Nintendo DS vs. Sony Play Station Portable

Here's a look at the gaming industry via a famous system rivalry written by GadgetJax!!

 

 

The Video game industry is always trying to take one step ahead of the competition by releasing new Game Consoles to combat already-released consoles.
This has happened MANY times. THe whole purpose of the Sega Genesis(Known as the Sega Mega Drive in Europe and Asia)in 1989 was to rival the NES(Famicom in Japan), and it did. It was superior in pretty much every way to Nintendo's current consoles, well, until 1991, when the Super NES (Super Famicom in Japan) was released.
The Genesis and the Super NES had one of the most serious rivalries in gaming history(as of 11/4/2013, PS4 and XBox One may outrival it) and is still talked about and compared by fans to this day.

But I'm Not talking about that today, that's for another article.

Today, I'll be discussing another frequently talked about rivalry, The Nintendo DS and the Sony PlayStationPortable. Both console were handhelds(Meaning they didn't have to be hooked up to a TV, Moniter, etc.), and both were released in 2004(well, in Japan, at least. It took a year for the PSP to reach America.).
The DS was released on November 21 in America, and December 2 in Japan. On the other hand, The Sony PSP was released on December 12, 2004 in Japan, and March 24, 2005. Obviously, this gave the Nintendo DS more time to get acquainted with gamers.
Both systems also had a large number of launch titles available, meaning players wouldn't have to wait long for any blockbuster titles to come out for either system.
The following games were launch titles for their respective systems.

Nintendo DS:
Asphalt Urban GT
Feel the Magic: XY/XX
Madden NFL 2005
Ping Pals
Ridge Racer DS
Spider-Man 2
Sprung
Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt
Super Mario 64 DS
The Urbz: Sims in the City
Tiger Woods PGA Tour

PSP:
Ape Escape: On the Loose
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Dynasty Warriors
Gretzky NHL
Lumines 
Metal Gear Acid 
NBA
Need for Speed: Underground Rivals
NFL Street 2 Unleashed
Ridge Racer
Spider-Man 2
Tiger Woods PGA Tour
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
Twisted Metal: Head-On 
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
Wipeout Pure
World Tour Soccer

Overall, it seems that both systems had their fair share of launch titles, but launch games don't make the console. Which console sold better?
The Nintendo DS. Hands down.
The DS, as of now, has sold 153.96 million systems. While the PSP only sold 76.3 million. However, we're not comparing which console sold better, but which console is the overall better choice.
So, which one is it?

To be continued in Part 2

-GadgetJax

The Case of the Cricket

Talk about warm weather in November.....while making holiday cards for our service members, (more on that to come), guess who we found!

And don't worry, Highland staff...the cricket wasn't dumped in the bookdrop!!!

Halloween Party - Mu ha ha ha ha!!!

The Teen Advisory Board hosted a Halloween party last Saturday for school age kids!  We didn't know if five would show up or if 25 would!  Turns out over 50 attended the party! That didn't include parents who stayed... We had a blast, with all sort of good food...cupcakes, chips, and of course, candy!  These are pictures of the teens preparing for the excitement!!  Missing is Lily, who arrived just on time in a beautiful steam punk costume!  David was there, but escaped having his picture taken...hmmm......! Now that I think of it, Morgan is missing too...she was busy being Zombie bouncer!!

Kids competed for candy by playing all sorts of games including Coffin Bean Bag, Ghost Bowling, fishing for spiders, Ghost Buckets and Witches Pitch!  We listened to a scary story about a dead man and were able to feel his dead brain, heart, hair and more!

Miranda entertained with face painting and everyone took a walk around the library to show off their really awesome costumes!  We were impressed with how great the kids looked!

One highlight for me was a short skit the teens wrote.  It was about the disappearance of Morgan and who the culprit was!  It was interactive, so the kids could help decide on the guilty person !

Then we popped fifty balloons and the person who popped the most by sitting on the balloon was the winner!  We did scare one little girl and felt bad, but otherwise the balloon popping was weirdly fun!!!

Thanks to all for attending and to the teens for their good work!

GadgetJax reviews Ashfall

GadgetJax Reviews: Ashfall

Horror/Survival books are some of the most popular books in the market, some could even say that they OWN the shelves. But, how do make a book about survival and make it stand out from the rest? Add Zombies? And Monsters? How about neither? That's exactly what Ashfall does. It makes you feel a rush of adrenaline on every page, without having to make use of cliche parts of nearly every survival book to date, though that doesn't mean it's without it's faults.

Let's start with the plot. Alex is a normal, average boy who likes to spend time alone in his room playing MMORPG's on computer. When his family goes on a trip to see relatives, he stays behind, because, what could possibly go wrong?

Apocalypse.

A super-volcano under Yellowstone Park erupts, turning the lively USA into a barren wasteland, and Alex must travel 200+ miles to find his family. The story is very well written, and not very often would I find a part in the book that didn't make sense, though there are many spots in the book that drag on for too long, which may tempt even the most persistent reader to skip a chapter (or 2).
But if there was one aspect of Ashfall that just takes the cake, it's the fact that everything in this book could happen in real life, there is not a single moment in the book where something impossible occurs. not one. It makes for one of the most realistic survival books i've ever read.

 

SCORE: 8.5 GREAT
+ Stands out from the crowd
+ Loveable characters
+ A realistic experience
- Moves at a Sloth's pace

The Hovercraft moved!!!

Yes, we were able to make the fan work and although we didn't make the finished product, the fan worked and the base (a paper plate) moved on its own! Here are some pictures from our fun "maker" evening!

Thanks to everyone who attended!!!

Big Week Coming Up!!!

October 13 - 19 is Teen Read Week and the theme is "Seek the Unknown @ your library". The library will have a display of some popular award winning Young Adult books.  We'll have bookmarks to hand out.

Mark your calendars as well for Monday, October 14 - More "Break it to Make it"...We are trying to create a moving hovercraft from computer parts.

 

Jewelry and other useful items will be crafted as well.  Bring safety glasses of you have them!
See you here at the Highland Library at 6:30PM.

Conversation Station - Wimpy Kid 8 - Hard Luck Review

Conversation Station - Wimpy Kid 8

Ever since 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days', it's been pretty much a tradition for a Wimpy Kid book to be released once a year, around november. And this year, it's no different.
Jeff Kinney has announced that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck will be released in-stores on November 5th, 2013. The official website teaser goes as follows:

'Greg Heffley’s on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg’s life destined to be just another hard-luck story?'

You can check out the website here: http://www.wimpykid.com/wimpykid8/

This got me thinking; 'will Hard Luck be worth the read? Rowley has ditched Greg (and vice versa) at least 5 times now, and if the story is merely a rerun of what Kinney has previously written, then no thanks. I'd much rather read AshenWinter. It still sounds promising, but I feel that Hard Luck won't as good as the previous books.

What would YOU like to see in Wimpy Kid 8? Leave your comments below.

-GadgetJax