With Nintendo soliciting feedback before finalizing the design of its new flagship portable, here are the top five reasons why the 3DS needs two analog sticks:

1. Two sticks are the BEST way to navigate 3D

As the worlds first 3D portable gaming console, the 3DS is a revolutionary piece of hardware that deserves the most effective control scheme to match its 3D capabilities. Using two sticks is the most natural way to navigate 3D worlds, with one stick controlling the players movement while the second aims or pans the camera. It’s a system that feels great to use and intuitive to learn. There’s a reason why the two most capable 3D consoles (360 and pS3) both use dual stick controllers — because it’s the best we’ve got. Until something better comes along, it’s the most natural control method for use on a hand-held controller.

2. Gamers already know how to navigate 3D worlds with dual sticks

The reason so many gamers clamor for dual analog sticks is because we’ve grown up navigating 3D worlds with them for the last 10 years; the PS2 for ten, the original Xbox for eight, and both the 360 & PS3. That’s an entire generation of gamers who already know and understand the dual stick interface. Why re-learn a new interface for the 3DS when dual sticks are so perfectly suited already?

3. Adding it now is easy. Adding it later splits the market.

Take a close look at the PSP Go design: The right circular indention looks perfectly designed for a second stick. I’m guessing they designed it to have dual sticks but at the last moment- fearing splitting their market- pulled that model and played it safe instead. Had they only had a little more guts and released the 2nd stick version, it would have breathed new life into the PSP, yet its online-only nature is perfectly suited to handle dual stick software versions for a PSP Dually.

Nintendo should learn from Sony’s mistake and add a second stick to the 3DS now while the market is still new and intact.

4. Give some love to the Lefties

Two sticks may be a nice addition for us righties, but it means the world for left-handed gamers since they can use their right hand on a stick and their most dominant hand- the left- for the stylus. Admit it, how many of us righties would enjoy using the stylus with our left hand? Come on Nintendo, give some love to the lefties!

5. Some games aren’t fun without them

There are many games which simply aren’t as much fun without dual sticks. First Person Shooters: Yes, the touch-screen does an admiral job but requires stable footing to be effective. FPS are best with two sticks. Sports Games: Many of today’s sports games depend on two sticks; NHL, Fight Night, UFC, FIFA, Madden (Check out this dual stick Madden video), table tennis- all are better with two sticks. 3D Platformers: All the best 3D platformers use two sticks as default: Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper – they are all great with two sticks. Racing Games: Mario Kart aside, racing games are better with two sticks. GT3, GT4 GT5:P and Forza all use the second stick as their default controls. Dual Stick Shooters: These games are so good with two sticks, we name the genre after them. Galaxy Wars, Shadow Complex, Super Stardust HD are all examples of games designed around two sticks, all would be fantastic on the 3DS!

Why neuter the types of games for 3DS right out of the gate? Unlock its full potential by including two sticks and open up all the gaming genres right from the start. Do you think the 3DS should have dual sticks? Vote in the poll on the top-right.

6. Why not add two sticks?

Need a some more reasons? The 3DS is the most desireable electronic gadget since the iPhone. It’s going to poop gold for Nintendo for many wonderful years. Therefore the expense of adding a second stick is virtually none. Do a quick redesign and add one additional part from the existing parts list. Also, developers will offer alternate control schemes, which they already do. So why not add two sticks?

7. Dual Sticks are Uptown

The two most powerful and expensive consoles today both have dual stick controllers. If the 3DS launches sporting its own pair of beautiful sticks, Nintendo sends a subtle message that this portable is not like the PSP, but uptown like the 360 slim and PS3. People tend to pay a little more to go uptown.

Ever since Sony removed OtherOS from systems which were previously capable of running it, hacking attempts to restore the original functionality have increased dramatically. Last week the good folks over at StreetskaterFU were able to run a custom script loaded from a USB drive.

Although the script is confined to a restricted area of the PS3, many are excited just to get a foot in the door in order to poke around and learn more. This is but a small step in the progress needed, but Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.

