Nintendo DS Mk3 Rumour - DS Exel New Name

[wraggster]

A tech blog has today posted details of what it thinks/heard will be in the new revision of the Nintendo, The 3rd DS will be called the DS Exel and each console will have its own ID to cut down on piracy, more info below:

DS exel-Like the DS lite/light and unofficially the DS phat/fat, the exel will excel in all the things that make the DS unique. SD support (multiple formats) rather than have onboard storage for use other than firmware and firmware updates. Each system will have an ID that Nintendo will use when downloading games. The ID will also be used to cut down on piracy. Nintendo already plans to ban pirated games from wifi, at least. Extra features will be available when downloading games that carts purchased from stores will not include. This is to extend the life of the ds similar to the attempts to extend the gameboy life (gameboy pocket, then gameboy color). Use of store bought games with the Nintendo DS exel will be optional and will be placed in the same slot as the sd reader cart. There are plans to incorporate a more multimedia experience into the firmware (possibly using an iTunes store-esque service), also there are plans to use cellular internet as well as the building on the pre-existing wireless connection features (adding WAP/WAP2 support, increasing data transfer speed). A browser will be purchasable and function similar to opera for wii. It will include a slot 2 the same size as the ds lite's. It will not be released soon because of both the lite's strong sales and hardware prices, as well as expanding and familiarizing the casual market with the less advanced lite model that sets it apart from the competition (Sony's psp, also the ps3 and xbox 360) before introducing exel. Nintendo would like to price the handheld around 150 USD. There are talks about redesigning the exel for Nintendo's next generation handheld system if the DS lite's sales continue to dominate the market.

Its most probably just rumours but what would you like to see in a 3rd version of the Nintendo DS both in design and features via firmware etc ?

[Accordion]

it would never ever be called 'Exel" Isnt very consumer friendly.

[firstknight]

prob as EX....

[wiggy fuzz]

it sounds very unlikely, i mean if nintendo wanted to they could have done all these things with the ds lite...

i mean, the "not being released soon" bit sounds too far for it to be just an upgrade of the ds. it sounds like a new blown handheld.

[Hypershell]

If the name "Exel" holds any basis at all, it's probably just a codename (ala Nitro and Revolution).

This really sounds like typical fanboy speculation. First of all downloadable content will not happen at the expense of brick-and-mortar sales (downloadable games including bonuses that cartridges do not), that would in effect be Nintendo competing against themselves, and it'd risk damaging the casual non-wireless-enabled market. Secondly the only thing new about the system that this rumor proposes is the use of cellular internet and WAP. Which is swell and all, but the rest of it revolves around the SD adapter which could easily be sold for an existing DS model. Furthermore, existing DS models *ALREADY* have unique IDs, as anybody who has bought a second system (say, migrating to the Lite) after playing an online game already knows. The cartridge and the system itself are treated as a unique pair for the purpose of friend codes and records, there's no reason this identification system couldn't be utilized as-is.

"Nintendo already plans to ban pirated games from wifi, at least."
This sounds to me like an ignorant statement. It assumes that Nintendo can detect the difference between a legitimate and pirated game online. If they could, why wouldn't they have banned them already?

Hardware revisions as a general rule should not be doing things that render past models incompatible, otherwise you only antagonize your established userbase. That's why the Lite doesn't actually do anything different from the original, barring brightness options that do not affect games. Perhaps a 3rd DS will have new features separate from gaming. Maybe it'll have on-board storage and an adapter will be released as an alternative to older systems. Or maybe it'll be purely aesthetics such as basically every hardware revision (GBPocket, GBASP, GBMicro, DSLite) has been.

[LeprechaunIV]

If people hear it, they will think "XL."

[robman84]

Wishlist for next DS?

