DSi for all

[Doctor Oak]

The past two days have seen DSi release dates springing out from all corners of the world, and this is how they match up:

Australia get it first on 2nd April for $300 Ozzie Dollars - which is $190 US Dollars or £135.
Europe will get it next on the 3rd for £149.99 - £10 more expensive than the RRP of the Lite.
America's the last to get it on 5th April, but gets it cheapest for $169 (£117) and unlike the rest of the world who get to choose between Black and White, get to choose between Blue and Black.

I had a feeling that Europe was gonna get this before America after a few rumblings about release periods last year. It would seem that who gets it first is either a mostly symbolic thing or simply a shipping thing.

I would be getting one on release day if I had the money. Though, considering it's just after the end of March there's a possibility that I might. Probably will have to wait a couple of weeks till closer to the end of April though. Either way, pretty much definitely gonna end up buying it - so what about you guys?

 

[Linkachu]

Well, I know I'll be getting it one way or another, but ouch. They just had to give me the difficult choice, eh?

If it was between the white and the black DSi, the choice would be simple. I'd pick the smexy black one. But now that blue's been thrown into the mix... Hrm. My last two DS Lites were black (at least for the most part) and my favourite color is blue... so I'll probably opt for the blue DSi this time 'round.

 

[Magpie]

I'm not going to buy one. My original DS still works fine and looks almost new, since I look after it quite well. It's not in my nature to just buy things because they are there... I think my Libra-ness prevents me XD

If my DS breaks I'll definitely go for the black DSi.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

I know for a fact I'm not getting it. It seems like a pointless marketing gimmick to me (I mean ditching the GBA slot for a CAMERA, What the flying fvck. Logic = Out the Window, particularily for Pokeymans games). So long as no titles I'd be interested in will be DSi Exclusive, Nintendo can keep their attempts at being Apple to themselves.

 

[Doctor Oak]

The camera isn't the only upgrade. The DSi also has over twice the amount of processing power of the DS Lite and 4x the available RAM. Throw in SD support, better online support and the room for even a DLC system (imagine the next Pokemon game exclusive to the DSi where you could literally download and add new Pokemon to it) and the possibilities for games that utilise the DSi exclusively are a pretty massive step up from the Lite.

As far as I'm concerned, the only thing Nintendo have done wrong is market it as a third version of the DS as opposed to its successor. And I believe a major reason for doing that is the GBA support. By keeping the Lite running alongside the DSi - there's really little room for people to complain about the dropping of the GBA slot from the DSi. Even if it was inevitably going to happen from the day the DS was revealed.

As far as the GBA thing goes - the system's been dead for about 3 years now, and while the DS/Lite has made some interesting use of the slot in relation to DS games, games that use it account for less than 1% of the games available. Considering everyone in the world will already own a GBA in some form and/or a DS in some form already (it's actually almost statistically impossible for anyone to NOT have one or both given the sales of both) - finally dropping support for it couldn't be at a more correct time.

 

[Johto-Master]

i think its a waste personally
my red ds lite works fine and it does what it made for, play games, not take pictures

and no gba slot means no dual slot from my blue rescue team to red so

no way i'll get it, even if my ds lite breaks (highly unlikely, i treat it like the worlds balance) i'd just get a new one

dsi are way too expensive to be less than a lite

 

[112% Elusive]

I'm with Stel here. My old DS that I've had for 3 years is still trucking with a broken hinge.

NO DUAL SLOT = HAET D=

I don't care what you say Doc, but I'm with Stel 100% here.

 

[Doctor Oak]

dsi are way too expensive to be less than a lite

Except it's not. The only thing that's been dropped is the GBA slot. Considering most people more than likely don't even play GBA games any more - let alone not have any other system to play it on (and there's nothing to stop you keeping your Lite anyway...) - the entire GBA thing's a ridiculous storm in a teacup.

We all knew it was going to happen eventually - I can't believe anyone would genuinely be surprised or disappointed now it's finally come. The DS has long since proven itself to be a massive improvement over what the Gameboy line provided and is, without question, completely dominant. It's way past the time for it to grow up and stand on its own two feet without a clunky GBA slot propping it up.

 

[Teapot]

The camera isn't the only upgrade. The DSi also has over twice the amount of processing power of the DS Lite and 4x the available RAM.

