Nintendo is taking the whole portable connectivity concept one step further in the UK, with 33 brand-spankin' new DS Centers installed at various retailers. There used to be a bunch of creaky old "Download Stations" dotted about the place, but these latest models outstript the dated machines with their sleek superiority and high levels of rad.
The official website has launched, where you can learn what these white towers of fun can do for you and your DS. We love making generalizations around here, so we'll assume every UK citizen lives in a quaint little cottage in the countryside, always having scones and raspberry jam for tea. If you want to try one of these DS Centers, you'll need to crank up your old Reliant Robin and pop down to the local big-shot retailer to bust out some Wi-Fi fun.
These centers are a pretty good way to physically show UK gamers that their DS can do more than sit unloved at the bottom of a bag while waiting around for the next Coronation Street house party. You can download the latest demos, try a game you may have missed, and even get global with a worldwide network of DS players. It'll be just as fun as downing a pint at the Rub-A-Dub, right lads?
The Wii's Nintendo Channel, then. It's enjoyed a somewhat shaky start if you ask us, particularly where DS demos are concerned. Although we love occasionally receiving bite-size portions of games such as Arkanoid, most demos are ... well, to be frank, they're old. Not just regular old, either, but Jesus and his pet triceratops trekking across the ravaged plains of Pangaea old.
The situation is especially grim in Europe, where Tetris DS (original release date: April 2006) has just joined a list that includes (amongst others) the ancient likes of Big Brain Academy, Brain Training, Mario Kart DS, 42 All-Time Classics, and Sight Training. Needless to say, we've only downloaded a small handful of games since the service debuted. To us, a demo of Brain Training is about as useful as a plasticine climbing frame.
Then again, maybe we're being overly critical, grumbly bastards. Maybe some of you good people actually get quite a lot of use out of the service. So we thought we'd throw this issue open to you, our beloved readers, and ask: how often do you use the Nintendo Channel demos?
Until recently, the UK supposedly had 600 DS Download Stations dotted about its high streets. Exactly where these were located will probably forever remain a mystery -- this blogger resides in one of the largest UK cities, yet still hasn't seen a single Download Station in the wild.
Fortunately, that could be about to change, and soon. The latest issue of Official Nintendo Magazine reveals that Nintendo has plans to launch a bunch of new 'DS Download Center' stands to UK retailers and supermarkets, including chains such as GAME, Gamestation, HMV, and others.
These aren't just any old DS Download Centers, either. With the old style of Download Center now extinct in British stores, this new breed will come equipped with a DS Lite for trying out demos (we give the styluses a week before they're swiped by ne'er-do-good street urchins), along with a video screen so that annoying curious passers-by can peek in at what's happening on your screens. Nintendo is also promising that many demos will be downloadable, and will feature some of the latest games; which should make a change from the drab offerings we currently have here on the Nintendo Channel.
Training, training, training. That's all us Europeans and Aussies want, right? Day in, day out, there we are, blurting "blue" into our handhelds like obedient farmyard animals, and being told that we're doing it wrong and that we're thuddingly simple. We know this happens, because the sales charts tell us so, and now the first DS demos on the local Nintendo Channel (released on all PAL consoles today) reflect the self-improvement obsession that has swept many PAL countries.
So, instead of getting demos of totally rad, new games such as Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (which is what the U.S. got), we get four training games (only one of which came out this year) from the seven titles available, and adverts for Nintendogs and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The only bright spot? A couple of tracks from Mario Kart DS, and a Picross demo, but those are hardly fresh titles.
We're not usually the types to look a gift horse in the mouth, but there's a stunning lack of variety on display here, Nintendo. Hit the break for the infuriatingly vanilla list.
DSVision, the content download service using an official homebrew-like flash card, will (probably!) begin operations in Japan on July 3rd, though the actual hardware will be available June 26. Electronics stores throughout Japan will sell the card package for 3980 yen ($38), which will include the card, a 512mb microSD card, and a USB adapter.
The site will sell novels and comics for prices ranging from 100 to 600 yen, and movies from between 500 and 1000 yen. Users will also be able to put photos on the card and augment them with graffiti and music. That is, if it comes out this time.