This article is the beginning of our commitment to keep you informed on any significant progress to restore OtherOS functionality to the PS3. When a comprehensive solution becomes available, we will publish a complete tutorial on how it’s done.

It’s ironic that by removing OtherOS under the false pretenses of preventing piracy, Sony has sent hordes of legitimate linux hackers into the realm of PS3 security – something they had no interest in doing before. Seems clear to me this line of interest will lead to a fully compromised PS3 – the exact thing Sony wishes to prevent. Sony should restore OtherOS functionality ASAP and put and end to this nonsense before Pandora’s Box is opened for good.

UPDATE: Sorry everyone, looks I’ve got the purpose of the Kinect Port completely wrong. The port is designed so Kinect doesn’t require an additional power supply. It works fine on the original 360 when used with external power. My sincere apologies for getting it wrong, consider this a lesson learned. Thank You Bob and others for the correction. -David

My nephew and I laughed during Microsoft’s keynote when they announced the “Built-in Kinect Port” as one of the 360S features. We made jokes at the time that they color-coded one of the USB ports just for Kinect’s ‘family friendly’ target audience. Turns out the joke’s on us! (UPDATE: Turns out the jokes on me!)

That’s because Kinect doesn’t use a standard USB port but a specially designed connector just for Kinect. Listed as the 6th major bullet point on the 360S specifications is the Kinect-Ready port. Microsoft went through the trouble and expense to design Kinect so it won’t plug into the original 360 or any other standard Windows computer. Why would they do this? Don’t they want to sell Kinect to the 40 million existing 360 gamers? They do not. Read on to find out why.

The second major bullet point that really jumps out is: Backwards Compatibility. Typically, “backwards compatible” indicates that in addition to its normally designed software, a system is also capable of running the older version’s software as well. Why bother to state the obvious? Gamers are well accustomed to product refresh cycles, so why mention that a slim version of the 360 can also run 360 software? In the case of the 360S, backwards compatibility refers to its ability to run Xbox 360 software – not original Xbox games – and its ‘normal’ software are Kinect games. This answer reveals deep insight into the inner thinking at Microsoft and the reality distortion field Kinect has on them.

Microsoft’s Wii-envy has taken over all rational thought inside Redmond headquarters. They’ve been up night and day putting their master plan in place to steal Wii’s casual audience away with Kinect. They believe so strongly in Kinect, the 360S represents a brand new console for them, not simply a product refresh; Hence the Backwards Compatibility feature. The vision is of millions of new casual gamers flocking to Kinect with its compelling library of new and innovative software titles. They believe it so strongly, they designed the Kinect port so existing 360 owners will have to pay-up for a new console to play. That’s what they didn’t say! Will it work?

Nintendo

Nintendo came out firing on all cylinders with Zelda, kept the momentum going with all the wonderful new games, drove it home with a new 3DS, then served up dessert with a sugary parade of beautiful young models cuddling shiny glowing 3DSs in their arms. Sony and Microsoft really need to study Nintendo’s keynote this year as they showed everyone how it’s done. Of all the gaming companies who earned the right to boast it is Nintendo, yet they only spend a few short minutes trashing the competition in a humorous yet effective manner. Then we have the games, oh the wonderful new games that are heading our way this year.  We have:

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword:

Extensive utilization of the Wii Motion+ guarantees a unique and fun new Zelda experience that everyone will want to try for themselves. The Wii Zelda game we always wanted. At first glance looks like it might define the new standard for motion control games. Easily a 15 Million+ title.

Donkey Kong Country Returns:

The older versions’ gameplay still holds up brilliantly today so the Returns update looks fabulous. Everyone will love and play this game. It will sell MILLION$!

Epic Mickey:

This game has appeal across many different gaming genres on all sorts of levels and is a genuinely unique title in today’s sea of sequels. It’s like Fallout 3 for kids along with platforming steeped in Mickey cartoon history. The duck is in the details but at first glance it’s looking like a monster hit. It will sell MILLION$!

