I'm really worried that Nintendo is going to pull another Gameboy Advance and release nothing other than ports once again. I mean, I like Super Mario Bros. 3 and all, but I'm pretty sure I've already played it for about five years straight, on both the NES and SNES. I guess Super Mario 64x4 adds a multiplayer element to the whole thing, but it still gives me a bad feeling.

As for the article you linked, I'm not sure it's completely sound. Game prices have been on the decline, with many companies like Sony and Capcom lowering their MSRPs to around $40 for new titles.And a lot of great games have been selling for budget prices lately, titles like Gradius V, Katamari Damacy, Gungrave: Overdose, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload and others. I'm sure Activision wants to try to screw consumers, but they seem to just be getting cocky off the success of Doom 3, realizing “We could've made more money if we sold it for more!” Personally, if the price of new titles jumps to $60, I might just jump ship and ignore the next wave of consoles altogether. I have more than enough games to keep me busy that I don't need to start paying $60 for more things to file away on my endless shelf of games. If they're citing development costs as the reason for this supposed price increase then I think that's just stupid. I doubt it costs as much to make a game as it does a major motion picture, yet I can buy a DVD for about $18. Granted, movies have two chances to make money, once in the theater and once for the home release, and movies are probably more popular than games. Still, games could cost around $30-$35 and that would be more than fair.

It's obvious that the DS will kill GBA support almost overnight. With every new console release Nintendo has sworn up and down that the old one would stay strong and it never has. I'm kind of sad to see the last renaissance of 2D gaming go out without really reaching it's true potential, but I think it had a good run. It may not have seen a new Mario game but at least we'll get "Zelda: The Minish Cap."

Anyhow, I love this little teaser thing. It's a lot more interesting than that “I Love Bees” thing Bungie is doing with Halo 2. I'm honestly not really sure what the big DS secret might be. This portable already does so much, I don't know what else it could do.

When the two portables were first announced, I was rooting for the DS while in the back of my mind having the sinking feeling that the PSP would probably destroy Nintendo. I'm glad to see my prediction has not yet come true. Sony has yet to show any real opposition to the DS, and the battery life issue will kill them if it isn't resolved. The console war may have been won by Sony, but the true fight will be waged on the battlefield of handhelds.

Heaven or Hell! Let's Rock!

If there isn't a port of Ocarina of Time on the DS, I'll be amazed. Seriously though, I'm really angry with a lot of different people over this ports thing. I'm angry with Nintendo for making the ports, I'm angry with game magazines for giving the games 10s encouraging people to buy them, and I'm angry with gamers for buying the ports, convincing Nintendo that this is what we want. If you really want to play old games on the go, buy a GP32 or Zodiac and download some emulators. Don't support Nintendo's scheme to make easy money. And game reviewers, please stop giving these games perfect scores. Yes, they're amazing games, and yes they probably deserve high scores, but it's fine to insult a game on the basis of being a port and give it a lower score because of it.

And Nintendo, please, please, please stop making ports.

Please.

Seriously though, I like the two screen idea. I just think the stylus seems extremely gimmicky and lame. I've played games on a palm pilot with a stylus... it just feels uninteresting after a while. But who knows, I've seen some interesting uses of it, most notably in the new Goemon game (which had damn well better come to America or I'll kill someone). Goemon was standing on a rope, and the stylus was used to drag the rope down and release it, sending Goemon flying into the air. If more people can think to use the touch screen in interesting ways like that, I think the DS will turn out alright.

For the confused, “bssteph of #lh fame” is doing a bare bones answering of the three questions I proposed on Tuesday. Does the DS still sound gimmicky or do you think it's going to cause a portable revolution? How do you think it stacks up against the PSP? And is controlling with a stylus really going to work?

Also for the record, this is the completely incorrect way to write an insightful and interesting letter.

Congratulations bssteph, you've turned a forum for clashing opinions and ideals into a simple internet poll. Way to ruin the internet.

I like the DS, mostly because I like tactics games. I think it's going to be awesome to move the units around on the touch screen below and watch them fight epic battles up top. Plus, I enjoy maps. I know everyone is knocking the DS's second screen as only being good for maps, but I don't see anything wrong with that. Plus, though I know the likelihood is low, the map screen totally begs for a MGS game. Kojima supported the GBA with Boktai (did he manage ZOE: The Fist of Mars as well?), so it isn't a complete pipe-dream.

I wasn't aware of thirty new stars in Mario 64x4, and I guess it will add a reason for us SM64 veterans to come back aside from the multiplayer. Still, would it really be so hard for Nintendo to craft a new game using the SM64 engine? I'm just sick of ports from Nintendo. They seem to love innovation but hate to make new games.

