Nintendo DS

Categories: Handheld game consoles | Nintendo consoles | Seventh-generation video game consoles

The Nintendo DS is a dual-screen portable handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The name "DS" is short for both Dual Screen and Developer's System, the latter of which refers to the features of the handheld designed to encourage innovative gameplay ideas among developers[1]. Its code name was "Project Nitro". The DS has a horizontal clamshell design, similar to some Game & Watch video games, and the Game Boy Advance SP.

The DS is unique in that it has two screens (almost all game consoles use one screen), the lower of which is a touch screen. Additionally, it features a built-in microphone, and wireless connectivity with other DS users. Nintendo hopes that the new features present in the machine will provoke unique game development, attract developers, appeal to both older gamers and non-gamers alienated by normal input methods, and allow Nintendo to retain its status as leader of the handheld game console market. As such, Nintendo has placed the DS outside of its highly successful Game Boy line, which is targeted at the pre-existing gaming market. Some have suggested that this was a precautionary measure to ensure the Game Boy name remained untarnished if the DS were to fail commercially, but given the sales of the handheld to date, the issue is rather academic.

The Nintendo DS is currently seen by many analysts to be in the same market as Sony's PlayStation Portable, although representatives from both companies have stated that each system targets a different audience. Nintendo particularly is attempting to differentiate the DS from other game machines, including the PSP, which is a somewhat more traditional gaming device. Even so, the Nintendo DS is currently the leader of the two in total worldwide unit sales with over 6 million units sold (as of September 29, 2005). The system's promotional slogans revolve around the word "Touch": in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand: Touching is Good; in Canada: Don't Touch, Touch; in Japan, and China: Touch!; and in Europe: Touch me!. The only exception to this is the new campaign slogan in the United Kingdom, Open up and play.

At the time of its release in the United States, the Nintendo DS retailed for $150 USD. The price dropped to $130 USD on August 21st 2005, one day before the highly-anticipated North American releases of Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Functionality

The Nintendo DS's primary function is as a video game console; no multimedia support is included, although Play-Yan, a special Game Boy Advance cartridge that can read an SD memory card and play movies and music, is available in Japan (see Accessories). The system is hoped to provoke more original development of titles in an industry that Nintendo perceives as being stagnant. Nintendo believes that the unit's unusual dual screen format will inspire creative game design by developers, both its own and third parties'. While the most obvious unique selling point is the pair of screens, the system also includes some unexpected input devices: a microphone and touch screen functionality on the lower screen. To date, many games have used the touchscreen to emulate an analogue joystick or mouse. The DS also supports wireless connectivity, using 802.11b (Wi-Fi) [2]. As of August 2005, no games have implemented online functionality, but there are games in development including Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime: Hunters and Animal Crossing: Wild World which will take advantage of Nintendo's newly announced online service, called Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Design and specifications

Technology

The handheld unit has a mass of approximately 275 grams (9.7 ounces). The physical size is 5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13 inches. It features two separate 3-inch TFT LCD screens, each with a resolution of 256×192. The lowermost display of the DS is overlaid with a touch screen, utilizing a stylus, the user's fingers, or an included wrist strap with a thumb cover for use in place of a stylus. The console uses two separate ARM processors, an ARM9 main CPU and ARM7 coprocessor at clock speeds of 67 MHz and 33 MHz respectively, with 4 MiB of main memory. The system's 3D engine is theoretically capable of drawing 120,000 polygons per second, with a fill-rate of 30 million pixels per second.

Games utilize a proprietary solid state flash card format resembling the memory cards used in other portable electronic devices such as digital cameras; this semiconductor technology is said to be far cheaper than conventional cartridges and can be used within a system without moving parts to jar out of place when dropped. It is currently capable of supporting cards of up to 1 gibibit (128 mebibytes) in size. The unit features wireless networking capabilities for multiplayer games or chat using Wi-Fi. The current software does not use IP, therefore preventing Internet play features and use of Wi-Fi routers with the DS. Future online games will presumably implement an IP stack to make their online game modes possible.

Inputs and outputs

The DS is the first portable console from Nintendo to incorporate stereo speakers. In addition to the touch screen, the DS has, to the left of the lower display, a traditional four-way control pad (with a narrow Power button above it), while to the right are four action buttons (with narrow Select and Start buttons above) A B Y X, following in the footsteps of the SNES controller while hearkening back to the N64 "three-part" digital, analog, and button scheme. On the back there are the L (Left) and R (Right) buttons, also following the style of the SNES controller. Perhaps the most innovative use of the touch screen is for the emulation of other controls. For example, with use of the aforementioned "thumb stylus", it can emulate an analog joystick, or with the conventional stylus, its behavior can replicate a computer mouse. The system also includes a built-in microphone. The first DS game to use this feature was Feel the Magic: XY/XX, in which several minigames require the player to blow into the microphone. Nintendo's pet simulation game Nintendogs uses the microphone and speech recognition as a means to command and train a virtual dog to perform tricks or other actions. Nintendo has also suggested it to be used for communication over a wireless network. At E3 2005, Nintendo showed off a demo of a Nintendo DS being used as a wireless VoIP Phone.

