS for the first time, I'd probably go with the DSi despite the higher price.... well, I guess it depends on if I had Game Boy Advance cartridges, and a Game Boy Micro (yes on both).... otherwise it is a bit annoying to lose that backwards compatibility.

But for people just entering the handheld market, GBA carts are hard to find anyway so they'd probably just be looking for DS games.... the DSi is likely the best bet for the future....


later
don

DSi: Do I want?

Nintendo DSi is going to be released in North America on April 5, 2009.


Overall, it's a small upgrade from the DS Lite. A few nice additions like camera(s), SD card slot, slightly bigger screens and AAC music playback.

I've read that so far only the black and (lavender?) blue colours are set for North America release. No white??? Odd.

For me, it's a fairly safe bet that I will be passing on this update. From what I can see, the biggest draw of the DSi is the "i"... even though Nintendo hasn't said what that stands for, I take it to mean "internet"-- specifically, downloadable content through Wi-Fi.

Yes, there's the 2 cameras that could open up possibilities for future games to use them. But if you were a games developer, knowing that only a relatively small portion (even if the DSi will sell like hotcakes which it probably will) can possibly use the camera support... would you make a game that cuts off a large portion of your possible sales? We already know that answer from the Wii-- specifically the Wii Balance Board. It's been out for a year, and there are (very) few games that offer Balance Board support.... and of those few that support the Balance Board, how many of them are *good* games? Leaving a very slim selection. As nice as the feature is, the DSi's camera isn't a huge draw for me.



Awwww, how can you not love it??


AAC music playback: I don't have iTunes, I can count the AAC music files I have on one hand. It pisses me off that Nintendo has chosen to support AAC *over* MP3. I know that AAC is a technically better codec than MP3, but my PSP can play *both*. I don't want one over the other (unless it's mp3) So that DSi feature sucks for me.

DSiWare/SD card support: The SD card is used for music/photos in the DSi (the DSi has onboard 256MB storage too) but the main use will be for games downloaded from the Nintendo Store, DSiWare. Personally, I don't have Wi-Fi, so I can't make use of this feature.

Downloaded games look like the future of handheld gaming (ugh?).... the iPhone seems to be leading the way with Sony and Nintendo playing catch-up.... I'm sure Nintendo's relying on it's past history and brand to keep their edge while they try & figure out how to deal with the changing landscape of the handheld market.... and the DSi is their stopgap measure.

I do really like the idea of slightly bigger screens, though the resolution is the same. So I don't know how much better things will *really* look, but I figure it will still be a *bit* better.


Comparison shot between the DSi & DS Lite.


The big thing for me is, you know how when a new PSP game comes out everyone posts on forums, "I've got to dust off my PSP..." or "My PSP's gathering dust..." well, that's pretty much how it is with my DS Lite. I really like the DS Lite, but honestly, I haven't played it since early January when I bought those 2 games for it (Custom Robo & Sonic... haven't even tried Sonic yet) It's fun, but....... I use my PSP way more because it does more than just games. Today I'm going to be playing some Force Unleashed, then watch an episode of EP Daily, and listen to music on it. The DSi goes a bit of a step towards being able to do all that but it doesn't (natively) play video, and like I said about the AAC-only support....

I'd consider the DSi if my DS Lite broke.



*slightly related: PSP-3000: Do I want?*



later
don

DSi & music playback

The DSi is set to launch in North America on April 5, 2009.

Among it's few added features is music playback in AAC format. I keep reading about people all excited and touting it's features as an .mp3 player. Let's make this crystal clear: THE DSI DOES NOT PLAY MP3. THE DSI PLAYS .M4A (AAC format)

It sounds like nitpicking, and maybe it is... but .mp3 and AAC files are *NOT* the same thing. I know that people use "mp3" as a general definition of digital music files. I do it myself. But it's a BIG DEAL if you're thinking that the DSi will be awesome because it can play your mp3 files that you have on your computer, but when you find out that you have to convert those .mp3 files to .m4a (maybe .mp4 which is what they REALLY are)... then the distinction becomes pretty damn important.

Basically, you'd only have .m4a AAC files if you used iTunes, and you'd probably only be using iTunes if you have an iPod. And if you already have an iPod, I doubt the DSi music playback features will really compare.... though it's more like the DSi treats music as a toy rather than music.

