I know there are a few people reading this blog that love Mario Kart DS (including me), so I thought I'd post this link to a great video montage by Nintendo Europe showing loads of shortcuts on various courses!
There are quite a few tricks in there that are new to me and there's a great demonstration of a blue shell dodge right at the end of the video (it does look pretty difficult to pull off though).
Watch, learn and practise! See the video here.
[Via DS fanboy]
Before we get into the 2007 stuff (and next week there's plenty going on with CES and Macworld), I thought I'd have a quick look back at my 2006 gadgets.
It was a good year, an excellent one actually. At the beginning of 2006 there were a couple of things I was really hoping for in the year to come - a new iPod nano with at least 8GB capacity and a redesigned Nintendo DS.
My wishes came true and both were delivered (and duly purchased) in the form of the 2G nanos and DS lite. I love them both (in sweet black).
Other highlights were my TomTom GO 510 sat-nav, Sennheiser CX 300 earphones to go with my new nano, Plantronics Voyager 510 bluetooth headset and last but in no way least, my Nintendo Wii.
I'm really pleased with all of my gadget purchases in 2006 and can happily recommend any of them. But if I had to pick one that was the stand out favourite, which would it be?
It's a hard choice. I now don't really go anywhere in the car without my TomTom, it's excellent and I love the traffic updates and bluetooth hands free features.
But what about the DS, playing New Super Mario Bros. was simply awesome, not to mention Brain Training and Mario Kart DS. And then there's the 8GB nano, I use it almost every day and think it's about as perfect as an MP3 player can get.
Or should it be the Wii? I don't think I've had it long enough yet to truly decide. I love all my gadgets, it's like asking me to choose my favourite child (I imagine).
But I have to choose one. And it has to be the iPod nano 8GB. I'd wanted one from the moment they released the original in 2005 - 4GB just wasn't enough for me. The 2nd generation nano is everything a great gadget should be - small, sleek, gorgeous and brilliant at what it does. It's what the nano should have been in the first place but Apple got it right second time around. I honestly can't fault it in any way.
The Wii would probably have pipped the nano to the top of the list if it had been around a little sooner in 2006 but it feels more like a 2007 product to me as I only really started playing it over Christmas. The DS lite comes a very close third and TomTom fourth.
So there you go. 2006 was a great gadget year. What will 2007 bring? Maybe a new Mac or will I finally take the plunge and grab an HDTV and Sky HD? Who knows, I'll keep you posted.
What were your favourite 2006 gadgets? Post in the comments and let us know!
I'm worried about Sony. I think they could be about to have a couple of big disasters on their hands - the PS3 and Blu-ray.
I'm particularly worried about the PS3; it's complicated to manufacture, very expensive, a year behind the Xbox 360, has no killer games for launch, very negative press from practically all quarters, is inextricably linked to the fate of Blu-ray (which may turn out to be good or bad) and will be launched around the same time as perhaps the most innovative and interesting console ever - the Nintendo Wii.
This comes on the back of other recent failures for Sony - they've been stomped on by Apple in the digital music player space and Nintendo in the portable gaming space. Frankly, they can ill-afford either the PS3 or Blu-ray to fail, yet I can't help thinking that public opinion appears so against them, it could be an inevitability.
You only have to go and read the press articles or the comments on other gadget blogs to realise that people are very skeptical of Sony's strategy now.
They haven't exactly got a stellar record when it comes to media formats either, we all know the story of Betamax but what about UMD more recently? And Blu-ray, like the PS3, is going to be later and more expensive than HD-DVD, it's competitor.
I think HD-DVD and Blu-ray are going to hurt each other mind you, it's not quite as clear cut as the console wars. I think consumers will be very nervous to commit to either format until they are confident that it won't become obsolete in a year's time. But my personal preference at the moment is for HD-DVD - it appears to have superior picture quality and is cheaper.
Of course, Sony have been banking on the PS3 being a Trojan horse for Blu-ray, sneakily getting it into millions of households without consumers even really realising it. But I'm not sure this is actually going to happen. I think people are going to look at the lacklustre launch lineup of games for the PS3 and it's horrendous price tag and think "I could have a 360 and a Wii and get the best of both worlds for the same price as the PS3".
The 360 has already sold 6 million or so units and is on target for 10 million in the not too distant future, that's a massive lead over both Nintendo and Sony.
After a downbeat start the Wii has gained a surprisingly big following in the gaming community and there appears to be real excitement and great anticipation for the launch. People can't wait to get their hands on it and try the motion sensing controller and fun new gameplay styles.
The DS has proved that graphics and technical supremacy aren't everything - people want interesting, innovative and involving games. The DS has delivered that in spades but the PSP has seen far more than its fair share of derivative, lazy PS2 ports.
Yes, it's technically superior to the DS, has much better graphics, can play movies and music but people don't necessarily want all that, they just want to play great games.
I think the PS3 is making the same mistake, they're trying the PSP strategy again - they assume that by making it technically superior and cramming Blu-ray into it that it will win. Well I don't think it will.
I think the Wii is in a class of it's own and a lot of people will buy one in addition to either a 360 or a PS3; that means that the Wii could actually outsell both of the others and potentially the PS3 could come third. What a fall from grace that would be.
I don't envy Sony's position right now, they are up against one of the most innovative companies in the world with Nintendo and one of the richest with Microsoft. What a bad combination.
And as for Blu-ray Vs. HD-DVD, well the jury's out on that one, maybe they'll both fail or people will become less interested in physical media as Apple, Amazon and others launch proper movie download services?
Only time will tell, it's certainly interesting to watch but Sony have so much riding on these two pieces of their strategy, I dread to think what will happen if they've got it wrong.
Sources:
Joystiq
DS fanboy
The Guardian
Joystiq
Gamasutra
The Register
Engadget
Joystiq
HDTV UK
Ahhh, the Nintendo DS. It's going from strength to strength these days outselling the PSP in most regions. It's the fastest selling console ever in Japan, with massive selling games and now, as if to confirm what we already knew, loads of nominations in the Golden Joystick Awards 2006.
Mario Kart DS leads the way with 6 nominations in all, including Handheld Game of the Year, Nuts All-Nighter Award, Nintendo Game of the Year and Online Game of the Year. Other DS titles are well represented as well including Animal Crossing: Wild World, New Super Mario Bros., Metroid Prime: Hunters and Nintendogs amongst others.
The awards were first held in 1982, when Atari, Commodore and Spectrum vied for the gaming top spot. Promising to be bigger than ever, the Golden Joystick Awards 2006 will feature 17 award categories and are the only UK gaming awards to be voted for by those who matter – gamers themselves!
The final results of the Golden Joystick Awards will be unveiled on Friday, 27th October 2006.
So go and vote for your favourite games and consoles at www.goldenjoysticks.co.uk
Via the BBC.
