Nintendo DSi

[Whunpo]

Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/02/nintendo-officially-unveils-nintendo-dsi/) is reporting on the new DS that Nintendo has just revealed.

Even before Nintendo announced it, the DSi has been the talk of the town. According to our Japanese correspondent, the DSi will be 12 percent thinner, and will get rid of the GBA slot entirely. The DSi will also include two built-in cameras (one reportedly VGA resolution) and music playback. The DSi will also add an SD slot and internal storage (we don't yet know how much) to enhance its multimedia capabilities. The screens are now slightly larger at 3.25 inches.Photos can be synced to the Wii Photo Channel.
Looks awesome. I still don't do portable gaming like I should though.
Not enough posts to submit news. Feel free to move it there when ever you want.

[iHap]

Depending on how I feel about this, I may end up getting one of these and giving my DSL out, or keep it since the DSi doesn't have a GBA slot.

I'm so looking forward to see this out in the wild.

[astranoir]

It sounds like it has some things I want (a way to save games that doesn't get lost if I am borrowing the game or have to sell it back before I finish for some reason), but also things I think are disappointing (I like having the GBA port).

[Whunpo]

The only thing that may have lost me is the cost. It's costing about $180 in Japan, and the I don't think I would want to pay for that.
Nintendo's not calling it a DS successor because now they can keep the lite at the same price and still launch this. Kinda ridiculous.

[TheEvilNarwhale]

The lack of a gba slot is kinda sucky. But then again I hardly used it.

[Whunpo]

The lack of a gba slot is kinda sucky. But then again I hardly used it.

Honestly, it's the logical idea. It was the easiest way to save cash/make it smaller, and with the HUGE library of titles the DS has now, it's not really needed.

[J Arcane]

Isn't there a fair number of peripherals out now that use the GBA port for other purposes?

[astranoir]

Isn't there a fair number of peripherals out now that use the GBA port for other purposes?

like rumble?

[Whunpo]

Isn't there a fair number of peripherals out now that use the GBA port for other purposes?

I didn't think of that. Good point.


Engadget is reporting that both screens have touch. Joystiq and Engadget conflict as to one or two cameras. I'm leaning towards two though.
Engadget is also reporting that the US will not see the DSi till 2009.

[Generation ABXY]

I can only think of three things that really make use of that second slot: the web browser (guess that problem's solved now), the rumble (which has like, what, five supported games) and the Guitar Hero games (looks like Decades might be screwed). I don't think I'm going to miss it too much.

As for the whole thing, I'm really looking forward to this. But, I'm also a total Nintendo whore...I've made my way through almost every DS (and I'm talking colors here, folks) they've released. At least this appears to be an upgrade worth actually upgrading for.

[Whunpo]

I can only think of three things that really make use of that second slot: the web browser (guess that problem's solved now), the rumble (which has like, what, five supported games) and the Guitar Hero games (looks like Decades might be screwed). I don't think I'm going to miss it too much.

With two touchscreens, you won't really need an add-on.
Or at least, it's possible to make a game. Even if it's not as good, its possible.

[pseudopseudo]

Wow. This came as... no surprise. The GBA slot won't be missed.

[Variable Gear]

I'm extremely apprehensive about the DSi. However, if Nintendo does a good job with the downloadable games, I could see myself looking forward to the system a bit more. As it stands now, I can't justify paying $180 for a DSi, when the DS Lite is just fine. When they reveal a true DS 2, then I'll be excited.

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

I was thinking, hey, maybe I should get a lite now!

But you are saying there won't be any price drops?


Even though the Lite wasn't a successor to the Fat, the Fat costs less.

[hunterx280]

The only reason why I would even consider this is the possibility of a virtual console on it. If I can play old NES, SNES, Genesis and N64 games on this I will be pretty sold. Just think, you download Secret of Mana and slap your friends around until they do and you play online or locally. That is a beautiful thing my friends, a truly beautiful thing.

[Generation ABXY]

The downloadable games - even if we're just talking some VC titles - would be enough to make me slap down money for this. What really has me interested though are the possibilities for the Wii-to-DS connection. I mean, are we going to see any Xbox LIVE Vision or PlayStation Eye type of games come out of this for the Wii, because that's something else I could see buying it for.

[Tayaya]

I'll probably get one of these just because Nintendo hardware seems to have this magical ability to take my money and find its way into my collection even if I don't necessarily "want" to own it. Kinda like how I have 4 GBA SPs and 2 GB Micros.

I will very much miss the GBA slot though, as I use it regularly for games like Goemon 1&2, the original Rhythm Tengoku, the Bit Generations series of games, and many more. Definitely a little disappointed about that, and DEFINITELY feel that the region lock things was not needed, but we'll have to live with it at least initially. Not a dealbreaker... just means I'll probably buy the Japanese one.

[itchyeyes]

Looking at the features list I don't see much to get excited about the DSi. With 80 million DS's out there without camera's it's unlikely that any developers are going to hitch their sales to the small portion of machines that do have cameras. The screens are marginally bigger, but still at the same resolution and presumably at the expense of battery life. I don't so much mind the DS slot being gone, but it's not really a plus for me either considering the unit is only marginally smaller the the DS Light.

That leaves the internal storage, SD card slot, and downloadable games as the only remotely compelling features for me here. And given that the DSi may not hit US shores for another year, and it will likely take a good 6 months for the online store to accumulate a decent selection of titles, that means I'm probably not even going to consider buying one until mid 2010. And even then, I find the added features hard to justify the extra $50 (and that's assuming the DS Light is still selling for $130 three and a half years after it launched, and assuming that there's been no news on a DS2/PSP2 by that point).