i played it and didnt feel as if it lived up to the hype of the whole touch screen thing...what are your views on the ds??????canucks_luongo1

My view is that it has the capability to be a great mobile system, it is just that nintendo either hasn't quite realized how to do this or they are simply failing miserably to try. The simple issue is that most of the games currently released for it DO NOT take advantage of its major claim to fame, the touch screen.

In my opinion, Metroid: Hunters is one of the few games that actually make good use of the touch screen. Most of the other games use it for an easier menu & command interface, such as in the case of Mario Kart: DS, which is in and of itself a great game for the DS, but fails to take advantage of the touch screen in any meaningful way.

If Nintendo and the developers could figure out how to build a few great games around the touch screen, it is my belief that the system would truly take off. With the current games, it will simply be a mobile system, equal in stature to its predecessor with nothing in particular to make it stand out. (Yes, the dual screen is interesting, but it is a mostly asthetical addition, the touch screen being the more functional and revolutionary component)

Finally, someone more concerned about the facts of the war than the slightly twisted junk ordinarily brought to the table. In other news...

Just to add some facts from my perspective as a mainly PC gamer.

Fact - PC games have been playing at HD settings, the major 'claim to fame' of the other two consoles, for years. The lowest HD setting, 480p, is even an even lower resolution than the absolute lowest PC setting for ANY game.

As such, I am more interested in having an interesting game and new control scheme than shiny graphics on my console. If I want to look at something shiny, I'll be on my gaming rig.

Fact - The Wii-mote is the most daring gamble nintendo, or any company really, has taken on the gaming industry in years. The failure of the Wii-mote (and I don't mean the wrist straps...) would have meant the certain failure of the Wii as a next-gen console and millions down the drain for nintendo. This can hardly be said for any other 'revolution' currently released. HD wasn't a terrible leap, just the next logical step. No developer has released anything particularly revolutionary in quite a while, preferring to stick to tried-and-true game and business models to avoid a complete failure.

If anyone cares to point out a more daring gamble in the industry in recent years, please let me know and I will feel free to concede or at least discuss the point. Still, I do hope that this gamble's complete success helps set a new precedent. I am getting extraordinarily tired of seeing the same old, same old year after year in this industry.

In the end, hats off to nintendo. They took a risk and its paying off big. Now I just hope they don't squander it in similar ways to the DS technology. They've set the stage for making some monumental changes in the nature of gaming and if they don't take advantage of it, the industry may as well have signed its own death warrant and simply lie down in the rut it has created for itself. Long live the game.