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Posted by
punkisnotdead
521 days ago
Total Votes:10
(http://portablevideogamer.com)
Category: Gaming |
Excerpt:
"During the previous generation of consoles, Nintendo introduced direct connectivity between its home system, the GameCube, and its portable Game Boy Advance. A limited amount of games used connectivity features, but an even smaller number of games really explored the possibilities and offered interesting and addictive gameplay innovation. Nintendo made a big deal of the possibilities, but ended up falling short of expectations. Now that we are fully into the ‘nex-gen’, the issue of console-handheld connectivity is once again on the table. The Nintendo DS and Wii systems can connect and transfer data amongst each other, but this time it’s wireless, getting rid of the expense of buying an extra cable and expanding the market for potential connectivity features. But what has been done so far to make use of this connectivity, and where might game developers go in the future?"
Continue reading at http://portablevideogamer.com/2007/06/wii-%e2%80%93-ds-connectivity-more-than-just-unlockable-content/
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Full article:
During the previous generation of consoles, Nintendo introduced direct connectivity between its home system, the GameCube, and its portable Game Boy Advance. A limited amount of games used connectivity features, but an even smaller number of games really explored the possibilities and offered interesting and addictive gameplay innovation. Nintendo made a big deal of the possibilities, but ended up falling short of expectations. Now that we are fully into the ‘nex-gen’, the issue of console-handheld connectivity is once again on the table. The Nintendo DS and Wii systems can connect and transfer data amongst each other, but this time it’s wireless, getting rid of the expense of buying an extra cable and expanding the market for potential connectivity features. But what has been done so far to make use of this connectivity, and where might game developers go in the future? Let’s take a look at some of the possibilities below.
The first Wii game to incorporate DS connectivity is Pokémon Battle Revolution, set to release on June 25. The game improves on the traditional formula of “hook system A up to system B to unlock hidden characters”, and actually appears to be implementing connectivity in some creative ways. For example, by using the DS as a controller insted of the wiimote, you can keep your moves and strategies a secret from your opponents. You can also upload your Pokémon from Diamond / Pearl to use on the Wii. As the above illustration shows, your DS will handle Pokémon moves and attacks just like in Pokémon Diamond / Pearl, keeping things familiar.
Nintendo has suggested that demo downloads could be achieved through the magic of Wii – DS connectivity. In the future, players might be able to download game demos and trailers to the DS just like one would at Download Stations available in retail stores like GameStop and Best Buy. Apparently, DS games could be ‘expanded’ using connectivity; nothing has been confirmed, but there are a lot of possibilities. We can imagine unlocking extra content on DS or Wii games and transfer data between them. Taking connectivity one step further, this system could use a slot 1 or slot 2 device on the DS that would include the old Game Boy chip, allowing users to download GB / GBC games from their Wii to the DS. Imagine being able to play your Virtual Console games anywhere you want, or transfer Miis to be used on certain DS games!
There is a lot of room for innovation when it comes to console-handheld connectivity. Sony has widely discussed their desire to deepen the PS3 to PSP connectivity at some point, which curently allows users to stream video content directly from their home console no matter where they are (a pretty cool feature if you can afford the hefty pricetag for a PS3). It is up to Nintendo and Sony to innovate further in this area, and deliver creative gameplay enhancements that make the feature worthy of our (rather short) attention. Is there anything you as readers would like to see done with connectivity? Leave a comment and let us know!