New 3DS:

Behold Nintendo’s latest portable gaming console, the 3DS. The glasses-less 3D technology is exciting – you can easily imagine how it enhances the gaming experience. 3D movie contracts ensures its place as a popular 3D media viewer. It’s fully Backwards Compatible with the DSi, so that platform lives on as well. The 3DS will also be the first successful mass marketed 3D camera.

Graphical resolution is an improvement over the DS at 800×320 (400×320 in 3D) but leaves something on the table for Sony. No mention on the launch date or price. My guess is this Christmas for $189. Game developers are falling over themselves delivering their AAA ‘hardcore’ titles to the device guaranteeing one of the strongest launch lineups in history. Just look in at this incredible list of AAA titles:
- Street Fighter IV 3D
- StarFox 64 3D
- Kid Icurus
- Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D
- Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D
- Saints Row
- Assassin’s Creed
- Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
- Resident Evil
- Square Enix Titles
- Kingdom Hearts
- Batman
- The Sims 3
- FIFA Soccer
- Dead or Alive 3D
- Madden
- Chocobo Racing 3D
- DJ Hero 3D
- Professor Layton
- Nintendogs + Cats (uses facial recognition)

Other notable game releases for the Wii: Wii Party, Mario Sports Mix, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, PokePark Pikachu’s Adventure, Metroid M, and Samurai Warriors 3.

Sony

Sony got off to a dreadful start sucking all the life and fun out of the hopeful audience for nearly a half hour before finally getting some people on stage who actually seemed to enjoy games, like Kevin Butler (of Sony commercial fame) who saved the show, along with the parade of games that followed. They unveiled an exciting lineup of future titles including many new IP announcements.

Sony Move

Sony showed plenty of Move titles along with a new category and price-point for Move games, $39.99. We also learned the price for Move itself which is $49.99 for the main controller, $29.99 for the camera, and $29.99 for the nunchuck/navigation unit – available around November 19th. There’s also a bundle with Move, the Navigation unit and Sports Champions game for $99.99. Was hoping for more hardcore title announcements for Move, something to really differentiate Move from the Wii, so perhaps we’ll get more before its launch. A Ps3 Bundle with everything including a PS3 will cost around $399.99. Here’s some of the highlights of the show:

Sorcery (Move game):

A brand new IP for Move and the first ‘hardcore’ game I’ve seen in action so far. An action/adventure game that makes full use of the Move for more than simple waggles. Cast spells on enemies with different motions, and combine spells to create even more powerful versions. One of the most interesting games of E3 blunted only slightly by the long shadow cast by Zelda. Luckily they have plenty of time to look and learn from the masters.

Heroes on the Move:

A brand new IP combining all time classic characters; Jak, Daxter, Sly, Bentley, Ratchet and Clank. I love all these old games so looking forward to see what this is. You have my attention Sony!

Grand Tursimo 5:

The most anticipated racing game in history finally has a release date on November 2nd, 2010. No more slipping… Nov 2, Nov 2, Nov 2!!!! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Damage, online racing, Nascar, 3D, updated physics – easily a 15 Million+ title.

LittleBigPlanet 2:

Sackboys everywhere make their return with tons of new gaming modes including FPS, flying, motion control and my personal favorite: new physics suits to fix the floaty jumping mechanics. This game will delight gamers and would-be designers for 100s of hours and will sell MILLION$.

Portal 2:

Gabe Newell, lead developer at Valve Software gave the surprising announcement of Portal 2 for the PS3. Surprising since he once said the PS3 is such a total disaster, Sony should scrap it and start a do-over. If priced right, this game will sell MILLION$.

ICO/ Shadow of the Colossus Collection:

PS2 greats for the PS3. Pretty much a must-buy title if you haven’t played them. Sony’s strategy of removing PS2 backwards compatibility is really paying off. (Sorry loyal PS2 fans)

Sly Cooper Collection:

More PS2 greats on the PS3. All three Sly games on one disk. Another must-buy if you haven’t played them.

