10/06 Update: Since we no longer write for the Edmond Sun, this section is temporarily housing our podcast links for our iTunes feed. All of the columns are in the archives menu if you feel like exploring.

These columns (as well as the 'releases') come from weekly content that we write for the Edmond Sun, out of Edmond, OK (though we live in Chicago). This page contains the archives for said column, many of which are in their pre-published, unedited state. Some titles and editing by Brendan Sinclair.

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Finally, a positive column about the DS
Friday, May 13, 2005

When Nintendo revealed the Nintendo DS at the Electronic Entertainment Expo last May they said it wasn’t meant to compete with any of their existing products. It was a veritable third pillar, which would magically exist alongside the Gameboy Advance and Gamecube. Obviously, no one in the video game industry believed Nintendo’s bold talk. The theory was: if the DS turned out to be a success they would drop the GBA line and focus on quality DS software. If it failed, they could bring out the next Gameboy as their real next generation portable system and chalk the DS up as a failed experiment. Well, after being on the market for six months with over five million systems sold worldwide, Nintendo has proven they knew exactly what they were talking about: the DS has no real competition because there has never been anything like it.

This is already the third column I have written about the DS in this space and, unfortunately, this is the first time I have placed it in a positive light. Until recently I viewed the DS as a complete failure. There simply wasn’t enough compelling software available for it. There wasn’t one meaty game; one experience you could really bite down on and satiate your gaming needs for a solid month. Everything felt like a quick fix gimmick. In fact, I actually got the Nintendo DS as a gift for Christmas and returned it, unopened, because there simply weren’t enough games available to justify the $150 price tag. And while I still don’t own the system, I finally realize what Nintendo is trying to do.

The Nintendo DS could be the most important video game system released since the PlayStation One brought gaming to the mainstream. I know it sounds ridiculous to even suggest that a system that has been on the market for more than six months yet only has 21 games available for it could potentially change gaming as we know it, but that is exactly what Nintendo is trying to do with it. While every other system in the history of gaming (aside from notable flops like the Virtual Boy and N Gage) have simple relied on better graphics and sound to push games forward, the Nintendo DS is essentially creating entirely new genres that hardly even resemble games.

The first title in a wave that could potentially change everything is set to come to America some time this summer. Nintendogs was recently released in Japan and, according to reviews and sales of the game thus far, has taken hold of the country in a big way. In fact, the first week Nintendogs was available the NDS outsold every other system combined. The interesting thing is, Nintendogs can only be considered a video game in the loosest of definitions. It is essentially the next generation of the virtual pet craze from the early 90s, but the technology which makes the DS so unique to begin with will ensure this game not only offers much more depth than previous titles, but should appeal to an entirely different market.

So what’s the deal with Nintendogs? It lets you raise a puppy… and that’s about it. Sure, this may not sound too excited for people who enjoy playing real games, but for once this is a title that isn’t geared towards you. This is a game for your mom or your girlfriend who constantly give you grief for playing games. Nintendogs takes full advantage of the DS’s unique features to make this game unbearably cute. You can actually pet your dog using the touchscreen and they will act just like a real dog. If you touch their paws they will try to kick your hand off because, as everyone knows, paws are the only way to tickle a dog. Or you can play with their floppy ears and even turn them on their backs and give them a belly rub. The tactile feel is obviously not there, there is no fur attachment coming out, but being able to physically interact with a puppy may be too much for soft-hearted people to resist. And don’t forget about the built in microphone – you can name your dog, teach it tricks, and even make enough kissy noises that people will think you’re completely insane.

And that is just the start of things to come. Another title that was recently released in Japan and will come to America some time this summer is Electroplankton, which is even less a game than Nintendogs. If I had to place Electroplankton into a genre it would be interactive audio art. You basically create melodies and sounds by moving tiny marine animals around the screen. Depending on which you move, and how quickly you move your stylus, you can affect the pitch and duration of the note being played. Obviously, this is not a game for everyone, but it’s the type of thing that could draw in people who would previously never even think of buying a video game system.

The NDS is so unique that developers are having trouble coming up with ways to utilize its features. For those gamers who have suffered through this drought that has plagued the DS through its early life, you are in store for some of the most entertaining and unique experiences out there. With entirely new types of games like the two I mentioned above, along with fantastic addictive titles like Yoshi’s Touch and Go and Wario Ware Touched, the DS is turning out to be something that may be hard to avoid for much longer.

- Tom


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