Nintendo DS Lite North American and European Launch Details

The wait is almost over. Those lucky gamers in Japan and other parts of Asia have been enjoying this brilliant little hand held since march. Come mid-June however the rest of the world will be finally able to enjoy Nintendo DS games on a stylish slimed down version of the original Nintendo DS One gripe though. What? No black DS in North America? Well take notes and get yours while you can.

North America

Launch Date:
June 11th 2006

Colours:
Polar White

Price:
USD 129.99$
CAD 149.99$

Retailers
Best Buy, Future Shop, EB Games/Gamestop, Target, Wal-Mart and
Get Games

Europe & UK

Launch Date:
June 23rd 2006

Colours:
Polar White & Enamel Black

Price:
EURO 149.99€
GBP 99.99£

Retailers
Don't know any but if you do let me know

End of the Atari Age

We may be looking at the end of an era in the game industry. During my morning news cycle I came across the following article.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/30/infogrames-prepares-for-atari-disposal/

Which adds fuel to the fire of speculation surrounding Atari's financial troubles. Infogrames Atari's parent company is attempting to restructure the company and possibly liquidate some of it's not so profitable divisions like Shiny Entertainment which in the past has produced such classics as Earthworm Jim. Most alarming are the reports of the possibility that Atari may sell the publishing rights to the long awaited "Neverwinter Nights 2" the Joystiq article also points to the rumor of a merger or buy out between Atari and 3rd party giant Ubisoft.

Now this Atari is the same as Nolan Bushnell's Atari in name and brand only. The developer has come along way from it's Pong coin-op roots. To me this is the video game equivalent of Ford Motor Corp. going under.

Back in the 70s Nolan Bushnell pretty much created the modern gaming industry by making the first coin operated games, the first being Space War. The company really hit it's stride when it released the first coin-op version of pong which went on to be many old-school gamer's first video game experience. Over the years the company has changed many hands since Bushnell was forced out but everyone remembers Atari if not for their coin-op games than for their influence on another way to play games.........The home console.

Now the Atari 2600 or Atari VCS (Video Computer System) was just slightly before my time but that doesn't mean it didn't have an impact. I still play the odd Atari 2600 game to this day even though I had not been born when the console was in it's heyday, I still got to play it once in awhile at an older friend's house or wherever I could until that magical Christmas morning when I opened up that brand sparking new NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and an obsession had begun. Now many years later I am faced with Atari's possible demise and I can't help but shed a tear for the company that started with a bunch of hippies and changed how we play games in our living rooms forever.

Let's Try Something New

Greetings everyone. I am Lord Mephistar but you can call me Mephis or Tim whatever floats your boat. I am starting this blog because I am frustrated with my current blog hosted at 1up.com. You can view it here ---> http://mephistar.1up.com
The reason I am frustrated is that I write and write and write all sorts of content and receive no comments or feedback of any kind. So I'm going to try a different website hehehe this one.

So with that said you're probably wondering what From the Bottom Up is. Well I am a video game design and development student @ IADT Toronto with a dream of becoming a video game journalist and you have to start somewhere. Having just begun down the path that hopefully will lead to the game industry, I hope to give others a view of the video game industry from that of a student who is learning the fundamentals of game design. I also hope to bring a neutral voice to a community crowded with the all to common company bias.

I play video games, and I think that different platforms offer unique experiences and that no one system is superior over another.

So if you like video games stay tuned for news, reviews, rumors, and all the muck that's fit to print from the bottom of a thriving multi-national media industry. I also invite any feedback that you readers have to offer, even if it's negative. Like I said I'm just starting out and am willing to learn whatever I can.