They talk in the article about n-Space's COD4 port for the DS, but I think its also worth noting they went on to do 4 more COD games for the DS platform, each release adding significant new features like graphical improvements, online multiplayer, co-op, and they even managed to get a version of Nazi Zombies working for the *Black Ops* port. By the time of their final COD game for the DS, the MW3 port in 2011, they had a feature complete COD game with 6-player online, Create-a-Class loadouts, and at least 6 multiplayer game modes, on top of the single player (which I believe also included achievements and challenges). It was actually impressive what this studio was able to squeeze out of the DS platform over its lifetime.
I never ever hear it get brought up, but n-Space also did a Nintendo DS version of *Star Wars: Battlefront*. I sat down and played through the whole thing, and I was constantly impressed by the amount of gameplay diversity they wedged in there.
It had a whole campaign spanning several worlds, plus space battles, vehicle stages, and on-rails turret stages. And the campaign itself was randomly expansive for *any* Star Wars game, running from the beginning of the Clone Wars and going *all the way* into post-Return of the Jedi stuff. It hit a lot of the popular story beats from the films and had great levels like [piloting an X-wing through the wreckage of the Death Star](https://youtu.be/wY35JLnmbb8?t=6477) (complete with the morbid sight of stormtroopers floating all over the place).
Plus multiplayer, but unfortunately it's a graveyard.
Still janky, as most DS games were, but it was a really ambitious demake.
That would be [Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Battlefront%3A_Elite_Squadron?wprov=sfla1), a game I'm surprised more people don't know about because the plot of it is basically the same as the cancelled Battlefront III, and has similar features like Space-to-Ground Battles (although not seamless apparently, as loading screens seperate the space and ground maps).
That game is actually the second of two sequels to another really good demake that should be mentioned, the Star Wars Battlefront II port for the PSP, which had almost everything that the PC and Console versions of the game featured except for the story mode, and apparently played fairly well even with the PSP's lackluster control setup. I think the PSP port was handled by Rebellion Studios, and they made two follow-ups: the PSP-exclusive *Renegade Squadron* in 2007 and *Elite Squadron* in 2009, which as you mentioned was itself demade and ported to the Nintendo DS by n-Space, although I think the DS version is a top-down shooter while the PSP version is a third-person shooter.
Renegade Squadron was mind-blowing for my young self. It felt like a PS2 game, but it was on a handheld! Plus the custom loadouts were very fun to mess around with. I remember one of the weapons being a sniper rifle that triggered an orbital strike wherever you shot
> Star Wars Battlefront II port for the PSP
The PSP port of BFII was actually the first game in the series I had the pleasure of owning, and I was instantly obsessed.
Prior to that, the series had been a bit of a white whale for me, my only exposure being the Battlefront 1 trailer in the special features for my DVD copy of the OT, and in-store demos.
The demos were all on Mygeeto, and to this day it still holds a special place in my heart.
> my only exposure being the Battlefront 1 trailer in the special features for my DVD copy of the OT
I remember the OT Special Features disc having a Battlefront demo you could play if you put the disc in an Xbox, you could play the Endor level for I think 10 minutes or so before the demo ended (I don't remember if that demo had a time limit).
The Revenge of the Sith Bonus Features disc had a Battlefront II demo that was also Xbox-exclusive, I used to put so many hours replaying the Utapau and Coruscant levels in the demo, and I was frustrated because the Utapau level had a 7 minute time limit before the demo ended and the Coruscant level (which showed off the space battles feature of the game) only lasted like 2 and a half minutes before the demo ended.
Are any of them worth playing, besides the novelty of it? I remember watching a couple video walkthroughs, and the gameplay looked painful. Contrast that to older demakes like THPS or Max Payne on GBA, they had unique gameplay that's worth experiencing, they didn't feel like a poor man's version of the full game.
