Jonny takes a look at the role of touch-sensitive input in DS games and how the feature can be used effectively in game design.

Four months into the life of the Nintendo DS, and one month before the launch of the competing PSP system from Sony, I’m going to go out on a limb here: touch input sucks for video games. Or at the very least, it’s being poorly utilized in the first generation of Nintendo DS games, and we’ve... Read more...

What aspects of gaming are still open to innovation by developers? Rick explores the possibilities ...

It’s becoming well-known in the industry that we are quickly approaching a level of graphics fidelity that will put us into a negative trend which Masahiro Mori called the “uncanny valley”, a level of detail where humans look real enough that we are disturbed by the sight of them. We’ve seen... Read more...

The launch of the PSP draws ever closer. Jon examines what Nintendo can do with its DS to steal Sony’s thunder in March.

I went to lunch with my friend Jason the other day. He’s a 30-year-old computer programmer, a photography buff, and a gadget fiend. But he's not a gamer; he's done some PC gaming in his time, but consoles have never been his cup of tea. So imagine my surprise when he turned to me and asked if... Read more...

What is the relationship between console horsepower and gameplay innovation? David explores the topic from a historical perspective.

In just three months Nintendo is going to reveal the first significant details concerning its next console to the world. The company has suggested that the new platform is going to feature innovations that will revolutionize the industry (likely significant additions or changes to what we currently... Read more...

Girl games: They’re pink, they sparkle, they teach you to match outfits. Where these titles, and the girl games industry, went wrong.

Discuss it in Talkback!

You’ve seen them in the stores. You’ve walked the aisles of your favorite gaming retailer and sighed, wondering, Why are these here? You’ve skimmed the wall of GBA boxes, searching for a new release, and noticed their brightly-colored presence among the normal,... Read more...

Whatever happened to the shoulder button click in the GameCube controller? When's the last time a new game was released that actually uses it?

Three and a half years ago (or about half a year before the GameCube's North American release) I wrote The Click!. It was almost entirely speculation on the topic of what developers might do with the newly introduced click function in the GameCube controller's shoulder buttons. At E3 2001 just one... Read more...

Are the Frag Dolls, a new clan of hot, Ubisoft-sponsored girl gamers, helping the girl gamer image, or are they just PR stunt play-things?

Discuss it in Talkback!

Ever heard of the Frag Dolls? They’re a relatively new clan of seven, hot girl gamers set up and funded by the publisher, developer, distributor Ubisoft. If you stick to Nintendo news, you may have missed them; it seems they play exclusively on Xbox. But GameCube fans beware: these girls are raising issues bigger than console loyalty.

It’s time to let Nintendo of America do what it needs to do to win back market share.

When Minoru Arakawa and a few associates founded Nintendo of America in the early 1980s, it was envisioned as a distribution channel for the parent company’s arcade games. Two decades later, Nintendo Co. Ltd. in Japan still treats NOA like a distribution channel. It was smart business for a while;... Read more...

Should girl gamers and female characters stick together in party games?

When it comes to party games, should girls gamers play with female characters? It may not be the most important girl gamer decision you face all day, but it’s one of those little choices you can make on the road to earning gaming respect.

Let’s consider the facts. Girl gamers are a rare... Read more...

Are Nintendo DS games making good enough use of the system’s new features?

With Nintendo’s introduction of the Nintendo DS and its radical new features, there is a new question surrounding the system’s launch that we don’t normally see when new hardware is introduced. Read some reviews around the Internet, or hop into our DS forums. You’ll find many people enjoying... Read more...

In many people’s minds, GameCube isn’t even a contender.

As some of you may know, my alma mater, Auburn University, is doing pretty well in football this year. During halftime of every home game, there’s a new feature this year. One star player from the team is interviewed about all kinds of silly stuff, like his favorite food, favorite stadium to play in, worst teammate to room with, etc. The question that usually elicits the most crowd response is: “PlayStation or Xbox?”

Jonny takes a look at the exodus of third-party publishers from GameCube, and what Nintendo can do to stop it, both now and for the next console.

Nintendo practically invented the console licensing business with its Famicom/NES system in the 1980s. The idea was that Nintendo would design and manufacture a game system, market it to the public so that everyone wanted one, and make it irresistible to other game companies, who would want to sell... Read more...

Our favorite system is two years old, so it’s time to look back at how well it’s performing and what it needs to improve upon before the next system is ready.

As of this writing, the Nintendo GameCube has been on the market for about two years in Japan and North America, and a few months less than that in Europe. Since it seems fairly certain that the next generation of consoles will be launched in 2005, when GameCube will be four years old, this seems like a good intermediate point to look back at how the system has performed so far in its life cycle.

Some people see the new GameCube price cut as a sign of weakness and a precursor to the system dying early. Jonny explains why the GameCube isn’t and won’t be another Dreamcast.

When it comes to system price cuts in the gaming industry, there are two basic patterns. First, all competing systems can cut their prices at the same time. These cuts tend to be reactionary rather than coordinated, but as far as consumers are concerned, it just means gaming is cheaper than before. The second type of price cut is unilateral (forgive the term), in which one system lowers its price and the others do not immediately follow.

With Nintendo's announcement yesterday of something "surprising and unique", Rick takes a look at what Nintendo should aim for in a new console ...

We’re only a year out from finding out what the future holds for the next-generation consoles. With these machines all scheduled to release in 2005 (likely no more than weeks apart from each other), E3 2004 is going to be when they start trying to capture mindshare and gain those early-adopter... Read more...

Jonny looks at whether Nintendo should release an enhanced model for the GameCube, and what the GameCube SP could and should entail if released.

It’s no secret that Nintendo isn’t perceived as the coolest company around. Although they’ve made some steps in the right direction, most people, including a great percentage of avid gamers, still consider Nintendo to be, at best, behind the times, and at worst, a mere toy company that isn’t serious about the future of gaming.

What follows is a true account of the seamy underbelly of Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing may seem to be a light-hearted game full of adorable characters and colorful scenery. But this isn’t about the warm, fuzzy world that exists on the screen when you fire up the Nintendo. This is a story about the darker side of Animal Crossing. This is a story about corruption, greed, and betrayal.

There’s a new game that everyone is playing; run your favorite company, correct the “mistakes”, and make the company successful. But what does it really mean to run a successful company?

It seems like everyone with an Internet connection seems to know best how Nintendo ought to be running their business. “Nintendo needs to advertise more!” “Nintendo needs to be aggressive!” “Nintendo needs to buy more exclusives!” Ironically, I sit here typing this as one of the same... Read more...

Why does the growth of this already colossal industry equate to the near complete suppression of creativity and originality within the games released these days, and what can be done to change this?

Allow me to just get something out of the way before I start my practically sober rant. You’re reading an editorial. Basically, an editorial allows someone to voice their opinion on whatever subject, and then offer insight, conclusions, and often solutions to whatever topic they brought up. I’m... Read more...

IT'S ALMOST HERE AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Discuss it in Talkback!

I’ve been waiting for Eternal Darkness for a long time. I first read about the game during E3 ’99, when it was first shown running on N64. The premise of traveling through time and taking control of various characters in spooky environments sounded pretty novel,... Read more...