DS sales top 2m in UK

By Games Industry.biz Published 29 November, 2006

Making the PSP cry.

Nintendo has declared that it is now the leader in the UK's home console and handheld markets, with the DS now outselling the PSP by a rate of more than 2.5 to 1.

According to Chart Track data, more than 2 million DS units have now been sold in the UK. Sales have continued to boom following the release of the Lite five months ago, and the success of titles such as Brain Training, Animal Crossing and New Super Mario Bros. - all of which have topped the 1 million sales mark in Europe.

"The ability of Nintendo DS to appeal to both gamers and non-gamers alike through an exciting, fun and innovative portfolio of software has been instrumental in its success in the UK," said David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo UK.

"Nintendo DS will continue to be the main driving force behind the expansion of the video game market this year."

Lisa Morgan, CEO of high street retailer GAME, added, "Nintendo DS has played an increasingly important part of our business in 2006.

"Not only is the DS performing really well, but Nintendo are following through on their promise of expanding the gaming audience, which is key to GAME too. This is evident in the broad range of people coming into our stores to purchase both DS hardware and software."

Nintendo is currently gearing up for its next hardware release - the Wii, already a sell-out hit in North America, will launch across Europe on 8th December.

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Comments (85) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • plok #1 5 years ago

    Well done DS! Forget the Wii and 360, Christmas 2006 belongs to the DS.

  • TriodeBliss #2 5 years ago

    Wii

  • TriodeBliss #3 5 years ago

    Nintendo still hates Europe.

    Why aren't they capitalising on the success by releasing some new games?

  • Steroyd #4 5 years ago

    Nothing pisses me off more than the New Super Mario Brothers.

    Nintendo are supposed to be the leaders of innovation damnit, yet all they do is package all of Mario's past platforming abilities into a neat package and off you go sells a million easy (i'm not trying to knock it off as a bad thing, but it just pisses me off.).

    Maybe Sony needs a Mascott to whore to death on every platform they own, seems to be the only way to sell first party software "To the masses".

  • The_Aardvark #5 5 years ago

    Yet you still never see anyone playing one on the tube. What's up with that?

  • fizzer25 #6 5 years ago

    Muggers??

  • jimbob101 #7 5 years ago

    Plenty of people are happy to play their PSP. Using a stylus is pretty tricky on a bumby tube ride, so I suspect thats part of the reason.
    Edited by 2 at 29/11/06 @ 10:11

  • AcidSnake #8 5 years ago

    Where's Starfox Command, damnit!?

  • chacha #9 5 years ago

    Yet you still never see anyone playing one on the tube. What's up with that?#

    Thats beacuse mos londoners care more about the cool factor than the actual games.
    PSP is a much cooler piece of technology just a shame its a poor games machine

  • kincaide #10 5 years ago

    There are about 3 or 4 people on my train playing DS'es, and about the same playing PSPs

  • sport #11 5 years ago

    Maybe Sony needs a Mascott to whore to death on every platform they own, seems to be the only way to sell first party software "To the masses".

    Snake?

  • Artemis_Matsas #12 5 years ago

    Well, i own both DS and PSP, but i have to say that my PSP sees 100% more play time than my DS.
    I'm just weird i guess...

  • asphaltcowboy #13 5 years ago

    Yes. Yes you are :)

  • varsas #14 5 years ago

    On the point about people playing it on the tube, I don't see anyone playing the PSP on the tube either! However on a trip down from Newcastle I saw a quite attractive woman in her mid 20s take a DS out to play. The bloke (about the same age) next to her working on his laptop was pretty surprised too!

  • lambtron #15 5 years ago

    I play both my DS and PSP on teh train - DS more than PSP. But I would estimate I see about the same amount of people playing both (not many though).

  • Artemis_Matsas #16 5 years ago

    @asphaltcowboy
    Thanks, i just had to hear it from someone else you see :-) :-) :-)

  • Steroyd #17 5 years ago

    Maybe Sony needs a Mascott to whore to death on every platform they own, seems to be the only way to sell first party software "To the masses".

    Snake?

    Snake is owned by Konami (or more accurately Hideo Kojima) who could go on other systems if he felt like it, try again.

