Posts with tag wifi
Posted May 30th 2007 4:25PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: DS Fanboy poll
We all complain about
friend codes sometimes. In fact, it's just about our favorite topic to moan about (except for lamenting the gap between
Ace Attorney games). But does the presence of friend codes ever prevent you from playing a DS game online? Have you ever thought, wow, this whole
Mario Kart thing is sure awesome, but I think I'll go play something online on my 360 instead?
Certainly someone (and
all their friends) is playing online, and it's not just us during
Game Night. But is it you?
Posted May 30th 2007 1:09PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi
Nintendo sent out a release today, lauding their
Wi-Fi Connection service for the DS as it has reached a total of 5 million users and 200 million game sessions. This is impressive, considering the service launched in late 2005 and now boasts a library of 65 games supporting WFC play. Nintendo also let us in on what the top five games (globally) are:
- Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Mario Kart DS
- Metroid Prime: Hunters
- Pokemon Diamond
- Pokemon Pearl
Considering that less than 10 months ago the service was only at
1.7 million users, this is an incredible increase. With such an impressive jump in usage, we're wondering what could've caused the spike. Oh wait ... we
think we know.
[Via press release]
Posted May 30th 2007 9:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: DS Daily
Sometimes, you pick up a DS game, play it for a while, and think, "Wow, this could easily be the
best game ever ... if only it offered an online multiplayer option." Some games just cry out for it.
Puzzle Quest is the first that comes to mind, but it's not the only DS game that just seems half-finished without WiFi support. Enedora needs to be able to take her show
online. What about
SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters? Begging for it. We're happy that Nintendo at least implemented online play with the DS, but
we want more. You know how it is -- we're just never satisfied.
Posted May 1st 2007 5:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi
Pogo Island isn't a particularly terrible game; there just hasn't been much we've heard about it worth discussing.
Electronic Arts developed the puzzle collection as a handheld supplement to its popular casual gaming site, Pogo. Marked at full price though, it's hard to justify buying a title that's essentially a round up of the five most popular games EA already offers for free online.
Even with that in mind,
Pogo Island isn't completely without merit. As GameSetWatch pointed out to us, playing the game earns you tokens which can later be uploaded to your Pogo account online. Trading in any tokens you acquire from either Pogo.com or Pogo Island buys you a ticket for the site's daily prize drawings (Up to $1000!).
Why don't more DS titles have connectivity like this? Wouldn't it be great if you could exchange all those Star coins you collected in
New Super Mario Bros. for a free copy of the
Super Mario Bros. 3 DVD? Or if discounts were offered at an online pet shop when
Nintendogs notices that you've been taking good care of your puppy? Features like this won't automatically turn a mediocre game into a great one, but it's an easy way to add to its worth.
Posted Apr 28th 2007 11:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens, Imports
Savor your solitude; once
Archime DS actually gets released, your enjoyment of the game will hinge on the participation of the masses. Or at least the people you've shared friend codes with.
These screenshots mostly show example play sessions-- one player writing a question, and then everyone voting on the best answer, or each player's version of a panda drawing. Since most of the content in this game is created on the fly, previews seem a little hollow. We can't really preview what you and your friends will draw, you know?
We trust Skip (
Chibi Robo, Giftpia) to make a compelling experience, but this program does have the air of
non-gameness about it. It's not a training game, but it's not a traditional game either. It's in the "toy" category of non-games along with
Jam Sessions and
Electroplankton, we suppose.
Continue reading Archime DS screens: enjoy them alone while you can
Posted Apr 25th 2007 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Screens, Imports
A new
Game Night contender is on the way to Japan.
Hudson released some screenshots of
Selected Wi-Fi Table Games, a collection of six classic games in the vein of
Clubhouse Games. And by "in the vein of
Clubhouse Games" we mean "pretty much the same as
Clubhouse Games." The major difference seems to be nationwide ranking, which is admittedly pretty cool.
The included games are Go, Renju, Reversi, Hanafuda, Mah-jongg, and something called Oodomi that uses Western playing cards. The bottom screen shows the game board or table, while the top screen displays character avatars and score information. At the risk of editorializing too much, the online competition had better be
mind-blowing to make up for the severe lack of selection.
