Comments on: Two screen handheld

Two screen handheld

MintSauce — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:58:47 -0800

Nintendo announces two screen handheld console. More details expected at May's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It's due for release at Christmas, around the same time as Sony's PSP.

By: ascullion

ascullion — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 04:47:28 -0800

Allow me to be the first to say Virtual Boy 2! The folly of Nintendo continues.

By: majick

majick — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 05:36:34 -0800

Allow me to be the first to say Donkey Kong Game & Watch II! The grand legacy of Nintendo continues! No, seriously -- Nintendo already had a two screen handheld.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:25:23 -0800

And you could hear the developers at Sony's Playstation HQ cheering for Nintendo.

By: Dreamghost

Dreamghost — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:39:37 -0800

ITS THA MEGATON!~ @*#^%#%#&*@@(**(@

By: toddst

toddst — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:46:34 -0800

Someone always has to come out and disrespect the Virtual Boy. Yeah, it gives me headaches and can make me feel a bit sick, but I like it almost as much as my Vectrex.

By: agregoli

agregoli — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:59:42 -0800

ProductAnnoucementFilter

By: lotsofno

lotsofno — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 07:39:16 -0800

i'm interested in seeing what kind of games will be out for this system. i'm also hoping the screens are side-by-side, instead of one being on top of another. nintendo is as innovative as it gets, in the video game field. i hope they won't dissapoint with this one.

By: peterb

peterb — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 07:47:22 -0800

It's like they have some sort of Internal Research Department in Charge of Stupid.

By: shagoth

shagoth — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:02:50 -0800

What's really scary is that this suggests that Nokia has time to get their shit together and do something with a redesigned N-Gage.

By: LoopSouth

LoopSouth — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:16:29 -0800

Computers can multitask... Humans can't... Unless the two screens are used to create cross-eyed 3d, it's rather useless in games with any sort of action. I guess it could be used for RPGs... but they are already boring enough... another screen, twice the boredom.

By: erebora

erebora — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:19:12 -0800

this thread is 45 percent bitter.

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:45:46 -0800

Nokia. Shit together. Heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh eh eheheheh eh eh eheh eheheheeheeheh *choke* *gasp* mooo hooo hooo heee heee heee heee hoo hoo They're making more handsets to the same design already. hoo hoo hoo. they have NO idea. *dies*

By: shagoth

shagoth — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:01:20 -0800

bonaldi: As kindall so astutely pointed out when he saw one in person, "Talking on it doesn't look any where near as weird if you're not making the stupid face." I suspect that mere ingorance and the presence of a silly blog have shaped your views. Tell me, though, where else you can buy a fast gprs data capable phone that runs symbian and has bluetooth for $200 street here in the states (game platform notwithstanding)? Ha, without a new plan you can't and even then it's tough to get one that cheap. Of course, this thread is about Nintendo, so just plug up that virtual boy and enjoy its silly looking 3D goodness.

By: davehat

davehat — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:28:52 -0800

More info (well, a bit more anyway) from IGN

By: kindall

kindall — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:34:58 -0800

shagoth speaks truth about the nGage. Besides, the thing's got Bluetooth. If you are so self-conscious that you feel uncomfortable talking on a phone because you have to hold it differently from other phones, leave it in your pocket and use a headset, for God's sake.

By: Flat Feet Pete

Flat Feet Pete — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:00:55 -0800

Two screens? A new device, neither handheld nor console? Could they be doing the e-Book thing? Wouldn't make sense, but then what does.

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:31:21 -0800

Just to be clear: the nGage sucked even without the need for sidetalkin'. A small, funny shaped screen, crappy performance, and the need to actually remove the battery cover and the battery to switch to a different game are the features that doomed it.

By: shepd

shepd — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 12:03:37 -0800

Looks like Sony learned a lesson from the gamecube! They're (finally?) using a non-standard format disc. Security through obscurity works extremely well for consoles. Nobody has chipped a GameCube yet (although, there are ways to get it to load backups with a LOT [and I mean a LOT] of contortions). I expect this might be Sony's first secure system. Yay Sony! They can finally enjoy the huge boost in sales that Nintendo has from making it impossible to back up gamecube games. YOWZERS!

By: inpHilltr8r

inpHilltr8r — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 15:06:10 -0800

Rumour is that the two screens are mounted vertically, and that the hinge is near invisible. This makes it a large screen portrait format backwards compatible Gameboy. There, that sounds much less risky, right?

By: inpHilltr8r

inpHilltr8r — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 15:08:12 -0800

They're just not calling it that because they don't want existing Gameboy sales to collapes, which is generally what happens when you announce next generation hardware.

By: kevspace

kevspace — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:21:34 -0800

This makes me very, very nervous for Nintendo. The GBA SP is pretty darn cool, but it has the odd feeling of being an embarrasing upgrade to the almost unusable GBA. The word "portable" worries me as well, because Nintendo was calling the Virtual Boy "portable" in its early life, which it clearly was not. I'll have to see some software first... Nintendo's "innovations" don't always pan out. If, like the GC/GBA link cable, developers have no idea what to do with the other screen, it'll just seem risky, especially if it's not backwards GB compatible. This is just very weird all around... they can say it'll be marketed separately from the Game Boy, but when I say "Nintendo Portable," what do you think of? All in all, I'm intrigued, but I'm not sure how many missteps Nintendo can make before they end up painting themselves into a corner with all the Nintendo diehards (like me; I've had way more fun with my GC than my XBox or PS2)...

By: Foosnark

Foosnark — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 19:36:21 -0800

Tell me, though, where else you can buy a fast gprs data capable phone that runs symbian and has bluetooth for $200 street here in the states (game platform notwithstanding)? Nokia 3650, got it for $300 from Amazon, with a $100 Amazon rebate (making it $200 without new contract) and a $200 T-Mobile rebate (making it free for me). It looks more like a TV remote than a taco, I've never removed the battery, it has a camera built in, and (unlike the n-Gage) every person who's seen it thought it was the coolest thing ever.

By: lucien

lucien — Thu, 22 Jan 2004 10:49:03 -0800

I'm still somewhat annoyed over the launch of the SP, right after Christmas, when Nintendo denied that they were planning to fix the problems of the older GBA by releasing a new one in interviews RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Sure it maximised sales, but wasn't exactly a great way to treat their customers. As kindall so astutely pointed out when he saw one in person, "Talking on it doesn't look any where near as weird if you're not making the stupid face." I suspect that mere ingorance and the presence of a silly blog have shaped your views. Kindall's opinion doesn't match my own in this case. I personally think the N-Gage does look pretty ridiculous, and I think most people who are interested in gaming and who follow the development of handhelds thought that for quite a while prior to the creation of the side 'talkin site. But that's not a hugely important point. The N-gage does get a lot of things wrong that I would find important in a gaming compatible phone. In fact, it gets so many things wrong that in this first interation, it's pretty much entirely a joke. Problems as I see them inclue the vertical screen, the overall poor design, the horrendously misplaced and ill-advised advertising which insults the very market Nokia are trying to impresss, and the poor selection of launch games. TNL feature on N-Gage launch. The kind of spiel that appeals to sexually frustrated 15 year olds. Gamespy feature, "My lonely N-Gage." Ziff Davis Review.