  • scummyhawker #18 5 years ago

    I've seen people play both whilst on the tube. I've also seen people still playing GameBoy SP. I guess it depends on the length of journey, heading back out east from central London I see it most days, when my face isn't crushed against the glass or into someone's armpit.

    Most London dwellers too cool? Please. What part of the North are you from?

  • fizzer25 #19 5 years ago

    Buy a car people instead of using the train. Use your handheld when your taking a dump, its a much less bumpier ride!!

  • lambtron #20 5 years ago

    Depends whether you're constipated or not ;).

  • Arnold__ #21 5 years ago

    Thats 2 million happy non-gamer kiddies then! And yes, I have got one that I have hardly used. Nintendogs, Brain Training et al hardly appeal to the more mature audience. And I am afraid while Nintendo's attempts to grow the market by bringing in non-gamers in commendable it seems that all that this is achieving is 'dumbing down' games. Much like our public schools then.

    I'm afraid this noble gesture with the Wii and DS - while it will attract non-gamers - will disenfranchise and dissillusion many gamers, the very core of the market that Nintendo is trying to grow.

    Its kind of ironic then that fanboys are getting such a kick out of the DS hammering the PSP. What use is a console with a 20+ million 'non-gamer' userbase if there are no games for you, as a gamer, to play on this platform?

  • Dizzy #22 5 years ago

    >if there are no games for you, as a gamer, to play on this platform?

    Are you insane?

    Anyway... just ordered AoE for the DS.

  • lambtron #23 5 years ago

    There are good games on both platforms - to argue otherwise is insane. There are also a wealth of terrible games on both - I thought these facts were self-evident but apparently not.

  • AcidSnake #24 5 years ago

    Are you insane?

    +1

  • rhinoxious #25 5 years ago

    " Well, i own both DS and PSP, but i have to say that my PSP sees 100% more play time than my DS.
    I'm just weird i guess..."

    Makes some sense to me, I think the DS provides a wide range of gameplay experiences, but they often don't last very long. I own about 10 game for my DS and have completed most of them, very unusual for me.

    While the PSP provides few good (and not very original titles), but GTA:LC and Pro Evo both provide a hell of a lot of hours play, if you're really into those particular licenses. This isn't good news for Sony as most people have only bought a couple of games.

  • Scientist #26 5 years ago

    "Anyway... just ordered AoE for the DS"

    AdamofEternia has his own game!?!? I dread to think what that would be...

  • killest #27 5 years ago

    Well said Arnold_

  • lambtron #28 5 years ago

    You go on a one man crusade to destroy all that is sony, your enemies are employees of Sony and rabid fanboys hellbent on killing you ;).

  • samk #29 5 years ago

    "Thats 2 million happy non-gamer kiddies then! And yes, I have got one that I have hardly used."

    Snap. I've had a DS for about 15 months now and still have hardly any games for it at all. When people talk about all these many great DS games I'm honestly wondering WTF they're talking about.

  • UGhost #30 5 years ago

    "Snake is owned by Konami (or more accurately Hideo Kojima) who could go on other systems if he felt like it, try again."

    I think the original poster was suggesting that Snake, the game that comes on Nokia phones, is an example of a game that reaches the masses without needing a mascot, not suggesting that Sony use Snake from MGS as a mascot.

  • Talha #31 5 years ago

    I don't own a DS, but I know its games lineup is wonderful...for people who do own the DS. A well deserved sales success then.

    As for PSP, true it didn't sell as well as the DS, but how is that a failure? If you start defining No.2 as failure, then everything from XBox to GameCube to Dreamcast to Toyota automobiles is a failure. Plus it is much, much more expensive than DS, so naturally its audience is limited.

    Not that I want one or anything, though.

  • vane101 #32 5 years ago

    "Nintendogs, Brain Training et al hardly appeal to the more mature audience."

    I think you're wrong about Brain Training not appealing to a mature audience Arnold. It's the one DS game everyone in my office wants a go on - and we're all 30-60!

  • el_pollo_diablo #33 5 years ago

    They seriously better release some new games though, and fast.

    Do you realise the sheer weight of games that are never released in Europe? Our DS catalogue is something like 15% of the total in Japan. Even the USandA get a load more.

    Nintendo.

    I love you but I hate you.

  • djchump #34 5 years ago

    samk
    "Snap. I've had a DS for about 15 months now and still have hardly any games for it at all. When people talk about all these many great DS games I'm honestly wondering WTF they're talking about.

