At a Nintendo Roundtable event the first night of E3 proper, Mr. Miyamoto and some colleagues from Nintendo took the time to talk about the Nintendo DS. During the event, he asked the press to describe what it's like to play with the Nintendo DS. Here's our attempt at conveying the idea.

I'm pretty sure what Mr. Miyamoto wanted the good, probably very tired people of the press to explain to you, the good, probably very interested readers of G4's website is the fun that can come from something relatively simple and easy.

Mr. Miyamoto seems practically obsessed with creating games that capture the simplicity and ease of use that the games of the past had out of sheer necessity. Yeah, times were different then--the technology was simpler, the graphics were simpler and the game play was simpler. Games like Pac-Man, for example--one joystick, one action for the little yellow fella. He moved around a maze. If stuff was in his way, he either ate it or it killed him. Even if you've never played Pac-Man before, you could figure it out pretty quickly. Move the yellow dude with the single control apparatus. Easy.

The games of today are obviously not like that anymore. They're pretty, sure, but they're also pretty complicated. I believe Mr. Miyamoto sees this as very off-putting to people who are not gamers already. Being a rather keen gentleman, he knows that the complicated aspects of today's games keep the market smaller than it could be. But I don't believe that his only concerns are about the potential audience for his games. It's clear that Mr. Miyamoto just plain likes games that are easy to pick up and play, and I'm almost positive that he equates that ease of use with quality, because games that are so intuitively grasped by all players no matter what their experience levels are games that have a clarity of purpose and a strength of design that may be lacking in more complicated fare.

So, Here Goes...

We all know what it's like to play wireless games and even voice recognition games, so I won't get into any of that. Most of the demos offered for play involved using the simple controller system of the stylus on the touchpad. This is the one huge idea that opens up a lot of different game play styles that were just not possible before. The stylus is just a stick. But you can use that stick to write, draw, tap, point, select...it's practically endless. And everyone knows how to use a pen-shaped object on a flat surface. It couldn't be more intuitive.

Because the input device/controller doesn't get in your way, you can get straight to the fun parts of a game. You don't have to memorize much of anything. You don't have to know by feel where each different button is. You just scribble or tap or write away like you've been doing practically all your life.

But it's more than just refreshingly easy to use. It's also really fun to interact on that level with a game. What you write appears on-screen! You draw the Pac-Man! You! Then you get on with the game. But...he's your Pac-Man. He's following your ink guide. There isn't that level of detachment that you get from a controller that can sometimes take you out of the game's reality. Because scribbling is so second-nature to us all, you feel more like you're directing the game--controlling it with a mighty sweep of your stylus. You just feel more a part of the game, even if that game is just a simple carving demo where you whittle away at a nugget of metal or wood.

Perhaps it doesn't sound like it, but being so immediately in control of a game is incredibly fun. Heck, just being able to draw little clouds on-screen is fun, and that those clouds cushion Baby Mario's diapered derriere is almost gravy.

The level of control and immediacy that the stylus brings to your game experience really is best appreciated in the first-person, but unfortunately most people won't get their hands on the new handheld for some time. I hope I've answered Mr. Miyamoto's call well enough to at least whet your appetite for this type of gaming experience. Obviously, I enjoyed my short time with the Nintendo DS very much, and I can't wait for more. I'm breathless with anticipation of all the fun stuff that will come from a machine designed with new forms of gaming in mind.

--Jenni Villarreal