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| Scouting The Nintendo DS • Suggested Price: $149.99 • Batteries: Rechargeable (included), last about 6-10 hours on a single charge • Wireless Range: 30 to 100 feet (depending) • Screen: Both backlit, three-inch LCD (256 x 192 pixels), 260,000 colors • Included Games: "Metroid Prime Hunters" (demo) • Bonus: Plays all GB and GBA games • Official Site: NintendoDS.com |
By Matt Thompson
Austin360
Dec. 13, 2004
Gimmick or innovation?
How useful the second screen Nintendo engineered into its latest handheld game unit proves to be will determine whether the Nintendo DS is perceived as some sort of leap forward in game play or just a suped-up GameBoy Advance. Not that there's anything wrong with the GameBoy, but if Nintendo is going to hold market share against a surge of upcoming handhelds -- including Sony's PSP, which debuted in Japan on Sunday and will make landfall here in the States in the first quarter of 2005 -- the DS is going to have to find some traction.
| DS Game Reviews • Asphalt Urban GT • Feel the Magic • Madden 2005 • Metroid Demo • Spider-Man 2 • Super-Mario 64 • The Urbz |
But the question remains: Should you take that step and buy the DS, with its sticker price a full third higher over that of the old reliable GBA?
We put that question to our review staff, who spent a few days each playing the DS and a few of its first wave of releases, rating the unit in various categories.