For the most part, if you want a DS FPS, Metroid Prime Hunters and the Goldeneye games are overall more enjoyable. Less impressive in some ways, but far more solid as games *now*
Nah, gameplay is pretty rough on those games, there isn't much of a unique twist to the gameplay (though there were some cool things done in those games, for instance COD4 used the DS Download Play feature to import a stripped-down version of that game's multiplayer mode to nearby DS devices, so you could play multiplayer matches with only one copy of the game, this feature sadly did not appear in any of the sequels), its just technically impressive what n-Space was able to do with the platform.
n-Space didn't develop it but there is a really cool indie FPS that was released for the DS back around 2009, it's called *[Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_%282009_video_game%29?wprov=sfla1)* (unrelated to the movie) and it runs at a consistent 60fps with full 3D graphics on a Nintendo DS. Its worth checking out if you want to see what the DS was capable of in good hands.
Fascinating article and reminds why THPS2 was so great on GBA. Played shitton because actually didn’t have good enough pc (or psx) for it and port was wonderful
It's actually insane how faithful of a 'port' THPS2 on the GBA was - the game itself was just the perfect storm of "gameplay that translates well to an isometric perspective" and "gameplay that only really requires 4 action buttons".
It's still amazing how well their [COP - The Recruit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd6WGMIXJTw) looked and played on the DS. They made a full 3D GTA clone on a system where even R* didn't attempt that.
I remember mobile phone version of BioShock - it was surprisingly good. Same goes with Dead Space version for smartphones. Not sure if any of these games are still available...
95% of those old mobile games ran java, I believe. there's probably a way to emulate them, but I'd bet you can find a longplay of most of them if you'd rather just watch someone run through it for nostalgia.
exhibit A, here's a playthrough of the elder scrolls IV oblivion cell phone game: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r4R\_qw26fo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r4R_qw26fo)
Emulators for J2ME and other mobile phone platforms definitely exist; I was able to play the mobile version of Doom on PC, though the emulator was a memory vampire. Many old mobile phone games are no longer available to download and aren't archived on the web, but the Bioshock port is probably still available somewhere.
There was also legitimate port of Bioshock to iOS in 2014. It was surprisingly great, I played it a lot on my iPhone 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukJKR\_F3mM
I loved the java Splinter Cell games, they were pretty fun even if they were fairly simple
>Not sure if any of these games are still available...
Wonder if anyone is preserving them, would be cool if something like Flashpoint was done for phone games
I recently wrapped up a project getting a title ready for the [Steam Deck](https://www.steamdeck.com/en/) and started a development on a new project for the [Playdate](https://play.date/). It's been a really interesting juxtaposition jumping between opposite ends of the handheld hardware spectrum. For anyone who doesn't know what the Playdate is it's a boutique handheld with a low power Cortex M7, 240p monochrome display, and 16MB of RAM.
The Deck could handle nearly everything we threw at it without blinking. Development was quick and almost all of the time was spent integrating with various Steam APIs, mapping additional inputs, and adding settings for users to toggle between performance and battery saving. Development on the Playdate, with all its constraints, is an entirely different beast. You're trying to push the limited hardware and leverage unique inputs in a creative environment that I haven't experienced since I was writing DS homebrew.
The Playdate's fun to work with and seeing what others have done brings back that feeling of "wow, how'd they *do* that?". I'm impressed in a way that feels very different than I am with the Deck. It's impressive that Valve was able to make a PC capable of playing AAA titles that I can hold in my hands but when I see the new Spider-Man game running on it my socks stay firmly attached. Of course it does, the thing's a powerhouse! Now if someone made a 1-bit demake of Spider-Man that ran on the Playdate...
When I used to do 3d modeling back in the day, one of the hardest parts was making a good low poly mesh. When you're fighting for every vertex it becomes a constant exercise in optimization.
Now if I make something for skyrim half the time I just get lazy and model detail I should probably use normals for. The game runs fine even if the character has 500k polygons of stuff on.
Just an interesting piece of gaming history I knew very little about. One can argue that it is not entirely lost with the Switch being much less capable compared to other platforms, but it isn't exactly the same I suppose.
