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NWR Interactive => TalkBack => Topic started by: Flames_of_chaos on March 27, 2009, 02:34:24 PM

Title: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on March 27, 2009, 02:34:24 PM
Nintendo plans to release a new type of DS game card that works on all DS models, but will take advantage of DSi's hardware features.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=18061

 Masato Kuwahara, the project leader of the DSi hardware group, confirmed that Nintendo is planning "Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards." These new types of game cards will be playable on all models of the DS. However, if these game cards are played on a DSi, players will be able to enjoy DSi hardware specific features, such as creating textures from photographs that are taken by the DSi camera.    


The "Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards" are currently in development, and the development process of the DSi hardware inspired Nintendo to create these enhanced game cards.

Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 27, 2009, 04:03:41 PM
Nice that Nintendo confirmed it. We already knew about it of coarse since a developer had already said they were working on DS games that would be able to take advantage of the DSi's features when played on a DSi.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Halbred on March 27, 2009, 04:19:17 PM
So they'll be like early GBC games?
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Stratos on March 27, 2009, 04:22:24 PM
Sounds like what Nintendo did with a few key games when the GBC and the GBA launched.
Remember there were three types of carts?
Regular grey were for Classic Brick GB.
The Black carts were GBC enhanced games that also worked on the Classic Brick GB.
Then the transparent carts were GBC only games.

Link's Awakening DX had the dungeon that you could only access if you were playing on a GBC.
The Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons had a shop that could only be accessed if you played the game on the GBA.

There were a couple of other games as well but I can't remember them.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: AV on March 27, 2009, 05:43:28 PM
Quote from: Stratos on March 27, 2009, 04:22:24 PM
Sounds like what Nintendo did with a few key games when the GBC and the GBA launched.
Remember there were three types of carts?
Regular grey were for Classic Brick GB.
The Black carts were GBC enhanced games that also worked on the Classic Brick GB.
Then the transparent carts were GBC only games.

Link's Awakening DX had the dungeon that you could only access if you were playing on a GBC.
The Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons had a shop that could only be accessed if you played the game on the GBA.

There were a couple of other games as well but I can't remember them.

Those are great examples, however I don't think Nintendo made to many games that did that. it was few and far between.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 27, 2009, 05:46:40 PM
To an extent, Pokemon Red and Blue did it too. If you played them on a Game Boy Color, you were able to get some color in them (even though they were technically Game Boy games, not Game Boy Color games).
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on March 27, 2009, 05:48:30 PM
Quote from: TJ Spyke on March 27, 2009, 05:46:40 PM
To an extent, Pokemon Red and Blue did it too. If you played them on a Game Boy Color, you were able to get some color in them (even though they were technically Game Boy games, not Game Boy Color games).

Perhaps that was really Super Game Boy compatibility?
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: KDR_11k on March 27, 2009, 05:49:48 PM
I think some games simply triggered special color schemes in the GBC. I'm still annoyed that it couldn't do SGB color though.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on March 27, 2009, 05:52:59 PM
It didn't?  I don't think I owned any SGB games to compare.  Come to think of it, I did play Pokemon Blue on my GBC, and I don't recall any color at all.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 27, 2009, 05:59:13 PM
Quote from: UltimatePartyBear on March 27, 2009, 05:52:59 PM
It didn't?  I don't think I owned any SGB games to compare.  Come to think of it, I did play Pokemon Blue on my GBC, and I don't recall any color at all.

Go back and play again. You will see that all the buildings have a slight color tint (red in Pokemon Red, blue in Pokemon Blue, yellow in Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition). The Pokemon also had some color and so did other stuff. If wasn't major, but it was there. If you played it on a regular Game Boy everything would be black, white, and shades of gray.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on March 27, 2009, 06:55:23 PM
Ha!  I always held the direction for blue tinting at start up, so it's no wonder I never noticed.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Mop it up on March 27, 2009, 07:00:36 PM
Depending on how the original Game Boy game was programmed, it would use anywhere from 4 to 10 different colours when played on the Game Boy Color. Super Mario Land 2 for example, uses six colours on the GBC: white, black, brown, blue, yellow and red. The colour scheme can also be selected by pressing certain combinations of buttons at the "Game Boy" startup screen, and different schemes had a different number of colours. I thought that the games with a special Super Game Boy colour scheme used that as the default scheme on the Game Boy Color, but I don't know for sure. It has been too long.

All of this is vaguely related to the DSi somehow...
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Halbred on March 27, 2009, 07:14:29 PM
Remember how some GB games included special Super Game Boy borders? Those were the days.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Ian Sane on March 27, 2009, 07:48:14 PM
Yeah this is just the GBC all over again.  And because of that I figure I'll just wait a few years for the real followup to show up.  The GBC's shelf life was pretty short.

Logically there's really no point in releasing the DSi if they don't do this.  It's a stopgap and that sort of thing usually takes advantage of customers but if you're going to do a stopgap do it full on I guess.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Djunknown on March 28, 2009, 01:05:48 AM
Quote
Link's Awakening DX had the dungeon that you could only access if you were playing on a GBC.
The Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons had a shop that could only be accessed if you played the game on the GBA.

Will Zelda:Spirit Trackers make it 3 in a row? Hmmmm...

Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Stratos on March 28, 2009, 02:46:39 AM
Quote from: Djunknown on March 28, 2009, 01:05:48 AM
Quote
Link's Awakening DX had the dungeon that you could only access if you were playing on a GBC.
The Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons had a shop that could only be accessed if you played the game on the GBA.