    Import games from the US - you get them quicker and cheaper than waiting for the UK releases.
    I finished Rocket Slime a while ago, just finished Phoenix Wright 2 and I'm currently playing through Contact and Final Fantasy 3 DS.

  • nickthegun #35 5 years ago

    "The ability of Nintendo DS to appeal to both gamers and non-gamers alike through an exciting, fun and innovative portfolio of software has been instrumental in its success in the UK,"

    Do non-gamers become gamers when they start playing games??

    Is the term non-gamer really applicable to someone interested in a DS? When does a non-gamer become a gamer?

    And so on......

  • Tonka #36 5 years ago

    Nintendo.

    I love you but I hate you.
    +1

    Play-Asia.

    I love you

  • spongebob #37 5 years ago

    Kids, core gamers and journos love the DS. That's why it sells, but mostly because kids love it, since core gamers don't account to 2 million in UK and journos buy nothing :)

    I am personally still waiting for some really good games to appear on the console. There are a few keepers, and then there's a wiiload of interesting experiments which you ditch after a few hours of tinkering.

    Requesting more RPG games as well.

  • MadMirko #38 5 years ago

    And I am afraid while Nintendo's attempts to grow the market by bringing in non-gamers in commendable it seems that all that this is achieving is 'dumbing down' games.

    That's silly.

    Yet, if I had a penny for every time I hear this, I would pay someone to write this post while I enjoy cocktails at the pool of my villa in Monaco.

    If growing the market would mean dumbing down games, how do you explain good TV series or movies or books or PS2 games?

    The contrary is true! The larger the market as a whole, the larger are its niches. Let's say 1% of the market likes strategy games, then it is better to have a market of 1 mil people, instead of 100 people, because in the former case you have 10000 potential sales vs. 1 potential sale for the small market.

    So, if Nintendo's strategy works, the industry will grow because the market grows, and there will be viable niches of every kind. Along with the drivel you'll see more interesting games, not less.

  • Morb0 #39 5 years ago

    "with the DS now outselling the PSP by a rate of more than 2.5 to 1"

    I'm shocked that figure is only 2.5, I would have expected 3 or maybe even 4. I guess this is UK sales though, think most sales comparisons I've seen have been Japanese.

    That actually sounds quite positive for the PSP to me, considering the release dates of the devices, the price difference, and the fact the DS has gone through a major revision. This also means the PSP is not far off selling a million units in the UK?
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 11:51

  • Steroyd #40 5 years ago

    Yeah everyone and their dog that i know have a DS.

    Speaking of which neither the DS or the PSP is running away with the RPG genre, and no Final Fantasy re-makes don't do it for me (except 3 which is the only FF i havn't got).

    Heeey just looking at the AoE advert to my left and it looks surprisingly good.

  • septimus #41 5 years ago

    DS sees more play time from me usually. But the PSP has caught up since they released Power Stone Collection on it :D

  • Salvia #42 5 years ago

    "yet all they do is package all of Mario's past platforming abilities"

    Not just Mario but pretty much most of their games and hardware. How many people bought a GBA then an SP? How many bought a DS then a DS lite?
    They're good at selling iterations to the same people time and time again.

  • chupachups #43 5 years ago

    Whatever you think of the DS or PSP, at least this shows that simply including the latest technology doesn't guarantee you a hit console.

    So many people in technology forums make fun of hardware that isn't cutting edge as if they were buying devices just to stare at the specifications rather than actually use them.


    "Thats 2 million happy non-gamer kiddies then!"

    How are DS users non-gamers? They buy consoles, they buy games for those consoles, both in very large quantities.
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 12:30

  • floppylobster #44 5 years ago

    The funny part is listening to PSP fans coming up with the same arguments that Nintendo fans had about the orignal PlayStation. Back then Nintendo/Sega fans were complaining about Sony trying to expand the gaming market and making games accessible for non-gamers; making games too easy, too short and dumbed-down.

    The PSP is also trying to bring in 'non-gamers' with Talkman and Lonely Planet guides. It's just not working as well for them as Nintendogs and Brain Training.

    How does a game about training your brain get labelled 'dumbing down' anyway?

