InsertCredit had an article pointing to the homepage of Mikoishi, an South East Asian game devoloper. One of their announcements is that Mikoishi commences development of MMOG for Nintendo DS “Project K”. This is very, very intriguing to me. I wonder if they’ll go through with it, and I wonder if it’ll be very good. Regardless of what it’s like, if it comes out, I’ll purchase it on launch day if it’s actually an MMO.

I think Nintendo is really bringing themselves back into the market. The only console from this or the previous generation that I bought is the Wii, and I also love my DS. Both the Wii and DS are good, quality products. On top of that, Nintendo is is removing themselves from the normal competition by making their products something different. But most importantly, I feel like Nintendo has a lower-bound on game quality for third parties. It just seems like there isn’t as much crap. Yes, there’s crap, but not as much as for other systems.
To start, take the Wii. I admit that there’s a lot of crap titles on it already. However, there are a lot of fun titles as well. Twilight Princess, although really a GC port, is very fun. Trauma Center, again basically a port, is also great. Red Steel has control issues you have to get used to, but is a decent FPS, and the multiplayer is fun. Rayman is just wonderful if you like minigames. Those are the four games I have, and I’m happy with them. Monkey Ball looks good too, as does Elebits. Hell, to be honest I’ve been considering getting the fishing game. And soon we’ll have WarioWare Smooth Moves, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Mario Galaxy. A pretty great line up, I think. The system is sleek looking both physically and the UI, and the messaging system works well. The friendcode system is a little annoying, but safe for younger audiences. And the Virtual Console has wonderful potential. I’ve bought three titles from it already. What’s also really nice is the fact that the games use the controller in different ways. I like that Twilight Princess hardly uses the motion sensors. I don’t think every game should use them just because they’re there.
Now, I know it sounds like I mentioned a lot of negative too, but the competiton is interesting. I thought the X-Box was stupid, but I’m really enjoying the 360. It does have a very strong western feel, as one would expect, so I definitely wouldn’t make it my first choice. However, the games feel and look great on it, and while it gets a lot of PC ports, that’s not neccessarily a bad thing. Call of Duty 2 and Gears of War are both great on it. I really want a 360 just to play Gears of War. Plus, there are other games that look interesting for it – Call of Duty 3, Sonic the Hedgehog, Oblivion, Fear, KOTOR 2, just to name a few. Although what obviously holds me back is that price tag.
Speaking of prices, this is where the PS3 comes in. I had a PSX and loved it. I don’t own a PS2, but I own many PS2 games that I play on my girlfriend’s and roommate’s PS2s. However, I think I hate the PS3. I feel like Sony slapped me in the face. There were a ton of features that were supposedly going to be in the PS3 that I no longer hear anything about, although the price is still insane. Why would I want to pay that much money for a piece of crap, anyways? The library on launch was horrible. There’s nothing I want to play on it at all. GameFAQ’s top ten games for PS3 are Resistance: Fall of Man, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and nine games that aren’t out yet. Plus, watching some footage of PS3 games on G4 made me think I was watching a PSX. The PS3s in stores seem to freeze a lot, and that shitty truck game has the nice feature of letting you fall through the road all the time.
And then there’s the PSP. There’s a few titles that look nice, I admit it. And the system itself looks nice. But wow, have you ever seen so many shitty titles? Everyone I know with a PSP stops using it very quickly.
Compare that to the DS. I have 15 games for my DS, and I’ve completed 12 of them. One of them has only one save file and my girlfriend’s using it, and the other two I’m still playing. I don’t regret any of my purchases, and there are still many more games I want to get. Seriously, I haven’t been this into a system in years, and I’ve definitely never been so in love with a handheld. The games are so fun, and there are so many of them! Plus, the wifi feature is very nice. I just beat Kirby Squeak Squad tonight, and it was a ton of fun. If I had to pick out my favorite games for the system, I’d say Trauma Center, WarioWare Touched, Feel the Magic, Mario Kart DS, and New Super Mario Bros. I carry my DS with me everywhere I go, and I play it everyday.
I know I’m really sounding like a Nintendo fanboy, and that’s not exactly how I want to come across. I enjoy playing other people’s PSPs, and I have my own memory stick. The 360 is great, and hopefully I’ll get one soon. And I’m sure the PS3 will, in time, be great too. The PS2 had a lot of great titles swimming in an ocean of shit, and the PS3 will probably be the same. It’s just odd to me that so many people are going crazy over the PS3 when it’s just not any good yet. Plus, what really amazes me about Nintendo is what a come back they’re making.
Now if only Sega could start making consoles again (and convince people to buy them).