This is an article I wrote to help DS beginners find out all they need to know about the DS and at the end there are also a lot of goodies for everybody (pics, videos, mockups and such.) Here it is:
Written by Jeremy Olson (bugeye1)
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Nintendo DS
3. Features
4. Wi-Fi
5. Games
6. FAQ
7. You want more?
Introduction
Why did I create “Nintendo DS for Dummies� I created this article because there are many people with questions about the DS and instead of having to answer all the individual questions over and over again on the forums, why not just answer them all in one foul swoop? I also created this article for people who know a lot about the DS but would like to know a lot more about it. (Oh yeah, BTW just because you are reading this article doesn’t mean you are a dummy.)
How long is this article? This article is not long at all. I created it so that anybody could read it in a matter of minutes, but it has some great videos, articles and pictures of the DS at the end.
For those of you that want to know the basics of the Nintendo DS (what it is, what it looks like, what games will be available for it, etc.) You need only to read through chapter 1-4. For those of you that would like to know everything there is to know about the Nintendo DS, read the whole book. For those of you who know pretty much everything about the DS but would like to spend lots of time drooling over videos and articles about the DS, skip to the last chapter, there you will find lots of links to articles, pictures and videos of the Nintendo DS. Now enough with the jibber jabber, on to the good stuff.
The Nintendo DS
You want to know what the Nintendo DS is? Alright, lets go. The Nintendo DS is a new mobile gaming system made by Nintendo. It was officially announced during Nintendo’s pre-E3 press conference where Nintendo showed off the new and innovative features that the DS had to offer. Now that you have a general idea of what the DS is, I will tell you a list of features and answer some questions that you may have along the way.
Features
I will paste the list of features provided by Nintendo and explain further the ones that you may have questions about. The words in italic format are my comments.
Dual Screens: Two LCD screens offer one of the most groundbreaking game-play advances ever developed: experiencing a game from two perspectives at once. Imagine the possibilities. In a racing game, drivers might see their own vehicle's perspective on one screen and an overall track view on the other. In a role-playing game, the action could take place on the first screen while the second provides a reference for a player's tools inventory. Game play also could use both screens at once, offering a giant boss for heroes to defeat. In the future, games could be created allowing users to play games on one screen while text messaging other DS users on the other. Each 3-inch screen can reproduce a true 3-D view and is backlit to assure comfortable play in any lighting condition.
Touch Screen: The lower screen will offer something never before provided by any game device: PDA-like touch capabilities. Players no longer have to rely on just buttons to move characters or shift perspectives. They can navigate menus or access inventory items simply by touching the screen with stylus or fingertip. A software-based keyboard might even allow the screen to be used as an input center for games and messaging. The possibilities are limited only by developers' imaginations. The screen will have a tougher film cover for durability, and will come with a stylus.
Microphone: An available microphone port means that in the future, players might need only to tell their games what to do. DS software could identify everything from voice commands to hand-clapping. Players might be able to move their characters simply by telling them which way to go. The voice capabilities also could allow gamers to chat with one another over the Internet while playing. The developers may think of different ideas of how to manipulate this feature, but an example is this: You are playing a game of Mario Kart with your friend across the street (via the DS’s wireless capabilities,) your friend wins, you could turn on the microphone and start talking smack to him. This is just an idea I made up and it doesn’t mean Nintendo will implement this feature into Mario Kart, but it is possible.
Wireless: DS users will be able to connect with a local wireless network of up to 16 players. Nintendo's guaranteed range is 30 feet, but will extend far beyond that depending on circumstances. It assures high response rates required for real time game play, and will make use of both IEEE 802.11 and Nintendo's proprietary communication protocol, which provides low battery consumption. Players will be able to chat and play games without any connecting cords, completely untethered. The DS technology also provides for a wireless LAN connection, which could allow a theoretically infinite number of players to connect at a hot spot and compete at a central game hub on the Internet, even if they're thousands of miles apart. There will be a whole section on Wi-Fi later, so hold on to your horses.
Wireless Game Sharing: If software developers desire, multiple players can compete in wireless games, even if only one person has a game card inserted. Players could also test-play games for themselves as long as they stayed connected.