  • kangarootoo #45 5 years ago

    @Arnold__

    "while it will attract non-gamers - will disenfranchise and dissillusion many gamers"

    Well boo bloody hoo.

    Expanding a market does not mean excluding the existing members. It just means adding more people and creating more titles.

    I can understand that some people would get a stop on because they don't feel they are being cetered for in an elite manner. "Games for the chav sheep" seems to be a typical voice of annoyance on that subject. To them I say grow up and put your dummy back in.

    I'm all for the production of obscure JRPGs and stuff like GeOW (to take two easy examples), but making additional, more approachable titles alongside stuff like that... how can that be a bad thing.

    New types of games added to an existing catalogue can only help all gamers by establishing games as a serious media, some people just can't see that.

    What is a "non-gamer" exactly? We never refer to people as "non-readers" or "non-watchers" when talking about books or films.

  • chupachups #46 5 years ago

    If you look at the home console market, Sony is clearly aiming at new gamers too with their heavy promotion of things like SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz (Buzz has a one button controller! How can that be described as appealing to a hardcore audience?).

  • JezusWept #47 5 years ago

    Buzz! has four FIVE button controllers...

    But your point remains sound.

  • JOHNTIKIS #48 5 years ago

    @artemis
    loading time included?

  • Genji #49 5 years ago

    Play Phoenix Wright and tell me that the DS is a kid's machine.

    There's loads of stuff coming out for the DS, even for the so-called "mature" age groups.

    I mean, really. I can't understand people who complain about Nintendo "dumbing down" games. It's like their little elitist cocoon has been broken, now that games that everyone can enjoy are being made.

  • Sid-Nice #50 5 years ago

    Nintendo has declared that it is now the leader in the UK's home console and handheld markets, with the DS now outselling the PSP by a rate of more than 2.5 to 1.

    That's bullshit, k.o.t.i owns 2 video games stores and he said "The PSP will outsell the DS by 40 to 1."

  • samk #51 5 years ago

    "How are DS users non-gamers? They buy consoles, they buy games for those consoles, both in very large quantities."

    I know several people - all adults - who bought a DS simply for Nintendogs for their kids and Sudoku or Brain Training for themselves, and that's it. 2-3 games. There are lots of "non-gamers" who have bought a DS.

    "Non-gamers" meaning the same as, for example, me being a "non-rugby fan" but dipping into the sport to watch it when the world cup is on and support home Nations. ie jumping on some bandwagon for a bit of at-the-time amusement.

  • samk #52 5 years ago

    "Heeey just looking at the AoE advert to my left and it looks surprisingly good."

    The publisher can thank EG for a sale - I've just clicked on the advert, done a bit of background reading, and ordered it. :)

  • kangarootoo #53 5 years ago

    @samk

    "jumping on some bandwagon"

    Thats a bit of a negative slant to put on things. Its the sort of term that gets used alongside "not proper fans", meaning people who don't have a season ticket or something like that.

    We shouldn't be so insular about these things (rugby or games). The people that only watch the big matches (to continue your analogy) are still paying the ticket prices, which means they are still contributing money into the big pot that buys comfier chairs for you to sit on the rest of the year round.

    Feeling elite and exclusive is a common human trait (I include myself in that of course), but that commonality does not automatically make it a positive thing.

    Every "old fart" that buys Brain Trainer and every "kiddy" that buys Nintendogs is making games as a whole a more stable industry, worthy of attention and investment by the rest of the world. And gamers everywhere (even hirsute hardcores who haven't slept for 5 days) should be thankful for that, just like you should be thankful when you have a cushion to sit on instead of a spike at your local rugby ground :)


    Edit: typos. Normally I don't correct them, but things were just getting ridiculous in this post :)
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 13:40

  • coojam #54 5 years ago

    Hmm, they say the DS is now outselling the PSP at 2.5 to 1. But how many have been sold overall, eh?

  • chupachups #55 5 years ago

    "I know several people - all adults - who bought a DS simply for Nintendogs"

    And I know several people who bought a PSP for one game and never touched it again, but both the DS and PSP have a tie ratio of more than one so these bits of anecdotal evidence clearly aren't typical.

    If you look at the charts, DS games sell very well, which proves that on average people aren't just buying a DS with one game.


