SomeGuyWithDSL

If the CD-i counts, I'd one-up it with the NUON. It was basically a DVD-based platform similar in concept to CD-i, with very roughly PS1 quality gaming. I had a Samsung NUON "enhanced" DVD player with Tempest 3000, Ballistic and Merlin Racing, and believe me ... if you bought into it, it is the worst console ever for you. I don't know if there were even any more games released. At least Samsung and Toshiba put out players, and I remember having a rather nice Logitech aftermarket NUON control pad.

The strap that I mentioned, which came with the JP DS Lite, is a handstrap like those for a cell phone or PDA. White with black Nintendo logos ... no thumb pad on this one.

Yeah, Bust a Move would have been a terrible example of what not to do if they had removed the gap.

Wasn't sure what else to call it ... As I play more DS games, it seems there are two schools of thought on how to combine the screens when they're being used as a single vertical field. Most games act as though the two screens were immediately adjacent. That is, an object travelling downward would begin to appear on the bottom screen the instant it leaves the top screen. Yoshi Touch & Go is an example. Other games leave the gap between the two as "dead space." The object mentioned above would travel off of the top screen, "through" the hinge area of the DS, and onto the bottom screen moments later. Metroid Prime Pinball is a good example of this. I gotta say ... the first method really throws me. As I watch approaching enemies heading down from the top screen, for example, they appear on the bottom screen about half a second earlier than my brain anticipated because they just "jump" the gap between the screens. My mind likes a nice flow between the two, even if it means I lose sight of the action for a split second. Another way it's annoying is demonstrated by the prerendered videos at the beginning of Metroid Prime Hunters. Samus' legs are on the bottom screen, up to her thighs or so, and then they continue on the top screen right where they left off. It looks like she has that extra space as part of her legs, and just looks wonky. In the MPH: First Strike Demo, though, the same video was rendered the other way ... the view accounted for the gap between the screens and it looked much better than in the released game, IMHO. Wonder why they changed it? Does Nintendo have some sort of developer guidelines on this? I greatly prefer the method that lets things travel on their course through the gap between the screens, although that doesn't apply to certain games like puzzle games where things aren't moving around so much, and obviously games where the two screens are showing something completely different. What about you?

I imported (and enjoyed) Rez (UK), Headhunter (UK), Shenmue 2 (UK), Ikaruga (JP) and Cosmic Smash (JP). All English language, all fun. Cosmic Smash was especially quirky, simple and apparently not too common nowadays.

Well, as usual, Japan gets a few more goodies in the box. I imported one from Japan on release day, then bought a US version on Monday (just so I could register my system at Nintendo.com ... sad). After comparing the two packages, the JP version included a Nintendo-branded handstrap that ties into the two little holes on the back of the Lite, and an imitation chamois screen wipe ... both of which were absent in the US box. Needless to say, I kept them before selling the JP version otherwise complete on eBay

4 newest screens of Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii at IGN are of the new Kid Icarus character ... http://media.revolution.ign.com/media/748/748545/imgs_1.html

Noooo! Makes me think of CueCat (*double cringe*) I like JagBUS ... or Kitty Konnector.

OK, I'll admit before anyone notices ... I know next to NOTHING about collecting or identifying carts for the 2600. I do, however, usually take notice when a cart looks different than the others around it. Usually it is a fairly common odd cart, today it was Harbor Escape at a local used game trader. I looked long enough to get the name of the game, then came home and pulled up the cart's scan in the 2600 List here at AtariAge. As I remembered my few moments looking at the game at the store, it was NOT a colored, or even shaded, label. It had similar comic artwork, but I recall it being more like black line art on an aging plain label rather than colored like a comic book. I think I noticed it because it looked hand-drawn rather than printed like the scan here. I edited AtariAge's scanned cart quickly to give an idea of what I'm talking about and attached it. Also, the particular illustration may have been different (or not), I don't remember. Basically, I'm curious if I need to drive back across town to the store. Could the color from whatever printing process was used on the label in the scan have simply faded, leaving behind a line-art style image? Could someone have just drawn a cheesy label to stick over a missing one? Or, more importantly, does such a cart ring a bell with anyone?

batari, The slow ones amongst us (I) need a little more help getting this through our (my) heads. Are you saying that a 24-pin block cut out of the larger 34-pin floppy connector is identical to the 24-pin edge connector needed for a 2600 cart? And that I (I mean we) could just leave those 24 wires in the ribbon cable connected and solder the other end to the pads on the FB2? I see the resemblance in the two connectors now, but it had never occurred to me that the two would actually be identical in terms of pin spacing, etc. And what about attaching this connector to the cart guide, then? Is that where the super glue comes in? I'm about to open up my FB2 to work on a cart mod and this is fascinating.

Free as in free? I live in N. Texas and could pick it up this weekend, or whenever you'll be there.

Was looking this afternoon for a "simple" USB joystick to enjoy some old PC titles in DOSBox, and I stumbled across this little Hong Kong specialty on eBay: eBay Joystick How about that button layout?