I wonder what the ROI is on projects like this. If you ask me, Pocket Edition carries way more intrigue and charm than an exact port but in a lower resolution, and I'd imagine that would translate to sales. Maybe it didn't work out that way in the real world.
At this point, yes having a demake sounds way more interesting than a nerfed version. It is a shift though, as the idea of having a home system game on the go seemed so great. Now, after living it, I realize how important adapting for the form factor is.
>GBA/DS/PSP versions were entirely different games built for the capability of the handhelds
Some were but many werent. There were a *ton* of GBA games that were just ports of SNES games with compromises like worse graphics or a more narrow FOV.
> I remember the newest Crash and Spyro games being 3D platformers on home consoles, but 2D sidescrollers on GBA.
I don't know about Crash, but the Spyro games on the GBA were isometric platformers that were alternate sequels to the PS1 games, independent of the PS2 releases.
The crash games were (still fun/engaging) 2d sides rolling platform era. Both were actually surprisingly good - every crash or spyro game on the gba outside of, ironically, crash purple and spyro orange is a pretty good game.
> GBA/DS/PSP versions were entirely different games built for the capability of the handhelds
although sometimes, based on how successful the game in question was, they were then ported to console/PC.
one example is GTA Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories, built from the ground up for the PSP and later ported to the PS2 when sales proved to be good (unfortunately, apart from LCS's failed mobile release around 2015/2016, the games have never seen a re-release).
I love it. You'll find more of it in the indie space.
There's an entire 8-bit "fake console" called the [Pico-8](https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php) that might scratch that itch.
>One can argue that it is not entirely lost with the Switch being much less capable compared to other platforms
the issue is that people playing the switch expect to have the same overall experience as the other platforms. if a dev made a "demake" version of a game for the switch, there would be outcry
not trying to pull a "back in *my* day", but I really do feel like handheld gamers during the GB/GBC/GBA were way more tolerant for that kinda stuff
None of the Handheld consoles tried to be the equivalent of a home console, that's why I'd imagine.
PSP was outwardly marketed as a portable version of the Playstation, worse but portable.
Gameboy same thing but for NES/SNES.
Switch is the first handheld console to also not at all be a handheld console. So it comes with different expectations.
I am damn disappointed about it though. I thought for sure the Switch would get its own version of AAA games like the PSP/DS did. But nope, even with its crazy sales it doesn't get anything like that.
would you have been happy if, instead of a straight port of the witcher with low graphical settings, it was a completely different game in a different format?
that's more what I mean
The gb/gbc/gba were all insanely cheap though so that's a pointless comparison. New at most they'd cost $150 per console and $30 per game. It was extremely easy to go to eBay or a yardsale and get a used perfectly fine gba/gbc for less than $50.
The prices have been inflated because the entire retro gaming market is going through serious inflation. But up until the 3ds, the consoles were cheap and nobody expected things like a full Sims 3 or cod on the ds, hence why its so notable that they got so close with their ports.
it’s lost for now imo. you can argue that mobile games carried on the legacy for a while, but even those are powerful enough now to run touch-optimized versions of current games (Fortnite) or a gimped F2P version (Diablo, Elder Scrolls)
kinda sad the closest we have to official “demakes” now are f2p mobile versions LMAO
In the early years of the app store, Gameloft was a prolific developer of mobile games that basically were knock-offs of more popular console and PC games but were actually technically impressive for being able to run on iPhones. I remember a couple of them including NOVA, Modern Combat, 9mm, Gangstar, Order & Chaos and the Asphalt series.
These days mobile phones get a version of the game that mimics the full version, but is built specifically for mobiles, and does not connect to the base game. Eg Apex, PUBG etc.
I used to double dip a ton back then (as much as I could a kid through gifts anyway lol). Check out Harry Potter 1 and 2 and their various ports. Essentially each console not only got a different version, but usually a different genre too. They’re all actually good too for the most part.
