the release of Okamiden isn't so dumb when you realize that it's been out in Japan for quite a while already. They're not going to give Japan a DS version and the west a 3DS version; we're lucky we're getting it at all. also, some games have been in development for far too long to just up and switch gears like that, y'know -- the 3DS was probably announced just as Okamiden began pre-release lotchecking and whatnot.

Well I they were too far in development to simply improve the game for the 3DS

Well you have a wonderful point there blackdragon. I'm happy to see that some games do make it to the western hemisphere (i.e. The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy III DS) but some games that I really want to play like Maple Story DS and Final Fantasy Legend II/SaGa 2 fail to make it to the US and the UK. Why is that?

I agree, GS:DD has great graphics for the DS.

What I meant is that Okamiden shouldn't have been localised quicker:P like Square Enix is doing with Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded. They intelligently made sure that the game will have some time to sell before the 3DS comes.

Localization takes a lot of time and costs money. If it's not a sure sell, it could just be a waste.

i wouldn't be suprised myself. If those company's actually had contracts with nintendo. Same goes for golden sun.
They simple cant shift towards the 3DS with those game francises. If i was nintendo i wouldn't want them too. It instantly makes the handheld dead for the constumer.

If i just had to release a game like golden sun which was what? 7 years in development "the entire ds lifespan" i would shift directly, even while the game is almost completed > towards the 3DS.

DS devices will be gone from stores in 1 year, and the games will simple follow probably a half year later like usual in local stores.

Not only would golden sun be a top title directly "for next year christmas" ( even while it doesn't make full use of the 3DS just yet ) but the game has a overal better lifespan itself.

Still alot of people bought a DSI XL, and simple want to keep playing with the device for a while. Even when the 3DS gets released.

not really... consider the example of the PS2. with the 3DS able to play DS games, there's no telling how long they'll keep making them after the 3DS hits.

Life is just a river, just a river of floating pixels.

Because no publisher in the west will bring them here. Most likely they don't think it will sell enough to make profits or break even. They need to at least cover the costs of localisation, manufacturing, distribution and marketing. That's the only reason.

That is also why I love Atlus and the late Working Designs, who took risks translating and promoting highly niche Japanese games for the west.

XSeed too.

The reason why the ps2 is available still, is because people had tons of ps2 games. and the ps3 isn't backward compatible. Something that nintendo product is.
The people that bough the playstation 2, simple didn't wanted to ditch all those top titles like kingdom hearts 1 and 2 or final fantasy 10. There ps2's break down after a while or get lost or whatever. and they still need new consoles to simple play them.

the 3DS is backward compatible, so therefor they dont need to have a DS in order to play there 40 DS games.

Besides that, we are talking about handhelds not consoles.

The 3DS replaces the DS, while the psp2 isn't replacing the psp1. Why did you think that sony started with those software based psp1 all of the sudden?

This provides for them a software solution backward compatible solution.
But the device simple didn't sold, now sony got the same issue with the psp2 as with the ps3 if it comes to backward compathible solutions.

Therefor people with tons of games for the psp1 will simple need to buy the psp1 again when it breaks down, while with the 3DS its a entire different story.

Therefor comparing the DS with the playstation 2 = not a good comparison.
You really should look at it as any other successor of any of the handheld products from nintendo.

Ontop of that, the graphical quality of games are now fairly good looking on the 3DS ( atleast way better then we are used to for handhelds ) but within 1 year, people are not even used anymore to anything less. specailly with ios devices graphical quality on top of that. The DS will simple look after a year of the 3DS release, as a gb looked like compared towards the DS.

The DS will get phased out a soon as a new 3DS model appears. Or after 1 year into the 3DS lifespan. it's always been like that. And the DS will follow.

3DS is backwards- compatible with DSi and DS games. So that's the answer for your question.

look, all's i'm sayin' is that they're still producing PS2 games, so there's no telling how long devs will stick by the DS format. plus, if people don't take to the 3D gimmick and demand for the DS/i is still there, Nintendo will continue to provide the consoles too, plain and simple. there's also the as-yet-unrevealed price point to be considered; if they continue to produce some DS games, they can continue to market the DS/i as a budget system in comparison to the 3DS.

I'd also like to mention that the more advanced these handheld consoles get, the less durable they seem to be. My old gray-brick GB went through more torture than I'd like to admit and ran like a champ up until the point i lost the thing, whereas my DS had a cracked hinge, I've had to send my DSi in for replacement, and there's hordes of users complaining about broken L/R buttons all over the place. If the 3DS turns out to be even less durable than the DS/i, replacement systems for users just wanting to play their old DS games could also be the PS2 of the handheld world, so to speak.

Contrary to what people actually say, Golden Sun:Dark Dawn's graphics are actually pretty good. There are a ton of 3D DS games I played where the 3D graphics are meh [FFIV DS for example], but Dark Dawn's 3D graphics are actually appealing. With that said, I can see a Golden Sun IV happening on the 3DS in the future. But I can wait for Golden Sun IV because I still need to buy and play Golden Sun I and The Lost Age after I complete Dark Dawn.

Golden Sun came out like what a month or two ago? No point in remaking a 3 month old game

the sequel will probably be for 3DS, i'd imagine... and yes, they make it pretty damn obvious there's gonna be some kind of sequel. there's no way they'd let it end like that, lol.