MS after HandHeld market?

It' s not that simple though. If the GBE does what PSP can do in terms of features, but isn' t backwards compatible and doesn' t have hardware like DS does (touch screen etc) and they are marketted to two different kinds of people, gamers and non-gamers (the entire idea behind DS) then theoretically they could co-exist.

I wouldn' t be suprised if we heard more before fall (Revolutions [N5] expected launch period).

ginjirou, you could just import it since the machine is region free for games.

Import, you' re a genius! But maybe Sony doesn' t like people importing games...
You' re right that in theory the two could co-exist but in reality they can' t because not all of the DS owners are casual gamers and not all casual gamers would ignore the GBE.
I think that the DS was successful among casual and non-gamers because it was marketed as a console for them, not because the features suited non-gamers. It is the first console to be marketed as a non gamer console.
As Chee Saw said, even though they are different they will compete for the same market since they primarily do the same thing: play games. I doubt the GBE will feature media capabilities since Nintendo has been putting lots of focus on just making game consoles. The Gamecube didn' t have any thing like it and the Rev won' t either. Besides, featuring video playback and such will mean a higher price tag, something Nintendo likes to stay away from.
And since the MS-XP probably will be compatible with the 360 (lots of media capabilities) as the PSP will be with the PS3 (even more media capabilities) I doubt that the GBE would stand a good chance in that department. Especially since Nintendo has no experience in the field.

It sounds and looks like that d-pad is amazing but is it any good? Or is it just a way to sell more copies of the game? How do you put it on the PSP d-pad? What keeps it on? Can it fall off easily? Is it comfortable?

Here' s what I originally posted about the d-pad cover at the PSP board the day I got the game:

Just got the game in while at work so I' ve only managed to play a little bit of the arcade mode with Ryu. The d-pad cover is incredibly simplistic but yet makes the PSP d-pad MUCH more functional with it on. Basically underneath all four points of the d-pad cover are these little self-sticking adhesives (if I can call it that) that you try to line up as best you can with the PSP pad.. Took about two tries but by golly I think I' ve got it!

At first I was kind of worried that it might leave some kind of sticky film behind on the PSP D-pad after removing the d-pad cover, but so far so good. At this point I also don' t care really since I plan on keeping it on there for as long as it' ll remain on there.

I had an easy time performing Ryu' s quarter-circle hadoken Fireball and tornado kick moves, and managed to pull off his shouryuken uppercut without much of a hassle.

Fortunately the game also supports analog nub control so at least now you have options as to which control scheme better suits you..

Another great thing about the d-pad overlay is I can go back and play Darkstalkers and Smackdown vs. Raw and enjoy them even more!

Oh yeah, the game also rocks!! Sharp sounds, great controls, and beautiful 2D graphics being displayed on the PSP' s beautiful widescreen!

Load times (if there are any) are SUPER fast... In between rounds load times are non-existent.. When going from one fighter to the next the load times again are incredibly quick. This game just eats load times for breakfast.

Light touches work very well with the d-pad cover. I was easily able to quickly perform 5 of Ryu' s " shouryuken" uppercuts one after another without any mistakes. It registers diagonal presses much better as well, I tested it out with Smackdown vs. Raw and was very satisfied, now my thumb won' t hurt anymore while playing that game!

The game contains a mix of English and Japanese text. The game modes all appear in English, but their descriptions all appear in Japanese (as do the dialogue). The available modes are:

Arcade-Mode, Variable Battle, Training Mode, Free Battle, Option Mode, World Tour, Edit Mode, Entry Mode, VS 100 Kumite, Network, Survival Mode, Dramatic Battle, R. Dramatic Battle, Final Battle, and Score Ranking.

Terry Bogard - currently the most Unhelpful member of the Kikizo forums.

There is no GB evo or whatever you name it.

That' s exactly why I couldn' t understand their reason/need to even mention their next generation Gameboy successor before the DS was even launched. I mean sure they' d make money off of the two units, but at some point the new Gameboy would cannibalize sales of the DS, just like the DS did to the Gameboy Advance.

Let me tell you why - Nintendo did a little TEST called DS - they said that if it works well it means their new direction is right , if not then GB Evo will make up for it.

So now that we all now how huge DS is - there is no GB Evo GOD DAMN IT.

Oh well then, if you say so then it must be so. You are afterall the guru of all things videogames and you couldn' t possibly be wrong.

Why would Nintendo even bother anymore eh? They might as well shut shop and give in to the mighty mighy PSP yeah?!

Burp!

See - now you get it :)

LOL!

In the thread about Rare we talked about the fact that Microsoft was actually letting Rare develop a game for the DS.
But what surprises me even more is that the DS will get a " Age of Empires" game.
Isn' t AoE owned by MS? In the AoE DS trailer (can be found at gametrailers.com) you can even see the MS logo in the end of the trailer.
And now that there' s a chance that MS might release their own portable things got very confusing.
Maybe MS and N has secretly joined forces to fight Sony... nah!

Would be a good move actually. A Microsoft funded Nintendo handheld, complete with a portable version of Halo! Ha!

It wouldn' t be the first time Nintendo had a partner like that. Sony were supposed to supply the optical drive for the Nintendo Playstation before the deal fell through. I think Microsoft have the smarts to see how aiding Nintendo as far as handheld (shit, even consoles) are concerned would benefit them.

I thought any company that developed for the DS was contractually obligated to create a game for the ' Cube as well?

Terry?

GameBoy Advance

I' ve heard nothing about any *catches* to develop for the DS..

I' m STILL of the belief that Yamauchi brought up that whole " Gameboy Advance developers must also develop for the GameCube" nonsense as a Direct response to Squaresoft wanting onboard the GBA gravy train.

Terry Bogard - currently the most Unhelpful member of the Kikizo forums.

Aaahh. I see.

They' ve probably got something similar in the DS contract. In Addendum F, Article C8, Paragraph xxii, sub-heading 3-E, page 292!

Yeah it' s the Yamauchis Way with 3rd party.

Thank God (yes you Mister Miyamoto) for Satoru Iwata and he' s liberal and even innovative aproach - cost reductions , supporting independent retailers and more.