SomeGuyWithDSL

Mac OS X loves RAM. It will eat as much as you give it. I've got a last-generation iBook that has a gig just to do office-type work. I stuck an additional 1 gig stick in my Intel iMac to make it 1.5 gigs and it games smoothly.

Here's the story on how I got that one: At one point, when no one had been able to find it, someone at Digital Press posted "hey, BestBuy.com shows it in stock! I ordered one today." About three days later, that same person posted "Nevermind, I got an e-mail that it was backordered." I ordered it about a week later from BestBuy.com anyway, and got my shipment confirmation in about 2 days. That morning, their site changed to "Out of Stock" so I assume I got the last one they had ... and since it apparently took about a week to sell out their entire stock, either they had a run on an obscure DS poker title, or their quanitites were really limited. If you look at the game's page on BestBuy.com, you can use the Store Finder to see if it is in stock anywhere near you. There is one store in Denton, TX that seems to have at least one copy on hand according to the site.

OK, I could swear I played an original Xbox demo of this game, maybe on an OXM demo disc, a couple of years ago ... but I can't find that disc, and I can't find any info on it. Can anyone confirm that there was a playable Xbox build? I remember the wall walking, and I remember it looking darn good, full of real-time shadows a la Splinter Cell, with only a chunky framerate that I assumed would be fixed in the final version.

That was referring to brick & mortar stores. I do have the game (I bought it online), but have yet to see it anywhere else. I actually have it (photo attached). When I said I "couldn't even find it online," I was referring to being able to help others find it. I got mine in April, but I have no idea how small the release quantities were. So yes, I can offer you confirmation that it was released. Nintendo P/N is NTR-ATXE-USA, UPC is 831666900263, ESRB rating is T for Simulated Gambling. Copyright is 2005 Summitsoft Corporation. The only other logo on the packaging is Webfoot Technologies, Inc., who also doesn't mention the game on their site. I can't tell you anything else about it ... mine's sealed and it's staying that way until when (if) the game gets a wider release.

It's on, they rolled the games out this morning. My wife and I went after lunch and picked up all of the DS titles they had left which we didn't have yet: Advance Wars Burnout Legends Dragonball Z Supersonic Warriors 2 Goldeneye Rogue Agent Great Juju Challenge King Kong Monster Truck Need For Speed Underground 2 Pokemon Dash Polarium Scooby Doo Unmasked Spyro Shadow Legacy Tiger Woods 2005 Trace Memory x2 Urbz: Sims In The City

I've heard the DC version is more vibrant in appearance. Beyond that, if you have the VGA box for the DC, Rez will run in 480p which I don't think it does on the PS2. The downside is that Rez did not have a domestic release for DC, which means import only.

Yeah, I am absolutely lovin' the DS. As a former Virtual Boy owner, I thought the whole "dual screen" idea was a gimmick that would last for about 10 games and then burn me again. Oops. I only got into the scene when the Lite released, so there is a huge back catalog of good-great titles for me to discover. In fact, I've actually decided to go for my first complete system collection with the DS. I'm up to about 40 games, now. Try finding Big Mutha' Truckers or Texas Hold'em Poker Pack (by Summitsoft, not the one by Majesco). I can't even find the Summitsoft poker game online anywhere.

Team POKEME, the Pokemon Mini Dev-Site

Nah, I'm not concerned about it like its an investment or anything. I'm just curious how people thought this particular system would play out over time.

I used to play it about 3 feet away from a 21" monitor in 640x480 progressive scan with the VGA box, in total darkness with the stereo cranked. Darn near psychotropic, it was. I would put it on the free play mode (can't remember the name off hand) and just go for hours.

I had a neat one: I was exploring the perimeter of a castle that sits very high up on its own peak, and is surrounded by cliffs with only the bridge leading away. I think maybe it was Skingrad, but it's been a while. Anyway, I lost my footing and plummeted down the hill toward the road far below. It must have been about 100 virtual feet. As I landed I heard an "ungggh ..." and thought it was my character expressing his pain, and I was surprised the fall had not killed me. I walked away and happened to turn around to look back at the scene a few seconds later. There were two dead Skingrad guards that I had seen patrolling that peaceful area a few minutes earlier. Apparently, I landed on them and killed them when I fell. They also broke my fall, I guess. I was able to pillage their nice weapons and armor without getting a criminal record, and the items were not marked as stolen. I haven't found anyone else that can verify that you can kill a person by falling on them (with the benefit of not being at fault), but I'm positive that's what happened.

I was offered what I think is a great deal by a friend, in which I would give him a rather small amount of money and, in exchange, he would give me a NIB complete US collection for the Nintendo Pokemon Mini system. That's the system w/pack-in game, and all 3 (yeah, three) other released US games. I hadn't even heard of this thing before the offer was made, so the only facts I have are the result of an afternoon of hasty Googling. Basically, it's a tiny cartridge based portable with monochrome dot-matrix LCD, D-pad, A+B face buttons, C-button shoulder trigger, IR, rumble, and motion sensor. Powered by 1 AAA battery. The games were all Pokemon themed, and seem to be even more simplistic than basic first-gen GameBoy titles. A "party" minigame cart was included, and pinball, cards, and puzzle carts were made available separately. AFAIK, it was sold only at Nintendo's Pokemon Center and online. There are even rarer official accessories, like cases and such not included with this deal. I'm not in the least a Pokemon fan, but this "forgotten" Nintendo system had some weird appeal to me. I have a small collection of obscure and/or commercially unsuccesful handhelds. So a few questions to the collecting gurus out there: 1. Is this considered a "real" system? Should it be? I have a certain mental threshold which excludes some cheapy toys from "systemhood," such as the Tiger R-Type player and carts. This Pokemon Mini is right on that line for me, though, probably because it bears the Nintendo name which implies a certain degree of engineering quality and capability. It is a proper cart-based device, has a fully programmable display (not static LCD characters) and has a small library. It also has a tiny homebrew scene, believe it or not. 2. How would you rate the rarity of a complete US collection for this system now, and how would you define its monetary and collectable value? 3. In 10 years? Thanks in advance for pondering tonight's random thought.