* Keep all of the existing features (Wifi, dual screens, touch screen etc)
* 640 x 480 resolution on screens (with decent hardware scaling for 320x240 - emulation ahoy!)
* Bigger screens (but in same form factor as DS Lite)
* Faster CPU and more RAM (natch)
* Dedicated GPU
* 100% backwards compatibility with DS (and GBA and GBC via legit rom download/transfer)
* Standard SD card (or micro SD) for storage
* Standard mini-usb for connectivity and charging
* Decent shoulder buttons - I hate the ones on the lite
* Analog pressure-sensitive buttons and d-pad, just like the PS2 controllers. Racing games with a digital pad suck, and using the stylus to steer sucks too.
* Unhackable piracy restriction (I know, everything gets hacked in the end...)
* Totally unrestricted homebrew
* Native support for a wide range of movie, image and audio codecs
* 3d tilt-sensors
* 3d accelerometers (hmm, not sure how to spell that)
* Decent standards-compliant web-browser with rapid zooming (like Opera 4 mini)

Not crucial, but nice:
* Multi-touch screen
* TV out would be nice
* DVB-T tuner built-in )
* Bluetooth for audio
* GPS receiver built-in (could allow for some great games as well as navigation and social networking stuff)
* A wider range of colours at launch.
* Dual micro-sd slots

Dream on:
* Cellphone capability )
* Internal flash storage, say 32 Gb like the dinky Creative Labs Zen

Interestingly *all* of the above tech currently exists in various devices on the market. For example some current mobiles (e.g. ETEN X800, iPhone) have most of this stuff in a smaller form-factor than the NDS and with better battery life, and some of the newer ones are about to get the DVB tuners too. The main problem with the phones is they are awful for playing action games on!

I would definitely pay twice the current NDS price for a device with all of the above in. With the cellphone and flash storage, definitely three times the price, if not more.

[Rebrek]

* Bluetooth for audio

If they put bluetooth in th DS, it could talk to the Wii without wifi and could connect like a Wii remote does. The file transferring with bluetooth could be pretty nice.

[iofthestorm]

Except bluetooth file transfers are incredibly slow compared to even 802.11b wifi, although the DS's wifi is incredibly slow too. Also this sounds like complete fanboy speculation and the name Exel just sounds ridiculous. Who wants to have a game console associated with a spreadsheet product?
"hey what's that?"
"I'm playing on my new Exel"
"Isn't that the boring spreadsheet thing. i heard there was a flight sim easter egg lulz"
"no T_T"

[cutterjohn]

If the name "Exel" holds any basis at all, it's probably just a codename (ala Nitro and Revolution).

This really sounds like typical fanboy speculation. First of all downloadable content will not happen at the expense of brick-and-mortar sales (downloadable games including bonuses that cartridges do not), that would in effect be Nintendo competing against themselves, and it'd risk damaging the casual non-wireless-enabled market. Secondly the only thing new about the system that this rumor proposes is the use of cellular internet and WAP. Which is swell and all, but the rest of it revolves around the SD adapter which could easily be sold for an existing DS model. Furthermore, existing DS models *ALREADY* have unique IDs, as anybody who has bought a second system (say, migrating to the Lite) after playing an online game already knows. The cartridge and the system itself are treated as a unique pair for the purpose of friend codes and records, there's no reason this identification system couldn't be utilized as-is.

"Nintendo already plans to ban pirated games from wifi, at least."
This sounds to me like an ignorant statement. It assumes that Nintendo can detect the difference between a legitimate and pirated game online. If they could, why wouldn't they have banned them already?

Hardware revisions as a general rule should not be doing things that render past models incompatible, otherwise you only antagonize your established userbase. That's why the Lite doesn't actually do anything different from the original, barring brightness options that do not affect games. Perhaps a 3rd DS will have new features separate from gaming. Maybe it'll have on-board storage and an adapter will be released as an alternative to older systems. Or maybe it'll be purely aesthetics such as basically every hardware revision (GBPocket, GBASP, GBMicro, DSLite) has been.

Uhm, what about the DSVision? IIRC it's already live or soon to be in Japan...