TV and Internet on the DS?

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/02/16/nintendo.ds.features.reut/index.html
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144345.html

At the D.I.C.E. Summit held in Las Vegas last week, Nintendo announced that the DS would soon support voice over IP, a function that will let DS users chat in real time, thanks to the machine's integrated microphone. Though currently planned to work in the pre- and post-game lobbies of only one title, Metroid Prime: Hunters, there is likely to be more in store for the DS's VoIP capabilities in the future.

President Iwata has revealed the Nintendo DS Browser, a Web browser made by Oslo, Norway-based Opera Software. The browser will be based on Opera's PC Internet browser but will take advantage of some of the DS's integrated capabilities. The browser will be cartridge-based and is slated for release in Japan this June at the price of 3,800 yen ($32). Nintendo is considering shipping the product overseas. Rather than using the D pad and buttons to input text, DS owners can use the stylus to write on the DS's touch screen, which features PDA-style handwriting recognition. The browser will also feature an onscreen keyboard.

The DS will double as a television. Iwata unveiled a new accessory that lets users watch TV broadcasts on the DS. The product is tentatively named DS Chijouha Digital Housou Jushin Card (DS digital-broadcast receiver card) and will be compliant with the new 1seg broadcast service, a digital signal designed for mobile devices, which will launch in Japan this April. 1seg broadcasts run in QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels). The DS digital-broadcast receiver card will snap into the handheld's DS cartridge slot and feature an extendable antenna. The TV will be displayed on the upper screen, and the bottom screen will have buttons that can switch channels.
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And for RTS buffs this looks like fun: http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=1531af0d-f130-4b4f-ada0-f8281f86dd7a
 
Yeah, it's a stellar week for the DS.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144451.html
Details have been released about MechAssault: Phantom War, which makes its way to the DS later this year.

The third-person shooter is currently in development by Backbone Entertainment, a division of Foundation 9 Entertainment. The top screen will show the traditional third-person view of the action, and the bottom screen will show the inside of the combat, complete with battle mech controls. Using the stylus, gamers will be able to hack mechs, eject themselves, and switch weapons.

The single-player mode features 24 campaigns spanning four planets, and wireless multiplayer allows up to four players to compete in three different modes. Twenty types of vehicles will be included in the game, such as battle mechs, tanks, and battle armor.
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Cool...I like the Mechwarrior universe. Haven't been a huge fan of the two mech assault games though (although I own them both). I wish they would release another Mechwarrior game...I really enjoyed both Vengeance and Mercenaries...
 
Never played mech assault, but I've played Mechwarrior 1,2 exspansion and mercs, 3, 4 and exspansion, and Mech Commander 1, 2.
 
Maj.Striker said:
Cool...I like the Mechwarrior universe. Haven't been a huge fan of the two mech assault games though (although I own them both). I wish they would release another Mechwarrior game...I really enjoyed both Vengeance and Mercenaries...
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Agreed... Thoughraly agreed!:D
 
I still don't understand why they haven't planned a Mechwarrior 5 for the series...they've surely got the fan base for it.
 
I still don't understand why they haven't planned a Mechwarrior 5 for the series...they've surely got the fan base for it.
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We can hope, but from what i've seen, there is little chance of any more Mechwarrior games.
 
Maj.Striker said:
I still don't understand why they haven't planned a Mechwarrior 5 for the series...they've surely got the fan base for it.
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They did. MechWarrior 5 got cancelled. Big robot simulators are in the exact same situation as space combat sims. MechWarriors always used to be in the running with Wing Commanders for "sim of the year" awards. Now they don't even have "sim of the year awards" (or they refer to something completely different).
 
