Launch day for the Nintendo DS at last! Arrived at Best Buy an hour after they opened today (hey, it’s football season) and there were a half dozen Nintendo DS left on the table (not sure how many were in the back that hadn’t been brought out yet) and I was the only one looking at them.



A couple games, Sims, Super Mario 64 DS and one Spiderman 2 game. I snagged the Nintendo DS system ($149.99), carrying case ($9.99), Super Mario 64 DS ($29.99) and the screen protector, earbuds and cigarette adaptor ($14.99). Didn’t spring for the 2-year warranty ($19.99) and was a bit surprised they didn’t work me harder for that at the register. Total charge with tax was $220 US plus some change. Nobody else waiting in line was buying a Nintendo DS. It was, well, like a normal day at Best Buy except that it was DS launch day.

I took some pictures but they didn’t turn out especially well (I should have fixed the lighting and turned off the flash). Here’s the unit with the power off:



The first thing you need to do is charge the battery for 4 hours, which I cheated a bit and did some charging via the cigarette charger in the car while my wife did some grocery shopping.



While it was charging I examined the Super Mario 64 DS box and instructions (which are colorful and interesting):



I went to Nintendo and registered for all of my systems (Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo GameCube and the Nintendo DS). They said there would (might?) be some special deals, but all I saw was an offer for Pokemon red with a paid subscription to Nintendo Power. Years ago I had a Nintendo Power subscription. No thanks. So I went and watched the Seahawks game for a bit and then the orange charging light on the DS went out and it was time to fire it up. I examined where the games went and attached the wrist strap first.



Note that the DS games go along the top and the Gameboy Advance games go along the bottom (two different sized slots). Just remember: top = DS, bottom = Gameboy Advance. There is an extra stylus in the package but a main stylus (shown popping pulled out slightly in picture) sitting flush in the DS behind the screen and next to the DS cart slot. The DS cartridges are about the size of an SD card and work similarly: insert and push in to lock and push in to spring eject.



The game inserts with label facing away from the unit.



As soon as you boot up the unit there’s a four step initalization phase: language, nickname, date, birthday (no year, cool!):



Something about setting the date with stylus was oddly exciting, don’t ask me to explain. The screens are really easy to read in both dark and room light conditions. I didn’t go outside to see what it was like in direct sunlight.



Next it was time to fire up Super Mario 64 DS!



Though the next picture may not show it very well, the bottom is useful for camera angle and viewing the map while the top/main screen is used for navigation.



I found playing Mario 64 DS the traditional way with the controller a bit hard on the hands, though I didn’t try yet playing the other ways. Some of the minigames were fun, in particular, a game where you roll a snowball down as fast as possible a snowy course trying to avoid rocks, a click on the jumping characters with stylus to avoid from falling through the bottom screen and bouncing into targets, and a slingshot type game where you pull a slingshot on the bottom with the stylus and let it go to shoot falling bombers as they move between the screens.



My developer mind started buzzing with the possibilities of other games with the dual screen setup. This is cooler than I ever thought it would be. Then again, it still has the new purchase feeling, so it will take a week or two of playing to get a real, objective feel to the system. I do like the possibilities for future games. They can create some rather unique games, which makes me think that’s what Nintendo plans to do. All in all, put this one on your Santa list, folks, it should provide some fun breaktime activity at least. Initial grade (subject to change after much more gameplay): B+

Elsewhere talking about the Nintendo DS
At Game Crazy launch party - the worldwide exclusive launch point, Engadget is there
Seattle times Nintendo DS review - note that there is a mistake towards the end of the article. The DS does not play Game Boy games, only Gameboy Advance games.
PC Magazine review - they gave the Nintendo DS the highest possible rating (5/5)

• Super Mario first side scroller in 10 years gets DS nod in May
• New Super Mario Bros. released today for DS
• GameBoy Micro arrives Sept 19
• Super Mario Rampage
• Nintendo Game Boy Advance successor to have two screens
• Sony PSP Handheld Device to compete with N-Gage instead of Gameboy Advance?