UPDATE: Thanks guys for warning me about the pictures! They were still showing up in my comp, but I guess they were cached. I added the pics, and even added more information about the ports (failed to mention about the headphone jack/volume). Switched pics host, but if you’re still having problems viewing, let me know!!
  My first review! I previously started a topic about the Nintendo DS when I bought one at launch for my little brother’s Christmas present, but I’m starting a new one specifically for a break-down review of everything you get in the package. I recently decided to buy one for myself (impulse buy!) and I couldn’t resist! Enjoy the review.  :wink:

Opening the box
The Nintendo DS is snuggly packed in a box filled with lots of surprises! Inside the box, one will find the power/charger adaptor, the Manuals and special offers contained in a plastic bag along with a spare stylus and the Metroid Prime: Hunters demo cartridge, a wrist strap with a special “thumb sock” to use in place of the stylus, and the system itself contained in a plastic bag with a pink foam piece.

Nintendo obviously wants the buyer to feel that sense of security their investment is not being wasted and demonstrates that their business is not all about “throwing” the goods into the box and saying “ok, here’s your system. Thanks for your money!” Despite the company’s efforts, there have still been reports from consumers who have found bad pixels on the screens and loose hinges on their DS’s. Thankfully, Nintendo released a statement that they would gladly take those systems back and repair them under the warranty. More information on that can be found in this link  

Nintendo DS: the System
Pulling the system out of the box gave me that gigantic feeling of excitement! I am truly still a kid in heart, though not as good of a gamer as I used to be.

The system, despite its boxy design, is gorgeous and has a rugged feeling of quality. There are two screens on the system, making it a revolutionary first of its kind in a mainstream market. Only one of the screens, the bottom one found on the base unit, is a touchscreen, and responds very sensitively to the lightest touch from the stylus. Both screens are very shiny, reflective, and very clear and bright, like the Sony Vaio TR’s Xbrite screens.

The buttons look small, but have a nice firm touch when pressing. The layout is almost the same as the classic Super Nintendo controller, with a Left and Right button on the top edge. The Select and Start buttons are located above the Y-X, B-A buttons on the right side of the system, and the Power button is located above the Directional Pad on the left of the system.

Two colors paint the system’s outside case; a silver, rugged top and a black, smooth bottom. Rubber pads are found on the bottom of the system and on the top piece to absorb shock and keep the system from falling off a smooth and uneven table. The hinge feels very easy to open, and is kind of like opening a Sony Vaio TR-series laptop. There is also no latch on the Nintendo DS as with the Nintendo Gameboy SP, and the top piece snaps into place once it is extended to a comfortable viewing angle. The user may push the top screen back further to be aligned with the base at a 180-degree angle and snap into place one more time if the user prefers.

Ports on the DS
The Nintendo DS system contains a slot in the back for the DS cartridge, roughly larger than an SD slot, but snaps into the slot like a Sony Memory Stick. There is also a Power socket compatible with the Nintendo GameBoy Advance SP power/charger adaptor.

On the back of the unit, there is also a slot to store the stylus when it’s not in use. This is pretty standard with most other PDAs that utilize a stylus and touchscreen. There also is a square cavity right beside that, probably for expansion of the unit with future perpherals.

A headphone jack and volume control are located on the front base of the unit. The volume control is located by my thumb on the left side of the picture. It also appears there’s an “extra port” right beside the headphone jack. This is similar to the jack on the Sony Clie NX70V that I used to have; could there possibly be a remote attachment for the headphones in the future? Does this also mean that Nintendo might implement some way to play MP3s or even movies on the DS in the future?

Power On
There has never been a portable gaming system quite like the Nintendo DS. Upon removing from the box, there is ample charge in the system enough to play the sytem for a little while before needing a charge.

Two speakers are found, one on each side of the top screen. The stereo sound is noticeable when powering on and the splash screen comes on. The Nintendo DS logo is displayed on the top screen while a warning is displayed on the bottom screen about the possibility that certain light patterns may cause seizures to some people, and the notice provides a link to learn more information online.

When powering on for the first time, the user is guided through a setup to customize the system to his/her preference. The user can input any name s/he chooses to be referred to, choose what color to display on start-up menu, input the user’s birthdate, and the current time and date.