Operating system

Nintendo's own custom firmware boots the system: from here, the user chooses to run a DS or Game Boy Advance game, use PictoChat, or search for downloadable games. The last is an adaptation of the Game Boy Advance's popular "single cartridge multiplayer" feature, adapted to support the system's Wi-Fi link capabilities: players without the game search for content, while players with the game broadcast it. In November 2004, Nintendo announced its entry into the feature animation business, suggesting that theatres showing these features could install kiosks to broadcast game content to Nintendo DS units via this same feature. In March 2005, Nintendo tested broadcast kiosks in Japan, allowing players to download a demo of Meteos, extra content in Nintendogs, or extra songs for Jam With The Band. A similar download kiosk was at Nintendo's booth at E3 2005, and had downloadable demos and trailers.

The PictoChat program, which is permanently stored on the unit, allows users to communicate with other DS users over the wireless network by text, handwriting, or drawings, using the DS's touch screen and stylus for input; an on-screen keyboard partially covers the touch-sensitive area while using this mode, allowing for typed, as well as written, messages.

The DS's main menu also features an alarm clock and the ability to set preferences for boot priority (booting to games when inserted, or always booting to the main menu), GBA game screen usage (top or bottom), and user information (name, date of birth, favorite color, time, etc.).

There is currently an ongoing project aiming to bring the Linux operating system to the DS [3]. As of June 2005, this project has successfully executed a 2.6 kernel, sash shell, some text games, and added touchscreen support.

Compatibility

The DS is compatible with Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges; while the new DS cartridges are smaller and fit in their own port, the DS also features a separate cartridge port for GBA games (including Majesco's Game Boy Advance Videos). The DS is not compatible with games for the Game Boy Color and the original Game Boy, due to a slightly different form factor and the absence of the Z80-like processor used in these systems. This may be an attempt to separate the DS and Nintendo's established Game Boy line of handheld consoles; the GBA, for example, included the aging processor, primarily to run legacy Game Boy games. It may also be to keep the DS's price down; including another chipset would likely have significantly added to the cost of producing the unit. In light of this incompatibility, several projects have started to emulate this platform. One such product is the freely available Goomba emulator[4].

The handheld does not have a port for the GBA Link Cable, so multiplayer or GBA-GameCube link-up modes are not available in GBA titles. Similar connectivity, using the DS's wireless capabilities, will, however, reportedly be possible between the DS and Nintendo's successor to the GameCube, the Nintendo Revolution.

The DS only uses one screen when playing GBA games. The user can configure the system to use either the top or bottom screen by default. The games are displayed within a black border on the screen, which is thicker on the top and bottom edges to compensate for the wider screen ratio of the GBA.

DS games inserted into Slot 1 are able to detect the presence of a specific GBA game in Slot 2. In games such as Kirby: Canvas Curse, WarioWare: Touched!, Feel the Magic: XY/XX, and Advance Wars: Dual Strike, extra content can be unlocked by starting the DS game with the appropriate GBA game of the same franchise inserted. Also, some games will be able to use the GBA game slot as a way to add extra game features, the first of these being an expansion pack for the music game, Daigasso! Band Brothers (announced as Jam With the Band in the USA) , which adds 31 new tracks to its song list. The first use of this feature in Western countries is a rumble pack which will be included with Metroid Prime Pinball, and is also confirmed to function when used with the upcoming Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Initially, the DS was reported to be incompatible with GBA games, but details announced at the E³ trade show in Los Angeles in May 2004 revealed the opposite.

Accessories

Although the secondary port on the Nintendo DS does accept and support Game Boy Advance cartridges, Nintendo has emphasized that its main intention for its inclusion was to allow a wide variety of accessories to be released for the system, the compatibility to Game Boy Advance titles being only a logical complementation due to the similar architecture of the two systems. Theorized accessories include GPS receivers or television tuners, as well as a variety of accessories already included in certain Game Boy Advance cartridges such as tilt-sensors, solar-sensors, and vibration generators. An optional vibration accessory will be included with the upcoming game Metroid Prime Pinball.

