| Although the Nintendo DS is a portable gaming system, it doesn't carry the Game Boy moniker like Nintendo's many other handheld consoles. Some speculate that this was because Nintendo was leery of how the console would be received, so it didn't want to potentially tarnish the Game Boy name. This is a moot point now, as the DS has become yet another successful handheld device for Nintendo. The Nintendo DS's name is an acronym of dual screen--the feature that sets this handheld apart from all other portable video game systems of past and present. One of the screens is what you would expect to see on a handheld, while the other is a touch screen. Nintendo hoped that the touch screen would increase the level of imagination that developers put into their games, and this has certainly been the case thus far. One of the most unique titles on the Nintendo DS--or any console for that matter--is titled Trauma Center: Under the Knife. This is a hospital-themed game that has gamers performing operations on virtual patients. On the DS's top screen, players receive information from a character on what incisions to make. Gamers then make "cuts" on the patients by using the stylus as a scalpel on the touch screen over a close up of a patient's body part. Such inventive games are what have helped the Nintendo DS become successful. This is also what helps Nintendo distinguish itself from the competition. Unlike other companies that tend to play things safe, Nintendo isn't afraid to experiment with some new-fangled ideas. This is evident as far back as the original NES, which was the first home console to feature a game pad and is what would become the standard for console controller design. |
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