3-D: With the newly developed graphics engine, DS can reproduce impressive 3-D renderings that can surpass images displayed on the Nintendo® 64. Games will run at 60 frames per second, and allow details like fog effects and cel shading.
Sound: The 16-channel sound allows for greatly expanded use of voices and music, and a richer, more immersive game experience. A plug for headphones transmits stereo sound.
Battery & Power Management: The battery is rechargeable and the unit features a low-energy-consumption design. The DS also has Power Management functions of Sleep mode and Standby mode. In Sleep mode, players can stop and resume game play whenever they like. If the user receives a message from a friend or user nearby, DS activates itself from Standby mode.
Processing: The unit will run on two processors, one ARM9 one ARM7. This means that the DS is powerful .
New Media: For its compact cards, the unit uses newly developed semiconductor memory, which allows for lower cost, shorter manufacturing time and memory capacity of more than one gigabit of information. The games are about the size of an SD card.
Dual Slots: Nintendo DS makes a vast library of Game Boy® Advance games readily available. Developers could find ways to make new connections between GBA games and DS games. The GBA port could be used for new hardware, enormously expanding the functional expandability of the DS.
Wi-Fi
Now lets talk a little bit about the DS’s wireless capabilities because there have been many questions in this area. Ninfanboy on the Nintendo forums wrote a very nice article called “all you need to know about WIFI†and many people’s questions have been answered with this article, so instead of writing my own, I feel it best to quote his article instead:
“All You Need to Know About Wi-Fi Written by Ninfanboy
As all of you may know, Nintendo will be set to release Nintendo DS (name subject to change) in November 2004. All of you are looking forward to playing online, but how exactly do you go online with Wi-Fi?
What does Wi-Fi do?
First of all, Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity. It allows you to connect to the internet without wires. Wi-Fi allows you to send and receive data indoors and out, as long as you are in range of a base station, or Hot Spot as most people call it. Once you are connected to a network, you have the capabilities for online gaming.
What is a Hot Spot?
A Hot Spot is an area within range of a wireless router that will let you connect to a network. As long as you have a wireless router at home, you will be able to play with other people half way across the world. If you don't have a wireless router, fear not, for you can goto busy areas like Starbucks to get free connections. For more information about where places with Wi-Fi are located, go to http://www.wififreespot.com for more information.
Will any certain objects interfere with my wireless connection?
A wireless phone will interfere with your wireless connection depending on the type of your phone. There are three main phone frequencies. The first one is 900 MHz, which is compatible with a wireless network. Another one is the 2.4 GHz, which is unfortunately, not compatible with a wireless network. Lastly, there is the 5.8 GHz frequency, which is compatible with a wireless network
What about the fact that Nintendo said the wireless range of the Nintendo DS is only 100 feet?
When Nintendo said that, they were not actually referring to the capabilities of Wi-Fi. When you are not in a hotspot, you will not be able to connect online. What Nintendo have done is that they have implemented another feature which allows you to connect with other people up to 100 feet apart. Think of this feature as being a super long link cable with out the actual cable.â€
Now that you know all the features of the DS, let’s talk just a little bit about what it looks like. Of course it has two screens, L and R buttons on the top, a, b, x and y buttons on the right side, The D-Pad on the left side and it is a foldable design so when you are done playing with it you can fold it and put it in your pocket.
Games
Games are one of the most crucial aspects of a gaming system and Nintendo doesn’t disappoint with its line up of new and innovative games. The list of games is as follows:
Animal Crossing DS
Balloon Trip DS
Bomberman DS
Carving
Cerulean Dreams
Dark Reflections
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Quest Monsters
Dynasty Warriors
Egg Monster Heroes
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Frogger 2005
Gyakutan Saiban
Mario Kart DS
Mario's Face
Mega Man Battle Network DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
Monster Rancher
Mr. Driller
Need for Speed
New Super Mario Bros.
One Piece
Pac 'n Roll
Pac Pix
PictoChat
Pikachu Demo
Project Rub
Rayman
Sonic DS
Sonic E3 Demo
Special Effects Demo
Spider-Man 2
Spongebob Squarepants
Submarine Demo
Super Mario 64 x4
Table Hockey
Team Ninja DS project [working title]
Ultimate Brain/Card Games
Viewtiful Joe
Wario Ware DS
Yu-Gi-Oh: Nightmare Troubadour
Thanks to IGN for the list.