The main problem there, for me, is that although the specs are higher - which is a Very Good Thing on paper - it probably won't be used. Developers will want to try and maintain backwards compatibility, so current games won't see any difference, and future games will use the extra power sparingly, if at all. There will be a few souped up Nintendo games, but they will probably not account for enough sales to make it worthwhile.

Plus, I've already spent £120 on a DS, I really don't need another device that does the same job.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I'll bet there will be many games that do what the Gameboy Colour used to do - they'd be capable of running fine on both, but would be enhanced on the Colour.

Plus, hopefully, they wont shy away from top name exclusives. It's pretty safe to suggest, though, that the next Pokemon game will either have DSi exclusive enhancements or will be a DSi exclusive.

 

[Ruko]

I seem to be the only one other than Alex to be entirely for the DSi XD

I wish people could see a lot more than a camera has been added to it; I'm really looking forward to the DLC myself. SD slot will be nice too, though I don't see a full point of it yet.. aside from going alongside the camera.

I do hope that we see some DSi exlusive stuffs, but I don't think they're really going to pick up on that for a while myself :/

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Until the DSi becomes essential, I agree with Stel. As of yet I have no use of any of the features the DSi has to offer (especially that camera) that aren't covered by another device. It looks cool but it's ultimately a waste of money right now. There are too many other things I'd like to spend my money on instead. I still

 

[Pheonix]

Right now the only thing that would convince me to buy one is making it easier to access Wi-Fi. Considering the standard settings only allow up to only WEP security (which btw is the least secure you can make a wireless network but still have some kind of security) or a standard Wi-Fi hotspot, I imagine the enhanced memory options and applications it seems to be preloaded with might help. What boggles my mind so far is that they haven't made an option to access Wi-Fi through a connection through the Wii. Considering how much of a FAIL the USB Wi-Fi dongle was, this really should be rectified.

One of the other things really was said in an interview with Regis Fils-Aime said that this is really aimed at the people who already have a DS and maybe want to upgrade first, while maybe handing their old system off to a close friend or relative (most likely even within the same household). In most cases, this means that the old system would still be accessible for those who really want to use the GBA slot.

Even with that all said, I still don't have the disposable income to drop on it anyway. Although I imagine I might spring for one a year or two down the road.

 

[Doctor Oak]

The DSi supports WPA2 WiFi encryption. Unfortunately, it's part of the game software that controls the online stuff - so your old games still wont support WPA2. Games published since the DSi launch ought to though.

Incidentally, GAME has announced that you can trade in any console (360, PS3, Wii, PSP 3000 or DS Lite) and you'd get half price off the DSi.

In pretty much all cases there except the Lite - that's a fucking rip off. But, for those who would be ok with upgrading and not worrying about keeping the Lite for the GBA slot, it'd make for a pretty promising price drop.

 

[Johto-Master]

I totally agree with Reina Carmen
if there are any exclusives for it then ill end up getting it
but i cant see anyway there would be an exclusive that you cant play on a lite
wen the lite came out, you could still play the new ds games on a normal ds

so in other words, i dont think there will be any exclusives to tell you the truth

 

[Doctor Oak]

The American announcement press release begs to differ with you. Plus, there already are exclusive games for it - they're just not sold in boxes.

 

[Linkachu]

I seem to be the only one other than Alex to be entirely for the DSi XD

Lies XD

I'm behind it, too, and also for many reasons that don't fall under "Ooo, a camera!" I love the DS, so I'm just looking forward to being able to enjoy my games slightly better. The strengthened and improved WiFi capabilities also sound nice, and I'm also looking forward to whatever the DLC has to offer (which right now sounds pretty slim, but I'm sure it'll improve at some point...).

The only debate I have concerning the DSi is still which color to get, because I've seen the blue and... it's not really a shade that stands out to me. Something tells me the decision of which I buy won't be decided until I see the things in store

 

[Plapti]

The only reason I got a my DS Lite was because the rechargable battery on my old one was failing, so I got a new DS to compensate.

The only reason I would see myself getting a DSi, is to replace my old DS Lite's battery (Which seems to be failing as well)

The do look interesting, but a camera of all things. It's probably a bad one at that too. Personally, my DS has been used to play games, and only play games. Nintendo thinks that if they add a camera, it can top the PSP in practicality and usefulness. Sadly, they're not.

