So why is the DS sucessful, then?

Steerforth · Postby **Steerforth** » March 23rd, 2007, 4:04 pm

I was reading some of the Critics' console reviews today, and I noticed 2 different consoles were hurt by 2 distinct design flaws, and the DS has them both and has done wonderful.

1. The Saturn's dual preoccessors were stated as difficult to program for. The DS has dual screens and proccessors, and is reportably easy to program for, what is the difference?

2. The N64's cart format made games very expensive to manufacture, especialy compared to CD's/DVD's, and I personaly remember being turned off by new releases for that very reason. Yet the DS has very tiny carts, and some games are released for $20 brand new, $30 average, and at the most $35 bucks for "bigger" efforts. PSP discs are ussually $40, but obviously they generally have more ambitious graphics. Cart technology has apparently gone down drasticly in cost? Or are DS carts so far below N64 carts technologicly that they are more akin to say, the GBA?

2-b., So just how powerful is the DS then, relative to the PS1, PSP, or N64?

Conn · Postby **Conn** » March 23rd, 2007, 6:34 pm

The reason the DS is successful? Because it was a Nintendo handheld for $100 less than the PSP. Then the sales drew in developers.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » March 23rd, 2007, 8:25 pm

[QUOTE=Steerforth]
1. The Saturn's dual preoccessors were stated as difficult to program for. The DS has dual screens and proccessors, and is reportably easy to program for, what is the difference?
[/QUOTE]

Regardless of the underlying architecture, the difficulty of programming games for a system is dictated by its API (Application Programming Interface). It's the toolkit provided by the company that lets developers program the system. From reports I've heard, the PS3 is not only difficult to program for, but Sony has been constantly patching and changing the API, which makes it a moving target of sorts.

The Saturn had a similar problem.

Another reason the DS is easier to program for is that most of its games are 2D.

a1 · Postby a1 » March 23rd, 2007, 11:01 pm

I would imagine that the DS carts are cheaper to make than N64 carts because they have better technology. Since it has been so many years since the 64 I imagine coming up with a small cart that could handle a 64 game wasn't too hard. I don't know the exact specs on the DS, but I do know that Mario 64 DS looked better than the original and had a bit more content.

Paul Campbell · Postby **Paul Campbell** » March 24th, 2007, 3:35 am

This brings up something I have been wondering about the DS. How much memory do the cards hold, and how does it compare to the price of, say, and SD card with that much memory? SD cards are pretty spendy for what they are, and it makes me wonder how much of that is from the actual cost of making them. In other words, how much profit is there in a DS game for Nintendo?

Michael D · Postby **Michael D** » March 25th, 2007, 10:57 pm

[QUOTE=Conn]The reason the DS is successful? Because it was a Nintendo handheld for $100 less than the PSP. Then the sales drew in developers.[/QUOTE]

Well, that's true, but also because when Nintendo had problems early on with the system (an ill-concieved launch, no games that showed off the potential of the system), they noticed these problems fairly early (about 6 months later) and fixed them, unlike Sony who "stayed the course." Now, the PSP is pretty much dead and the only reason it hasn't been discontinued is because Sony can put as much money into it as they want (seeing as they're such a huge and profitable company).

chrisbid1 · Postby **chrisbid1** » March 25th, 2007, 11:34 pm

carts are better suited for handhelds. they are far more durable than optical media, and the lack of moving parts helps out battery life.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » March 25th, 2007, 11:34 pm

[QUOTE=Michael D]

[QUOTE=Conn]The reason the DS is successful? Because it was a Nintendo handheld for $100 less than the PSP. Then the sales drew in developers.[/QUOTE]

Well, that's true, but also because when Nintendo had problems early on with the system (an ill-concieved launch, no games that showed off the potential of the system), they noticed these problems fairly early (about 6 months later) and fixed them, unlike Sony who "stayed the course." Now, the PSP is pretty much dead and the only reason it hasn't been discontinued is because Sony can put as much money into it as they want (seeing as they're such a huge and profitable company).
[/QUOTE]

I don't think the DS launch was so bad, I think it was just overshadowed by the PSP launch. The amazing specs and awesome screen had the media calling it a "must have". It was only a matter of time before gamers began to realize that the DS equated to "fun", and the PSP equated to scaled-down versions of games you already own.

a1 · Postby a1 » March 26th, 2007, 1:41 am

[QUOTE=Paul Campbell]This brings up something I have been wondering about the DS. How much memory do the cards hold, and how does it compare to the price of, say, and SD card with that much memory? SD cards are pretty spendy for what they are, and it makes me wonder how much of that is from the actual cost of making them. In other words, how much profit is there in a DS game for Nintendo?
[/QUOTE]

There is one Gigabit (not to be confused with a Gigabyte) of memory in a Nintendo DS card. How much that is in a unit anyone is actually familiar with-such as megabytes-I'm not entirely sure. At any rate, it's less than a Gigabyte.

m0zart1 · Postby **m0zart1** » March 26th, 2007, 1:50 am

[QUOTE=a]There is one Gigabit (not to be confused with a Gigabyte) of memory in a Nintendo DS card. How much that is in a unit anyone is actually familiar with-such as megabytes-I'm not entirely sure. At any rate, it's less than a Gigabyte.[/QUOTE]

1 Gigabit = 125 Megabytes.