DS slide-sensor add-on revealed

Official online video from Nintendo Japan reveals 5,800-yen mouselike peripheral for ever-popular handheld, bundled with new game.

"Slide, slide, slippity slide..."

Earlier this week, a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office appeared to reveal Nintendo was working on a new portable. Accompanied by images of what looked roughly like an original Game Boy, the recently granted patent was for motion-sensing technology. The tech would re-create "change caused in the actual space in a form of a game-space state change, based on at least one of an amount and a direction of a tilt, movement or impact applied to the housing."

Now, Nintendo Japan has unveiled a motion-sensing peripheral which uses far simpler technology. Last week, the company quietly launched a new motion-sensing "slide controller" add-on for its DS handheld. As by a video on the site, the add-on clips into the Game Boy Advance cart slot. Photos taken by popular Japanese-game importer NCS show the slide controller turns the entire DS into a mouse via an optical sensor on its underside (pictured).

The DS slide controller comes bundled with a new game for the handheld, Slide Adventure: Mag Kid. According to NCS, the game centers around a small robot, Mag Kid, tasked with reassembling itself in the face of attacks from rogue salvage operations. The robot can defend himself with a dashing attack and also gleans new powers from defeated enemies. The title will also feature 12 minigames which will put the Kid through his motion-sensing paces.

Slide Adventure: Mag Kid is already on the market in Japan, where it retails for 5,800 yen (around $48). Nintendo has not made public any plans to release the slide peripheral or outside its homeland. As of press time, US PR reps for the publisher had not responded to inquiries about the device or the game.

221 Comments

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:23 pm PT

    Cool. This looks like fun!

    First post!

  • majin_vegeta300

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:24 pm PT

    hmmm..interesting to see how this pans out, could have some fun games

  • chicken008

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:29 pm PT

    Neat.

  • exavior17

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:37 pm PT

    it sure is different.

  • yukine

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:42 pm PT

    Hmm...

  • daviwinn

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:44 pm PT

    I wonder if this will will be incorporated into homebrew applications?

  • wizzardjeff

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:44 pm PT

    no thanks

  • Konfusion

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:50 pm PT

    too expensive to be worth even a try !
    Come on Nintendo, we're not THAT dumb ... are we ?

  • bens_dream

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:51 pm PT

    erm... Konfusion, 5800 yen is not actually that much...

  • edhc44

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:53 pm PT

    Oh well, it wasn't a new portable after all... What a surprise... *yawn*

  • ocdog45

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:54 pm PT

    ill try it out ...at a store

  • asimplerapper

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:57 pm PT

    Na-Ni!?

  • supermoogle

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 12:59 pm PT

    Looks like it'll make it way less portable, the whole reason I never bought an original DS

  • Tnasty11

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:00 pm PT

    Yawn

  • another_star

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:01 pm PT

    w
    t
    f.....????

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:02 pm PT

    So THIS is what the rumor has led up to?

  • guppieface

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:04 pm PT

    this article did not help me understand how this thing works

  • soldjango

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:05 pm PT

    This better not be implemented into the new handheld is all I'm gonna say...and wtf?

  • GoldenS1104

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:05 pm PT

    this news is way old. this was on joystiq long before anything about nintendo's patent was revealed. so, there still is a chance at a new portable.

    link: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/06/new-ds-game-comes-with-slide-controller-attachment/

    yeah, that was june 6th, two months ago. nice job being late on the news again gamespot.

  • zeecorner

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:06 pm PT

    wow, guarantee this is not coming to the states!

  • Phazevariance

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:06 pm PT

    I dont think this will make it huge in the north americas but it never hurts for them to try new things.

  • PSP-topher

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:06 pm PT

    still thinking out of the box eh nintendo? well this is one idea that belongs in the box (by which i mean it sucks)

  • ZACK860

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:07 pm PT

    wait, what?

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:07 pm PT

    Obviously this device is not involved with the technology in patent we heard about and nobody said it was. Like Nintendo said in that article, they get a lot of patents but don't always use them.