The DSi looks interesting, but I don't realistically seeing myself getting one. Unless my DS battery dies. Then I might be tempted to. Otherwise, not getting one.

 

[Linkachu]

People seem to forget that Nintendo once had a camera add-on for the Gameboy that does things similar to this DSi one... I don't deny that the addition to the unit is influenced by cell phones and the like, but it isn't that surprising to see a Nintendo handheld use a camera again - especially now with the touch screen's ability to manipulate the images and the ease of SD cards.

Also, the DSi doesn't really need to do anything to top the PSP. Why bother trying to best a handheld that's already down and out? (And I say this as a fellow PSP owner, lol). But really... save the console war discussion for other topics XP

 

[Doctor Oak]

There have been rumblings about a successor to the GameBoy Camera since the GBA - and they continued on throughout the entire DS/Lite's life.

Realistically, it's a much smarter move to have it PART of the hardware rather than having to pay out £35 for it on its own.

Besides, it makes for games like the new Wario Ware and is the next step in advancing how we can interact with our games. The idea's been toyed with on the PS2 and now the Xbox 360 - it's about time Nintendo got onto the act and did something about it that will make it mainstream.

 

[destroyer2322]

I dont want a dsi. I read about these things somewhere, and there pretty useless to me. And there supposed to be bigger than the ds, upload screenshots to the wii, they got rid of the gba slot (why? i dont know) and some other things.

 

[mentalconnection]

I don't need a DSI with my TTDS could I just download DSI games onto my TTS,therefore I can keep my DS (which most people already have)

 

[JoJo]

I'll definetly pick it up for Christmas or something, but about the GBA slot thing... Ok, that is sort of a disappointment that you can't play your GBA games on it - but think of it this way - if you keep your old DS\Lite, than you use THAT just for GBA games, and use the DSi for DS games and all the other cool features. ;D

 

[UltimatePokemo]

I'm not going to buy one. My original DS still works fine and looks almost new, since I look after it quite well. It's not in my nature to just buy things because they are there... I think my Libra-ness prevents me XD

If my DS breaks I'll definitely go for the black DSi.

My Libra-ness doesn't! I have a regular DS too, I'm keeping it and getting the DSi! Useful for getting DSi exclusive games and trading. Besides, It'd be more useful to carry it instead of my camera even if it has worse quality, it can play games! Though I'll probably bring my camera anyway. I sometimes just NEED good quality photos. Anyway, I'm basically a DS collector, so I'll (most likely) get the lite sometime after. All in all, it's an awesome DS! Finally, I'll probably want it to mess around with photos I take on my camera. =D

 

[Johto-Master]

well
im not against the dsi
i just wont go out of my way to get one
it'd make a great present though

 

[ShinyCharizard124]

I don't know if i will get the DSi... i REALLY want it, but if it doesn't have the GBA slot then i won't be able to migrate pokemon into Platinum Version!!! i will be lucky, though, if my parents buy it for me for christmas, so then i will be able to keep the GBA slot!!! it doesn't stand much of a fighting chance, unfourtanatley... :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

[RLRL]

I hate the cameras they just seem pointless.

Also my current finances are screwed with covering the costs of making a film for university. Until theres a really good DSi exclusive or a price drop I'm happy to stay with my lite, i only really play pokémon and occasionally tetris on there.

 

[Otter]

I like the DS lite. Instead of adding stuff, Nintendo could have just made the new lite smaller.

If you own a camera, then why would you buy something that's been specific for gaming that has a camera. I understand that they're trying to beat out the PSP, but in my eyes, the DS already won.

It's just for money, imo, that's all.

 

[Enkidu]

......?

The DSi is smaller than the DSlite by 12%, The screen's are bigger, the speakers are better, it comes with a built in AAC audio player (that can also "alter" the playing music like a photo on photoshop ) SD card slot expansion ( with 4x the amount of built in memory compared to the lite/orginal )

With increased WiFi capabilities and a 3.0 Megapixel camera on the inside Nintendo is also probably going to add a Video chat feature ( and the Dsi still has a microphone too ) Not to mention there is a small photo manipulation program that can be used to alter photo's as well. Someone also said that you can record short video's on the DSi camera as well ( but I'm not 100% sure thats possible, as I can't pick mine up until April 5th )

They added an official web browser, you can sync your DSi to your Wii and they added a "DSi shop" where you can download GBA games and whatever else onto your DSi ( legally ) and play them in there.