Final Fantasy XIV:

Many people are super excited for the next version of this classic RPG fantasy game.

New Twisted Metal:

A remake of the classic auto-combat game to be released in 2011. Twisted Metal has amazing atmospheres and wonderful characters but I always become quickly bored of the gameplay. Looks like the PS3 version has added some much needed game modes and flying helicopters. Keep an eye on this one.

PlayStation Plus:

Brings some additional gaming options over PSN, available later this month. $49.99 for one year, and $18.00 for 3 months. I can’t imagine ever paying for this.

Gaming Bundles:

Sony announced two titles which come bundled with their previous version included on the disk. Dead Space 2 and Dead Space: Extraction will come bundled together for the price of just Dead Space 2. (Move enabled, yay!) Also, the new Metal of Honor will also include “Metal of Honor: Frontline” on the disk. This is a nice strategy which lures gamers who never played the previous versions by offering a better value while simultaneously stemming used game sales for the previous titles. A win-win for publisher and gamer alike. Keep it up Sony, let’s see lots more of this.

No New PSP

Rumors of a new PSP proved to be false. Too bad since PSP’s future is cloudy now that 3DS is looming. Poor Marcus (new PSP advertising spokesman). I say good riddance and now let Sony release the portable they should have always created.

A portable with FULL PS2 compatibility with two sticks and two shoulder buttons. You keep the PS2 ecosystem alive on two consoles; the PS2 and PSP2. You slide the best games over to the PS3 giving them the HD treatment along the way. Developers are thrilled with two revenue streams for the price of one, and they get to use the same development tools they already know, own and love. This insures the games are inexpensive- perfect for a portable.

No Love for Insomniac?

No mention of StarHawk or Resistance 3. And unfortunately, Insomniac is not the developer for Heroes on the Move. Is Sony giving the cold shoulder to Insomniac Games as punishment for their cross-platform deal with EA?

Microsoft

With E3 kicking off today, Microsoft is the first of the big three to hold their keynote. They began last night with their Cirque du Soleil disaster where they faked Kinect gameplay and dressed up the audience in plastic ponchos with shoulder-pads. So how did it go?

Kinect:

Project Natal is officially named Kinect – a cross between Kinetic + Connect. Many Kinect games were shown and we are left with the impression that Kinect is more for the casual fan. I’ll discuss Kinect in detail in my upcoming article about the 360S.

ESPN:

An ESPN partnership to deliver on-demand and streaming sporting events over Xbox Live. Apparently free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Can’t wait to hear more details and which sports are included. Would love to see some Tennis, for example.

New Xbox 360 S:

A new Xbox 360 Slim announced. I have a full article coming out to discuss the new 360S and trust me, you wont want to miss it. Here are the details we know so far:

* Smaller form-factor, quieter fans
* 250GB hard drive
* 45 nanometer integrated CPU and GPU
* Five USB slots: two in front, three in back
* Touch sensitive buttons for on/off and eject
* 802.11 N Wi-Fi, optical audio out

Metal Gear Solid Rising:

Metal Gear with swords, looks like an incredibly fun ‘hardcore’ motion game! Fantastic slow-motion animation, beautiful art style, and another Metal Gear. One of my top-three games of E3 so far.

Call of Duty:

Timed exclusivity for the Call of Duty series for the Xbox 360. Bad news for Sony since this is one of the best selling mutiplayer games in history. I wonder how much they paid?

Need For Speed Hot Pursuit: Race:

A new Need For Speed Hot Pursuit. This one looks to go back to its roots as a true cops vs. bandit car chases. Absolutely loved the original so can’t wait to see how the HD treatment looks on Hot Pursuit.

Child of Eden:

Looks like a motion control REZ HD! I admit to never playing this game except for the demo on Xbox Live but have always wanted to. The PS2 version became a rare collectible and sells for $50-$80. Looks like Child of Eden will be my first.