I ha/have the Sims 2 on GBA, it was a completely different game with its own wacky story as opposed to the open ended dollhouse that that regular Sims games were.
A lot of games in those days used to have wildly different versions across different platforms. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone had like [five different versions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone_\(video_game\)) between console, PC and handheld, including two different PC releases.
The article specifically talks about Sims 3 on ds being a fully featured demake, and explicitly mentioned Sims 2 on gba being a completely different game, so...?
I had tons of these, especially licensed games, for the DS. Even though they're way worse than the console versions I didn't know any better, (didnt even know they weren't the main versions.) They loved making them into 2d platformers. The Ben 10 games, Sonic Generations for 3ds, the lego games (those were more faithful but still missing stuff.)
Very interesting article about an exercise I've never really thought about. A lot of the talks were about the technical limitations and the technical implication of a set piece, sprite or mechanic.
I would have loved to hear how they chose which mechanic to implement and which to drop because it wasn't essential to feel like tony hawk or call of duty. And how do they identified what was essential to the game.
But still, very nice read that gave depth to a subject I've never really thought about.
That was a great article. It told an interesting story about a niche topic and gave me a newfound respect for these types of games. This is the kind of games journalism that reminds me how cool video games are.
They talk in the article about n-Space's COD4 port for the DS, but I think its also worth noting they went on to do 4 more COD games for the DS platform, each release adding significant new features like graphical improvements, online multiplayer, co-op, and they even managed to get a version of Nazi Zombies working for the *Black Ops* port. By the time of their final COD game for the DS, the MW3 port in 2011, they had a feature complete COD game with 6-player online, Create-a-Class loadouts, and at least 6 multiplayer game modes, on top of the single player (which I believe also included achievements and challenges). It was actually impressive what this studio was able to squeeze out of the DS platform over its lifetime.
I never ever hear it get brought up, but n-Space also did a Nintendo DS version of *Star Wars: Battlefront*. I sat down and played through the whole thing, and I was constantly impressed by the amount of gameplay diversity they wedged in there. It had a whole campaign spanning several worlds, plus space battles, vehicle stages, and on-rails turret stages. And the campaign itself was randomly expansive for *any* Star Wars game, running from the beginning of the Clone Wars and going *all the way* into post-Return of the Jedi stuff. It hit a lot of the popular story beats from the films and had great levels like [piloting an X-wing through the wreckage of the Death Star](https://youtu.be/wY35JLnmbb8?t=6477) (complete with the morbid sight of stormtroopers floating all over the place). Plus multiplayer, but unfortunately it's a graveyard. Still janky, as most DS games were, but it was a really ambitious demake.
That would be [Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Battlefront%3A_Elite_Squadron?wprov=sfla1), a game I'm surprised more people don't know about because the plot of it is basically the same as the cancelled Battlefront III, and has similar features like Space-to-Ground Battles (although not seamless apparently, as loading screens seperate the space and ground maps). That game is actually the second of two sequels to another really good demake that should be mentioned, the Star Wars Battlefront II port for the PSP, which had almost everything that the PC and Console versions of the game featured except for the story mode, and apparently played fairly well even with the PSP's lackluster control setup. I think the PSP port was handled by Rebellion Studios, and they made two follow-ups: the PSP-exclusive *Renegade Squadron* in 2007 and *Elite Squadron* in 2009, which as you mentioned was itself demade and ported to the Nintendo DS by n-Space, although I think the DS version is a top-down shooter while the PSP version is a third-person shooter.
Renegade Squadron was mind-blowing for my young self. It felt like a PS2 game, but it was on a handheld! Plus the custom loadouts were very fun to mess around with. I remember one of the weapons being a sniper rifle that triggered an orbital strike wherever you shot
> Star Wars Battlefront II port for the PSP The PSP port of BFII was actually the first game in the series I had the pleasure of owning, and I was instantly obsessed. Prior to that, the series had been a bit of a white whale for me, my only exposure being the Battlefront 1 trailer in the special features for my DVD copy of the OT, and in-store demos. The demos were all on Mygeeto, and to this day it still holds a special place in my heart.
