Wii-DS connectivity – what do we know so far?
Well, not much really – this is still one of the grey areas in the Wii’s pre-launch info. And here’s all that Nintendo.com has to say on the subject so far; “Wii also can connect wirelessly with Nintendo DS”.
Not especially enlightening really but other sources have revealed a couple of interesting details.
Nintendo legends Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata have each occasionally shared their visions of what DS-Wii interoperability could do. Their speculation has pointed out the possible use the touch screen interface (duh!) as well as the under-used microphone, which could each add functionality that even the multifaceted Wii-mote can not.
Iwata has even hinted at enabling DS demo downloads from the Wii. It seems highly likely that this will take off at some point, but I’ll be surprised if it is revealed as a feature on launch day.
The only actual game that has been confirmed to have any DS-Wii interoperability so far is Pokemon: Battle Revolution. Not only will you be able to import your various Pokemons (is that the plural?) from your copy of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl to play in full 3D on the Wii, but you’ll also be able to use the DS as a remote with full control of the on-screen action.
It is not clear what exactly this will add to the gameplay but at the very least it should let you experience the full glory of the battle on your TV without it being clouded by the various options.
Yet there’s still bags of potential left in there and hopefully the added pressure of rival Sony’s intention to include a large amount of PS3-PSP interoperability will up the stakes a bit. Nintendo even has some past experience to back it up – I forked out for the GameCube-GBA link up cable when that was first revealed, although I can’t recall a single game that managed to use the feature in a particularly meaningful or play-enhancing way (suggestions are welcome in the comments though).
Hopefully this time around there’ll be a bit more effort put into the feature and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the enhanced power of both devices, as well as convenience of Wi-Fi, will make this a stronger feature in the latest console. I can’t see why Nintendo couldn’t allow you to download retro games to play on the DS just as Sony is planning with the PSP – surely the Virtual Console means that this is even more plausible.
Also, the Wii’s Opera browser, which is somehow going to use the Wii-mote for control, might really be helped by a bit of touch screen functionality. In terms of gameplay, many games currently struggle to keep the screen from clutter – usually health bars, maps, etc – and some of which could be shunted on to your DS to leave the screen clear. Splinter Cell and its handy Opsat seems like an obvious contender for this treatment…
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November 7th, 2006 at 10:31 am
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November 7th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Actually Zelda Four Swords Adventures for the Cube used the GBA quite well and it was a really fun game. The only problem was you needed 4 gba’s and link cables.
November 7th, 2006 at 11:39 am
Excellent - I thought there would be at least one, and I’m also reliably informed that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles had a pretty advanced use of the GBA link up cable too.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:27 am
The Tingle Tuner was also pretty fun to mess around on. How about using the DS for a keyboard like interface? From the videos I saw so far on the DS booting up it looked a little awkward using the Wii-mote for typing names and stuff.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:39 am
As far as communications between handhelds and systems, there was also the GB Tranfer pack which you could use for Pokemon Stadium and Mario Tennis.
That was also under-used but loads of fun for the 2 games that it did work for. Your hard earned experiance transfers over ^^
November 15th, 2006 at 1:04 am
+1, Four Swords… never used the link ability because I never even owned a GBA, or knew anybody with one that was around enough wanting to play video games to bother. DS is my first handheld since the very original first run of GameBoy.
November 15th, 2006 at 8:51 am
THE game that used the Gameboy link has to be PacMan Vs., which was bundled with PacMan World 2 for the Gamecube.
It allowed you and up to three friends to play a game of PacMan where the one person with the GBA was PacMan and the (up to) 3 other players were ghosts trying to catch PacMan.
Probably one of the most fun, innovative, and unique multiplayer games of all time.
December 20th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
I think that Nintendo should let you use the DS as a keyboard for the Browser/Message board.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
the four swords was ok.
whenever you enter a house, it would show up on the gba screen. too bad ds didn’t have backward compabilities.
February 15th, 2007 at 2:48 am
Yah, I must agree, Four Swords was a great game and used the GBA Quite well… The DS Will be amazing on the wii I’m sure, They have also hinted at DS Firmware upgrades through wii… but i’m not sure what could be done really :S (I don’t want to overwrite my FlashMe Firmware anyways…)
February 24th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Some said something about the remote for the WII looking awkward to type with. Au-contrere mon ami…it it so simple, and so nice. Watch out for shiny surfaces with the IR receiver, but other than that it is f’n awesome.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Crystal Chronicles is another one that made good use of the gba
August 8th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Ugh. I just want something like “Super Gameboy.” Why did they stop doing that!?
I can’t stand using small screens in my handhelds without any option of connecting it to a TV.
I’d love to have something where I can connect my DS to the Wii and watch it Fullscreen.
And before someone talks about the touchscreen and two screens, not all all games use the touchscreen, and both screens can be shown on the TV.
December 8th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Seems to me like a good idea to use Virtual Console for ds game downloads. They could charge a little under retail and still make a killing. Once the games were down to the Wii, You could then use it as a wireless game server so that you could download the data into your ds. ALSO, you could play the ds games on the wii, using the ds as a controller. This would also open the door for another controller say– wiitablet or something which would be an enlarged touch screen say.. 8 or so inches in diameter. Video could be supplied via the ethernet, or usb.. and you could hook a standard controller into it for more play. Seems like then you could use that for more games such as drawing, and who knows what could come up if you could use the wii remote in conjunction with this new tablet. It could be really fun. Overall, I think the ability to play the ds games on the tv, and then download your progress/game into your ds so that you could take it on the go would be SUPER!
December 8th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
please nintendo, steal my idea, and dont give me credit for it… at this point, I really dont care who makes the money… I just wanna play it.
December 9th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
@Duber: A lot of things you said, Nintendo are doing or done.
Everybody Nintendo Channel (currently out in Japan only) allows the download of DS games via the Wii. I’m not sure that Nintendo will decide to make a tablet though, a third party may consider the idea.
December 23rd, 2007 at 6:25 pm
WW tingle tuner
August 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I think they really could take advantage of the DS hardware, such as using the DS to type instead of a keyboard, or using the mic to talk instead of creating a seperate mic accessory. I would like to be able to play some current game titles being able to use the DS instead of a classic controller or gamecube controller.
Gamecube was in the past, use GBA for Gamecube and Gamecube controllers for Gamecube games. Use the DS for Wii and Wii controllers for Wii games, pure and simple.
Of course, any connectivity will be nice period. I just want to get more use of my DS other than games. An example is Pictochat, why not take it online? Chatrooms that you can use pictochat in would be better than having someone right next to me. That serves no purpose. Using pictochat to send messages via games or something…you get the idea. Just please, use more functions from the DS to help prevent major updating, accessory clutter, and screen issues.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:27 am
What if you could play a game like the final fantasy crystal chronicles echoes of time with the ds-wii conection and play on a LAN for Pvp or Co-op or something..
wouldn’t that be great?..
=D