Gears of War 3/ Bulletstorm:

Another version of Gears of War is on the way, and it looks goregous. Also from Epic Games is Bulletstorm, a Gears like FPS game with awe inspiring graphics. I mainly want to see if Host-Advantage is finally fixed for GoW3. Bulletstorm look like it might be a pure shooter designed for fun. Will keep an eye on these.

Ever since the PS3 slim announcement last week.. I’ve been fascinated by Sony’s decision to remove 3rd party OS support from the system. On one hand it makes sense since it doesn’t promote game sales but then again why include it in the first place? I’m guessing is has to do with the Hypervisor, but what could it be? A little sleuthing around revealed the following nuggets (see bottom links for sources):

I’m sorry that you are frustrated by the lack of comment specifically regarding the withdrawal of support for OtherOS on the new PS3 slim.

The reasons are simple: The PS3 Slim is a major cost reduction involving many changes to hardware components in the PS3 design. In order to offer the OtherOS install, SCE would need to continue to maintain the OtherOS hypervisor drivers for any significant hardware changes – this costs SCE. One of our key objectives with the new model is to pass on cost savings to the consumer with a lower retail price. Unfortunately in this case the cost of OtherOS install did not fit with the wider objective to offer a lower cost PS3.

This makes perfect sense for Sony. Most people are aware by now that linux support on the PS3 was not so much a way for end users to run alternative applications, but for programmers wanting to experiment with the radical design of the Cell Broadband Processor. Anyone following Sony’s history with Linux knows they have internal personalities fighting for control with their on-again, off-again support. Perhaps Sony can collaborate with open-source developers to do the work?

Many view this news as evidence that support for OtherOS on ‘phat’ PS3s will be dropped when a new software update is installed. However, another Sony representative had this to say to quell everyone’s concerns:

Please be assured that SCE is committed to continue
the support for previously sold models that have the
“Install Other OS” feature and that this feature will
not be disabled in future firmware releases.

-Geoff

So there you have it. 3rd party OS support will continue for ‘phat’ PS3s, but Slims are left in the hands of the hackers.

Some observed the amount of static RAM has steadily declined with each iteration of PS3 hardware; Beginning with 256MB for the original 60GB model and now only 64MB in the slim. Could this contribute to the limited OS support? I’ll wait for ArsTechnica.com’s excellent analysis since they always have the skinny on hardware.

I’m still holding high hopes that Backwards Compatibility will be announced for a future update on all PS3 Slim models. Keeping my fingers crossed since the PS3 is by far the best PS2 ever made. It’s one of the things the PS3 does best with its graphical smoothing, 1080 scaling and memory card management. In fact, the most excited I ever was owning a PS3 was when a rumor circulated that you could install PS2 games to the hard drive. What can I say, I love them classic PS2 games!

The good news for wannabe Cell Broadband Engine programmers; All the PS3s after the 60GB model but before the Slim ought to be had at bargain prices. The next few months is the opportune time to snag these up as development machines.

Sony Rep 1, Sony Rep 2

With the latest Gran Turismo news coming from GamesCom in Germany, here’s a sweet video of GT5 Prologue to get your blood flowing:

What’s announced so far:

Cars

• 1,000 vehicles
• 170 Premium new models (full interior modeling, the interior corresponds to vehicle damage)
• 830 kinds of standard model (some are from Gran Turismo 4 that have been carried over to GT5)

Tracks

• 60 courses confirmed with 20 or more to be revealed

Physics

• Physics system simulation is brand new
• Represented is full fall in vehicles
• Damage representation (reproduced in full by real-time collision deformation)

That’s a whole lot of racing goodness for the price of one game. Combined with Sony’s announcement today of the long awaited price cut and new PS3 Slim, this game is going to move millions of systems.

Read the full translation or in Sony’s own words if you read Japanese.

As much as we’d love to report our experience with the New Xbox Experience (NXE), our 360 RRoDeathed when starting up after trying it out for the first time. So off to the Microsoft repair shop it went. This is our third – the previous two also RRoDied.