Fast food chain McDonalds is to launch a new download service in Japan tomorrow, through DS download stations located in 21 Tokyo branches of McDonalds and train stations along the Tsukuba Express line.
The scheme, dubbed "Nintendo Spot," is currently in a trial period, and will give DS owners access to free downloads featuring the latest "McDonalds news" (this just in: you need to learn to cook for yourself), nutritional information, and menus, as well as actual news, weather reports, horoscopes, a Brain Training demo, and hotel/restaurant guides for Tokyo (though we assume that guides to rival restaurants won't appear in McDonalds). The trial ends on June 30th in McDonalds, and on December 28th at the railway stations.
Incidentally, our machine translation is picking up something about a "downloadable gift" related to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Here's hoping the service heads west so we can find out more. While you wait with us, make the jump for a look at Ronald McDonald's offspring as perceived through the eyes of Japanese advertising executives (warning: slightly NSFW).
Nintendo has an interesting philosophy when it comes to demos -- the company denounces them on the Wii (even though we all know the reason for that is the lack of storage space), but yet offers them for DS games. With the recent launch of the Wii's Nintendo Channel in the United States, many of us have finally gotten a taste of these DS demos, and we have to say -- we quite enjoy the feature.
How many of you DS owners have Wiis, too? Does your Wii have the Nintendo Channel yet, and if so, have you tried any DS demos? Which ones have convinced you to buy (or not buy) a game?
For everyone: what DS game demos would you like to see offered on the Wii? Perhaps you might even want to try the games developed by Japanese seminar students? We certainly do. Of course those aren't technically demos, but we digress.
So, go ahead and share all your demo thoughts here.
Got a Wii? Then boot up the Wii Shop and download the just-released Nintendo Channel so you can get your DS demos! The new channel also features several videos, including game trailers. We watched the Professor Layton information video, which did an excellent job of showing off the puzzling adventure. From that video, users can navigate to a screen with more information, just as game rating -- and a "purchase" button, which redirects to a page in the Internet Channel with links to Amazon, Circuit City, and Best Buy, so that you can order the game from the comfort of your own sofa. Not a bad idea!
Of course, what we're really interested in are the DS demos. It's about time we got some useful Wii-DS connectivity. The list of currently-available demos is short, packed with already-released games, and not particularly exciting, but we hope that will change with time. There's a lot of variety, if nothing else. DS demos from the Wii are just like any other: once downloaded, the demo stays until you turn off your handheld. Closing the DS without turning it off will not affect your demo.
Skip past the break to see the full list of available demos, including the very excellent Ninja Gaiden.
Student-created DS games are nothing new in Japan, thanks to Nintendo's game seminars. When the students finish their games, Nintendo usually makes them available at DS Download Stations so that other people throughout Japan can play and enjoy them.
The company has just one-upped itself, though, by allowing DS owners to download these games from their Wiis. From now until April 22nd, Wakeari no Heya Tsuzuki (a horror game that is played book style) will be available for download on the Minna no Nintendo Channel (Everybody's Nintendo Channel), with more student-made games likely to follow.
While anyone outside of Japan (unless you've imported a Japanese Wii) can't do anything but look on jealously, we have to admit that this is a great move by Nintendo. Nintendo of Japan, that is. From what we hear, the students' games are actually pretty good, and offering them to millions of people benefits both the students who've created them and DS owners who want to play them. Even though the game seminar titles were made available to the public before via DS Download Stations, using DS/Wii connectivity to host them will only make them more accessible than ever.
Still, seeing all the potential of the Everybody's Nintendo Channel with the DS and not actually having it is pure torture.
While it's true that the original Blue Bomber makes an appearance in Mega Man Star Force 2, it's probably not in the way that you're hoping. In a promotion for the game, Capcom has allowed Japanese players to download a classic Rockman card at DS download stations.
It would definitely be cool if Capcom let other regions enjoy this content, too, but we're not getting our hopes up. This wouldn't be the first time Japan has gotten cool downloadables that haven't found their way elsewhere.
