Nolan Bushnell and The Future Of Video Games

Pure Nintendo: I was able to listen to the great Nolan Bushnell speak and ask him a few questions while attending SEIGE in Atlanta Georgia yesterday. Below are a few excerpts of what Mr. Bushnell sees as the future of video games.

* iphone, iPad, and Andriod seen as the future of hand held video games. “No one over the age of 8 will be playing with their DS.”
* “Augmented reality is so damn fun.” Augmented reality will play a huge part in future games.
* The distant future of games will immerse the player in the games; ie Bio implants, brain/eye tracking.

[THE MAX SPEED 21]

http://listicles.thelmagazi...

[qface64]

this guy hasn't been relevant to gaming in ages

[Game-ur]

I own a dsxl and psp, but would rather play all the games I have on a big screen, the small screen hurts my eyes.

If their weren't great games exclusive to handhelds I woulden't have got either.

I wish their would at least be an option to connect them to the TV.

[-Alpha]

Wouldn't they look fugly on a big screen?

Also, I would play the DS. In fact, I want a DS. In fact I know people over 20 that have a DS.

So he's wrong.

[MisterNiwa]

Then this means.. I turned 8 again!?

Yeeey, I! I... ! I leik red ballooons and spongebob!

[Game-ur]

They really do hurt my eyes; the smaller DS hurt me the worst.

And about screen quality, DS and PSP games would look like PS1 games; some would look almost PS2 level like Ghost of Sparta, so not a big problem.

For me a Tablet size would be the perfect size for a handheld, I hope the PSP2 would have a tablet model alongside the regular one. I don’t think the 3DS can translate into a tablet; I would love it if it can.

[seinfan]

The fact that people over the age of 8 still have handhelds speaks volumes of the maturity of most gamers.

[darkcharizard]

http://moshland.com/wp-cont...

[Brklynty1]

She fights my baby bro for his DS lol she loves nintendogs

[Dac2u]

I'm 30 and have had a DS Lite for at least two years now. I love my DS, I work graveyard, so for 6 hours out of the night, there's absolutely nothing to do. I'll either read a book or play my DS, currently playing LoZ: Spirit Tracks. There are some really great games on that system, a lot of garbage of course, but a lot of great games, too.

[RetroSoldier]

There is a whole lotta great games on the DS. If the Wii could be more like the DS maybe those so called "hardcore" gamers wouldn't bitch about the thing all the time.

Okay, thats a pipe dream. But one can try. Haters gonna hate...

[Fred-G-Sanford]

"I love my DS, I work graveyard, so for 6 hours out of the night, there's absolutely nothing to do. I'll either read a book or play my DS"

Where do you work that you are paid to read books and play video games for 6 hours?

Sounds like some kind of government job. lol

[NCAzrael]

@Fred-G-Sanford

Call centers FTW! I don't even work graveyard, and I spend a good 60% of my day reading or screwing around on my laptop. Unfortunately we're not allowed to bring in handhelds to work. Not that that stops me from doing so, just get in trouble if a manager happens to be walking by and sees it out. That's why I wait until after 6pm for them to go home.

[Dac2u]

lmao, Fred's right, I work at a juvenile detention center for the county. My last job was a call center though and it was pretty much the same. Until wamu.com maintenance on Saturdays, then our phones exploded until the site came back up.

[TheDeadMetalhead]

"Atari"

PFFTAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[wat634]

I own a dsi and im 24...

[scar20]

I'm 21 and i own 3 ds lites and two original ds.

[Downtown boogey]

Lol, nerds ;D

[No FanS Land]

I'm 20 and got a DSi, and a PSP 1000. I enjoy them much. This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

[LarsoVanguard]

I'm 27 and I own 2 DS's, one for me, and one for my wife. We love them.

[danielle007]

that no one over the age of 8 has one.

He's predicting that portable gaming is going to be so dominated by droid phones / iphones / ipads that only children will be left playing DS's.

PS - JESUS, SOMEONE AT LEAST READ THE BLURB OF THE ARTICLE / the actual ARTICLE, NOT JUUSTTT THE TITLE.

[DNAbro]

That's the problem. It's so wrong.

[stragomccloud]

I own a Dsi and a Zelda edition DS Lite, and I'm 26.

[danielle007]

but do not think that I mean only you.

NO ONE CARES. He's not saying RIGHT NOW. he's saying IN THE FUTURE.

I swear, did none of you learn to read? I mean, this is a pretty old crowd, apparently, all definitely over the age of 8, but none of you have the reading comprehension skills to show for it. At least read SOMETHING to do with the article instead of being like "oh dude, i'm fucking [INSERT OLD AGE HERE], man, and i have a DS RIGHT NOW. OBVIOUSLY that disproves the point that you are making about the FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY."

