nintendo DS and voice recognition

[SueM in MN]

I saw an ad for the Nintendo DS Lite and it said it has 'voice recognition'. Does anyone know anything about this - like are there games that you can actually play with the voice recognition feature? If so, can you play the whole game that way, or do you still need to use buttons.
I'm specifically interested in the Nintendogs or things a girl might be interested in playing. My youngest DD is disabled and does not have the fine motor skills to do a game with the buttons, but uses a computerized communication device to talk with (can't get more consistant than that for voice recognition) and might be able to use the Nintendo DS if it works by voice.
Thanks.

 

[java]

Well in Nintendo dogs your dog responds to verbal commands like SIT! once you train it to recognize your voice. You name a dog and call her several times before she understands your voice and her name- but then she will respond to commands as you teach her. The game also requires touch screen capability though. So some of the game is voice- some is touch screen- like to give the dog a treat. The stylus that you use is thinner than a pencil. They have the game systems out for you to try at stores- even in Target. There are other voice games- like warioware but you still need to use a stylus.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Hey Sue -

Unfortunately, the voice recognition is just a limited feature of some games, not really a way to control the system in general.

For example, one of the mini-games in "Brain Age" has you call out the color of a word shown to you (say, the text is in "red", you say "red"). The catch is that while the text may be red, it may be spelling the word "blue" in that red text, to confuse you.

Another example is the under-water levels in "Super Princess Peach", where when you blow into the microphone you make bubbles come out of your submarine to stop enemies in front of you.

With "Nintendogs", you train the little buggers by using the stylus, and eventually they do respond to you by voice. However, there is a lot of work to get there via the stylus. For instance, you train the dog to respond when you call it's name, but in order to reenforce it you need to pet it after with the stylus.

Sorry I couldn't be of better news, Sue. If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

NED

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks. That information is very helpful. DD can use a touch screen (her communication device is a touchscreen, but she can't do things really, really fast or extremely precise. If there is a specific 'place' on the screen for things (like getting treats for the dog), I could make a template out of really thin plexiglass with holes in the right spot to help her hit it.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Then it sounds like Nintendogs might work for you, even without a template. Although there are some menus that you do have to select through, most of the actual interaction with the dogs is in strokes, just like you would with a "real" puppy. For instance, if you want the puppy to sit down, you call it over verbally by saying it's name, and then to make him sit you stroke the puppy from it's head to it's tail, just like you would an actual dog. It's also pretty forgiving in that sense, because the worst thing that would happen is that he wouldn't sit down, and you would try again.

My best advice is to go to a Gamestop/EBGames/etc. where they can give you a demonstration. If you go to a Best Buy or someplace like that, chances are they wouldn't have one with that game for you to try. But if you go to a Gamestop/etc. that sells used equipment and has models lying around, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to let you try out the game if you explain the situation. That way you can judge how well she could do with it.

Good luck! If you have any more ?'s I'd be happy to try to answer them (goodness knows enough posts of yours have helped me LOL).

NED

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks
I'll tru to look for a helpful place.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

NP Sue.

Here is Gamestop/EB's website (they've merged) : http://www.gamestop.com/

I took a look and there are 10 locations in MN - hopefully one is near you! You can also get your hands on both a DS and a DS Lite to compare. In most cases I recommend the Lite because it's screens are much brighter which makes it easier to play in the dark, or in extreme light (outside, etc.), but depending on how you set DD up with it you might find the larger size advantageous (and they aren't as slippery, LOL). The biggest advantage of the Lite over the old DS is the brightness of the screens; i.e. you can take it from outside in the bright sun, all the way to a pitch black room, and the backlight can be adjusted to compensate. This also may not be as much of an issue if you mainly use it at home. In most cases I definately recommend the Lite, but I do think if you can get yourself to one of those stores it's worth your time to compare the two (not to mention if you do find the old style DS more appealing for whatever reason I'm sure they have 1000 of them used from people who have traded-in or upgraded).

NED

 

[billwendy]

Hi,
also, if she can use a touch screen, i noticed on ebay there were some stylus that actually kind of wrapped around your finger so you didnt have to hold it (kind of like some of the feeding utencils that are available for people who have difficulty holding things). If her device was programmed to say certain things and the dog was trained with that voice, i think it might work - in the directions for the game, they actually say to use a consistant voice! if she likes doggies, nintendogs would be the way to go!!

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

If her device was programmed to say certain things and the dog was trained with that voice, i think it might work - in the directions for the game, they actually say to use a consistant voice! if she likes doggies, nintendogs would be the way to go!!

I agree. Especially with Nintendogs, since none of the voice recognition is "built in", it customizes to your inputs.

For example, when you play Brain Age, it wants you to say "Six" the way it wants you to say "six". But in Nintendogs, since you can assign any word - i.e., for fun sake let's say you make the "sit" command "bum bum". The system doesn't care what you say, as long as it's consistent.

I'll be very curious to know what Sue thinks of one once she gets her hands on it.

NED