AM3's Nintendo-sanctioned DS flash card and content delivery service, DSVision, was originally scheduled to come out in January, which obviously did not happen. It was then delayed until March, and has now been delayed again until April. When it does eventually become available, Japanese users will be able to download manga, movies, and novels from the DSVision website and transfer it to the official DSVision card via an included MicroSD card. Looking through the official website, it would appear that the bundled card has been increased in capacity from 512mb to 2gb.
No matter when it comes out, we're thrilled it is. We're delighted to see an officially-licensed company taking advantage of some of the kinds of brilliant extensions to the DS's functionality already exploited by homebrewers.
Good news if you've already completed Professor Layton and the Curious Village: you're really good at puzzles. More good news for you: even though the game's been (officially) out for a day, new content is already waiting for you on Nintendo's servers. Nintendo is already making good on the downloadable puzzle feature. Between the early launch, the sequel newsin the manual and the day-one DLC, it really seems like Nintendo has been accelerating the lifespan of this game.
However, there was similar content available in the Japanese version on release day. Also, it took a year to get the game here in the first place. That's not terribly speedy.
By now, regular readers will be familiar with DSVision, a new service that will offer Japanese DS owners downloadable media from next March, and which is fully licensed by Nintendo. The only problem? We've heard absolutely zilch about a release outside Japan.
But there is hope, friends! An anonymous tipster has informed MaxConsole that French law enforcement agencies have begun confiscating Datel's DS flash card range, devices which perform very similar functions to those offered by DSVision. According to the mole, the operation to seize the cards came after a tip-off from Nintendo, which complained that the Datel cards were illegal, as they contained copyrighted code. MaxConsole reckons there could be more to the story, however, and speculates that Nintendo is clearing the way for its own range of multimedia peripherals.
We'll happily admit that this is all pretty damn speculative -- hence the "rumor" label -- but we've still got every last one of our fingers and toes crossed extra tight. Although users of certain naughty devices have been able to download and view video on their DSes for some time now, the quality is typically quite low (or so we hear, officer).
When the GBA Movie Player came out, it was pretty underwhelming. AM3 is trying their luck again, however, this time with the DS. The service they'll be providing, called DSvision, will allow DS users to officially download certain books, movies, comics, and music onto their handhelds. The package needed for these downloads is going on sale in Japan this January for 3,980 yen ($37 UDS), which comes with a 512MB microSD card, a form fitting DS cart, and a USB adapter that connects to PCs. The DSvision downloading service, however, won't be available until March.
DSvision seems to be getting a lot more thought and effort put into it than the GBA Movie Player, and it's definitely something to keep an eye out for. We have to wonder, though, how the company will prevent pirates from using their product for unauthorized downloads (our guess is, they can't). Also, people who already own an R4DS might find the DSvision package unnecessary, even though it is an official (and thus, legal) way of distributing media.
Having already added an assortment of horror movies and martial arts flicks to its archive, The Moon Books Project has elected to host several of Akira Kurosawa's films for fans to download and watch on their Nintendo DS. For the homebrew uninitiated, the site also has information on what hardware and software you'll need to play the movies on your handheld.
Titles like Sanshiro Sugata, They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail, Rashomon, Stray Dog, and Ikiru, all films from the first ten years of the Japanese director's filmography, have been posted. While Kurosawa's samurai classics -- Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran, etc. -- are noticeably missing, you really can't argue with free movies! We just hope that the English subtitles aren't too hard to read on such a small screen. Swing past the break for trailers of two of the available films.
Nintendo is taking the whole portable connectivity concept one step further in the UK, with 33 brand-spankin' new DS Centers installed at various retailers. There used to be a bunch of creaky old "Download Stations" dotted about the place, but these latest models outstript the dated machines with their sleek superiority and high levels of rad.
Fast food chain McDonalds is to launch a new download service in Japan tomorrow, through DS download stations located in 21 Tokyo branches of McDonalds and train stations along the Tsukuba Express line.
Got a Wii? Then boot up the Wii Shop and download the just-released Nintendo Channel so you can get your DS demos! The new channel also features several videos, including game trailers. We watched the 
While it's true that the original Blue Bomber makes an appearance in 
AM3's Nintendo-sanctioned DS flash card and content delivery service, 
When the 
Having already added an assortment of 
_thumbnail.jpg "Prince of Persia: The Fallen King")
