We've seen countless releases of the Namco Museum collections over the years. We remember feeling quite special about the Playstation versions-- they were the real versions of real arcade games! At home! But now the Namco Museum series is, itself, old. How old?Valkyrie no Densetsu (1989) was eight years old when it was released on Namco Museum Vol. 5. The original Namco Museum Playstation game is eleven years old. In other words, Namco Museum is now older, in relative terms, than a game that was old enough for Namco Museum.
Speaking of the Playstation editions, the new Namco Museum DS has something not seen since those days: an actual museum mode, in the form of a trophy collection and music player, as well as scanned instructions and flyers.
Relatively newer features include bottom-screen maps and hints for Galaga (?), Xevious, and The Tower of Druaga. Of course, the most exciting relatively-new thing is Pac-Man Vs., which, now that it won't require so much of a financial outlay, we may actually try with another person.
Gallery: Namco Museum DS
We've talked a little about incorporating the bevy of features available in current games, and we've discussed the idea of the DS as the next-generation book, but we haven't spent much time talking about something that is quite often mentioned in tandem with the DS: all of the non-gaming-related possibilities. We've seen 
Not for the 
Remember back when we reported that different Japanese museums would be using the DS as a guide for their attendees? Well, one fine blogger recently went to one of said museums and documented the efficiency of the communion between museum and DS.
While not featuring games for attendees, the DS Lite is still helping mankind by acting as a tour guide for those attending select museums in Japan. A good move for Nintendo, the console is now able to get into the hands of more people and increase exposure, however we're not sure they can even increase exposure that much in Japan due to the country's rabid obsession with the handheld.