Better screen resolution, slimmer design, Matte finish to prevent finger prints, and a better placement for the power button so it's harder to accidentally turn off.

If you don't want to buy one because your DSlite works fine, or you don't have the money thats all fine and dandy. But to say it isn't a huge upgrade over the previous systems is a gross understatement.


Oh right, this was my first post. Pleasure to meet you.

 

[Lucario454]

With increased WiFi capabilities and a 3.0 Megapixel camera on the inside...

Umm... It's actually O.3 Megapixal camera. People often miss the decimal on the DSi site. I really use the GBA slot for migrating and such. I don't think I'll bother with it until Christmas or my birthday.

 

[RubiX]

Well. I've had my DSi for almost two weeks today. So far, I love it. I haven't even played DSi exclusive titles besides Warioware: Snapped! and I can already see it's potential. I'm glad I mad the purchase.

 

[Linkachu]

Picked up a black DSi myself yesterday. I would've gone for the blue but it was out of stock, and my discount was only available for the one day (... the discount being my uncle's Wal Mart card ).

Haven't done much with it yet, but pretty cool. As silly as the camera addition is, being someone who doesn't own a digital camera or cell phone, I'm finding it pretty fun. Just gotta pick up an SD card now ^^

 

[Lucario454]

Well I still don't think I'll buy it. It really has nothing to offer me. According to your reviews, I might consider giving it a spot on some kind of wishlist. :-\

 

[hakumeikage09]

I got a sky blue DSi last week and I can honestly say I wouldn't go back to the Lite or Brick. The DSi is just better in every way. Better screens, better WiFi, better power button, and the added stuff is just a nice plus. Being someone without a camera on his phone (sadly T_T), the DSi's camera is nice since I usually have it with me. The DSiWare is nice, though the only real good one so far is the ever-addicting Dr. Mario Express. Those who complain about the lack of a GBA slot, no one cares anymore. The same complaints happened when we found out the DSBrick couldn't play GB and GBC games. You'll get over it.

 

[Tatile]

Those who complain about the lack of a GBA slot, no one cares anymore. The same complaints happened when we found out the DSBrick couldn't play GB and GBC games. You'll get over it.

I happen to own GBA games and no GBA, so getting a DSi to replace my DS would be a moronic move on my part. I certainly couldn't afford them both.

Putting that to the side though, the only thing that sounds tempting for this new little piece of kit is the improved WiFi. Really, that is it for me. I've somehow managed to live in this new century without the need to be constantly snapping pictures with every gadget I can fit in my handbag and I really don't feel the need to have a camera on something designed for games. Perhaps I'm merely bitter.

 

[pokemon2010]

what about me i got the blue one on april 19 sometime after my birthday i wont reveal it

 

[Megaboom]

Better screen resolution, slimmer design, Matte finish to prevent finger prints, and a better placement for the power button so it's harder to accidentally turn off.

Pfft, forget the power button placement. What about the volume? I don't know how many times I've accidently turned the volume up to ear splitting heights. Never heard of DSes being accidently turned off with the power button.

Anyway, I'm not buying this. Especially when you can get products that do what the DSi does except better. I really hope the DSi only games are just a bunch of crappy casual games or some minor gimmick games with Nintendo characters slapped on. I don't know what I'd do if Nintendo decided to add a DSi only major first party game with only a lame camera gimmick to make it DSi only.

 

[LagerBoy]

Took me a while to make a descsion on getting a DSi. Im glad i chose to buy one because it is superior to the lite in everyway apart from it cant play GBA games. Ill just keep my lite until i dont need GBA anymore and it may b worth more by then.

 

[OranRi]

I don't think I'll get a DSi. It really doesn't seem that much different to me and I like my DSlite just fine. Though reading some of your reviews, It sounds pretty good and made me consider it.

 

[Azro]

I have the DSi i think its awsome! In my eyes, its an improved version of the lite, any way you look at it. It has everything the lite has but better AND has a few new cool things, such as the downloadable gba games etc. So the only thing to complain about is indeedy the gba slot. But as we all know know, that was taken into consideration when designing Heart Gold and Soul silver.