So those are the games that developers are already working on. Would you like to know how these games will manipulate the DS’s capabilities? Pac ‘N Roll is a great example.
Here is a preview is a preview of Pac ‘N Roll that Matt from DS Central (http://www.dscentral.net) wrote:
“The (code-named) Nintendo DS has a touch screen, everyone knows that, and most people also realize that developers are only too eager to be using it. Most games currently in production for the system use it almost to the exclusion of the conventional buttons, in fact.
Of all these games, perhaps the most appropriate and nifty use of the technology is Pac 'n Roll, a game that bears a greater resemblance to the wonderful Monkey Ball games than the equally wonderful Pac Man franchise. Nonetheless, Pac 'n Roll features the ever-cool yellow ball, the ghastly fruity colored ghosts and the dots, which, as everyone knows are really special "pills."
Unlike the classic Pac Man, Pac 'n Roll takes place in three dimensions, and is multileveled, with all kinds of ramps to jump off, bridges to glide across and pits to fall down, making the levels look incredibly varied and exciting. The developers clearly borrowed some inspiration from SEGA here, with some of the levels have a very distinct 'Monkey Ball' puzzle style to them. The core game-play will, of course, be very Pac Manian (yes, I invented that word) in nature. Players must roll around a level, eating dots and avoiding ghosts. One assumes that a level will be cleared after consuming all the dots within, as, unlike in the Monkey Ball games, there doesn't appear to be a target goal to aim for.
The truly exciting prospect for the game, however, is the control system. No clunky D-pad in sight, nope, you will control the bright yellow ball of joy entirely through touch screen. A giant, 3D image of Pac Man dominates the touch screen, and on the other screen is the actual level. On this screen, Pac Man moves in accordance with how he is 'spun' on the touch screen. Spinning is simple, just slide the stylus over the giant Pac Man, and he will spin in accordance with how fast and far the stylus is moved. To roll him forwards, slide the stylus up. To break, or reverse, slide it back. Moving it left or right will turn Pac Man. A simple system? Yes, but it should turn out to be a beautiful one, with gamers having a unprecedented level of control over our hero, and cutting out any frustrations associated with the relatively imprecise digital (or even analogue stick) control.
Graphically, the game is showing just how much more powerful the DS is over any pre-existing handheld systems. The 3D levels are bright, colorful and, although simple, seem quite large, and contain a definite cartoon style charm. Indeed, unlike the GBA, which constructed 3D in a very pixelated and grainy fashion, Pac 'n Roll looks very crisp. Pac Man himself seems to have a good polygon count, looking adequately spherical, as does his larger likeness on the touch screen. Most importantly, the ghosts retain all their cuddly cuteness that makes Pac fans go all warm and fuzzy inside.
Pac 'n Roll is already an example of just how well a touch screen can function in games, and just how much it can add to what would usually be a simple experience. Although the simplicity of Pac 'n Roll is undeniable, provided Namco can implement the ideas properly, we're sure to have one addictive little action game on our hands come the release. “
The possibilities for game-play on the DS are endless, that is what makes it such an exciting system.
FAQ
Now for the FAQ, I will answer some frequently asked questions.
Q: Is the DS the name for Nintendo’s upcoming dual screened system?
A: The DS is the current code name for its new dual screened system, but the real name is still pending.
Q: What does DS stand for?
A: Nintendo said that it stands for Developer System, but it can also stand for Dual Screens.
Q: What kind of graphic capabilities will the DS have?
A: The DS will be able to produce graphics that look better then N64 on both screens.
Q: How much will the DS cost?
A: The president of Nintendo Satoru Iwata stated that the Nintendo DS's price would be in the same range of the GBA: SP. When the SP launched in the US, it costed $100 so I think the price range we are looking at is $100-$150.
Q: Will the DS be able to play GBA games?
A: Yes, it is can. There is two slots, one for GBA games and one for DS games.
Q: WIll the DS be able to play GB and GBC gams?
No, it has been stated several times by Nintendo that it will not be able to play GB and GBC games.
Q: When will the DS be out?
A: Late this year.
Q: Is the Nintendo DS the next generation Game Boy?
