Nintendo Thoughts Redux
This cartoon from FoxTrot is so great. You know, I was playing Polarium the other night and my fingers were cramping a bit becuase of the small stylus that comes with my Nintendo DS, so I went and grabbed the big one that came with my Zodiac (still made my fingers cramp - I really don't like pen-interfaces, even if they're lots of fun to use). This made me think, "hmmm, why didn't the Zodiac take advantage of its great touch screen?"
So far in most of the games I played, the double screen thing (which gives the DS its name) is really gimmicky - just like that guy from Sony said - you either use one or the other screen, even if one is a helpful map or something. But the pen focused games are really fun and innovative (and the microphone on Nintendogs as well, creates a whole other level of interaction which I didn't realize possible). Why didn't TapWave think of this stuff? ZooKeeper, Polarium, Nintendogs and even Meteos are all a ton of fun and all use the pen to great advantage. On the Zodiacs huge screen, they really would've rocked. Nintendo obviously thought outside the box, where others just don't bother.
This combined with the fact that Nintendo has a knack for making accessible games, and you realize how technology is only one component of a platform. The Zodiac is a cool device - I think it's form factor and controls are better than my PSP and definitely better than the DS. However, which portable system have I picked up more in the past week or so? About 70-30 DS to PSP. And my wife has never touched the PSP at all. That says a ton.
I read today that Nintendo was starting to license its content to DoCoMo for mobile phones. No games just yet, but images and ringtones. I said this a while ago - Nintendo's library would be perfect for mobile phones. Look at the upcoming Gameboy Micro. Imagine if they slapped a cell phone in that baby as well? It'd be the hottest selling mobile on the planet.
Anyways, more respect for Nintendo every day. Can't wait for the Revolution!
-Russ