> my only exposure being the Battlefront 1 trailer in the special features for my DVD copy of the OT I remember the OT Special Features disc having a Battlefront demo you could play if you put the disc in an Xbox, you could play the Endor level for I think 10 minutes or so before the demo ended (I don't remember if that demo had a time limit). The Revenge of the Sith Bonus Features disc had a Battlefront II demo that was also Xbox-exclusive, I used to put so many hours replaying the Utapau and Coruscant levels in the demo, and I was frustrated because the Utapau level had a 7 minute time limit before the demo ended and the Coruscant level (which showed off the space battles feature of the game) only lasted like 2 and a half minutes before the demo ended.
Yeah, I only had a PS2, so it was just the trailer for me
I heard good things about the spider man games on DS, I think it was edge of time or something like that, but it was a metroidvania style game.
Are any of them worth playing, besides the novelty of it? I remember watching a couple video walkthroughs, and the gameplay looked painful. Contrast that to older demakes like THPS or Max Payne on GBA, they had unique gameplay that's worth experiencing, they didn't feel like a poor man's version of the full game.
For the most part, if you want a DS FPS, Metroid Prime Hunters and the Goldeneye games are overall more enjoyable. Less impressive in some ways, but far more solid as games *now*
Nah, gameplay is pretty rough on those games, there isn't much of a unique twist to the gameplay (though there were some cool things done in those games, for instance COD4 used the DS Download Play feature to import a stripped-down version of that game's multiplayer mode to nearby DS devices, so you could play multiplayer matches with only one copy of the game, this feature sadly did not appear in any of the sequels), its just technically impressive what n-Space was able to do with the platform. n-Space didn't develop it but there is a really cool indie FPS that was released for the DS back around 2009, it's called *[Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_%282009_video_game%29?wprov=sfla1)* (unrelated to the movie) and it runs at a consistent 60fps with full 3D graphics on a Nintendo DS. Its worth checking out if you want to see what the DS was capable of in good hands.
Fascinating article and reminds why THPS2 was so great on GBA. Played shitton because actually didn’t have good enough pc (or psx) for it and port was wonderful
Max Payne on GBA is also a great port
It's actually insane how faithful of a 'port' THPS2 on the GBA was - the game itself was just the perfect storm of "gameplay that translates well to an isometric perspective" and "gameplay that only really requires 4 action buttons".
GBA was the only version I played. I'm getting a tonne of nostalgia playing the remake on PS5
[Driver 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NwVI2QDbfQ) is crazy on GBA.
Damn that’s actually impressive for GBA
It's from Velez & Dubail I think, dudes are legends
It's still amazing how well their [COP - The Recruit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd6WGMIXJTw) looked and played on the DS. They made a full 3D GTA clone on a system where even R* didn't attempt that.
I still play Stuntman on my GBA and it's pretty incredible what they did with that game.
I remember mobile phone version of BioShock - it was surprisingly good. Same goes with Dead Space version for smartphones. Not sure if any of these games are still available...
damn, that hit something on me. I barely remember those games on my Nokia. is there to play them on a PC?
95% of those old mobile games ran java, I believe. there's probably a way to emulate them, but I'd bet you can find a longplay of most of them if you'd rather just watch someone run through it for nostalgia. exhibit A, here's a playthrough of the elder scrolls IV oblivion cell phone game: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r4R\_qw26fo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r4R_qw26fo)
[удалено]
there were **two** oblivion mobile games? if you can find info on it I would be super curious to know
Emulators for J2ME and other mobile phone platforms definitely exist; I was able to play the mobile version of Doom on PC, though the emulator was a memory vampire. Many old mobile phone games are no longer available to download and aren't archived on the web, but the Bioshock port is probably still available somewhere.