A: There has been much discussion on this and nothing is for certain, but Nintendo has stated in the pre-E3 press conference that they would be two separate lines of portable gaming devices. We will just have to wait and see.
Q: What are the DS's competitors?
A: They include the PSP (made by sony, rumored price: $300-$500,) Gizmondo ( I haven't researched this one to much, but from my understanding it will be running a version of windows mobile and will be sold in the UK,) N-Gage (advertised as the Game boy killer but hasn't really hurt the game boy sales at all,) Tapwave Zodiac (I have this one, it is a gaming device and Palm OS PDA in one, it has been great for me so far.)
I hope I have answered all of your questions, if you want more, keep reading.
You want more?
Now that everybody’s questions are answered, on to the fun stuff. Here is a great list of articles about the DS, some include pictures too.
G4 Aricles
http://www.g4techtv.com/feature.aspx?article_key=38
http://www.g4techtv.com/feature.aspx?article_key=759
Game Freaks 365 Articles:
http://gamefreaks365.com/gbafreaks/specialarticles/ds.html
Gamers.com articles
http://www.gamers.com/news/1480681
Cubed-3 articles
http://www.cubed-3.co.uk/modules/news/arti...hp?storyid=2153
http://www.cubed-3.co.uk/modules/news/arti...hp?storyid=2248
News Factor articles
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?stor...&story_id=24017
IGN Articles
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/514/514285p1.html
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/517/517932p1.html
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/513/513188p1.html
DIGIT Articles
http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?f...age=1&pagePos=1
Total Video Games Articles
http://www.totalvideogames.com/pages/artic...article_id=5714
Forbes Articles
http://www.forbes.com/infoimaging/2004/06/...daymatchup.html
Gamespot Articles
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05/11/news_6097113.html
The Register Articles
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/nintendo_ds_comms/
USA Today Articles
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/200...ntendo-ds_x.htm
Gamespy Articles
http://cube.gamespy.com/articles/513/513341p1.html?fromint=1
Tech Focus Articles
http://techfocus.org/print.php?id=4416
Ferrago Articles
http://www.ferrago.com/story/3560
http://www.ferrago.com/story/3620
CNet Articles
http://reviews.cnet.com/Nintendo_DS/4505-6...-2.html?tag=top
Those should keep you busy for a while. Next up, DS mockups:
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/3_new_nint...kups_014343.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/more_ds_mo...ever_014900.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/nintendo_d...hoto_014245.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/images/giz...ds_bounty_1.jpg
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/t3_magazin...ckup_013922.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/first_nint...fake_013904.php
http://www.ninty.net/forums/index.php?show...st=0entry3621
http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3293
Now for some pictures:
http://media.gameboy.ign.com/articles/517/517932/imgs_1.html
http://www.nintendo.com/e3_2004/ds/ds_software.jsp
http://nintendoinsider.com/site/EpluZVpZlZhJoXkYvf.php
http://www.jeux-france.com/articles_dossiers152.html
But better then pics, VIDEOS!
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Media/Med...E-9426E5B40104} (for this one you are going to have to copy and paste to your browser, make sure to copy and paste the whole thing, these are probably the best of the videos.)
http://www.e3insider.com/articles/floored/63TIV6VPE1.htm
http://www.nintendo.com/e3_2004/ds/ds_software.jsp
http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/living...=74008&SecID=30
http://www.gcadvanced.com/article.php?artid=2016
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Media/Med...F-9C31BC0EB196}
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/515/515497p1.html
http://www.gamespot.com/all_updates/2004/2...7_platform.html (you have to sign up for the gamespot one)
I hope all this stuff keeps you busy for a while, have fun playing with your DS in your dreams . If you have any questions, you can contact me at jerrolson@earthlink.net
This is going to be my last post for a week or so because I am going to California in a matter of hours.
The game that will be the first challenger for Pictochat will hit stores at launch. Ping Pals is basically another messaging program similar to Pictochat that will feature up to 16 player connectability and will have the same basic layout as Pictochat. One of the cool features that Ping Pals has to offer is that too connect with 16 friends only a single game cartridge is needed. Ping Pals, like Pictochat, will be able to send messages using the keyboard or doodles on the screen. 