While the semi-official failure rate is only 16%. Any impromptu poll on Xbox Live reveals nearly everyone in the room citing at least one failure. My stance has always been: As long as they replace them on Microsoft’s dime, I’m willing to put up with the replacement process since the games are so great.

However, this time, I was told the system will only be covered under warranty for 90 days after receiving the repaired system. Excuse me?!

My confidence in the new replacement lasting over one year is 0%. They are simply not engineered to last. The 360 never moves from its cool airy spot. I clean its air vents periodically. It plays games sometimes and then fails. There’s nothing 360 owners can do to prevent it from happening.. it’s seemingly designed to (mal) function this way. The PS3 continues working after 2 years, and trusty PS2 phat still runs like a champ after 6 years so it seems clearly a 360 problem and not its environment.

Microsoft addressed the issue with a new revision of the hardware designed to run cooler and solve the disastrous failure rate. Great for the new buyers, but what about the rest of us who’s 360s will surely fail after the 90 day warranty expires?

Will you pay to have it ‘fixed?’ Will you take it like a gay man and pony up for a new system? Or will you switch to the PS3?

This is the question millions of 360 owners will soon have to answer for themselves over the next two years as Microsoft refuses to fix their dead 360s under warranty. What will you do?

Here’s some additional reading on the issue.

Ever since the DSi was revealed last week there’s been a steady stream of detractors lamenting the loss of the GBA port for games such as Guitar Hero, My Weight Loss Coach, Arkanoid, etc.. Questioning the usefulness of its new features declaring that there’s just not enough there for them to upgrade their DS Lites. That Nintendo can stuff their evil plot for all us Lite lovin’ owners to hand-them-down to little sis or sweet Uncle Jim so we can buy ever slimmer DSis for ourselves. About the only group genuinely excited may be the stubborn DS Phat owners who finally see a good value for their upgrade dollar.

Well if Nintendo’s CEO Satoru Iwata were here right now, he might say to them that if you only focus on where you want to go but ignore where you are now, you might overlook something wiiimportant along the way.

DS Ware Lays Down the Foundation

Upon encountering a large patch of grass where people had worn a path across, a wise man gave me the following gem of advice: “There are two types of engineers in this world; Those who would put up a fence, and those who would create a walkway.” The meaning is clear: Always study the root causes of a problem to reveal the deeper solutions within.

This is exactly what Nintendo has done with their new DSi design. They paved a road deep into the world of piracy and provided a path most gamers will happily tread instead of roughing it through the seedy alternatives.

A Road Deep into the Heart of Piracy

If you’ve ever seen a pirate gaming directory it’s quite staggering the sheer quantity of games. Not just the ones you’ve seen and read about but literally hundreds you never even knew existed. It’s like swallowing the Red Pill and having your eyes opened for the first time. Why should this be limited to pirates?

DS Ware could provide the same experience for everyone! No longer are you limited to the shelf space and availability at your local retailer but hundreds of games, all at your fingertips, ready to buy at a moments notice.

DS Ware also makes it easy to download demos directly to your memory card bringing gamers everywhere the opportunity to try out larger variety of games which leads to increased sales.

I’d like to see them emulate the piracy model even further by allowing all games to be downloaded but limit them to only 10 minutes per day, or something along those lines. This enables game companies to provide demos for all their games without having to create a specific version just for the demo. It completely guts the advantage pirates have today of trying out all games before they buy, if ever.

Analyst Matthew Fassler of Goldman Sachs recently sounded the early warning detection alarm that:

Nintendo’s newest gaming platform is a “tangible early threat” to physical portable game systems, which rely on cartridge-type slots to load games.

That could spell trouble for Best Buy and other retailers, like Circuit City Stores Inc. and GameStop Corp., which sell video games in their own stores.