A calendar and a clock always show up in the start menu of the system, as well as all personalizations that the user inputs at the beginning of setup, which can all be changed later on in the User Settings. An built-in alarm is also found in the settings and can be activated whenever the user wants at whatever time. Backlit can also be turned off on one of the options in the menu and the screens as well as the sound automatically turn off when the unit is closed. Opening the unit up again turns the screens and the sound back on.

The one thing I LOVE about the Nintendo DS is that it utilizes great N64-comparable graphics at the same time compatible with the newest GameBoy Advance games; the combination is simply amazing! If there is a DS cartridge and a GameBoy Advance cartridge both inserted in the system, the menu will allow you to choose which game you want to play. PictoChat is also in the menu and built-in in the system. Basically, if you’ve ever played with MSN Messenger on a Tablet PC, this is similarly what PictoChat is.

In the User Settings, the user has the option to choose which screen s/he wishes to view the GameBoy Advance game when playing. The settings also allows the user to start games automatically without going through the start-up menu if s/he wants. I prefer to start the system with the menu just because I love the menu to the Nintendo DS (the clock actually “ticks”).

Graphics and Gaming
Gaming on the DS has never been more interesting. The graphics are about the same as N64 graphics, but with some enhancements, and viewing in dual screen! Sound is decent for the quality it is pushing out, and better than most laptop quality speakers, in my opinion.

The CGs are good for a portable system, though not very long in the demo of Metroid Prime Hunters, although what would I expect for a demo? The game cartridge holds about 1 Gigabit of data. I will say, after getting used to the controls on my DS, moving in 360-degrees on my portable system has been quite the experience! I’ve been yearning to play it every opportunity I got!!!

Comparison
Compared to Nintendo’s GameBoy Advance systems, the DS is definitely not the smallest and lightest, but for the features that it packs, it’s absolutely worth the money paid for it.

Conclusion
I don’t regret buying a DS for myself; it has brought the kid outside of me once again. If you’re willing to spend a good investment on portable gaming, I would recommend the DS to be one that would fit your enjoyment, with a potential for success of winning many game developers’ support.

Thanks everyone for previewing my review on the Nintendo DS! I will be importing a Sony PSP soon, so hopefully I’ll be putting up a review for that (and finding a better host for pics!).

-best,
Concura

27 November 2004

man, that’s huge ...

is it comfy?

thanks for your review, Concura, I really enjoyed reading it I think it might be the time to pick up a portable console for me again…

[quote author=“Concura”]
pink foam piece.

is that related to an old popular discussion at this site?  :wink:

most of the images are not loading… :|

[quote author=“Rahul”]
most of the images are not loading… :|

None of them loaded for me.

Erik

Atleast 4 of them loaded for me…

Thank you very much, FrodoID. Go for it.  :wink:

[quote author=“Rahul”][quote author=“Concura”]pink foam piece.

is that related to an old popular discussion at this site?  :wink:

most of the images are not loading…  :|

lol, not exactly, but that’s a big coincidence, Rahul. I didn’t even spot that one. 

Actually, there’s this pink foam-piece that packers sometimes use to pack sensitive material in; I suppose Nintendo placed it on top of the DS’s, all inside the plastic poly bag when you receive it as a “shock-absorber” so the system won’t be banging against the box through the long transport from Japan all the way to the store shelves, and finally, into the lucky hands of the consumer.  8)

[quote author=“tifosiv122”][quote author=“Rahul”]most of the images are not loading… :|

None of them loaded for me.

Erik

Whoops! Sorry, guys. Pics should be up. Switched hosts.  :wink:

Thanks guys for the comments!! Keep me posted if there are any more problems.

Oh!! And all pics were taken using my Sony Vaio TR3A (that I still haven’t sold!), so until I’m able to afford a better camera, sorry for the poor picture quality. 

-best,
Concura

27 November 2004

Ok, I posted one more pic of the Metroid game in the actual game-mode. If you notice, I replaced one of the pics under the ports description and added another.

Just out of curiousity, what host did any of you out there use to upload and post pics on community boards?  :shock:

-best,
Concura

27 November 2004

[quote author=“Concura”]
Just out of curiousity, what host did any of you out there use to upload and post pics on community boards?  :shock:

-best,
Concura

27 November 2004

Some forums allow you to upload pics and they’ll host them for you (like the fs2004 forum where they have a screenshots section so a user can upload multiple images and doesn’t need to bother about the hosting). For this forum I use the space provided to me by my university which is like 125 mb.

