Nintendo DS

The **Nintendo DS** is a handheld gaming console developed by Nintendo, it is the first of the DS series of Nintendo handhelds, succeeding the Game Boy series.

## Why It Rocks

1. The system has two screen which are used simultaneously during gameplay, while it may sound awkward having to track two screens at once, it works very well as most games in the system take good advantage of it.
2. The bottom screen is a touchscreen which offers the possibility of more interactivity in games.
3. It was the world's very first handheld video game system to support 3D polygonal graphics as opposed to only sprites, because you can experience the power of the Nintendo 64 right in the palm of your hand.
4. Over 2,000 games to choose from.
5. Lots of good games from Nintendo were made, including:
	* *Super Mario 64 DS*
	* *New Super Mario Bros.*
	* *The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass*
	* *Metroid Prime Hunters*
	* The fourth and fifth generation of the *Pokémon* series.
	* *Mario Kart DS*
	* *Mario Party DS*
6. It was the first handheld to introduce a Wi-fi service, making it possible to play online.
7. Closing down the top screen puts the system in rest mode and opening it resumes the game.
8. Early models had backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance games. Some DS games took advantage of the GBA port for bonus features
9. The DSi model was able to connect to the Nintendo E-Shop and offered downloadable games.
10. A DS can connect wirelessly to a nearby DS to send messages to each other.
11. It has a small microphone used for some games and features.
12. A major feature called Download Play allowed other DS users to do some multiplayer gaming with only one game card, provided that they are within range.

## Bad Qualities

1. Later models removed the mentioned backward compatibility, which some DS games had taken advantage of.
2. You ***need*** a stylus to use the touchscreen since it doesn't react well to your fingers, unlike with smartphones and tablets.
3. The console only has a D-Pad, which makes precise movement in 3D games harder.
4. Wi-Fi support was discontinued so the only way to play multiplayer nowadays is locally.
5. Like the Nintendo Wii with its motion controls, the Nintendo DS's focus on the touchscreen and lower hardware specs made it a very easy target for shovelware, especially from Destination Software.
6. Licenses for downloadable games are bought for the system rather than an account, meaning that you would need to buy all the games again if the console broke.

## Reception

Selling over 154 millions units, the Nintendo DS is the second best selling game system of all time. However, due to being the portable version of the most powerful N64, Nintendo DS quickly became the best-selling handheld gaming system in history.

## Trivia

1. Contrary to popular belief, the Nintendo DS was not the first game console to use a touchscreen with a stylus; the heavily panned Game.com was.
2. The reason it is called the DS is the fact that it uses two screens (**D**ual **S**creen). For developers of the system, it is also sometimes referred to as the **D**evelopers' **S**ystem.
3. A Nintendo DS was taken to Mt. Everest during an expedition. Various electronic equipment, including a Dell laptop, broke down from the intense cold yet the DS remained fully functional after the trip, showing the system is extremely durable.