    "Non-gamers meaning the same as, for example, me being a non-rugby fan but dipping into the sport to watch it when the world cup is on"

    That's not the same thing though, because you're not regularly paying for rugby content.

    Most of the people who own DSes regularly buy games for it, they don't just look have a go on someone else's game once a year.
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 13:52

  • samk #56 5 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Sure, I'm all for more people getting into gaming, contributing their money.

    I just don't think it's as clear cut to look at the sales of the DS unit itself; in the case of myself and a number of people I know, the number of DS games actually bought isn't particularly high.

  • chupachups #57 5 years ago

    "I just don't think it's as clear cut to look at the sales of the DS unit itself"

    Then don't look at the sales of the unit, look at the sales of the games! :-)

    For example if you take a look at the Amazon UK games chart:

    [link url=http://www.amazon.co.uk /gp/bestsellers/videogames/ref=pd_ts_c_th_head/202-8849749-6 597438
    ]http://ww w.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/v...[/link]

    you'll see it's got far more DS games than PSP games, and has done for a long time.

    It's the same on the Japanese chart:

    <a href="http://www .m-create.com/jpn/s_ranking.html
    ">http://www .m-create.com/jpn/s_ranking.html
    </a>

    Almost all the games in the top 50 in Japan are DS games.
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 13:55

  • samk #58 5 years ago

    "That's not the same thing though, because you're not regularly paying for rugby content."

    Yep fair enough, it wasn't a good analogy. :) Perhaps one involving paying for a high-profile boxing match, but having no interest in boxing otherwise. But I hope you get my meaning though; just because they've bought a DS in the first place doesn't necessarily mean they're contributing from then on.

    "If you look at the charts, DS games sell very well, which proves that on average people aren't just buying a DS with one game."

    Game sales charts only show the same few games are being bought by lots of people, not that DS owners have dozens of games in their collections.

    But hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-DS. I've racked up 200+ hours on Advance Wars on it. I'm just saying that in my own experience and of those people I know, the tie in with games purchased isn't great.

  • samk #59 5 years ago

    "http://ww w.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/v...

    'Sorry, there are no bestsellers available in this category. Please try again later.'

    "http://ww w.m-create.com/jpn/s_ranking.ht...

    '404 Not Found.'

    You may want to check those links, but like I've said, game charts only show that people who buy a console (not just DS) get a few games with it, not that they go on to amass large collections and contribute loads of cash to the industry.

  • Feanor #60 5 years ago

    "I don't own a DS, but I know its games lineup is wonderful...for people who do own the DS. A well deserved sales success then.

    As for PSP, true it didn't sell as well as the DS, but how is that a failure? If you start defining No.2 as failure, then everything from XBox to GameCube to Dreamcast to Toyota automobiles is a failure. Plus it is much, much more expensive than DS, so naturally its audience is limited."

    +1

  • Shadar #61 5 years ago

    Thats 2 million happy non-gamer kiddies then! And yes, I have got one that I have hardly used. Nintendogs, Brain Training et al hardly appeal to the more mature audience. And I am afraid while Nintendo's attempts to grow the market by bringing in non-gamers in commendable it seems that all that this is achieving is 'dumbing down' games. Much like our public schools then.

    Just marvellous. Did you bother to check out Nintendogs and Brain Training before making this sweeping generalization? Did you bother considering how these games play and what audience they are targetting? Brain Training is firmly aimed towards adults who have little time for gaming, presumably because they're caught up in a career, family life and so on. I don't know about you, but I consider that to be fairly mature. But of course, in gaming terms, mature means "contains gunz, drugz and gatz with a pumpin' hip-hop soundtrack" or "dark, realistic and gritty with a compelling storyline about death, insanity and one man's struggle for revenge". Nintendogs is one of last years best-selling titles, particularly popular with girls and women. Yeah, technically non-gamers, some of them kids. Which is an audience we seriously want to bring into the fold if we want games to ever earn cultural significance.

    I don't care about hardcore gamers anymore. They're the past. Dinosaurs. They're different from every other enthusiast in that they are conventional, dogmatic and boring. Music and movie lovers embrace new impulses, appreciate art. Gamers just want more shaders and maybe some references to Nietzsche to make them feel important.

