The hype finally got to me, and I went out last night and bought a Nintendo DS Lite. The thing that pushed me over the edge was the New Super Mario Bros. game. It’s a new Mario game in 2d, not 3d like all the other recent platformers. But the graphics use 3d models, to give it a unique look. So you can describe it as having old-school Mario gameplay with up-to-date graphics.
I think Nintendo is onto something here with their focus on simple games that anyone can play. So much of gaming these days is involved, and you have to devote your full attention and lots of time to these games. Games like Halo and Grand Theft Auto, you have to sit down to play. You can’t just play them to burn time; they’re an activity in themselves. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s certainly a place for those kinds of games. But I also think there’s a place for simple games: puzzle games, Mario-type platformers, etc. Nintendo has refocused on these types of games, and I think it’s a great strategy for them. Plus these games will draw in people who don’t normally play games, people who are intimidated by the complexity of today’s games. Whereas I have a heck of a time getting Catherine to play Age of Empires 3 with me (at least an hour commitment), I bet she would love to pick up the DS and play 10 minutes of Mario.
What am I trying to say here? I think Nintendo is on the right track. Don’t waste money trying to out-hardware Sony and MS. Put out a cheaper system with simple games, and hope casual gamers eat it up.
Oh, and the DS Lite is very cool. 