$149 is a great price though, and I'm more than eager to pick up a DS. Hell, imagine Katamari Damacy with that touch screen.

Ooh, I'm excited just thinking about it.

I agree the stylus idea seems mostly gimmicky and awkward. There's a flash movie here that outlines some of it's uses, but the only ones I've found interesting have been the Goemon game and of course Wario Ware (and Sega's Wario Ware clone “I would die for you”). Oh and “Mahjong Fight Club,” though I don't play Mahjong games, even when they steal titles from my favorite movies. I guess that Yoshi game seems kind of interesting, but it still seems more like a stupid little PDA adventure than anything else.

You're right about the ports though, as far as I'm concerned the N64 had one of the weakest lineups of games I've seen in a while. I can see Nintendo porting Mario, Zelda, and maybe Star Fox. After that they'd just be rehashing crap. On the other hand, the PS1 and 2 both have an amazing library of games worth porting. They've already confirmed a Tales of Eternia port (ROCK!) and a scaled down version of Gran Turismo 4. I know you kids love the SNES, but I've always considered the PS1 to have the greatest library of games, and if ports are the necessary evil of portables, I'd much rather play some amazing PS1 games rather than some crappy N64 titles.

But, don't be so quick to knock the DS. It has a lot of potential, and I think it has some great features that could easily be implemented in many different ways. The only flaw I see right now is the likely possibility of many N64 ports (Ridge Racer 64? Ugh, just port R4 Namco, please) and developers feeling the need to use the stylus when it really isn't needed. Otherwise, the wireless multiplayer and pictochat functions get me more than excited for Nintendo's latest piece of hardware.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure Animal Crossing DS has been confirmed, so I think you might need to rethink your stance on the DS buddy.

I like the idea of the stylus for tactics games, the way the mouse works for titles like Warcraft 3. I just still can't imagine how I 'm going to hold the heavy DS level and manipulate the DS with one hand, while stylusing around the screen with the other. I could see it working if I balanced the DS on a table, but it's a portable, I don't want to play it on a table, I want to play it anywhere.

Maybe they'll fashion a strap to attach it to your wrist or something. That might work.

As for the PSP, if it wasn't for the obvious battery problems I'd be more than happy to sing the praises of Sony's creation. The way I see it, the PSP could really bring gaming to the mainstream. Anyway you look at it, breaking out your Gameboy in a crowded social situation is pretty uncool. Trust me, one time I was at a club and me and my friends noticed the guy who was supposed to be working the mixer was busy playing Zelda, which we found fairly humorous, especially when his manager yelled at him for failing to notice the sound levels were completely off, which they were. But the PSP has the ability to not be uncool, in fact, it could be so cool that people outside the gaming mainstream buy one. The problem with the GBA was the misconception that 2D graphics are kids stuff. But the Playstation 2 quality graphics of the PSP could really make people stop and take notice of handhelds. If we get something like a GTA game on the PSP, people will buy it in droves, and this will lead to it's eventual takeover. See, with a console, it remains in your house, so people who aren't into games won't really take notice of it. But when a non-gamer sees a bunch of people with these little digital gadgets, he'll want to know more. People are criticizing the PSP for trying to incorporate too many different features, but I think this is going to be it's strength. The simple fact that it can play MP3s is an incredible asset, as it makes it attractive to the people who would be in the market for an MP3 player anyhow. Add that to the UMD media format and a combined movie/mp3 player is even more attractive to the average Joe.

Not buying it? Let's tell a story.

Everyday, Joe Consumer gets on the train and goes to work in the big city. To pass the time, Joe Consumer might listen to a CD, or play solitaire on his pocket PC. Occasionally he sees children on the train playing little purple game units, and takes little notice of them. However one day, a middle aged man sits next to him with a sleek black digital game unit, playing a fancy three dimensional game and obviously enjoying it immensely. Joe Consumer is intrigued. He asks about the device and the man smiles and is happy to show him how it plays music, and plays movies, and totally rocks the world with it's dazzling 3D graphics. Joe Consumer realizes that this totally outclasses his morning solitaire games, and the MP3 and UMD players only add to it's attractiveness. After work, Joe Consumer runs out to the electronics store. He notices another game unit, less sleek than the other one, and with less features and... is that two screens? He buys the shiny black unit and enjoys it immensely. Then one day on the train, a businessman notices him with a sleek black digital game unit, playing a fancy three dimensional game and obviously enjoying it immensely.

And the cycle continues...

Well... I sure answered a short letter with a long ass response. Let's go to the conclusion.