Will Zelda:Spirit Trackers make it 3 in a row? Hmmmm...

Good point about Spirit Trackers, I'll bet there is some dungeon that uses the cameras or pulls data from an SD card or something. You heard it here first ;)
Think making a certain face to unlock doors, or a mean face to stun enemies.

@Ian
Wasn't the GameBoy Pocket a shorts life cycle than the GBC? I remember a friend getting a pocket pretty early on and the GBC was already set to come out. I was unintentionally blunt and told him he should have waited a few months for the color model when he was showing it off to all the kids.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Mop it up on March 28, 2009, 04:47:18 AM
The Game Boy Pocket is to Game Boy as the DSi is to the DS is actually probably a better comparison than the Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Color was actually a hardware upgrade whilst the DSi is just tacking on features like the Game Boy Pocket did (better contrast adjuster, more battery life, used 2 AAA instead of 4 AA batteries).
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: KDR_11k on March 28, 2009, 06:01:44 AM
I thought the DSi actually has better hardware inside like more RAM and a better CPU? The GB pocket is more like the DS Lite.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Mop it up on March 28, 2009, 04:21:21 PM
I didn't hear anything about such upgrades but then again I haven't really been following the DSi.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 28, 2009, 04:34:35 PM
Quote from: Djunknown on March 28, 2009, 01:05:48 AM
a:Spirit Trackers make it 3 in a row? Hmmmm...

Did you forget about The Minish Cap? and A Link to the Past/Four Swords.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: UncleBob on March 28, 2009, 11:57:35 PM
Quote from: KDR_11k on March 28, 2009, 06:01:44 AM
I thought the DSi actually has better hardware inside like more RAM and a better CPU? The GB pocket is more like the DS Lite.

Agreed.  First, there was the Game Boy.  Then, the Game Boy Pocket was released - smaller, lighter, better screen, but still the same basic hardware.  Then, the Game Boy Color came out - Even better screen, better hardware (faster processor, etc) and games that would only play on it.

First, there was the Nintendo DS.  Then, the Nintendo DS lite was released - smaller, lighter and better screens - but still the same basic hardware.  Then, the Nintendo DSi was announced - Even better screens, better hardware (faster processor, etc) and games that will only play on it.

Quote from: TJ Spyke on March 28, 2009, 04:34:35 PM
Quote from: Djunknown on March 28, 2009, 01:05:48 AM
a:Spirit Trackers make it 3 in a row? Hmmmm...

Did you forget about The Minish Cap? and A Link to the Past/Four Swords.
And Phantom Hourglass - but I think the point was each major hardware iteration was bridged with a Zelda game that was basically fully playable on the old hardware but had something exclusive for those playing it on the new hardware.  Of course, there was no such title for the GBA -> DS.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Stratos on March 29, 2009, 03:39:51 AM
Quote from: UncleBob on March 28, 2009, 11:57:35 PM
Quote from: TJ Spyke on March 28, 2009, 04:34:35 PM
Quote from: Djunknown on March 28, 2009, 01:05:48 AM
a:Spirit Trackers make it 3 in a row? Hmmmm...

Did you forget about The Minish Cap? and A Link to the Past/Four Swords.
And Phantom Hourglass - but I think the point was each major hardware iteration was bridged with a Zelda game that was basically fully playable on the old hardware but had something exclusive for those playing it on the new hardware.  Of course, there was no such title for the GBA -> DS.

That would be difficult to accomplish because of the difference in game media. GB/Pocket/Color/Advance were all backwards compatible and used similar cartridge structure. The DS used a completely different media with the proprietary SD cards. Also be reminded that the DS was originally planned as a 'Third Pillar' and they weren't even sure what role or how popular it would be in the first place.

I agree with your comparisons of GB>Pocket>Color vs. DS>Lite>DSi. Good parallel there, UncleBob. Which makes you wonder if the DS 2 will follow a similar convention to the GBA upgrade.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Mop it up on March 29, 2009, 03:44:15 AM
Quote from: Stratos on March 29, 2009, 03:39:51 AM
Which makes you wonder if the DS 2 will follow a similar convention to the GBA upgrade.
So the DS 2 is just going to be the same as the DSi but with better graphics (perhaps on par with GameCube)? Hooray micro-evolution!
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: UncleBob on March 29, 2009, 08:29:46 AM
Quote from: Stratos on March 29, 2009, 03:39:51 AM
That would be difficult to accomplish because of the difference in game media. GB/Pocket/Color/Advance were all backwards compatible and used similar cartridge structure. The DS used a completely different media with the proprietary SD cards. Also be reminded that the DS was originally planned as a 'Third Pillar' and they weren't even sure what role or how popular it would be in the first place.

They should have added something to Phantom Hourglass that was a bonus if you played it with one (or more) of the Zelda GBA titles in the GBA Slot.  Hell, there were four of 'em, they should have given you exclusive ship parts or something...
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 29, 2009, 12:22:40 PM
I expected games with DSi features, but I don't see why it would require a new kind of game card (hardware).
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: MegaByte on March 29, 2009, 01:35:36 PM
I don't think it requires a new type of card  hardware.  It's just that there will be DSi-only games.  Though, I suppose it is possible that the DSi can address more memory and thus take larger-capacity cards.
Title: Re: Nintendo Plans Nintendo DSi enhanced game cards
Post by: KDR_11k on March 29, 2009, 03:01:02 PM
"New type" doesn't necessarily mean the hardware is designed differently. Could just be cards filled with a new type of data.