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Podcasting may not change the world, but Nintendo might

Nintendo just announced yesterday that worldwide sales of the Nintendo DS have hit 10 million worldwide (including a phenomenal 5 million units from Japan alone, making it the fastest selling game system ever in that country).

Okay, so maybe I'm just a little over-excited about my new little toy that I got for Christmas, but if podcasting isn't going to change the world (as Jeffrey just wrote about), maybe Nintendo will through their handheld gaming system, the Nintendo DS.

Most people think the DS stands for "dual screen" since one of the Nintendo DS's unique features is that it has two displays, but many believe it could also stand for "developer's system", in reference to Nintendo's intent for this system to be a platform for new, innovative types of games. The Nintendo DS's bottom screen is a touch screen similar to those found on PDAs. The hardware also consists of an onboard microphone, headset port and wi-fi chipset. The best part of all this neat technology is that it comes at a relatively cheap price: $129 at most retailers.

The hardware Nintendo provides with the DS offers developers a lot of creativity in what they can do with it. They recently launched their Wi-Fi Connection gaming service which allows users from anywhere in the world to play Mario Kart and other wi-fi enabled games against each other.

How might this change the world? What if software developers came out with an Internet cartridge that provided instant messaging, blogging, and/or chat room functionality? Or a Skype-like cartridge that allowed DS users to voice chat with each other? Even if those features don't come to fruition, portable wireless gaming is really cool and a good reason in itself for getting a DS. The DS's primary competitor, the Sony PSP, already comes with some of the Internet functionality, but with a steep price ($250) and a poor selection of games and software, it's losing badly to the Nintendo DS.

The world is still waiting for some sort of portable communications/network client device that will allow people to stay connected whenever and wherever they want. Most think the cell phone or a combo cell phone/PDA device will be that "it" product, but I think the Nintendo DS has just as good of a shot as any at meeting that need. Even if the DS doesn't change the world, its users will have a blast in the meantime.

Posted by Peter S. Kim on January 4, 2006 at 05:07 PM | Email this post Permalink

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