I know for a fact my store still has many of the DS titles, I looked at them the day before I saw the announcement online. They've just pulled them into the stock room until Sunday. I'm not going back until then.

The prices are actually in the computer system now, in place for a 4th of July sale starting Sunday. Unfortunately, the local store here has already pulled all the games from the shelf to prep them for the sale. Read: throwing them in bins, I guess. It seems to be about 70/30 in favor of stores still having them on the shelf according to the thread at Digital Press. Otherwise they should be officially on sale Sunday.

I can't give a definitive answer, because I haven't taken it online yet, but I was reading a description that seemed to say that there is voice chat in the lobby before a match. That was on the packaging of a DS headset that Best Buy carries, which puts the mic and earpiece right up next to your face "for better voice chat in Metroid Prime Hunters lobbies."

I'll check one of them tonight when I go in to do inventory. Hey, I answered my own question when I finally found one this morning. Yes, they are in the cardboard envelope as well. Albert, you can see the Mario Kart pack-in version (as an example of the packaging) here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=104752961809 Also, I got the Metroid name wrong. It is "First Hunt," not "First Strike."

Just to add: I picked up the ALS brand NDSL80 at Circuit City today and am quite happy. It's a zip-around padded canvas case with an external pocket for a half dozen or so DS card. The only notable feature and/or drawback, depending on your preference, is the fact that it is the "play-through" variety with a clear plastic overlay for most of the face of the DS, with cutouts for buttons, jacks, sliders and screens. It took about 30 seconds and a tiny pair of scissors to make that disappear.I also happened to find a nice two-tone grey and black one as compared to the rest of them which were all black.

Can you tell me if the Animal Crossing inside is the cardboard envelope pack-in variety, or if it is a normal DS case? That's what I haven't been able to determine yet. Thanks in advance.

Thanks. Does anyone have / have a picture of or has anyone ever seen the packaging of this particular pack-in? I've found a few Electric Blue DS systems with Animal Crossing on eBay, and they all appear to be the regular full-size DS game case (not the smaller cardboard envelope). I can't tell, though, if these DS systems were really the ones with Animal Crossing included at purchase, because the "Includes Animal Crossing" appears to be a sticker that is not present on those boxes. The ones that still have the sticker are all sealed, so I can't see the game itself. Basically, I haven't managed to find the Animal Crossing pack-in yet and want to make sure it's not a normal issue game before I waste several weeks trying to find one

I've started an odd little subcollection, and am trying to obtain all the US Nintendo DS pack-in games. They come in cardboard sleeves with a pouch for the cart instead of a typical DS case. They also tend to have instructions and Nintendo Power inserts like other games. They may be otherwise unreleased, or they may be identical to released versions except for the packaging. So far I have Metroid Prime: Hunters First Strike Demo, Nintendogs Best Friends Edition, Mario 64 and Mario Kart DS. Anyone know of others that have been released so far?

I am absolutely looking forward to the DS game, with its touchscreen LCARS sort of interface. I imagine that if the developers handle it correctly, it could be the best Star Trek "bridge simulator" type of game ever. Also interesting as a fan, though, is Legacy (Xbox 360 version for me) with its journey through the timeline. More potential as a story than as a genre-advancing title, I think.

I stumbled across a sealed Genny game Toejam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron for $1.50 at the closing sale of a locally owned toy store that's been in business since the 70s. They don't have a lot of current market value, so I opened it and found, in addition to the cartridge, manual and paperwork, an individually wrapped STRAWBERRY FRUIT ROLL-UP labeled "Free with this video game." I wonder if it's still good

Hmm ... maybe it's just my silly little town, then. I also hit Best Buy here yesterday, and found Phoenix Wright, Trauma Center, Kirby's Canvas Curse and Lost In Blue on the shelf along with a ton of other games I haven't seen at the big box retailers. They also have nearly all of their original shipment of Metroid Prime: Hunters which I heard others were having a hard time finding when it came out. No one seems to care here, though.

It all depends on how much protection you want vs. maintaining the form factor of the DS Lite. My nephew has that airform case, and it looks like a balloon compared to some of the others, but offers good protection. I've got two, one is the Smart Case made by Keys Factory, from Lik-Sang: http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=...oducts_id=8980&. It is nice, but not quite as nice as it looks in pictures. The other one I picked up at Circuit City on Tuesday for 5 bucks. It's sort of just a thin nylon sleeve in white, red or blue, and it comes in a blister pack with a skin (ick) and a screen cloth. It doesn't offer much protection beyond scratches and dust, and that's really all I wanted. If you don't mind a little Velcro in your life, that one's OK (once you remove the handstraps and carabiners adorning it).

The DS seems to be extremely "regional" in its popularity. Here in northern Texas, I went to Circuit City on Tuesday (after Sunday's launch) to pick up a case for my DS Lite. The salesgirl said "Is this for that new DS Lite? We haven't sold a single one of those yet." I don't know a single other person that owns a DS/Lite who is older than 14 ... and those have one only because their parents buy them every new video game system. They all prefer their GBA/SP. From what I've read, other areas of the country seem to be captivated with the DS Lite, selling out quickly and people carrying them everywhere.