Continue reading Wi-Fi Table Games: like Clubhouse Games but smaller and more competitive
Posted Apr 22nd 2007 3:30PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi
Did you pick up a DS
headset today along with your preorder of
Pokémon Diamond/Pearl? What will you be using to take advantage of the
online voice chat feature? Nintendo's official headset, Turtle Beach's
Earforce D2, or Datel's
Communicator? Or will you be slumming it with the handheld's built-in microphone?
If you're still in the market for a headset solution, Nintendo Gal has posted a comparison chart and her analysis on the three products. Testing their comfort, durability, sound output, and recording quality, she was able to determine which one deserves our hard-earned allowance money. There are even recording samples available that you can listen to and weigh in on yourself.
We're surprised that the
Earforce D2 was judged as the best of the lot, but seeing that it's also the most expensive at $19.99 (Nintendo's headset is on sale for
$9.99 at Amazon), it's good to know that you're not paying that premium for nothing. Turtle Beach's headset outclassed the official one in every category except recording quality, while Datel's
Communicator was laughed out of the competition.
Posted Apr 17th 2007 2:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi
Upon a recent inspection of who is using their free
Wi-Fi, McDonald's discovered that it isn't the business-on-the-go crowd or even the casual web-surfer looking for some hotcakes to chow down while they browse the morning's news. Oh no, in fact the answer might surprise you: it's the gamer. You read that right, apparently gamers (most importantly, DS enthusiasts) account for 25% of the Wi-Fi traffic in their establishments.
As you all know, over 8,000 McDonald's restaurants offer the free Wi-Fi service, but it isn't really even aimed at the customer. David Grooms, vice president of IT at McDonald's USA, says "It gives us a platform to use wireless applications within the restaurant," pointing out wireless headsets and other technology used by the employees of each establishment. Grooms says this will change, though, stating that "getting the word out that we are a secured wireless haven is really big for us this year."
Personally, we're not big fans of McDonald's and usually fight tooth and nail before being dragged into the place, unconscious. But, what about you guys? Do you use their free Wi-Fi for your DS needs?
Posted Apr 16th 2007 1:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi, Screens
That collective sigh of relief you just heard was the internet finding out that
Sonic Rush Adventure won't be a 3D-dominated title. The
Sonic Rush sequel will for the most part follow the swift footsteps of its acclaimed predecessor, shooting the blue hedgehog through 2D landscapes that span across both of the DS' screens.
There will be 3D segments where Sonic pilots submarines, hovercrafts, and other ships while in pursuit of the game's pirate villains, but we're hoping that these stylus-based portions will be similar to
Lunar Knights' space combat, adding a dash of extra flavor to the standard gameplay. Like the original game, each level will also end with massive, 3D bosses.
Sega has announced that in addition to supporting
Download Play features,
Sonic Rush Adventure will also have some
Nintendo WiFi Connection functionality. We're not sure yet if this means online leaderboards, versus mode racing, or downloadable content, but we'll keep you updated on their plans. Jog past the post break for the first screenshots of
Sonic Rush Adventure.
Continue reading Sonic Rush Adventure screenshots & details speed onto the scene
Posted Apr 14th 2007 5:45PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Rumors
Last week's issue of
Famitsu hid more in its Japanese text than just the
June 23rd release date for
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Zelda Universe's novice translation of the scanned pages indicates that the title might support online voice chat. Though this feature doesn't seem useful beyond setting up matches and trash-talking with your friends, it's a nice addition to the meager
multiplayer mode.
With upcoming games like
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl and
Panel de Pon also planning to use the Nintendo DS' VoIP capabilities, purchasing the uncomfortable-looking, official
headset is beginning to make a lot more sense to us. Of all the titles we expected to eventually include voice communication, Phantom Hourglass was definitely not one of them.