The DS: A Victim of its Own Success

The greatest thing about the DS is its extraordinary variety of games, many at budget prices. Pretty soon you own a big ‘ole pile of games and are forced to play “Predict What You’ll Want To Play Today” every time you leave the house. First you buy some cases that hold four games, then ones that hold 36. But the fundamental problem remains: You don’t want to be lugging around your entire collection everywhere you go and fumbling around with the cartridges- especially for a portable device. Never again!

Flashcarts & the New DSi

One of the most compelling reasons to own a flashcart is transferring all your games onto one memory card. No more choosing which games to take with you. No more trying to find that cartridge you left in a shirt pocket last week. No more missing out when that urge to play Spelling Challenge finally strikes.

The DSi provides this exact functionality! With encryption and removable storage it should be possible to carry around your entire game collection in one or only a few memory cards. Think of how nice it will be to scroll through your list and pick out that perfect game you’re in the mood to play, where you want to play it. This feature alone will deter most people from reaching for flashcarts in the first place. This ladies and gentlemen is a Home Run for Nintendo.

End of the Line for the DS?

Timing is everything and Nintendo has timed the DSi launch perfectly with the end in site for the DS generation. We have perhaps one to two years left before we see its successor- let’s call it the DS2- scream out of the starting gates ready to accept the baton from its deliriously successful sibling. This means DS Ware and its DRM software can almost be considered beta testing for the real deal when sales finally slow down enough for the big N to unleash the DS2. It provides them the freedom to experiment, try different business models and collect usage data, all which will greatly contribute to a positive DS2 experience. Contrast their position to that of Sony’s who had a heavy burden of expectations placed upon PSN with little testing before the launch of the PS3. It also gives a heads up to developers of DS2 software to get used to the cameras, which will surely be part of the DS2.

Say Cheese

We older folks with our snazzy iPhones look down upon the DSi’s dual integrated cameras, meager media capabilities and shrug our shoulders and say “so what?” If you are among them then I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you but you need new glasses my friend since you are clearly short-sighted. The DSi is not trying to be an iPhone and those digital cameras are about to be put to use like we’ve never seen before. Remember a big slice of DS users spend a good chunk of their lives in classrooms, and where you have classrooms you have students, and where you have students you have endless uses for cameras that can talk to each other. What is the price of a picture of your hated enemy in a compromising position plus a cartoon editor? Priceless! What is the value of spontaneous video conferencing broadcasting picture-in-picture video commentary? We may even need to invent a new name for interviews captured with DSis.

You can’t play games all the time and many adults need something for their DSs to do throughout the day while they’re out earning money for more games. With the improved networking capabilities the DSi makes for great portable security cameras that can send what they see back to where you are via. the internet. Why not check up on Fluffy to see what she’s up to all day while you’re at work, or your rowdy teenage sons after school? If millions paid for Nintendogs, they will surely pay to watch their own pets and children while they’re away at work, or on vacation, or watching their vacation home. Last time I checked DSiSpy.com is still available. Please send the royalty checks c/o GamesILike, thank you.

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Best GBA Ever?

Gameboy Advance games may be on the verge of staging a comeback. With its upgraded internal RAM the DSi should be capable of playing GBA games downloaded directly from DSi Shop. If you think GBA games are old news, think again: Many GBA titles stand up perfectly fine to their DS brethren like Metal Gear, Astro Boy, the Metroid games, Castlevania, Fire Emblem, and plenty of others. If the price is right the DSi could be the best GBA eva!

In Conclusion

Hopefully it’s clear why the DSi is a strong addition to the Nintendo family and how it lays the groundwork for their future strategy with the roll-out of DS Ware. They’ve made deep inroads into the world of piracy and learned many valuable lessons and then applied them to their new DS Ware service. Nintendo not only countered piracy itself but removed most of the fundamental advantages to pirating in the first place, all while dramatically improving the gaming experience for legitimate gamers. They created a beautiful path right through where everyone was cutting across.

