Industry guru Dave Taylor offers free tech support on a wide variety of technical and business topics, including HTML, Apple iPhone, online advertising, Cascading Style Sheets, Web design, management, Unix, Linux, search engine optimization, online dating, Mac OS X, shell script programming and Microsoft Windows.

Will the Nintendo DS really have free game downloads?

I'm psyched! The Nintendo DS is getting more and more cool features, but I'm amazed to hear rumors that it's going to actually have wireless Internet access and even let you download games from the Internet, totally unlike the Sony PSP, which blocks just about every cool Internet capability. Is the DS really going to allow this feature?


Dave's Answer:

We here at Ask Dave Taylor really wish we had a couple of these little gizmos in the office, but, alas, we haven't gotten our hands on them yet. Fortunately, though, we are in communication with the Nintendo team and they sent us a press release that neatly answers these questions, even if these capabilities aren't actually available yet.

Here's what they say:

"In a matter of weeks: DS owners will sample free games simply by visiting their local game retailers; players will enjoy live, real-time Wi-Fi voice interaction with their portable game play; the 1 millionth DS owner will log onto Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's wireless gaming service; and a new lighter, brighter DS will make its debut in Japan."

The download service is apparently called DS Download Service and is described this way:

"Starting next month, Nintendo will offer all DS owners free downloadable game demos and other downloadable content at thousands of participating retail locations around the United States. An in-store kiosk will beam wireless demo versions of games and other downloadable content into a players' Nintendo DS system. Users simply stop by the store with their Nintendo DS, click "DS Download Play" on their system and choose one of a variety of DS games they want to sample. The game will download automatically and users can play all they want (even if they leave the store) until the Nintendo DS is turned off."

And continues:

"Sequentially, players can try out as many games as they want, letting them test drive the wide array of games that can only be played on Nintendo DS. The first DS Download Service stations will include free demos of Tetris® DS, Brain Age™: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Mario Kart® DS, Meteos™, True Swing Golf and Pokémon® Trozei, along with a Metroid® Prime Hunters video clip. The selection of games and other downloadable content at DS Download Service kiosks will refresh quarterly."

So you can see, it's not quite allowing you to download games directly off the Internet since you have to find one of these DS kiosks, but it's still darn cool and a much better solution for sampling games than having to buy 'em for $40-$50 per unit, just to find they're terrible!

Other features aren't quite so cutting edge, but are still worth knowing about:

Metroid Chat

"The new Metroid Prime Hunters game for Nintendo DS will give gamers the ability to chat directly with one another before and after matches played via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players in North America simply click the chat icon and say what they have to say. The microphone of the Nintendo DS picks up voice communication and transmits it to the people on their friend list. Players can use the chat function before a match to agree on settings or after a battle to relive their glories. This Teen-rated first-person adventure arrives March 20 and promises to open a dramatically fun new facet of gaming to Nintendo fans."

Nintendo DS Momentum

"Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection now boasts more than 20 million different connections, representing more than 850,000 unique users worldwide. Nintendo DS has enjoyed extremely strong sales worldwide, selling more than 14.4 million units worldwide through December. The Japanese sell-through of the existing Nintendo DS hardware exceeded 5 million within 13 months, which made Nintendo DS there the fastest-selling video game launch ever. In addition to Metroid Prime Hunters, Tetris DS also launches March 20. Using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, up to four players can compete in wireless two- or four-player Tetris DS battles against friends or strangers, near or far."

Nintendo DS Lite

"The lighter, brighter Nintendo DS system goes on sale in Japan next month. Nintendo DS Lite is about two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter. Its availability in other regions will be announced at a later date."

There. That's a lot of marketing-speak, but it points to the Nintendo DS being a highly capable and darn interesting handheld gaming device with its two small screens and touchscreen technology.



Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Stumble Upon    

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

Yes hello,
When or if the D.S has internet capibility then when will it come out?

Posted by: Myashi, Iyumi at June 15, 2006 6:14 PM

If they do PLEASE E_MAIL ME @ bee_mckinley@Hotmail.com okay BYE!

Posted by: Matthew Bob at November 12, 2006 8:40 PM

Hi dave my name bin and i wood like you too tell me how downloads ds game's !!!!!!