[quote author=“DayWalker”]man, that’s huge ...

is it comfy?

It doesn’t seem too huge once you actually have it in your hands, and it seems only noticeable when you put it up against other portables, but it’s fairly comfortable holding it when playing. The round smoothness of the base underneath the DS help “form” with the hands. It’s a great joy to have such a coveted machine in no one else’s hands but yours.  :wink:

Thanks, Rahul, for the information. I wonder if my college has anything like that .... ?

-best,
Concura

28 November 2004

[quote author=“Concura”][quote author=“DayWalker”]man, that’s huge ...

is it comfy?

It doesn’t seem too huge once you actually have it in your hands, and it seems only noticeable when you put it up against other portables, but it’s fairly comfortable holding it when playing. The round smoothness of the base underneath the DS help “form” with the hands. It’s a great joy to have such a coveted machine in no one else’s hands but yours.  :wink:

Thanks, Rahul, for the information. I wonder if my college has anything like that .... ?

-best,
Concura

28 November 2004

I think the best way to know it’s size is to compare it to our std. measurement device, our TR’s :wink:. Since you’re using the TR to take pics, You could probably place the DS on the keyboard and rotate the camera slightly and get a shot.

Your college should provide the server space too…ask some lab consultant in some computer lab…they should know about it.

[quote author=“Rahul”][quote author=“Concura”][quote author=“DayWalker”]man, that’s huge ...

is it comfy?

It doesn’t seem too huge once you actually have it in your hands, and it seems only noticeable when you put it up against other portables, but it’s fairly comfortable holding it when playing. The round smoothness of the base underneath the DS help “form” with the hands. It’s a great joy to have such a coveted machine in no one else’s hands but yours.  :wink:

Thanks, Rahul, for the information. I wonder if my college has anything like that .... ?

-best,
Concura

28 November 2004

I think the best way to know it’s size is to compare it to our std. measurement device, our TR’s :wink:. Since you’re using the TR to take pics, You could probably place the DS on the keyboard and rotate the camera slightly and get a shot.

Your college should provide the server space too…ask some lab consultant in some computer lab…they should know about it.

Good thinking, Rahul! I tried what you said with placing the DS on my TR’s keyboard, but the unit was too big to fit everything within the camera range. So, since I just got back to my dorm (and have everything set up back to the way I want it!), I popped out the digital camera and snapped a shot, uploaded to my host, and now I’m typing this.

Hope this helps!

Comparison: Nintendo DS and Sony Vaio TR3A

Sorry for the poor picture quality once again! I obviously need a new camera! 

-best,
Concura

28 November 2004

still… compared to the SP .. this is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!

the place of the buttons also smells like wrist pain….

i dont like it

Nice review. I still want that retro SP just for the look

As feature packed as the DS seems…I am going to hold out for the PSP.

Erik

[quote author=“DayWalker”]still… compared to the SP .. this is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!

the place of the buttons also smells like wrist pain….

i dont like it

It’s not too bad, but every system does have their weakness. I’d personally love to see how the Sony PSP stands up to this system. But once you go dual-screen, it kind of feels hard to give it up for single-screen ever again. Then again, maybe that’s just DS propaganda, or patriotism, or fan-boyish. 

[quote author=“tifosiv122”]Nice review. I still want that retro SP just for the look :wink:

As feature packed as the DS seems…I am going to hold out for the PSP.

Erik

Thanks a bunch, tifosiv!! I tried to use some elements of your review on the X505 as a “template” (if you don’t mind) because it was a really great review that I enjoyed, and I wanted readers to have the same effect with this one.  :wink:

You bet your bottom dollar the DS is packed. But I can understand how you’re falling for the PSP. I think I’m going to stick with DS for a little while, but I’m starting to lean for the PSP just because it’s really propelling my interest with all the features it has packed (can you say “Swiss Army knife?”) and because it’s something new! Who knows, maybe I’ll catch you online someday in the PSP, ha ha!!

-best,
Concura

30 November 2004

when they will release the psp?