Nintendo has released the Play-Yan, an adaptor which will allow the Game Boy Advance SP and Nintendo DS to play MPEG-4 videos and MP3 music from SD memory cards. The adaptor bears a superficial resemblance to the AM3 player (which allowed playback of pre-recorded movie files from read-only memory cards on a GBA); the memory card slots into the right hand side of the adaptor, which then plugs into the cartridge slot of the parent console. The adaptor has its own integrated headphone port, but uses the parent console's power supply, controls, and display. It is estimated that it will offer over 15 hours of MP3 playback and 4 hours of MPEG-4 playback from a fully-charged GBA SP.

The adaptor launched in Japan in February 2005 for approximately 5,000 yen ($47.47). Nintendo is to release the adaptor in the US by the end of 2005.

Nintendo has also announced at E3 2005 that it would launch "Headset Accessories" for their VoIP program, DSpeak.

Wi-Fi hotspots

Nintendo has mentioned that special DS Wi-Fi hotspots would be available by the end of 2005, through Nintendo and Gamespy's online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. These hotspots would be located at public venues, such as coffee shops and libraries. DS Wi-Fi hotspots will also be made available at McDonalds restaurants through a deal that Nintendo made with Wayport [5]. Additionally, Nintendo announced a similar partnership with FatPort to create free hotspots in Canada. [6]

Jim Merrick, Director of Marketing for Nintendo of Europe, has confirmed there will be around 25,000 hotspots in Europe, [7] including 7,500 in UK alone [8]

A home Wi-Fi connection will also be available via an official accessory [9], revealed during the DS Conference 2005 in Japan [10] and which will be sold exclusively at the Nintendo official site [11]. The Wi-Fi hotspots would expand multiplayer (exclusively for games designed for online gaming) capabilities beyond the range of 30–100 feet, allowing users at the hotspots to interface with each other from around the world. Titles currently scheduled for such online compatibility include Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS, and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.

Battery life

The Nintendo DS contains a rechargeable battery. Although the battery is removable, it is only meant to be removed when it expires and must be replaced. Removing the battery will cause the loss of all of the unit's settings (user's birthday, username, etc.), but it will not affect saved data on DS flash cards or GBA cartridges.

Battery life is affected by multiple factors, including speaker volume, use of one or both screens, and backlighting. Expected battery life ranges from six to ten hours on a full four-hour charge[12]. The biggest drain on battery life is the backlight, which can be turned off on the main menu screen or on selected games (such as Super Mario 64 DS). However, because the screens do not have the reflective backing of the GBA or GBA SP, deactivating the backlight renders the on-screen image very difficult to see, even with sufficient ambient light.

Replacement batteries may be purchased for USD$15 through Nintendo's online store.

Regional division

The Nintendo DS is region free in the sense that any console will run a DS game purchased anywhere in the world; it is the same system everywhere. However, some games which require both players to have a DS cartridge for multiplayer play will not work together if they are from different regions (e.g. the popular Nintendogs).

Developing software for the DS

Nintendo only accepts official companies with a game development team, and sufficient experience in certain areas for their official developer support program. Additional information is available here. An alternative method is to use publicly available knowledge from sites such as this one. and use the tools available to create one's own programs. This development route requires a method for running programs not digitally signed, such as a PassMe chip (which plugs in to the DS slot with the main DS cart sticking out underneath), a modified firmware, known as FlashMe, or WiFiMe, a downloadable application.

Hacking the DS Wi-Fi

Ever since the Nintendo DS was released on November 21, 2004, several groups have been attempting to extend several attributes to the DS Wi-Fi protocol as well as adding them. Darkain has lead the reverse-engineering of the DS Wi-Fi and Ni-Fi protocols at the time the DS came out, which influenced many of the available Nintendo DS Wi-Fi hacks and applications today.

DS Wi-Fi over the Internet

Most interestingly, two groups (Project Nitro and Team Xlink) have claimed being successful of hacking the DS Wi-Fi protocol for tunneling over the Internet creating online multiplayer possibilities around the world using the handheld and multiplayer-enabled Nintendo DS games. Both groups claim their software require a compatible PC or Mac, a broadband Internet connection, and a special wireless card or specific router in order to communicate with the DS (certain low-level features must be needed, like changing the manufacturer-specific MAC bits).

Releases

North America and Japan

The system was launched in North America for $149.99 USD on November 21, 2004, in Japan for 15,000 yen ($135) on December 2. Well over three million preorders were taken in North America and Japan; preorders at online stores were launched on November 3, and ended the same day as merchants had already sold their allotment. Initially Nintendo planned to deliver one million units combined at the North American and Japanese launches; when it saw the preorder numbers, it brought another factory online to ramp up production. Nintendo originally slated 300,000 units for the U.S. debut; 550,000 were shipped, and just over 500,000 of those sold through in the first week. Later in 2005, the MSRP for the Nintendo DS was dropped to $129.99 US.

