Leipzig Games Convention had a brochure displaying the Nintendo DS MP3 player. Is that official? Well, it was a games convention and it has Nintendo's name on it...
The brochure, written in German, shows an MP3 player box, the DS logo, and the words "Nintendo." How much more official do you have to get?
The specifications?
Although the text is written in German, I happen to know a bit of German (still only four years in or so)... Basically it says something to the tune of:
The concept behind the MP3 player is not a new idea for most vendors trying to add extensibility onto the product. Personally, I don't think the DS is going to make a great MP3 player. This is because, as far as I am concerned, if it doesn't work with iTunes I don't want it. I listen to mainly podcasts (especially the 2old2play podcast!) and rarely listen to music at all. I know plenty of gamers that do a bit of both and for most the Apple Ipod devices work best. Maybe I'm in the minority, I really don't know for sure.
What about size? Bigger isn't better when talking hand-held MP3 players. Compare the footprint of an Ipod Nano (4GB) to the Nintendo DS Lite. It's much bigger to carry a DS lite to service your music needs. The trick will be price-point. If you own a Nintendo DS and the MP3 player is half the price of an Apple Ipod it may be a bit more reasonable to purchase Nintendo's branding.
It seems to me, that this move is similar to Sony's inability to make people understand the purpose of the Sony PSP. I would hate to have that same thing happen to the Nintendo DS. They must make sure everyone understands its a game hand-held first and a music player second. What next? Satillite GPS? Please... don't be like Sony. You're winning the race - don't lose focus.
Und zum TANK, Danke Vielmals!
The brochure, written in German, shows an MP3 player box, the DS logo, and the words "Nintendo." How much more official do you have to get?
The specifications?
- For Nintendo DS (to be inserted into slot 2) and Game Boy Advance hardware
- To store music you need SD cards. Up to 2 GB cards are supported, this equals to 500 songs (best sound quality)
- Choose between different skins (including one with Mario)
- The interface shows all important information
- The unit itself features another headphone port
Although the text is written in German, I happen to know a bit of German (still only four years in or so)... Basically it says something to the tune of:
"Make your hand-held Nintendo complete with the MP3-Player with up to 2GB capacity. You can save up to 500 songs and hear them in brilliant quality. The graphic user interface shows all the important information for the titles."I had to reconstruct a bit of that and make some changes to make it "sound" english, but that's the general concept.
The concept behind the MP3 player is not a new idea for most vendors trying to add extensibility onto the product. Personally, I don't think the DS is going to make a great MP3 player. This is because, as far as I am concerned, if it doesn't work with iTunes I don't want it. I listen to mainly podcasts (especially the 2old2play podcast!) and rarely listen to music at all. I know plenty of gamers that do a bit of both and for most the Apple Ipod devices work best. Maybe I'm in the minority, I really don't know for sure.
What about size? Bigger isn't better when talking hand-held MP3 players. Compare the footprint of an Ipod Nano (4GB) to the Nintendo DS Lite. It's much bigger to carry a DS lite to service your music needs. The trick will be price-point. If you own a Nintendo DS and the MP3 player is half the price of an Apple Ipod it may be a bit more reasonable to purchase Nintendo's branding.
It seems to me, that this move is similar to Sony's inability to make people understand the purpose of the Sony PSP. I would hate to have that same thing happen to the Nintendo DS. They must make sure everyone understands its a game hand-held first and a music player second. What next? Satillite GPS? Please... don't be like Sony. You're winning the race - don't lose focus.
Und zum TANK, Danke Vielmals!
