Duality

I would like to first state that I am a Nintendo fan and always will be. Most of my friends are huge Nintendo fans. However, now having stated that, I would like to say that Nintendo has really let me down. As some of you may know. I own a Nintendo DS. In fact, I was standing outside my local game store the morning it came out just waiting to get my hands on Nintendo’s newest baby. But now, many months later, I’ve been seriously disappointed in the lack of software.

The number one reason a gaming platform fails is a lack of games, with number two being a horrible design (I’m looking at you N-Gage). Now I’m not saying that the DS had a horrible design, far from it. It has one of the most original designs I’ve ever seen. However, it does have an incredibly lacking library of games. As of today there are only 18 DS games available in North America. 18! After almost six months? If Nintendo really wanted to make this console a winner, they would have waited until the software was actually there before releasing the hardware. And out of the 13 or so other DS titles announced for the US, almost all of them fall into the same category. Puzzle.

Look, I don’t hate puzzle games, in fact some of my favorite games of all time are puzzle games, but honestly, there’s only so much a man can take before he looks at his screen and puts the stylus down. I am that man. As of today I have put my stylus down. Forever. “How can you say ‘Forever’? You might somewhere down the line pick it up again.” Well (and here’s where I get lynched by almost everyone I know), that’s impossible because I have sold my Nintendo DS. I sold my DS, I sold my games, heck I even sold my carrying case. And what did I buy with my newfound riches? That’s right. Sony’s PSP.

Look, Nintendo really let me down with the DS. It had such potential, but with such an utter lack of support, they turned into a cheap gimmick. I won’t deny that it was a sad moment to let go of my DS, but it was not a painful one. These days it did little more than way down my backpack. I had nothing left to play. And out of all the upcoming DS titles that I was even remotely excited about, Animal Crossing DS was the only one, and only because I loved the original, and it was supposed to be online, but it doesn’t even come out till the end of the year.

Sony’s PSP launched with 17 titles. That’s practically the same amount of games it took Nintendo six months to conjure up! And, within the next month, 8 more titles will be released for the PSP. It may be sad to say, but Sony is leaving Nintendo behind in the dust.

Anyway, on the bright side, I can now bring you PSP reviews, and when Quadoshock gets around to buying a DS, he can take over the DS reviews. There are numerous things about the PSP that have me as giddy as a school girl, but I’ll leave them for another day. For now, let us all mourn in the loss of friend, but know that in his ashes, a power greater than he could ever imagine has been born.