Both launches proved to be successful, but it is interesting to note that Nintendo chose to release the DS in North America prior to Japan, a first for a hardware launch from the Kyoto-based company. This choice was made to get the DS out for the largest shopping day of the year in the U.S. (the day after Thanksgiving, a.k.a. "Black Friday"). [13] Perhaps partly due to the release date, the DS met unexpectedly high demand in the United States, selling 1 million units by December 21, 2004. As of the end of December, the total number shipped worldwide was 2.8 million, about 800,000 more than Nintendo's original forecast. [14] At least 1.2 million of them were sold in the U.S. Some industry reporters are referring to it as "the Tickle Me Elmo of 2004". [15] In June 2005 Nintendo informed a total of 6.65 million units sold worldwide. (Nintendo report in PDF format)

As is normal for electronics, some were reported as having problems with dead pixels (the correct term for this is "fixed pixels", as they "fix" themselves on a single or select group of colors) in either of the two screens. Return policies for LCD displays vary between manufacturers and regions, however in North America, Nintendo has chosen to replace a system with fixed pixels only if the owner claims that it interferes with their gaming experience. There are currently two exchange programs in place for North America. In the first, the owner of the defective DS in question must provide a valid credit card number and, afterwards, Nintendo will ship a new DS system to the owner with shipping supplies to return the defective system. The second is as follows: the owner of the defective DS in question must ship his/her system to Nintendo for inspection. After inspection, Nintendo technicians will either ship a replacement system or fix the defective system. The first option allows the owner to have a new DS in 3–5 business days. Policies followed by Nintendo in Japan are believed to be somewhat stricter.

North American launch games

The following games were released within the system's launch period (the 30 days starting from November 21, 2004).

• Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft)
• Feel the Magic: XY/XX (Sega)
• Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts)
• Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (Namco)
• Ping Pals (THQ)
• Ridge Racer DS (Namco)
• Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
• Sprung (Ubisoft)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
• The Urbz: Sims in the City (Electronic Arts)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour (Electronic Arts)

At launch there was one pack-in demo, in addition to the built-in PictoChat program: Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt (published by Nintendo and is a demo for Metroid Prime Hunters, a game coming in 2006). At the time of the Electric Blue DS launch, Nintendo bundled the system with Super Mario 64 DS.

Japanese launch games

The following games were released at same time as the system's first release (December 2, 2004).

• Daigassō! Band Brothers (Jam With The Band) (Nintendo)
• Chokkan Hitofude (Polarium) (Nintendo)
• Cool104 Joker & Setline (Aruze)
• Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru (literally "I Would Die For You"; aka Feel the Magic: XY/XX) (Sega)
• Kensyūi "Dokuta Tendo" (Spike)
• Mahjong Taikai (Koei)
• Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (Namco)
• Pokémon Dash (Nintendo)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
• The Urbz: Sims in the City (Electronic Arts)
• WarioWare: Touched! (Nintendo)
• Zoo Keeper (Success)

In the launch period, the following titles were released.

• The Prince of Tennis 2005 -Crystal Drive- (Konami)
• Puyo Puyo Fever (Puyo Pop Fever) (Sega)

Europe

The DS was released in Europe on 11 March 2005, for £99.99 in the United Kingdom and €149 in the rest of Europe. Prior to this, a limited supply of DS units were available in a package with a promotional T-shirt, Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt, a WarioWare Touched! demo, and a pre-release version of Super Mario 64 DS, through the Nintendo Stars Catalogue; the bundle was priced at £129.99 for the UK and €189.99 for the rest of Europe, plus 1000 of Nintendo's 'star' loyalty points. As of March 14, the DS had sold 600,000 in Europe, setting a sales record for a handheld.

The European version of the DS, like the US release, is packaged with a Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt demo. The European packaging for the console is noticeably more "aggressive" than that of the US/Japanese release.

The European game cases are about 1/3rd thicker then their North American counterparts, they are also transparent rather than solid black. Inside the case there is room for one Game Boy Advance game pak and a DS card with the instructions on the left side of the case.