  • lambtron #62 5 years ago

    "contains gunz, drugz and gatz with a pumpin' hip-hop soundtrack" or "dark, realistic and gritty with a compelling storyline about death, insanity and one man's struggle for revenge"

    Hahaha - so troo. How does a morbid fascination with games only involving these themes ever equate to being an adult when they are clearly aimed at 14 year olds. Moreover when the hell did people start thinking that a game has to contain these elements to be fun. Don't get me wrong - I like to play games like these on occasion (see GTA) but they are far from the staple of my gaming diet.

  • spongebob #63 5 years ago

    I dunno about you guys, but to me Nintendogs and Brain Training are not even games in the traditional sense. Definitely not a bad thing, but it goes to show that Nintendo is certainly trying to differentiate itself from the videogames market and trying more to carve a niche (a big one at that) for themselves.

    To me it looks like they cater to the core gamers and old school videogame people with their old franchises (Mario, Metroid, Zelda etc) and try to lure new people in with completely new products. It's just that products like Brain Training and Nintendogs, while entertaining, are not really videogames and do very little when it comes to pushing the medium as an artform.

    And so that you know, I don't think that Sony is doing anything special with PSP either when it comes to gaming.
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 14:48

  • lambtron #64 5 years ago

    Well it all depends what you think a game is I suppose.

  • AcidSnake #65 5 years ago

    And that depends on what your definition of 'is' is...

  • Shadar #66 5 years ago

    Sony tried to attract the same people who think portable DVD players is a neat idea. They don't necessarily fall into the gamer demography. DS is a very different initiative, albeit one Nintendo was never certain would succeed. Sony is catering to what we know as gamers and the casual hardcore, ie gamers who play PES, FIFA and NFS religiously but scoffs at the rest of the games available. They were never going to reach out..

  • UncleLou #67 5 years ago

    What use is a console with a 20+ million 'non-gamer' userbase if there are no games for you, as a gamer, to play on this platform?


    Um, what? I've got about 20 DS games, does that make me a non-gamer?

  • IP #68 5 years ago

    Lisa Morgan, CEO of high street retailer GAME, added, "We were just being coy and witty when we used to hide our paltry Nintendo DS section at the far end of the store, behind a sign saying 'beware all ye who enter here', and the console's subsequent sales success has absolutely nothing to do with us re-facing the DS consoles and games right at the front of every one of our stores where the PSPs used to reside. We always had faith in Nintendo's console, and look forward to milking it for all it's worth in 2007. Sorry, I mean, we hope it will carry on being an increasingly important part of our business in 2007."

  • cawley1 #69 5 years ago

    I imported a US DS for my son when it was released a couple of years back, it was the first Nintendo console since the SNES that I didn't want to buy as I didn't like the look and feel of the unit, and the launch games were nob (yep, even M64DS if you have played the superior -control-wise- N64 version to death!).

    I went on to buy a PSP, then a second one so I could keep the first at 1.50 for the homebrew, a nice stack of games, but it goes months without being played now.

    I bought a DS Lite before my holiday because it finally looked and felt right and I had to have NSMB - I played the thing every evening and when I got back bought Mario & Luigi, Tetris DS, Brain Training and my missus uses the bloody thing more than me!

    Still amazes me how my opinion changed, and it was down to the Lite revision!
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 16:50

  • cawley1 #70 5 years ago

    While I think about it, Nintendo was not too sure if the DS was going to be a hit either - hence the lack of Gameboy branding, does anyone else remember the successor to the GBA was going to be a GC-power unit released in 2005?

    This was another factor in my initial love for PSP - It sounded like they were only releasing DS to spoil the Sony launch, then release a more powerful handheld a few months down the line if DS tanked, too much Virtual Boy worry there!
    A successor to the GBA was definately on the cards, I wonder where they have stashed the proto's for that?!

    If they had the balls back then we would have the Gameboy Dual, or Gameboy Touch now...

  • Pooley #71 5 years ago

    I imported a DS from Lik Sang when it was launched, I also was given a DS Lite as a present for my birthday recently. I have to say that of all my consoles, I play on the DS Lite most of all. It's a well designed, beautiful piece of hardware.

    I've also bought loads of games for it, Super Mario Brothers, Brain Training, Animal Crossing, etc., and still play my GBA cartridges on it, though that's one part of the DS Lite design that I don't like in that the GBA cartridges stick out of the front.

