Time for a DS 2 or something?

[danskmacabre]

I love the DS lite, there are quite a few decent games for it (and lots of god awful games as well! ).
I'm wondering if the DS is approaching the point where it's exhausted it's posibilities for decent games and variety.

I'm wondering if it's time for there to be an announcement for it's successor soon.
I'd love to see a new DS with:

1: The signature dual screens (but bigger).

2: Both screens being touch sensitive.

3: Capable of rendering 3D on both screens.

4: A faster processor and much better graphics.

5: An official removable storage option and the ability to buy/download games onto the media via the WFC/Wii shop or internet via a PC.

6: more memory, a lot more.


I was pretty disappointed with Warhammer 40k, I haven't really seen any decent Western style RPG's like say Baldur's gate on the DS (although I enjoyed phantom hourglass, it was a very japanses style RPG).

In general, I feel that the more complex games just aren't doable on the DS.
The PSP is powerful enough but I hate that it doesn't have a touchscreen.

[Fraser]

Interesting topic.

I would say though that the DS 2 won't be announced for some time. This whole pulling out of the graphical and feature creep arms race thing means that Nintendo is under much less pressure to release new consoles.

I imagine that we will probably see or hear about a PSP 2 well in advance of a DS 2 and even that won't be for a while if you ask me.

There may be plenty of people out there who own both a DS and a PSP but for those that own just a DS I doubt a new PSP would prompt them to switch consoles. If that does in fact happen, it will only underline Nintendo's approach and perhaps further delay the company's plans to replace the DS with a new handheld.

I think you are right about the download thing though, in my view that should really be how the DS evolves. If Nintendo was to release an official storage option for the current models and then maybe a revised model with inbuilt storage they could really go nuts with the whole download thing and as long as the quality bar remained high, the formula would be perfect. Basically, what I want is a virtual console on the current DS I suppose.

[danskmacabre]

Interesting topic.
I would say though that the DS 2 won't be announced for some time. This whole pulling out of the graphical and feature creep arms race thing means that Nintendo is under much less pressure to release new consoles.

Well I hear what you're saying and we have 3 DS lites in our house and a Wii and we love playing on them.
It's just the more complex games I feel are beyond the capabilities of the DS, such as complex European style RPGs (Neverwinter night springs to mind).
However they do what they're designed to do well.
The GBA had a really nice RPG, Baldur's gate, so it COULD be done on the DS, maybe not potentially as complex or pretty as the PSP, but then the PSP doesn't have a touch screen, which makes using controls clunky.

I imagine that we will probably see or hear about a PSP 2 well in advance of a DS 2 and even that won't be for a while if you ask me.
There may be plenty of people out there who own both a DS and a PSP but for those that own just a DS I doubt a new PSP would prompt them to switch consoles. If that does in fact happen, it will only underline Nintendo's approach and perhaps further delay the company's plans to replace the DS with a new handheld.

If a PSP 2 had a touchscreen, I'd probably score one IF there was decent RPGs for it.

I think you are right about the download thing though, in my view that should really be how the DS evolves. If Nintendo was to release an official storage option for the current models and then maybe a revised model with inbuilt storage they could really go nuts with the whole download thing and as long as the quality bar remained high, the formula would be perfect. Basically, what I want is a virtual console on the current DS I suppose.

They're probably too worried about piracy and I don't blame them to a degree, but DS games are easily pirated anyway, so they may as well get on board online distribution now.
I wouldn't particularly miss inbuilt storage either, removable storage , such as SD cards of some sort would be fine and more convenient.

[Accelorata Jengold]

I really think the DS will stand the test of time. I honestly think we probably won't even hear about a new Nintendo handheld before 2010 at the earliest. It was interesting what Iwata was saying at the tail end of last year about how Nintendo wants to add a bunch of practical connected functions to the DS in Japan such as train time tables, weather and suchlike.

It all sounds a bit like the Wii's channels to me and I wouldn't be surprised if that is the direction in which the DS is headed. Surely some sort of branded storage is only a matter of time (I hope anyway).

As for when the a successor to the DS finally does roll around I think that again it will be all about the control scheme and the power of the device will be very much secondary. I guess what everyone wants is basically a portable gamecube with two touchscreens and some onboard storage.

[SetsFireToPoshHammer]

Don't know about the PSP getting a touchscreen. I think it would be cool and everything but I don't know if Sony will be keen to go head to head with Nintendo on that front.

I think that Nintendo has proven that for a touchscreen to work you really need another screen where your fingers aren't getting in the way of the action and I just don't see Sony going for a clamshell design, it just isn't its style.