    *sigh* Japan gets all the DS peripherals.

  • 092093

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:07 pm PT

    I wonder how many games will actually use this.

  • curua02

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:11 pm PT

    I can't imagine a wide application for a peripheral like this, but Nintendo's gone in odd directions before and still managed to create winners. Let's wait and see, they might surprise us.

  • darkchaostitan

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:11 pm PT

    That sounds just as stupid as the rumble pack for the DS or the TV turner for the PSP. Somethings just look better on paper.

  • iwo4life

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    A nintendo add on. Go figure.

  • Myke_Kreed

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    It's good to see Nintendo is still BANANAS.

  • flynsk

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:14 pm PT

    I can see some interesting homebrew coming out of this.

  • CaptainDingo

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:18 pm PT

    Good or bad? Honestly I just read the article twice and I have no clue what that thing does, so I can't say one way or the other.

  • TyloniusFunk

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:20 pm PT

    I think there's a pretty good reason nobody ever put a screen on a mouse before.

  • shadow_17705

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:22 pm PT

    at least it's better than a completely new handheld. not bad.

  • Dolacide

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:24 pm PT

    Interesting.

  • AmazoLK

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:24 pm PT

    It looks pretty cool, but what if you run out of room on the table. That would suck if you had to play with it on the floor.

  • sonicman12

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:25 pm PT

    I still have no idea what this does, even with the article...

  • joeymew

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:25 pm PT

    this looks really cool

  • Going666

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:26 pm PT

    Now i need an entire table top to play my HANDHELD games?

  • BornK1ll

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:28 pm PT

    It looks like another gadget to me...

  • azone12

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:28 pm PT

    okayyy sooo what does it do?

  • ps3ruler

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:29 pm PT

    Doesn't this take the whole "take anywhere" idea out of portable gaming?

    Are you going to use the lap of the person sitting next to you on a bus as a mousepad?

  • billysea

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:29 pm PT

    This game to DS is like Warioware Twisted to GBA.

  • Ibacai

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:31 pm PT

    So you have to play it with the DS sitting on a flat surface? Sounds like that would get uncomfortable very fast, not to mention the fact that it's not possible in a lot of places.

    It doesn't seem very practical to me.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:32 pm PT

    That looks like it WONT be sold over here.
    I mean, for those who don't know what it is - its a thing which goes into the bottom slot, and acts as a dock for the DS. Underneath is an optical lense (like a mouse has) and you then SLIDE your DS about on a desk, and the slidy movements you make then register into the game.

    In even simpler terms - its a fancy way to stick an optical mouse to the bottom of the DS.

    Something like this seriously won't be any fun over here because you can only imagine japanese games to make good use of it.
    Heck, the touch screen is a challenge for alot of developers - so this won't probably make it over our shores.

    I am still betting on nintendo putting a rumble/sensor cartridge on the "to be made" list.
    I don't think that this has any relation to the motion sensor. Its an entirely different thing...

    Its a mouse stuck under a DS...

    I can think of only a few good games which would use this - one would be a game where you plane wood. And another would be where you vaccum things up. And maybe scanning a belly of a lady to see where the baby is...

    And thats about it

  • wiz4ha

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:34 pm PT

    So much negativity!

    Doubtful we'll see this in North America, but nifty idea. The game itself sounds fun - a few more good ideas and this device could be quite a hit.

  • ThickFreak

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:35 pm PT

    Will it work for the original DS or just DS Lite?

  • cfamgcn

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:35 pm PT

    Looks ok, but I won't buy it if it appears in America

  • bladedude49

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 1:36 pm PT

    this basically attaches tot he gba cartridge slot and acts as a little stand for the ds for u to play on a table. The bottom of the device has an optical laser that acts like a mouse, sooo.. effectively it turns your ds into a mouse lol. so u play your ds on a table like u would play that psychic game ouiji or ouija or w/e. lol.. interesting? i guess.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Slide Adventure: Mag Kid Boxshot
Slide Adventure: Mag Kid

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Related Games

Recent News

See All News »

Site Blogs