I hate all of you . .. Just lrn2read, for goodness sake..

[Cloudberry]

.
And I'm 28.

[dktxx2]

He talking in a future tense. So even though you think yourself owning a ds invalidates his statement, he's talking about the future. I mean is it really so hard to believe that in a few years, cell phones will be the most popular mobile game systems? Phones have a lot of advantages over handhelds, that make it not a question of if, but when they become the dominant mobile gaming "console". Maybe 3 years, maybe 20, but it will almost definitely happen.

Now if this guy thinks that in 6 months that no one over 8 will play a ds, then yes, he is hella wrong (although you never know).

[Dac2u]

In a few years, the 3DS will be the most popular handheld gaming device. At least if you're looking real games from 3rd party devs.

[Stealth20k]

Apple isnt even competition in terms of games.......the 3ds will be the best gaming handheld

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

noone will pay 20-40 for a Phone game EVER, so the chances of real big budget handheld games on phones is not very good for devs.

Everyone who buys a DS, its for games. Noone buys a phone to play games on. They might play a few games but it is not like people consider phones gaming devices like a DS is.

Not to mention, phones will never have NINTENDO games, which are the biggest sellers on DS.

[KILLERAPP]

LOL...

[Godmars290]

.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

this guy hasnt left his cave since Atari died...

[wingman32x]

I'm 20 and I own a DS and have 15 games for it. I haven't even scratched the surface yet. The DS library, while having a lot of shovelware, also has one of the most diverse selection of core games I've seen. I mean, the only library in recent memory that tops it is the PS2's. So to say that nobody over the age of eight will be playing their DS is crazy.

[Eamon]

I was just playing Final Fantasy IV DS 10 minutes ago.

[Kingdom Come]

There are a number of titles for Mature gamers on the DS...

[omi25p]

my mum has a DS and shes 56...

[omi25p]

how can u disagree??

[UltimateIdiot911]

What town does he live in? I know so many people over the age of 8 playing with their DS. I play with the DS and I'm 21.

My avatar should make it quite clearly I still play on the DS and probably will buy a 3DS for Professor Layton and MGS.

[bananlol]

I completely agree with your comment. In my oppinion the professor layton games are by far the best ds games around and truly take advantage of the ds's unique control properties.
OT: i own a ds psp and a iphone, and in you only consider gaming the iphone cant compete of the sole reason that it lacks physical buttons.

[kesvalk]

23 and still think trading my DS for a PSP was one of my biggest mistakes...

[bananlol]

Then buy a new one, personally own both and love it. The design of the ds is superior though. The psp give me cramps after a while, and i usually never get cramp from game controllers. Still the best way to play ps1 games( my oppinion)

[R_aVe_N]

I honestly don't know any adults with a DS. If they are in the house they are for the kids. I can say i have played some games on the DS though, but they were not to great. I think Nintendo products are were 90% of the trash games go to die. They do have some gems though that is because they are first party games. As far as 3rd party 1 out of every 100 is good.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

there are some games that I would love to play if I did have one, and im gonna get a 3ds even though I thought I would never buy a handheld again.

3ds has me interested in handhelds again and im 24, and have no DS.

Adults love the DS too, especially in its home land of Japan. It seems like the 3ds could appeal to adults far more than the DS too.

This Bushnell guy isnt very smart.

[bigjclassic]

a hacked PSP and DS. But seriously, the majority of people i see play DS are older people: Grand parents, baby mommas, and working professionals.

[Dylantalon1]

there are adults who still are stuck in the mindset of a child. just look at majority of the people on this site and their idiotic behaviour. a lot of the people who are interested in the 3ds are people who have played majority of the nintendos top ips and want to capture that nostalgic feeling they useto have at an early age.

a lot of ds owners who are trying to discredit this guys crediblity are only strengthening this guys statement by acting silly. everyone knows what this guy means but because of nes apologist, we are seeing people acting upset. the ds is for young kids and girls so if youre an adult male playing the ds then thats your thing.

[LightofDarkness]

Everyone, stop the presses! We have finally found the authoritative source for all maturity related concerns: THIS GUY!

/s

Have you seen the lineup for the 3DS? It has MGS3, two new Resident Evil IPs, Splinter Cell etc. No one is acting silly. A good game is a good game, regardless of it's thematic maturity level. Mario doesn't need to have AK-47s and rawkin' tits 'n' shit to be fun. In fact, that might in fact be the least mature game I've ever imagined.

Yes, many developers create shovelware for the DS designed to ensnare children and their parents alike. But it has some pretty cool, fun games for you to enjoy, so long as you're old enough to not worry if the kids at school will laugh at you for not playing COD or GTA.