All these idiots out there saying "the DSi is an mp3 player"... it's like saying something that plays only these:




is a CD player. In other words, don't be idiots spreading misinformation.




later
don

Nintendo DSi - R.I.P. GBA slot

This is the DS Lite model I have, the Crimson/Black DS Lite that came packaged with Brain Age 2. I got mine on the release day in August 2007 from Future Shop which also included a bonus case (it looks nice but doesn't protect the sides so I don't use it anymore) and a bonus game, umm... Monster Trucks or something? It's fun, but I wouldn't buy it on its own.

I'm really liking my DS Lite, the killer app that got me to buy it was Brain Age 2. It's still one of my most played DS games.

So sort of lost in the big announcement of the upcoming release of the DS Lite redesign, the DSi, is that the slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges is now gone. Historically, Nintendo has been very consistent with maintaining backwards compatibility with its systems, up to a point. Sure, with the GameCube switching over to disc-based media, it cut itself off from the previous Nintendo cardridge-based media consoles. And the Game Boy Micro can only play GBA carts, not original Game Boy or Game Boy Color carts.

DSi makes a big step in severing ties to the vast Game Boy Advance cartridge library. A lot of people might think, what's the big deal? New GBA games aren't being released anymore. And with their focus on downloadable content, it looks like Nintendo is going to make GBA games available to download & save on a DSi SD card. So what does it matter? Well..... aside from Nintendo making GBA fans rebuy the games they already own on carts..... there are still reasons why the GBA slot is important, even to the DS.

Even though I own 2 Game Boy Micros, the GBA slot on my DS Lite is still important to me.

The big draw of the DSi for me is the media functions. But really, I *ALREADY* have those media functions like music playback because I have a Play-Yan Micro. I got the Play-Yan Micro for my Game Boy Micro, but it works just fine in my DS Lite (like all GBA carts, it does stick out... in fact it sticks out even in the GBA Micro, so it sticks out EVEN MORE in the DS Lite) It's a pretty good music & video player, plays back content from an SD card. That's all it does, it's very basic but it's nice. There's a good review of the Play-Yan Micro here.






Although, right now my DS Lite's GBA slot is filled with an Ewin Rumble Pack I got from DealXtreme for like $4.20 or so... and shipping was free! It was so cheap, I just had to get it.




I only have 1 DS game that supports rumble, Star Trek: Tactical Assault. The list of rumble supported games seems pretty small. There is at least one other rumble DS game I want, Custom Robo Arena, I've heard reports of it being like $10.00 at Wal-Mart in the U.S.... here in Canada, I can only find it at EB Games for like $40.00! Waaaaay too much. I'm hoping I'll spot it in Wal-Mart or Zellers, places like that for really cheap.



In Japan, they released a paddle controller that plugs into the GBA slot, I heard it's great for games like Space Invaders Extreme & Arkanoid. And even though it doesn't interest me personally, Guitar Hero: On Tour, the DS game relies on a fret-button peripheral that plugs into the GBA slot. That game only came out a few months ago, I think they're even planning a sequel. How do you think Activision feels about the DSi? They're probably biting through wood right now....

Not to mention that playing GBA games on a DS is still pretty fun.




later
don

Nintendo announces the DSi

Wow! For the last.... while... us Nintendo fanboys have been anticipating/dreading/speculating that a new version of the DS was coming. There were even timelines stating how according to Nintendo's schedule, it was "about due"...

I guess they were right: Nintendo (in Japan) has announced a new DS: The DSi!






From DSfanboy:

• Overall size has been reduced -- DSi is 12% or 2.6 millimeters slimmer than the Lite.


• Comes with an external 0.3 Megapixel camera (for 640 x 480 pixel pictures) and a VGA camera located on the hinge, directed towards the user. You'll be able to edit pictures using the touchscreen.
  


• Full music playback functionality, including adjustable pitch and playback speed.
  


• Both screens have been expanded to 3.25 inches.


• SD memory card slot is included, and there'll be on-board memory also.
  


• Will ship with an built-in Nintendo DS web browser.
  


• DSi will allow users to download games from DSWare, a new service that operates with Wii Points -- or, as they are now known, Nintendo Points.