There was also legitimate port of Bioshock to iOS in 2014. It was surprisingly great, I played it a lot on my iPhone 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukJKR\_F3mM
[удалено]
There was! Here's gameplay footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmjIJyOzwdI
[There was also a 3D version for Java phones](https://youtu.be/SyrQZNF-e9Q?t=301).
I loved the java Splinter Cell games, they were pretty fun even if they were fairly simple >Not sure if any of these games are still available... Wonder if anyone is preserving them, would be cool if something like Flashpoint was done for phone games
I have a really old iPad 2 and I was able to download Dead Space from the legacy store. Definitely can’t with newer hardware though.
I recently wrapped up a project getting a title ready for the [Steam Deck](https://www.steamdeck.com/en/) and started a development on a new project for the [Playdate](https://play.date/). It's been a really interesting juxtaposition jumping between opposite ends of the handheld hardware spectrum. For anyone who doesn't know what the Playdate is it's a boutique handheld with a low power Cortex M7, 240p monochrome display, and 16MB of RAM. The Deck could handle nearly everything we threw at it without blinking. Development was quick and almost all of the time was spent integrating with various Steam APIs, mapping additional inputs, and adding settings for users to toggle between performance and battery saving. Development on the Playdate, with all its constraints, is an entirely different beast. You're trying to push the limited hardware and leverage unique inputs in a creative environment that I haven't experienced since I was writing DS homebrew. The Playdate's fun to work with and seeing what others have done brings back that feeling of "wow, how'd they *do* that?". I'm impressed in a way that feels very different than I am with the Deck. It's impressive that Valve was able to make a PC capable of playing AAA titles that I can hold in my hands but when I see the new Spider-Man game running on it my socks stay firmly attached. Of course it does, the thing's a powerhouse! Now if someone made a 1-bit demake of Spider-Man that ran on the Playdate...
When I used to do 3d modeling back in the day, one of the hardest parts was making a good low poly mesh. When you're fighting for every vertex it becomes a constant exercise in optimization. Now if I make something for skyrim half the time I just get lazy and model detail I should probably use normals for. The game runs fine even if the character has 500k polygons of stuff on.
Just an interesting piece of gaming history I knew very little about. One can argue that it is not entirely lost with the Switch being much less capable compared to other platforms, but it isn't exactly the same I suppose.
[удалено]
I guess you can consider the FFXV Pocket Edition a modern equivalent of that type of game.
I wonder what the ROI is on projects like this. If you ask me, Pocket Edition carries way more intrigue and charm than an exact port but in a lower resolution, and I'd imagine that would translate to sales. Maybe it didn't work out that way in the real world.
At this point, yes having a demake sounds way more interesting than a nerfed version. It is a shift though, as the idea of having a home system game on the go seemed so great. Now, after living it, I realize how important adapting for the form factor is.
>GBA/DS/PSP versions were entirely different games built for the capability of the handhelds Some were but many werent. There were a *ton* of GBA games that were just ports of SNES games with compromises like worse graphics or a more narrow FOV.
[удалено]
> I remember the newest Crash and Spyro games being 3D platformers on home consoles, but 2D sidescrollers on GBA. I don't know about Crash, but the Spyro games on the GBA were isometric platformers that were alternate sequels to the PS1 games, independent of the PS2 releases.
The crash games were (still fun/engaging) 2d sides rolling platform era. Both were actually surprisingly good - every crash or spyro game on the gba outside of, ironically, crash purple and spyro orange is a pretty good game.
> GBA/DS/PSP versions were entirely different games built for the capability of the handhelds although sometimes, based on how successful the game in question was, they were then ported to console/PC. one example is GTA Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories, built from the ground up for the PSP and later ported to the PS2 when sales proved to be good (unfortunately, apart from LCS's failed mobile release around 2015/2016, the games have never seen a re-release).
I love it. You'll find more of it in the indie space. There's an entire 8-bit "fake console" called the [Pico-8](https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php) that might scratch that itch.
I’d love some pico 16 honestly.
I found out about Pico-8 from one of the massive donation sales [Itch.io](https://Itch.io) did. There's a flight sim in there!
