NDS aux USA : avec Pictochat inclus !

Aux Etats-Unis, la Nintendo Dual Screen sera commercialisée avec un jeu qui n'en n'est pas vraiment un : il s'agit de Pictochat, comme on vous l'explique dans cette news !


Pictochat, inclus dans la console
Voir le nouveau design de plus près

"La mission de Nintendo n'a pas changé : étendre le business du jeu vidéo" a indiqué Satoru Iwata dans le communiqué de presse officiel faisant part de cette grande nouvelle au monde entier ! Avec un prix de vente de 149.99 dollars, Nintendo vise ni plus ni moins le marché de masse, tout de suite.

Pictochat, y apprend-on, est inclus dans la console. C'est-à-dire que ce n'est pas un jeu, c'est un logiciel d'ores-et-déjà chargé dans la machine. Le logiciel permet de communiquer avec toutes les DS alentour, tandis qu'un mode veille activera la console si une console est détectée dans les environs.

On le sait, de nombreux éditeurs travaillent sur la Dual Screen de Nintendo : Nintendo lui-même travaille sur 20 jeux, et des poids lourds comme Electronic Arts ont décidé de soutenir la nouvelle console, avec des versions DS de jeux comme NFL, The URBZ: Sims in the City, Need for Speed Underground, Tiger Woods et GoldenEye ! Larry Probst, le big boss d'EA, explique d'ailleurs que "A chaque fois que Nintendo crée une console portable, il introduit une nouvelle dimension de jeu et établit de nouveaux standards pour le jeu nomade. La DS ne fait pas exception".

Pourquoi aux USA d'abord ? Thanksgiving marque là-bas le début de la saison des Fêtes et du shopping de Noël, il aurait été dommage pour Nintendo de manquer deux semaines pour la simple et bonne raison que les Japonais ont traditionnellement de nouvelles consoles en premier.

La line-up du lancement n'est pas encore connue, mais il faut savoir que la console est compatible avec les 550 jeux Game Boy disponibles (aux USA).

Rappelons les dimensions de la console : 148.7mm de largeur, 84.7mm de longueur, et 28.9mm de hauteur (quand le couvercle est fermé).

Bref, toutes les infos qu'il fallait savoir sont là. Pour vous en convaincre, voici le communiqué de presse intégral...

Nintendo DS Launches on Nov. 21 in North America -- at $149.99!; New System Comes with Embedded PictoChat Feature, Strong Publishers' Support
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2004--From the very start, Nintendo DS(TM) broke the existing rules of video game play. Two screens, not one. Wireless connection for game play and personal communication for the sheer entertainment of it. Flexible game control by voice and touch, not just with buttons. Nintendo's newest innovation, Nintendo DS, will make its worldwide debut in North American stores on Nov. 21, and then in Japan on Dec. 2. It will sell at an MSRP of $149.99, making it an immediate mass-market attraction. Nintendo DS will become the company's first system ever to make its sales debut outside of Japan.


"Nintendo's mission remains unchanged: expand the game experience," says Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. "Nintendo DS is the road map to the future of video games, and most clearly demonstrates the type of innovation that players demand."

Nintendo DS is the dual-screened, hand-held video game system redefining the idea of interactive entertainment. One screen allows for touch input using a stylus, while the unit includes both voice recognition and multiplayer wireless features. The sleek silver-and-black system sports a sharp, angular design.

Consumers immediately will be able to pick up and play the new system, as it comes with a free software feature, PictoChat, embedded in the system hardware. PictoChat allows DS owners to write messages with an on-screen keyboard or the stylus and send them wirelessly to other DS users nearby. Users can text chat, draw artistic messages or share secrets, all without saying a word. And a Nintendo DS in sleep mode will spring to life if it senses another DS in transmitting range, alerting users to each other's presence and setting the stage for an impromptu conversation or game session.

More than 100 companies have signed on to create games for Nintendo DS, while Nintendo itself is already developing its first 20 titles. Electronic Arts, the world's largest independent software developer and publisher, already has announced that its powerhouse franchises of Madden NFL, The URBZ: Sims in the City, Need for Speed Underground, Tiger Woods and GoldenEye will support Nintendo DS.

"Each time Nintendo creates a hand-held, it introduces new elements of play and sets a new standard for mobile gaming," says Larry Probst, EA's chairman and CEO. "The DS is no exception - Nintendo has another big winner with the DS."

The complete lineup of games planned for the launch of Nintendo DS will be announced in the near future. In effect, Nintendo DS already boasts a library of more than 550 games because it is compatible with single-player modes of games made for the world's best-selling video game system, Game Boy(R) Advance SP.

Nintendo chose the United States to lead the worldwide launch of Nintendo DS because of overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic reaction from consumers and to take advantage of the holiday sales season. After the subsequent launch in Japan, the system will be available in Europe and Australia in the first quarter of 2005.

Nintendo DS has a flip-top cover that protects both screens. Two speakers on the unit's face let users hear virtual surround sound, while its dual screens open games to a multitude of possibilities. Nintendo DS sits 148.7 millimeters (5.85 inches) wide, 84.7 millimeters (3.33 inches) long and 28.9 millimeters (1.13 inches) tall with the cover closed. The new media format for games means that Nintendo DS has no moving parts that could be misaligned if the unit is dropped or jarred.

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy(R) Advance, Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.9 billion video games and more than 170 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid(R), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.