Star Wars 32X was an (exact?) port of the Star Wars Arcade coin-op being discussed over here: AtariAge Coin-op forums thread Had a very similar look and feel to Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter at the time, probably similar in terms of hardware and/or programming. Darn fun, although I have the feeling that the digital D-pad and 3 buttons of the Genny controller were far inferior to a flight yoke.

Nevermind! It was Apogee, not Epic, and the game was Boppin'. It's also been released into the public domain by the original programmers.

OK, I spent this afternoon setting up a nice little retro gaming environment inside Virtual PC, and spent this evening downloading some of my favorite titles from the 80s-90s. Remembered playing one in particular, but couldn't think of the title. I'm almost positive it was by Epic Megagames, part of their shareware lineup alongside Jazz Jackrabbit and others. The main characters were 2D polygon men of some sort, with yellow triangular heads. Each level consisted of a single static screen, and you ran around the bottom. I seem to remember shooting projectiles that bounced off the perimeter of the screen and filled in gaps overhead like a puzzle. Add in some funk-techno music, some early 90s hip-hop design, and maybe a simultaneous 2-player mode (with 1 red character and 1 blue) and that's about all I remember. Ring a bell?

Not sure where the DS homebrew scene lives on the web, so I'll toss this out here. Datel announced a 4 GB hard drive for the GBA slot of the DS, and it ships with a card for the DS slot as well. Includes PC connectivity for transfer to the HD and auto-formatting of movies and JPGS (also plays MP3). Then there's a little bit at the bottom of the article that mentions the ability of the kit to store and launch programs on the DS. Any chance of this being a big boon to the homebrew market, as it should be in major stores like the PSP hard drive is? IGN article

Wii niid moor gaim kahncoals woth fonehtickelii deyevurce naymiing skiimz. Honestly, when your marketing firm gets by with a name that requires you to add "pronounced" anything after the name and makes it a puerile synonym for urination, you've got real winners there. I know there's no such thing as bad publicity, but geez.

Sure. Why not? Portable DVD player with 10.2" LCD screen, inverts to dock in vehicle ceiling as flip-down player. Also includes Gameboy Advance cartridge slot/player with GBA link ports and IR wireless controller and headphones. Depending on the ergonomics of that controller, may be the most impressive way to play GBA games? Product page. Click through a few areas for all the info.

Loved it. That game single-handedly made my launch-day purchase of the 32X worth it for me. Kolibri, Blackthorne, Knuckles Chaotix and Quarterback Club helped, but none surpassed that game. Would have to second Yoda Stories, and place KotOR as my #1.

There are a ton for Xbox ... no time to look up specific titles, but I believe you'll find Taito, Tecmo, Midway, Atari Anniversary, and Intellivision collections (at the very least) ... Oh, and don't forget William's Arcade Classics for the Game.com

The "thrill" is similar to playing a trivia game with friends, or watching a knowledge-based game show, etc. It's really a "brain game." For example, the game will flash the words "Yellow," "Red," "Blue," and "Black" on the screen and they will be colored something else ... For example, the word "Red" might be blue. You have to say "Blue" into the microphone (the color of the word, not which word it was), which really makes your brain hurt the first couple of times. Yes, some are math, some are counting how many of a certain thing are mixed in with a group. It's all about the speed. Fun for me and the wife to challenge each other, anyway.

I picked up my first DS and a lot of games last week, still tons more I want! I'm amazed at the current library for this system ... never knew it was so good until getting involved. Have, and like: True Swing Golf (surprisingly addictive, and I don't like golf games. At all.) Bust-A-Move DS Tetris DS Sonic Rush Yoshi's Touch-n-Go Brain Age The Sims 2 Worms: Open Warfare Pac'N'Roll Super Mario 64 DS My wife even picked out The Incredibles, much to my dismay, and even it turned out to be surprisingly fun. Still wanting: Metroid Pinball Metroid Prime Hunters Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow MarioKart DS Super Princess Peach Nanostray Age of Empires: Age of Kings WarioWare: Touched! Pac Pix Meteos Polarium Zoo Keeper Feel The Magic The Rub Rabbits And awaiting: New Super Mario Bros. Legend of Zelda: the Phantom Hourglass I'm sure I've forgotten several on my personal have/want list, but you get the idea ... the library is incredible (and stomping the PSP at this point, making me happy I chose the DS).

I had both back in the day, and seem to remember the Pocket being half as thick, half the weight, with equal battery life (when you factor in the fact that it only uses 2 AAA batteries instead of 4 AA) and a TREMENDOUS screen. I wouldn't touch the original with the Pocket on the market.

Been playing Worms since PC version one. The DS version does not lose any of the core gameplay from the series, and the touchscreen makes it far more manageable than past handheld abhorrations such as the GBC Worms World Party. It offers a basic tactical weapon set that Worms veterans will enjoy, but loses many of the more recent "insanely destructive" additions such as the Concrete Donkey, as well as many of the off-the-wall ideas (Salvation Army, anyone?). I agree with Gunstarhero in NOT being disappointed, but not being overly thrilled either.

I had exactly the same experience. Freaked me out. Fortunately, mine has worked flawlessly since then.