Nintendo is now completely serious about the DS. It's set to launch November 21 for $150, with IM software PictoChat built-in and (maybe) bundled with a Metroid game. Head here for details. Great price: although Sony's PSP price is still pure conjecture, this could be undercutting it by as much as $100... which will rock sales, especially in the kid-friendly portable market.
Now where's the launch games list? That's what will make or break it, in these days where every business move is watched by a thousand magazines, a million websites, and a billion fanboys. Nobody can pull off a weak launch like the N64 ever again.
I haven't seen much said about the DS's wireless setup, other than vague promises that you can have it search for games over your pre-existing wireless network. If that turns out solid, Nintendo will have back-doored their way right into the online world... and with a portable, no less. Hotwiring PictoChat directly into the system was absolutely necessary. Hopefully this means we'll be able to use PictoChat as a kind of lobby service, accessible from any game. Although given Nintendo's prior fear (excuse) of not being able to provide watchdogged online content for kids, embracing PictoChat means that assholes can not only swear at buddies, but also draw cocks and swastikas at buddies. Maybe it will come with cock-blocking filters.
I have no doubt that if this thing wins big, we'll see the end of the Game Boy line. Nintendo's "third pillar" marketing angle is simply to hedge their bets, plus keep people from abandoning the GBA SP too early. It's genius, actually. If it sells, the GBA quietly retires. If it tanks, the DS goes on the pile with the eReader and the Virtual Boy and everyone moves on.
Except for those of us with online / portable Animal Crossing, who will play it for years without pause.
Not to be forgotten, Sony announced the PStwo, a revised PS2 hardware model than we all should have seen coming. Built-in ethernet is great, but I don't like the slimmer design. They just made it flatter (and slightly less wide.) What they should have done is stack the components to give it a smaller footprint. Making it less tall doesn't really save anybody any space in their entertainment center. Although I guess you could now stack it on top of something else if that doesn't bother you. Like your Xbox.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has absolutely nothing to say, but they couldn't allow a press release war to go on unattended, so they announced that Xbox2 chip production is right on schedule (scroll down to find my comments). This is, of course, a fucking joke of non-news, but it's better than reminding current Xbox owners that v2.0 won't have a hard drive.