European launch games

• Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft)
• Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (Namco)
• Ping Pals (THQ)
• Pokémon Dash (Nintendo)
• Polarium (Nintendo)
• Project Rub ( aka Feel the Magic: XY/XX) (Sega)
• Rayman DS (Ubisoft)
• Robots (VU Games)
• Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
• Sprung (Ubisoft)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour (Electronic Arts)
• The Urbz: Sims in the City (Electronic Arts)
• WarioWare Touched! (Nintendo)
• Zoo Keeper (Ignition)

Australia/New Zealand

The DS launched in Australia and New Zealand on the 24 February. It retailed in Australia for $199 AUD and in New Zealand for $249 NZD. Like the American launch, it includes the Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt demo.

The first week of sales for the system broke all current Australian launch sales records for a console. 19,191 units were sold from Thursday 24 February to close of business Sunday 27 February.

Australian/New Zealand launch games

• Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft)
• Ping Pals (THQ)
• Project Rub (Sega)
• Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
• Sprung (Ubisoft)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
• Rayman DS / Rayman 2 (Ubisoft)
• WarioWare Touched! (Nintendo)
• Zoo Keeper (Ignition)

China

"iQue DS", which is the name of official Chinese Nintendo DS, was released in China on July 23, 2005. The price of iQue DS is 1400 RMB (about $169 USD). The iQue DS is compatible with all of the language versions of every game. This new iQue DS includes updated firmware from Nintendo to block out use of the PassMe device, along with the new Red DS.

Chinese launch games

• Zhi Gan Yi Bi (Polarium) (Nintendo/iQue)
• Momo Waliou Zhizao (WarioWare Touched!) (Nintendo/iQue)

Current/future games

The following games are to be released in 2005 or in the future.

• Egg Monster Heroes (Square Enix)
• Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo)
• Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
• New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
• Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Nintendo)
• Pokémon Pearl and Diamond (Nintendo)
• Super Princess Peach

To see a complete list of upcoming games, see the List of Nintendo DS games. Some of these titles may be temporary.

Colors

As with Nintendo's previous handheld consoles, the DS has been produced in a number of different colors. As of August 2005, six official colors are available through standard retailers. Titanium (silver and black) is available worldwide, Electric Blue is exclusive to North America, and Graphite Black, Pure White, and Turquoise Blue are exclusive to Japan. Candy Pink is exclusive to Australia, Europe and Japan.

Limited edition and promotional colors

Various other colors have been made available in limited quantities:

The red DS model, released in Japan on August 8, 2005, is part of a promotional offer that includes the game Jump! Superstars!.

Special dark blue DS systems were released at Poképark in Japan. The systems have the Poképark logo on the front cover, and a Pikachu silhouette superimposed over the right speaker.

A light blue DS, with a limited run of 1,000 units, was also released in Japan as part of a joint promotional offer with Pepsi.

Five variants of existing DS colors were produced for the Japanese online Super Mario Club. Each color has a wireframe of a character's face imprinted on the front cover of the system. The designs include Titanium/Mario, Graphite Black/Bowser, Gray/Wario, Candy Pink/Princess Peach, and Turquoise Blue/Yoshi.

Additionally, Nintendo auctioned off three custom DS systems for charity at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The systems went to Jay Mohr for $10,000, Poppy Montgomery for $2,500, and Alan Cumming for $1,500. Nintendo added money to the final bids, and a portion of the funds went towards victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Rapper 50 Cent ordered a custom-made DS from Nintendo, featuring a khaki camouflage design, and the G-Unit insignia on the front cover.

In October 2005, Nintendo released two new colors to North America, Teal and Pearl Pink (not the same Pearl Pink as was released in Europe and Japan, but a scheme identical to that of the Mystic Pink model released in Australia). These systems are bundled with the game Nintendogs Best Friends Version, as well as a bone-shaped screen cleaner.

See also

• Comparison of Handheld gaming consoles
• History of video games
• List of Nintendo DS games
• List of Nintendo DS online games

Other current handhelds

• Game Boy Advance
• Game Boy Advance SP
• Game Boy Micro
• Gizmondo
• N-Gage
• PlayStation Portable

External links

• Nintendo - Official Nintendo Company Homepage
• Official Nintendo DS website (English, Spanish and French) (requires Macromedia Flash Player)
• Nintendo's DS homepage (Japanese), with images of the DS in closed and opened condition (requires Macromedia Flash)
• DS channel on IGN.com
• DS News and Information Site
• Compatibility of NDS with GBA Flash Cards - Article discussing the DS and GBA Flash memory linker carts.
• Linux port for the Nintendo DS
• snesDS Super Nintendo SNES games emulator for NDS.
• Touching is Good - Nintendo of America's DS advertising campaign
• Nintendo DS - UK TV Advert
• N-Sider.com - Hardware and software catalog plus profiles.
• Homebrew community - Nintendo DS homebrew community

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