14 DAY TRIAL // When you say Team 17, the first thing that pops into your head is the hit Worms franchise. Controlling small worms and destroying your enemies with a wide array of weapons and objects were and still are immensely fun. The director of the company, Martyn Brown, has recently analyzed for GamesIndustry the new version of Nintendo's hit console, the DSi.
Speaking about the addition of a camera, an SD memory card slot or the music capabilities, Brown was pretty reticent about the popularity it would enjoy. “I'm sure the device will have a wider appeal, but most people I know who have a DS Lite tend to already have a phone and MP3 player with similar functions. Many manufacturers tend to be chasing the nirvana of having 'one device to rule them all' and I'm not sure that the DS's screen resolution - and camera resolution - puts it into an area where it can compete, say, for web-browsing.”
Also, he expressed his fears about the SD memory card slot which might encourage piracy on the small handheld. “Adding an SD slot makes a bunch of sense for downloadable content given the way things are going. I just hope they've done something to counter the mass piracy that exists via the R4 on the Lite. It scares me that with an SD card input, that might leave it even wider open than it was on the original device.”
In a certain way, he might be right. Piracy will always be a problem for any console, be it handheld or regular, but there are many things the producers can do and not infringe on the rights of the everyday consumer. In regards to his analysis, he makes a very good point. The improvements won't really attract other people than the already established fan base. Although there are very interesting features, most of the consumers already have other devices which perform those functions much better.