[UltimateIdiot911]

So when I see 19-26 year old women playing with a DS, they clearly are trying to recapture that nostalgic feeling when playing games like Cooking Mama and other puzzle like/brain games?

I understand he's talking about the future of gaming but honestly, most of us don't see it as such because from our experience and interaction with other young people, it's quite clearly the DS is played amongst young adult.

I don't doubt that Mobile gaming will be big but to say no one over the age of 8 plays on the DS is too obscured.

[ForeAllEternity]

Psychology major by any chance? Still, genealizing a bit too much

[Fatal Blow]

Am 27 and i still play with my dsi xl and psp nothing wrong hear

[zero_gamer]

The vast majority of the DS gamers are well past their 8-year old chapter long before the system was announced.

[BigKev45]

Bushnell: "No one will buy an Atari 2600 ever again"

[DNAbro]

Is he talking about DS or 3DS? If you are talking past tense he is wrong and if you are talking in future tense he is wrong. I really hate how he mentions that augumented reality games are a big part of the future and 3DS has it.

[Moentjers]

He should have added "... or female".

[Nugundam0079]

23 and play on both my D lite and PSP

Bushnell please leave..

[lightningsax]

Wow, Mr. Bushnell. No one's going to be playing a DS over the age of eight? Does that mean that kids at or under the age of eight will be the only ones replaying Etrian Odyssey titles? Pretty intelligent kids.

Maybe they'll just port them to the iPhone and fulfill your fantasy. Long, crazy, unforgiving dungeon crawlers are perfect for that crowd. Yup.

[Dsnyder]

& Fixed :P

[tony6767]

iam 20 and will never own a DS its for kids nintendodogs ? what a joke grow up guys

[johnthe5th]

......... Really? You're either trolling or you aren't actually 20.

[tony6767]

? DS is for nerds or kids lol

[Studio-YaMi]

and am 27

and I also have 5 DS lites & 2 fatties
now shut up

[HurstDarkStar]

i think a lot of people on here just proved this guy wrong. plus DS ggot epic libary of games

[danielle007]

"No one over the age of eight WILL play DS."

Did high school fail you? Are you yet another child left behind?

You can't disprove someone's predictions FOR THE FUTURE. He's saying that the handheld consoles will be only for children, since he thinks that the android phone / iphone / ipad is going to dominate the portable gaming scene.

[DNAbro]

IT WON'T. He is so wrong it's rediculous.

[danielle007]

Because no one games using their iphones / ipads.

Nope. never. There is no way that that could ever be such a big format for lots of people

..ohwait.

We literally do not know what the future of the industry will be. I never thought that people would use their iphones for gaming .. ever. But.. they do. If they update the thing .. or the ipad, to be more actively geared towards gaming, I think the ds and the psp would be in trouble. If the iphone could still make calls, be a top of the line mp3 player .. and then also have developers make real actual games for it? Of course the DS & PSP would be in trouble..

[Orionsangel]

I own a DSi XL and I'm 37.

[MrKingofVideoGames]

I use it everyday for gaming, "100 classic books" reading, or programming songs on "Korg DS1 plus" and "Rytmik." The DSi is relevant, Pong is not.... in other news "Nolan Bushnell angry at cloud. Waves fist defiantly at sky."

[Pikajew]

i own a ds lite and i am 17 i have a bunch of great games one it, and i also have a itouch which i only get free games on i dont buy the games on it the only game i bought on it was rabbids go phone

[-Gespenst-]

Wow, that's a remarkably ignorant thing to say. Unless he was heavily and unfairly paraphrased. But yeah I mean I'm 19 going on 20 andI absolutely love the DS. So may great games. I love how prolific it's games are too. Reminds me the ps1 and ps2 era where there was loads of games and always loads of new ones coming out. Not only that but the quality is generally pretty top notch. For instance, there's so many amazing rpgs.

[Kyur4ThePain]

That's an excellent investment and the future, then.

[etownone]

Not getting a 3DS until:

- Sony unveils the new PSP2
I just know Sony is going to release a friggin juggernaut of advanced technical specs and goodies in the PSP2 that are going to put the 3DS to shame. Most important things I'm looking for: keep the screen big but with higher resolution, two analog sticks, great online support.

- wait a couple years till the price comes down and I see all my favorite Nintendo exclusives come out for the 3DS: a new Mario, a new Zelda, and a new Metroid.

[slimy the g8ter]

just because u have not caught up with the state of gaming doesn't mean u can talk down to it.im 17 and i have a ds and a psp

[danielle007]

Everything moves to the android phones / iphones / ipad for portable gaming..

There would be people over the age of 8 that play DSs .

There will always be hipsters. =P

[nevin1]

I think that was the last time i went to Chucky Cheese.