One of my newest gadgets: Nintendo DS Lite
August 1st, 2006 by Scott Janousek
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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Ah, the Nintendo DS Lite. This is just a short post on my thoughts.
I bought this for (market) research purposes, a few weeks back … or that’s what I keep telling myself!
No, it doesn’t run an Adobe/Nintendo Flash Player officially (or at the time of writing this post, anyway), but it’s still a great little toy … or, is it just a toy?
Lately, I’ve been hooked on a bit of Brain Age.
I had been playing Sudoku on paper for quite some time now, and have become advanced enough to tackle some of the more moderately challenging puzzles.
I was playing at least one Sudoku puzzle a day prior to DS Lite and Brain Age. Not for so much as fun … but as a way to keep my visual sight in tune (from all the scanning of columns/rows), as well as a little brain teaser (solving the actual puzzles).
Now, I am migrating to the the DS Lite. The implementation of Sudoku within Brain Age is pretty decent. Makes the paper form pretty much obsolete (unless you like working with a pencil and eraser?).
The Sudoku in Brain Age merely appears for training purposes in the game, however. I’m actually tempted to get the Nintendo Sudoku Mania.
Brain Age challenges the mind on a few different levels. It also allows you to track your progress as well, which is very cool in my opinion (the app is all about “training”/”exercising” your mind regularly!).
At first I thought the game would be lame, but it turns out to be pretty innovative. Currently, I’m almost at a consistent 25-30 year old brain these days (21 is ideal).
Speaking of which, yesterday, the program tried to pull a fast one on me and told me my brain age as 78.
Then reported back it was a mistake on it’s part. I thought that was hilarous, since at first glance, I thought the program had a bug, then had to give them a whole lot of credit for making the gameplay interesting! Annoying, but clever.
I wonder what would happen if I put that kind of a feature into a mission crticial flex or flash app as an easter egg … instant lawsuits 
As far as the DS Lite … my overall thoughts so far on the device are that they really nailed the price point (around $130), sound capabilities, and display quality, not to mention the games offered so far!
Even the browser that has been released over in Japan looks surprisingly good.
The wifi gameplay is simply superb. Speaking of which, a bunch of us here on the list (MXNA) are thinking about getting some online game play going.
Post here or over at Keith’s blog if you are interested. You’ll need to post your favorite game, as well your friend code (you can generate this once you buy a WiFi enabled game).
Here is my info:
Mario Kart DS - 4123-9166-2885
Metroid 3737-3701-1805
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August 1st, 2006 at 8:52 pm
I got Sudoku Gridmaster. It’s pretty good, though I wish the Brain Age guys would do a full Sudoku game. That interface rocks. I haven’t heard much good about Sudoku Mania though.
August 1st, 2006 at 9:10 pm
Yeah, that one looked appealing since it’s out now (DS title, right?).
Regarding the interface and particuarly sound … it’s amazing how important sound, aka a “perfect sound” can be in UI.
I’m sure you’d agree, they really nailed all the sound effects on the device.
Not only do they make sense logically, but they are fun to hear and respond to! The Sound Engineering team did an outstanding job.
August 1st, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Actually, there is a (highly) limited form of flash player for DS:
http://www.natrium42.com/blog/?p=36
There was another one a while back as well, but it was about the same capability, and I can’t find the link offhand.
I’m a flash developer by day, DS homebrew hacker by night (see my website for some boring stuff I’ve done). If you’re interested, the total cost for all the parts to get your own code running on a DS runs about $50 to $80 (there are several parts you need, each one has different versions, cost can vary, etc etc), so it’s quite decent. Generally you program in either C or C++, and there is a fairly active community out there.
August 1st, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Dave, thanks for posting the link.
I heard about the player, but I was really refering to an officially supported version (a joint venture between Adobe and Nintendo).
A homebrew DS Lite device sounds right up my alley (if I can find the time for it).
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:22 am
Hi Scott,
Just got myself a DS Lite for the summer holidays and I totally agree with you. I bought Mario, Nintendogs and Brain Age with it, but Brain Age is the one I keep playing. Funny - I actually bought that game for my wife since I thought that’d make her more interested in the device and now I’m sort of playing her game
I think the Opera Browser for DS will ship as an upgrade around christmas? Looks cool and if it had Flash support it’d be even cooler! I’d love advice on what game to buy next. Suggestions?
J
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:11 am
Well, I just got an email about MarioHoops the other day …
http://www.mariohoops.com/Prelaunch/ … looks like another hit.
MarioKart wifi is a blast. I haven’t really gotten into metroid yet, but it’s quite good as well.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:50 pm
I’m in for Mario Kart….
my code is 4443-9156-2348
Rob
August 3rd, 2006 at 8:01 am
Hi Scott, Sudoku Mania is crappy, I’d suggest you pick Gridmaster instead.
2 best games I’ve played so far are
“Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney” and “Another Code - Two Memories” (also known as Trace Memory)
Brian
August 3rd, 2006 at 8:44 am
Rob, that code did not work. Are you sure it’s for Kart?
August 23rd, 2006 at 1:17 am
I’m a fan of Brain Age. (Had it for about 2 months)
Has anyone found or logged the “levels” for Brain age?
I.e. in 20x Calculations: 19-15 = train; 14 -? = plane. etc.
I’ve scoured the web but haven’t run across anything yet.
Just curious.
Bob
November 21st, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Hi everyone.
With the launch of the Nintendo Wii just around the corner, will you purchase one?
If so, what are you most looking forward to about the system?