    The DS has been a phenomenal success for Nintendo and I wonder how the Wii will now fare given that the DS is so popular and many people may now consider a Wii as well.

    I've thought about a PSP, but to be honest there's no reason to get one as I spend so much time playing the DS.

  • Aria #72 5 years ago

    Well deserved. No fuss, no waste of time, quality gameplay. That's what the DS is all about...

  • secombe #73 5 years ago

    And I am afraid while Nintendo's attempts to grow the market by bringing in non-gamers in commendable it seems that all that this is achieving is 'dumbing down' games.

    How is concentrating on gameplay over graphics 'dumbing down'?

    If anything, I would put yearly updates of the big franchises that always go to number one in the chart in the 'dumbing down' category, stuff like Need for Speed and FIFA, none of these games are doing anything to further gaming as a whole.

    I'm 24 but I'm one of the youngest DS owners I know, many of them have Mario Kart, Touch Golf, Brain Training etc, it's not all 13 year old female Nintendogs owners.
    Edited by 1 at 29/11/06 @ 18:28

  • toy_brain #74 5 years ago

    Yes the DS is a lovely little machine, but as others have said, you really do need to know a decent import shop to get the most out of it.
    Lately I've enjoyed playing Pheonix Wright 2, Scurge Hive, Rocket Slime, Contact, Touch Detective, Megaman ZX, Elite beat Agents.
    With the exception of Scurge, all of those games are/have taken bloody ages to come over here.
    And as for Nintendo's first-party efforts...... christ, still no Starfox Command? Why? Its not like they have to re-record any speech, and there isnt -that- much text in there to translate into French/German/Italian.

  • timo180 #75 5 years ago

    I love my Lite. Just thought I should share.

  • Mr_Brown #76 5 years ago

    Great news. To all DS bashers, you mad. I consider myself an Hardcore gamer (or core gamer whatever its called these days) and my DS is one of my most played consoles...mainly because I play GBA games through it also. But as already stated many of the best games are imported ones. Alot from Japan, the same with GBA really. You can't truely appreciate the greatness of the DS unless you Import...and the only people will do that are Hardcore gamers.

  • NegativeZero #77 5 years ago

    Yet there's been an absolute void as far as quality game releases for DS go over the last 6 months or so. The last high-profile release here was Metroid Hunters, I think. Certainly that was the last one I picked up, and it was in June or so. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount coming down the track either.

  • shuffles #78 5 years ago

    I saw a special edition japanese ds lite + final fantasy 3 pack on ebay.com and was wondering if it would work ok over here in Ireland?? R u able to change the language from japanese to english on both the ds and the game?

    Does anyone know if and when final fantasy 3 will be released for the ds over here?

  • chronom4n #79 5 years ago

    for me, when i am at the gym i use the psp. i.e. on the bike machine i stick on a film or look at my photos or listen to some music. so in that respect the psp wins it for me. At least I know that the machine is giving me value for money, but that is within in my world.

  • admir #80 5 years ago

    iam nitendo and all i can do is Mario, metroid and zelda its about time that they start making new games give us somethink like shodow of the colosus or okami best games i have played in years

  • numptyboymatt #81 5 years ago

    Well I just bought a DS for my boyfriend for Xmas - he's a trucker and so he can play it on his breaks throughout the day and when he's out overnight - he DID ask for a PSP thinking that it was a better machine, but after comparing the two products, I plumped for a DS as it seems to be much more accessible to someone who isnt really an avid gamer.... although having said that its near impossible to prize him off my bloody 360 at the moment.

  • el_pollo_diablo #82 5 years ago

    I've got one of each, and my DS gets played a lot more than my PSP.

    Aside from the fact that I find the games to be more original, for me, portable gaming is not about LONG LOADING TIMES. It's about turning it on and off in a split second.

    The DS wins hands down.

  • gelf #83 5 years ago

    I own both and the major problem the PSP has for me is that there's little on it that I cant get in a superior form on the PS2, most of which doesn't really suit playing on a handheld either.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/06 @ 14:25

  • pikemon #84 5 years ago

    reading this made me dig up METEOS and break my hiscore in 2 minute war!!! \o/

  • Kos-Mos #85 5 years ago

    cooolli

    Then the same for PS3