• Logging onto DSWare for the first time will grant users 1,000 free Nintendo Points.


• DSWare comes in four pricing categories: free (!), 200 Nintendo Points, 500 Nintendo Points, and 800 Nintendo Points.


• Will come in lovely matte white and matte black. Begone, foul fingerprints that have taunted us so!


• And finally, it launches on November 1st in Japan, and will cost ¥18,900, or roughly $179.

[EDIT: Yikes, I just found this article from PC World about the DSi's stats. The most worrisome: NO MORE GBA SLOT! I didn't even notice that in the pics, since the slot is normally on the bottom of the DS Lite.]



2 cameras! 1 inside & 1 outside. Weird! Obviously the outside one is for taking pics and the inside one is for games or internet communication. There are *a few* DS games that use a camera, but they include a camera module that hooks into the DS Lite's GBA cartridge slot. I can't see all that many developers making camera-dependent games for this DSi, because that would alienate the DS Lite base, unless they included a camera attachment for the DS Lite (or if Nintendo made a seprate add on for sale)

And Nintendo has been overly paranoid about internet connectivity, so I wonder how robust any video/camera feature would be as far as webchat goes.



The screens are slightly bigger than the DS Lite:




Not a huge difference, but an improvement. Nice.

I think it's kind of freaky that the DSi speaker holes have changed to look EXACTLY like the PSPs:




[EDIT: More from the PC World article]:

Screen: The DSi screen is 3.25 inches diagonal width. That's bigger than the 3-inch panels on the DS Lite. Both are color TFT (thin-film transistor) LCDs (liquid crystal displays) with 260,000 pixels resolution.

Size: The DSi measures 137 millimeters by 74.9mm by 18.9mm making it a little longer, deeper and thinner than the DS Lite, which measures 133mm by 73.9mm by 21.5mm.

Weight: The DSi weighs in at 214 grams. That's a touch lighter than the 218-gram DS Lite but close enough that you're unlikely to notice.

Battery life: Depending on the screen brightness gamers can expect anywhere between 3 hours and 14 hours on the DSi versus 5 hours to 19 hours on the DS Lite.

Battery recharge time: Good news for gamers is that the DSi takes 2 hours and 30 minutes to recharge -- 30 minutes faster than the DS Lite.

Compatibility: The DSi can play software developed for the DS and DSi but lacks the compatibility for GameBoy Advance software that's present on the DS Lite. Any DSi-specific software won't play on the DS Lite.

Inputs: The DSi features a DS and SD Card slot. On the DS Lite you can find a DS Card slot and GameBoy Advance cartridge slot but no SD Card compatibility. Both have connectors for power and a stereo headphone and microphone.

This is just initial details, can't wait to find out more... but much like the PSP-3000 announcement, this doesn't look like a huge upgrade from the current DS Lite. The 2 units look nearly identical, aside from very small changes.

As someone who uses the media functions on my PSP as much--sometimes more-- than the games, I am really intrigued by the DSi's SD card slot and (not known at this time how much) onboard memory. They mentioned that the DSi will play back music files. I'v experienced Nintendo's music playback functions through my Play-Yan Micro, and the Wii's mp3 playback. It's flexible in that you can pretty much load mp3s in any folder you want, and the device will see it. But overall, it's basic; not as flexible as the PSP, and even THAT device isn't all that flexible an mp3 player compared to the more robust dedicated ones out there.

$180.00 price point... that seems pretty high, it's about equal/maybe a little higher than the price for the PSP. Especially considering the current DS Lite retails for $130.00 right now, but that could've been a planned clearance price to screw over new buyers get rid of old stock.

We'll really have to see how Nintendo handles all this added functionality. Honestly, I'm not expecting a lot... they have a "let's just throw it out there & see what sticks" type of mentality, as opposed to really thinking things through. I'm still in shock, not nearly as much as the PSP-3000, I was sort of expecting this... these upgrades seem nice, but right now, I'm not kicking myself for "only" having a DS Lite.

[EDIT: DSfanboy has posted an article with Nintendo America head Reggie Fils-Aime saying that "The DS Lite is on track to sell 22% more units than it did last year, says Reggie. Because of the incredible demand, we won't get the DSi until "well into calendar year 2009" ]


later
don