Posted by: Adam at February 17, 2007 6:53 AM

Dear Dave Tylor,

Whould you help me to find free download from internet for nintendo ds lite or GBA

Posted by: pabudab at April 8, 2007 10:03 PM

it is very nice to play dave.

Posted by: vijaybankar at April 26, 2007 11:28 PM

please help me find the site where we can download free games for nds lite..plsssss

Posted by: natasha at May 22, 2007 7:12 PM

dear dave
"will you help me to find nintendo ds game for free i know that nintendo 64 games can be downloaded free in www.coolrom.com but nintendo ds game is not free i have search more then 1000 web sites"

Posted by: vishwas angira at June 2, 2007 8:27 PM

Nintendo has released the Nintendo DS Browser (seemingly just for the Lite) where you can browse the internet using the Opera system (http://www.opera.com) anywhere with a wireless connection, i.e. your home with a wireless router, Australian EB Games (Electronics Boutique) stores, some McDonalds stores worldwide, most shopping centres you walk into, and lots more. It's easy and is the price of a regular DS game. For more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS_Browser.

Posted by: Brandon at July 7, 2007 5:03 AM

please help me find the site where we can download free games for nds lite..plsssss

Posted by: charles at July 20, 2007 9:16 PM

charles, u can get NDS games at www.romulation.net/NDS. u can register for free and you can DL the games =D the website is rather updated wif the games

Posted by: dk24 at September 21, 2007 1:38 AM

hey i just bought this games n music thing for my DS lite, i can't find where you can download games to put on there? can anyone please send me soome links where i can download games and put them on my DS memory card.

Posted by: Mindy at October 8, 2007 4:47 PM

ih there i have the nds internet con allready up as im on it now but i would to know where to go to get free/game down loads help plzzzzzzz
many thx kerry

Posted by: kerry at November 17, 2007 10:00 AM

hi but what does the wifi connector really does. can it be use anywhere or do you have to be in a pacific place to use it?

Posted by: Racerin at January 3, 2008 6:41 PM

Need Nintendo DS Games for a cheap prize
Just Click
http://zonagadget.blogspot.com/2008/02/nintendo-ds-games-software-for-sale.html

Posted by: Adi at February 19, 2008 9:37 AM

hi dave, my name is ne-ne but my friends and family call me k baby but i heard that u can get people a free games for the'er nintendo ds can you really do that because i want a free game my self the game i want is called my secert life it's only for girls can u send that to my nintendo ds please i don't mean to take up all your time i just want to know can u send the game my secert life to my nintendo ds? thanks for all your time dave i really thank you for your time.

Posted by: kbaby at October 4, 2008 10:09 AM

hey why dont you all stop whinging and look on the net i downloaded 3 ds games yesterday and they were free but man if you know a site easier email me the difference is im not begging for the sites thanks bj out

Posted by: bj at October 16, 2008 12:11 AM

hi.. give some links to download free nintendo DS lite games...
thankyou!

Posted by: jaMaturan at November 2, 2008 8:22 AM

can u please, help me find free download game sites for nintendo ds lite pleeeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeee...

Posted by: alf mokes at November 30, 2008 7:17 PM

My question is about the computer.
See, I love the Sims 2. It's my passion, only, we can't play on the computer because we have a Windows Vista.
Any Tips?

Posted by: Bon-Bon at January 19, 2009 8:50 PM

hi how can u download free ds games straight to your ds

Posted by: courtney04@hotmail.co.uk at March 7, 2009 5:19 PM

hi my name is Sally and is there supose to be such thing as free downloads to nds games? cuz every site i went to said FREE but that wasnt true and my ndsi needs more games

Posted by: sally at June 16, 2009 10:01 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited commercial email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.









Uniblue: Free Virus Scan

Follow me on Twitter @DaveTaylor

Search
Find just the answers you seek from among our 2300+ free tech support articles by using our Lijit search engine.


Help!





Subscribe to
Ask Dave Taylor!

Add to Google Reader
Add to My Yahoo!
Subscribe in NewsGator Online

RDF   XML

Free Updates!
Sign up and get free weekly updates and special offers on books, seminars, workshops and more.


Recent Entries
Book Links
© 2002 - 2009 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.