Playing on the Go

The Nintendo DS (i.e. everyone’s favorite handheld) has just overtaken last generation’s console behemoth, the Playstation 2, in total sales in Japan. This is truly a testament to the sheer popularity of Nintendo’s little handheld, especially in the land of the rising sun. Nintendo has been leading the way with great innovations in both the console and portable market, and their ingenuity is beginning to reflect how much money they’re making. Now, I wonder how long it will take for the PSP to outsell the PS2….

Contra 4’s American box art was quite possibly one of the most bad@$$ pieces of art we at Playing on the Go have ever seen. The main character, Lance Bean, wields an RPG as he sneers at his enemies, most likely aiming to obliterate them in the most painful way as possible. The T for Teen logo emblazons the front, letting every passerby know that this game is not for children or the faint of heart (especially considering this is a sidescroller). His partner has his pistols blazing…OK, I think you get the point.

The Japanese title takes a decidedly more reverent, anime art style to it. The main character wields his rifle close to him, staring off into the distance retrospectively, analyzing his past failures and mourning the memories of the many people he has killed. While the game is of great quality, it’s always interesting to see the different ways companies market to different cultures.

I think we can all recall the debacle that was the original N-Gage. It was uncomfortable, it was clunky, and it looked like a taco. However, in September Nokia was supposed to roll out the new N-Gage service on their N-81 model. However, delays arrived, and they pushed it back to November. Then December. Now, it has been delayed again until early 2008, citing a single issue that persists and needs to be solved. Honestly, they kinda blew it with the original N-Gage. No matter how innovative, stylish, or generally awesome this new service turns out to be, the original still leaves us bad memories, and taints this service. Kudos to Nokia for trying though–hopefully they can get this thing off the ground soon.

As I was browsing the internet today, a thought appeared in my head, “What is the future of cell phone gaming.” Most people have phones with power equivalent to that of the infamous RAZR but others have iphone….Like myself. I jail breaked (OM6) my iphone so now i can run games natively. My favorite is the classic labyrinth game that uses accelerometers to detect the tilt of the iphone. So, since the iphone came out we’ve progressed from strictly Java mobile gaming to Accelerometer/Multi-touch gaming. From here, other mobile companies will need to put new features on their phones to provide new gaming horizons.

Perhaps i’m favoring an overpriced phone that i have modified that completely voids my warranty? Maybe, but the benefits of enhanced mobile gaming among many other interesting features are well worth the price