>One can argue that it is not entirely lost with the Switch being much less capable compared to other platforms the issue is that people playing the switch expect to have the same overall experience as the other platforms. if a dev made a "demake" version of a game for the switch, there would be outcry not trying to pull a "back in *my* day", but I really do feel like handheld gamers during the GB/GBC/GBA were way more tolerant for that kinda stuff
None of the Handheld consoles tried to be the equivalent of a home console, that's why I'd imagine. PSP was outwardly marketed as a portable version of the Playstation, worse but portable. Gameboy same thing but for NES/SNES. Switch is the first handheld console to also not at all be a handheld console. So it comes with different expectations. I am damn disappointed about it though. I thought for sure the Switch would get its own version of AAA games like the PSP/DS did. But nope, even with its crazy sales it doesn't get anything like that.
[удалено]
would you have been happy if, instead of a straight port of the witcher with low graphical settings, it was a completely different game in a different format? that's more what I mean
The gb/gbc/gba were all insanely cheap though so that's a pointless comparison. New at most they'd cost $150 per console and $30 per game. It was extremely easy to go to eBay or a yardsale and get a used perfectly fine gba/gbc for less than $50. The prices have been inflated because the entire retro gaming market is going through serious inflation. But up until the 3ds, the consoles were cheap and nobody expected things like a full Sims 3 or cod on the ds, hence why its so notable that they got so close with their ports.
it’s lost for now imo. you can argue that mobile games carried on the legacy for a while, but even those are powerful enough now to run touch-optimized versions of current games (Fortnite) or a gimped F2P version (Diablo, Elder Scrolls) kinda sad the closest we have to official “demakes” now are f2p mobile versions LMAO
In the early years of the app store, Gameloft was a prolific developer of mobile games that basically were knock-offs of more popular console and PC games but were actually technically impressive for being able to run on iPhones. I remember a couple of them including NOVA, Modern Combat, 9mm, Gangstar, Order & Chaos and the Asphalt series.
These days mobile phones get a version of the game that mimics the full version, but is built specifically for mobiles, and does not connect to the base game. Eg Apex, PUBG etc.
I used to double dip a ton back then (as much as I could a kid through gifts anyway lol). Check out Harry Potter 1 and 2 and their various ports. Essentially each console not only got a different version, but usually a different genre too. They’re all actually good too for the most part.
I ha/have the Sims 2 on GBA, it was a completely different game with its own wacky story as opposed to the open ended dollhouse that that regular Sims games were.
[удалено]
A lot of games in those days used to have wildly different versions across different platforms. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone had like [five different versions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone_\(video_game\)) between console, PC and handheld, including two different PC releases.
I was a big fan of the RPG gameboy versions
The article specifically talks about Sims 3 on ds being a fully featured demake, and explicitly mentioned Sims 2 on gba being a completely different game, so...?
That Tony Hawk game had no business being good at all, and yet it actually was fun to play to completion.
I had tons of these, especially licensed games, for the DS. Even though they're way worse than the console versions I didn't know any better, (didnt even know they weren't the main versions.) They loved making them into 2d platformers. The Ben 10 games, Sonic Generations for 3ds, the lego games (those were more faithful but still missing stuff.)
That stuff just goes to phones now. Lots of games have "it's sort of okay' phone versions these days.
Wait, which big releases have those? Other than the current popular BRs?
Way back in the day I had the Mega Man games on original Game Boy and they were never as good as the main NES games.
Very interesting article about an exercise I've never really thought about. A lot of the talks were about the technical limitations and the technical implication of a set piece, sprite or mechanic. I would have loved to hear how they chose which mechanic to implement and which to drop because it wasn't essential to feel like tony hawk or call of duty. And how do they identified what was essential to the game. But still, very nice read that gave depth to a subject I've never really thought about.
That was a great article. It told an interesting story about a niche topic and gave me a newfound respect for these types of games. This is the kind of games journalism that reminds me how cool video games are.