They did. MechWarrior 5 got cancelled. Big robot simulators are in the exact same situation as space combat sims.
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I just hope that Mech simulators and Space Flight simulators don't die off like Adventure games did. Right now, the majority of games coming out are First-Person Shooters, RPGs, and Real Time Strategies.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if they came out with a Mech Warrior game for the Nintendo Revolution as well. If, as Fatcat described it( I've actually never played a mechwarrior game before) Mech Armor is as similar to exoskeletons as I think it is, I could imagine a game using two of the Nintendo Revolution controllers( one in each hand) to control the two arms of the Mech Armor, using the D-pad on the controller for one hand to move the mech, the other to turn it. Probably the B-button to fire( as it's located like a trigger), firing individual weapons for each hand, and using select/start to pull up a menu and cylce through the weapons. I don't know, something along those lines, I'm just picturing here a game where you really move the arms of the machine as if it were an exoskeleton. I think that experience alone would make it worth buying, for the feeling of actually using an exoskeleton realisticly.
 
Well, the actual Mech Warrior/Assault license is owned by Microsoft, so it'll just be on the 360. Microsoft does farm out games for the GBA and DS currently, since those aren't competing products for them at all. I guess a robot game is possible on the Revolution, but I don't know how likely it'd be in the way you describe. And what you're describing sounds somewhat like a different experience than regular Mech Warrior.
 
ChrisReid said:
They did. MechWarrior 5 got cancelled. Big robot simulators are in the exact same situation as space combat sims. MechWarriors always used to be in the running with Wing Commanders for "sim of the year" awards. Now they don't even have "sim of the year awards" (or they refer to something completely different).
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Isn't Lost Planet a big robot simulator? Thus far I've only downloaded the trailer for it but being a Capcom fan it instantly went on my pre-order list.
As for space combat simulators, I remember IGN commenting that the revolution controller would be well suited to them, maybe someone will pick up on that. The space combat genre did after all partially become unprofitable as PC games became a much smaller piece of the pie.
 
Pedro said:
Isn't Lost Planet a big robot simulator? Thus far I've only downloaded the trailer for it but being a Capcom fan it instantly went on my pre-order list.
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It's not a simulator like Mech Warrior as far as I can tell. It's a bit more complex than something like Mech Assault, but it seems like more of an action game, with some RPG elements. Last week in Japan, Capcom had a press conference to show off more stuff for it (announced the US release date, Q1 2007). They handed out jackets to everyone in the audience, and then blew chilled compressed air into the room to make everyone's breath condense and stuff while they showed off new footage.
 
I do think that there is a chance to see a new MW game on the pc, given that the PC is Microsoft's money maker. Vista will have a strong focus on gaming, and must sport good exclusive stuff to leverage the upgrades. DirectX 10 promises a lot of good things, and is reported to have been written from the ground up. Halo2 is already confirmed for Dx10, meaning that it will run only on Vista PCs.

The DS is doing pretty well, BTW, and it gets more and more good games all the time. It is one of my favorite "things" ever. I carry it with me wherever I go, even when I know that I won't be able to power it up.

Pitty that the TV tuner will have a limited geographical "service" area... But the browser cartridge is AWESOME news, considering that Opera is the only option for portable browsing. Opera+2 screens+stylus = Teh win.

PS: Age of Empires DS is a pretty good game, but it is Turn Based. Someone should make a true RTS for the DS, though, considering it has the stylus. I have yet to see a RTS control well on sticks. EA promised a new interface scheme for BFM2@X360, but they told nothing about it.
 
ChrisReid said:
Well, the actual Mech Warrior/Assault license is owned by Microsoft, so it'll just be on the 360. Microsoft does farm out games for the GBA and DS currently, since those aren't competing products for them at all. I guess a robot game is possible on the Revolution, but I don't know how likely it'd be in the way you describe. And what you're describing sounds somewhat like a different experience than regular Mech Warrior.
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Hmm, that's interesting. Does Microsoft have unrestricted rights or do they have to negotiate with FASA/Wizkids?
 
Mech Armor is as similar to exoskeletons as I think it is...
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For the sake of corectness, it's Battle Armor, and it's a layered Ferro-Fibrous armored suit with myomer supports that allow a human to move freely, not an exoskeleton. But you're right, the double-controller would be a neat idea, especially if you could manipulate the jump jets and the armor claw (assuming this is Elemental Battle Armor).
 
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