A New Way to Play (Part 2)

Let's flash back to two years before the rise of the Wii. Nintendo took some big risks on a handheld with two screens. This is the Nintendo DS.

Chapter 2: The Dual-Screen Dilemma

After years of dominating the handheld market with the Gameboy, in it's various incarnations, Nintendo decided to finally try something knew to compete with the upcoming Sony handheld, the PSP. The new device boasted a much more powerful interior than anything that had come out before it, though nowhere near as powerful as Sony's machine. This is where I feel Nintendo learned that they couldn't compete on the hardware front, and thus learned that they had to be different to get sales. The DS had dual screens. One of which was a regular screen, and the other that was a stylus activated touch screen (though I personally use a finger nail).

This machine made great sales and quickly acquired a great deal of support from third party developers. For this console, I jumped on pretty late, when posed with the opportunity, for the first time ever in america to experience Final Fantasy III as a remake for the DS. It was a great system, for the most part, and really had a huge selection. The only issue I ever had with it, was the frustrating touch screen. Believe me, nothing takes you out of an experience like reaching out and touching your screen. It serves to remind you that you are watching a screen, and destroy the sense of urgency in big game events.

I personally feel that the third party developers noticed this quickly, and usually only added practical features that were often times optional to use. This was the saving grace of the DS, which is in sharp contrast to the reaction to the Wii, where everyone went gaga over the new control method and abandoned common sense, thus killing the whole idea. What was the difference between the Wii and the DS' lifespan? It's simple. The Wii took away all options (unless you had a Gamecube controller sitting around for certain games), while the DS had good old fashioned buttons to be used. This allowed immersive gaming to be delivered. Because of this, we were able to play great Castlevania's, Final Fantasy's and various other games without distraction. I would dare say, that this is an example of gimmicks used right, almost.

The way I see it, is that at the end of the day, this system would have been better without the touch screen. This also applies to the 3DS...which is a multi-layered gimmick. A touch screen and a 3d screen. No thank you Nintendo (although I do concede that it does work very well). 

I spent many days playing the DS, and never once thought touching the screen added anything to my experience. I bought the DS for good games, and that's what I got. However the success of this system is what told Nintendo that gimmicks are what people want. In their mind (according to what they later showed), the game isn't important, it's playing it in new and different ways that matters. That's why their next move was the Wii. The DS was a great system that left a bad aftermath.