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Joystiq presents

DS Daily: What do you hate about the DS?


Yesterday's topic over on Wii Fanboy inspired us to ask a similar question here: what bugs you about the DS? Sure, we know you love it as much as we do, but nothing's perfect, right? Friend codes, hinge cracks, buttons that sometimes just stop working -- c'mon, lay it on us. Let's talk about our handheld's faults. Then we can appreciate the good moments -- like an overabundance of nicely-priced games -- that much more.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Chicago_Josh1

8-15-2007 @ 9:19AM

Chicago_Josh said...

The fact that it can't properly handle all wireless routers. My Wii has no problem what-so-ever connecting to my 2Wire DSL, but if I want to take my DS online I have to switch it over to a shared network which, of course, screws up the Wii connection.
I was thinking about getting the usb connector, but I don't have a computer that is always on. That would kind of defeat the purpose.

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Opus2

8-15-2007 @ 9:20AM

Opus said...

How is this thread going to be different that the one where you asked "What would you liike to see on the next iteration of the DS?" I know my anwer is the same: the brightness control should have been hardware, not software.

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Pizza Pasta3

8-15-2007 @ 9:35AM

Pizza Pasta said...

I wish that peple would flip out over it a little more.

All of my lame non-gamer friends are really into the Wii but are a little wary of the DS.

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jduke4

8-15-2007 @ 9:51AM

jduke said...

I hate that the game line up is increasingly moving toward favoring moms and grandparents.

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chaos5

8-15-2007 @ 10:00AM

chaos said...

well the speakers could be better and i really hate their entire way of handling online via the friend codes, other than that its perfect. bigger screens would be too much to ask for right? >.

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ForceUnleashed6

8-15-2007 @ 10:06AM

ForceUnleashed said...

@ 5

I totally agree. They need to make sure that there are games for EVERYBODY. Not just old people and little children.

@ Everyone

GRAPHICS! I'm not a graphics whore but if theres one thing that makes me want to cry is just how awesome the DS would be if it were even just a LITTLE bit more powerful. At least close to if not the same as the PSP.

It just kills me. My lil brother wants a handheld and I've been trying to get him to buy a DS but all I hear from him is, "I wanna PSP because the graphics are better".

Of course he fails to realize that the PSP doesn't have that many great games. So its a constant battle.

I hope Nintendo learns from this generation and makes their next system both fun and powerful. They're completely capable of it but they refuse to do so. It just boggles the mind...mine at least.

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Steve7

8-15-2007 @ 10:17AM

Steve said...

Yeah Nintendo needs to copy Sony on its next handheld. NOT.

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Martin8

8-15-2007 @ 10:25AM

Martin said...

Steve, the PSP was being used as a frame of reference, being the only other handheld out there which has experienced a modicum of success against Nintendo.

ForceUnleashed, I agree with you. I know a lot of people defend Nintendo with the argument that "games are about fun, not graphics" and that is true. However, the assumption that graphics will automatically turn a game to shit is absurd.

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Matt9

8-15-2007 @ 10:26AM

Matt said...

The hinge crack kind of annoys me, but other than that I'm really happy with it.

@7:
I hear ya on the graphics quality, but better graphics = more storage space + bigger drain on battery, which is the problem with the PSP. I really wouldn't want to be stuck with the battery drain and slow media format just to get better graphics -- at least our portable is still good for portability!

Oh, and they need to figure out a way to get VC onto the DS. No internal storage is a pain, but if they made a memory cart for it (like the DS browser), maybe it could happen someday..

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Herby10

8-15-2007 @ 10:31AM

Herby said...

I don't mind the fact I had to have the crack fixed, the screens are fine, N64 level graphics are ok by me too...the only thing I hate is the lack of an analog controller. That one fix would go so far for me with some games (Mario Kart, SM64DS, Over the Hedge).

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hvnlysoldr11

8-15-2007 @ 10:32AM

hvnlysoldr said...

My giant hand cramped playing New Super Mario Bros. My left hand which I don't write with usually suffers more than my dominant and writing right hand.

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Steven12

8-15-2007 @ 10:34AM

Steven said...

The volume slider. It's very difficult to make small adjustments to the volune.

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DirtBike0613

8-15-2007 @ 10:37AM

DirtBike06 said...

hey ForceUnleashed, Most likely your brother is NOT a gamer. because every gamer knows, that its not all about graphics. its about gameplay. you can have the best graphics of all time, but the most worst gameplay.. it would be one horrible game. or, you can have the worst graphics, like Pong. and have the best gameplay.. its never about graphics.. you need to convince him more..

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Hame14

8-15-2007 @ 10:47AM

Hame said...

Blowing into the microphone must be banned!

To quote IGN: "...microphone blowing is so 2005. It wasn't a whole lot of fun when developers did it in the DS' early years, and it's still not fun now..."

I had hoped that due to the general opinion that it sucks (or blows!) developers were no longer using it, but to my horror it is going to be used in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (is nothing sacred?!) Blowing into the microphone is a horrible, horrible gimmick. It is irritating, contrived, tiresome, impractical, and embarrassing (for all concerned). It is intensely annoying that you have to bring the console up towards your mouth, that you therefore can't really see the screens, that you get spit on the screen, that it gives you a headache, that it is totally inconsistent, that you can't play the games in public (ie. on the bus or train which is what handheld games are for!) because it's utterly humiliating.

It is not "innovative" or "immersive" it's just an annoying, cheap, nasty gimmick! It is not taking gaming forwards, it's just taking it sideways. It's just being different for the sake of being different. I know that (luckily) it's barely used, but still, it completely ruins any game that does use it.

Every time I "blow into the microphone" a little piece of me dies on the inside.

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ForceUnleashed15

8-15-2007 @ 10:51AM

ForceUnleashed said...

@ 14

Most likely my brother is ONLY 10 years old. Hardly what I'd call an age where he can classified as hardcore, casual, or what not.

But I get your point. However he likes graphics and hes young so I can forgive him.

Thanks to everyone who saw my POV though.

Another thing I need Nintendo to do is GET RID OF FRIEND CODES! Both for the Wii and DS. Or at least give us a better option for Online Gaming BESIDES Friend Codes. Then I'll love Nintendo forever.

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laukaus16

8-15-2007 @ 10:59AM

laukaus said...

The most irritating thing about DS is the small screen-resolution, it just looks so 1998.

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German S.17

8-15-2007 @ 11:11AM

German S. said...

i hate how third-party developers don't take advantage of the system and put out crummy-looking games.
naw, it's not all about graphics but while you can't have a game that is all shine and no substance, you can't have a game that is all game play and no pizazz.
balance dammit!

oh, and the hinge thing was

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German S.18

8-15-2007 @ 11:12AM

German S. said...

the hinge thing is crummy. i recently lost my ds to that.

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wheatshelf19

8-15-2007 @ 11:22AM

wheatshelf said...

i was there was a firmware shell like the psp.

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Jarrett Kaufman20

8-15-2007 @ 11:39AM

Jarrett Kaufman said...

Definitely needs more horsepower, and the top screen really needs to be a touchscreen as well. I can't count how many times I'm playing a game and find myself wanting to interact with something on the other screen. Speakers need to be improved, friend codes need to go away, and it needs built-in memory for downloading games and, most importantly, downloading virtual console games from the Wii.

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