A Look at the DS Sports Launch

The Nintendo DS launches in just a few days, the first salvo in the next generation handheld gaming wars that will surely light up 2005. Our feature, Nintendo DS Sports Preview, discussing the handheld's launch (or near-launch) sports titles. As is pretty typical of Nintendo, there's not exactly a glut of sports games to talk about--two racers, a Madden game, and a Tiger Woods golfing title.

More interesting than the number of titles, however, is some of their more innovative features. Things like Tiger's interesting swing mechanic (which isn't really that new, as PDA golfers have been using a stylus swing for some time now) and the Ridge Racer DS stylus steering control system (which we've discussed elsewhere) seem to point to some of the directions Mario & Co. are heading with their newest handheld system. Whether these innovations contribute to good games or are merely interesting diversions, remains to be seen.

What do you think of the Nintendo DS' upcoming sports lineup?