This year’s E3 was a far cry from a few years ago when hordes of gamers wrapped around the L.A. Colosseum waiting for their chance to swing the new Wii remote for the first time. While not as much flash as we had hoped, and I can’t hide my disappointment of no new DS, the second half of 2008 is slowly gathering into quite the Winter storm. Check out some of the highlights:

Nintendo:

Good thing I didn’t bet on a refreshed DS since it would have been a real loser. They did however announce a few new games and revealed some more details on the MotionPlus accessory:

MotionPlus: Designed to detect not only the acceleration of the controller but also its exact position in space in realtime. It comes bundled with the new “Wii Sports: Resort” game.

Wii Sports: Resort: Essentially Wii Sports 2 for the MotionPlus accessory. Comes with a sword fighting game which looks utterly fantastic, Frisbee throwing (use your wrist strap please!), and jet skis among others to make around 10 new mini-games. Iwata, Nintendo’s CEO, was overheard commenting on the features of the new MotionPlus saying it prints money just like all their other Wii accessories.

Star Wars Clone Wars: The game we always wanted on the wii. They should keep working on the controls and take some hints from Wii Sports: Resort.

Girl Gamers: according to Nintendo 48% of new DS sales are designated for female hands. Ubisoft also emphasized their girl-gamer focus and 2K Sports announced they are rolling out a girl sports brand. You can already see the heavy influence of the opposite sex on the DS library. Could 2009 be the year of the girl gamer?

Wii Music: Rhythm/music type game for the Wii. My hope is for these music games to become more realistic to the point where real instruments, like the drums today, are used so real musicians are created. This is not the direction Wii Music is going.

GTA: Chinatown Wars: Probably the biggest announcement for the DS this conference. Scheduled for release this holiday season, this has a good chance to break all sales records on the DS.

Sim Animals: Cute animal sandbox game. DS and Wii.

Sony

God of War 3: Brief trailer. It’s coming!

Home: Sony says it’s mostly ready sans all the content that still needs to be created. Hopefully this will encourage more cooperative online play, especially for Warhawk.

Little Big Planet: Coming this October.

Flower: New PSN game. Looks like a really nice flow-type game.

Gran Turismo TV: Top Gear episodes, real racing content. Looks good.

New PS3 SKU: Sony announced a new 80GB PS3 which replaces the existing 40GB model. The new 80GB PS3 does not play PS2 games (no backwards compatibility) but the price remains the same $399 price.

MAG: Short for Massive Action Game this new title by Sony/Zipper Interactive puts up to 256 players online in the same game for all your fragging pleasure.

Microsoft

Microsoft stole the show this year with so many announcements they had to cut some major news items from their presentation just to squeeze it down to under 100 minutes.

Dashboard Update: Avatars for everyone. Play games from your hard drive.

Primetime: Participate in live quiz shows and other online games. This looks really exciting.. can’t wait to see what they do in this space.

Xbox Live Community: Coming this Fall. This has been available for developers but it’s about to be released to the Live Community. Very exciting news for independent developers.

Price Cut: $299 price cut for 20gb 360.

FF XIII: Coming to 360! While this generation has seen multi-platform become the rule rather than the exception, it’s still somehow shocking to see one of Sony’s sacred cows moving to the dark side.

Netflix: Watch and share your play-now Netflix movies for existing Netflix and Live Gold customers. Looks like it’s limited to movies already in your queue but still a nice feature for existing customers.

Fallout 3: I’m sure this is a good game but after watching the demo it looks like they’ve created the ultimate dumbed-down FPS where you pause the game, highlight the player you want to shoot, then unpause to watch the kill animation.

New Geometry Wars: Coming next month!

GTA IV: Downloadable content coming later this year.

Lips: Karaoke type game but where you can use your own music via. connected iPod.

EA

Sim Animals: Cute animal sandbox game.

Spore: Release this September.

Ubisoft

Prince of Persia: Nice looking action game with visuals reminiscent of ICO. They put fourth an interesting concept that dying is no longer needed in games in order to give gamers a sense of accomplishment or as Ben, the speaker puts it “make them feel bad for dying.” It will be interesting to see if the sense of accomplishment is zapped out of Prince of Persia when it’s released this winter.