Update: Having a bit more experience with the Japanese language, The Hylia translated the
Famitsu scans in an effort to confirm this news. Much to our dismay, The Hylia found that there is no voice chat support planned for
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
[Via Digg]
Posted Mar 22nd 2007 12:15PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Next-Generation's Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh acknowledges that the Nintendo DS is an industry-changing system, but still sees the portable console as an "unfinished project." He wrote up a wishlist of improvements that he feels would fulfill the handheld's potential, extending its shelf-life. And while we've already seen dozens of message board topics filled with wild-eyed suggestions and what-they-should-really-do ideas in the past, Eric's revisions actually sound half-way sane.
So what are some of his seven steps for making a better Nintendo DS? Slap on some internal flash memory, paving the way for firmware updates and a Virtual Console setup for handheld games (GB/GBA/NGPC/etc.). Allow for an expandable, customizable system interface. Flesh out its WiFi support by integrating
Pictochat and developing a unified online service.
They're all great recommendations, but one has to wonder how implementing those changes would affect the portable's retail
price. The DS probably wouldn't have been such a success if it weren't for its impulse-buy pricing. Still, we would love to see Eric's suggestions make it into the handheld's next revision.
We're sure that our readers have their own ideas on what the next Nintendo DS should have.
VoIP capabilities? A flux capacitor? Maybe just throw some Ds on it? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think would make a better Nintendo DS!
Posted Mar 21st 2007 1:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Homebrew, Nintendo Wi-Fi
We've always equated
PictoChat with the banana peel in
Mario Kart DS. It might be better than nothing, but we were really hoping for something a little more useful when we opened up that item box. Despite its polished interface and availability with every Nintendo DS system, hardly anyone uses
PictoChat regularly. This can be attributed to the application's limited functionality and lack of online support. Unless you're sending phallic doodles to a nearby friend, there's really no reason for using the communication utility.
Thankfully, there are several
homebrew projects that better realize the DS' potential as an instant messenger or a canvas for digital artists.
Pictoblog is another application that extends the system's capabilities, enabling users to sketch something out on the handheld's touchscreen, and upload the picture to a post on their blog.
Pictoblog works with a number of CMSs like WordPress, Movable Type, and many others.
Developer 0xtob has set up a test blog for users to experiment with, but it probably won't be long before the site is flooded with crude illustrations of the male anatomy.
Posted Mar 20th 2007 2:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
A sequel to last year's Pokémon-infused roguelike,
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, was announced in the latest issue of
Famitsu. The original was received with mixed reviews, but fans of the
dungeon-crawling formula welcomed the game with open arms. Both versions (
Blue Rescue Team for the DS,
Red Rescue Team for the GBA) sold well enough in the states, so we can probably expect to see this follow-up translated for English audiences eventually.
Not much else was revealed about
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2, except that
WiFi support is planned. An "enhanced" story and changed format were mentioned, but neither were discussed in detail. The premise for the first game was a bit goofy, featuring a human character transformed into a Pokémon, but it was enjoyable enough to make us hope for a similar scenario with this sequel.
[Via NeoGAF]
Posted Mar 15th 2007 4:20PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News
So maybe you love a good game of pinball. Really, who doesn't? The good, clean, flip-flappin' fun of pinball can be so exhilarating. But what if the power to create that experience was in the palm of your hand? Wouldn't that make you like a happy-funtime god?
Okay, okay, so we're a little melodramatic. The slow news day bring it out. Here's the deal:
Powershot Pinball Constructor is a chance for any pinball lover to realize their most cruel and creative dreams. Players create every aspect of their custom tables and then share them via this series of tubes we call home. And hey, if you're not ready for the ultimate pinball creation challenge, you can just play. No pressure.
Oxygen Games says their
Powershot Pinball Constructor is scheduled for this summer, though they're unspecific as to which region. Oxygen Games is based in the U.K., so we assume they mean Europe.
Posted Mar 15th 2007 9:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Fan stuff, Nintendo Wi-Fi
For those of us in the U.S., the DS browser is
finally being released. For those of you in other markets, you've already had several months to check it out. But here's the thing: do you browse on your DS? If you're thinking of getting one when it's released in America, do you plan to use it often? For those who have it or want it ... do you have any other portable means of accessing the internet? We're
curious about how many readers are out there browsing on the go.
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