New DSi Priced and Dated

[DoctorFinger]

Nintendo has finally announced a launch date and price for their new DSi handheld in North America. This new version of the popular Nintendo DS will ship in the US and Canada on Sunday, April 5th and will sell for $170.

This new hardware ditches the GBA slot, but brings a pair of VGA-quality digital camera lenses (one on the outside, one on the inside of the clamshell case) and an SD card slot. At launch the DSi will be available in black and blue, as seen above.

Launching alongside the new hardware is the new DSiWare Store, which will allow for direct downloads of software to the SD card. Games will be purchased using Nintendo Points, and begin at 200 points. The DSi can also play music stored on the SD card.

So to recap, the new DSi is no longer compatible with the GBA games, or any DS games which make use of the GBA slot (such as the Guitar Hero On Tour titles). But the old DS, without an SD slot, cannot use the DSiWare titles, or any of the upcoming games which make use of the camera functionality.

Source - Gamesindustry.

[Gorvi]

I said it when it was announced and I'll say it again here: this is the wrong way to iterate on hardware. The DSi has functionality that applies to games, the ability to download games and, to a lesser extent, the camera, that the original DS doesn't. And that just plain sucks.

[DjinniMan]

I purchased a GBA SP, phat DS, and DS Lite, each on the week of launch. However, I just can't bring myself to get this one. Losing the GBA functionality is just too much. I could care less about a camera; the only thing I would like is downloading games a la WiiWare. That could be a very lucrative option for Nintendo, but why introduce new hardware for it when you already have a massive install base? Surely a R4 like official device could be made for the current DS.

[Smoof]

I'm sort of hoping this fails. Mostly because I feel putout that my DSLite can't download new games. Why not just release an attachment for the DS/Lite that has an SDslot and connects to the GBA slot? I'm not sure if it would have the same bandwidth, but it's an idea.

I just hate the fact that the market is being cleaved in two.

[LarsenNET]

No interest at all in this version.

[Johan]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

I said it when it was announced and I'll say it again here: this is the wrong way to iterate on hardware.

I totally agree. I'm actually very, very unhappy with this move by Nintendo. I don't like it a bit.

[Goronmon]

I think I'll pass on the "Screw Existing Customer Base" version of the DS.

[MosBen]

Yeah, I don't know why someone would pick this up.

[shodan2020]

I'm fine with my DS Lite, thanks.

[zarathstra]

Not interested. No use for the camera, i don't like the colors, and I'd miss the GBA slot. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to wait until the DS Wii3603 comes out.

[Sandman]

I'm somewhat interested....I'll pre-order it when it comes up on amazon and if I'm still interested when it comes out I'll bite.

[Mike Kelehan]

Since I don't have a digital camera, and 640x480 should be enough, this is a good purchase for me. I do wish, though, that they made an SD adaptor for the original model's GBA slot so everyone could participate in DSiWare.

I wish it were in a more pleasant blue, though...

[ElektroDragon]

Completely stupid hardware revision. No way in hell am I giving up my DS rumble slot (I have a DS Lite rumble pack) or the ability to play GBA games. These new features should have been part of a DS2 system. They've now split the market.

[Zaro]

The DSiWare is what interest me the most.
I wonder is someone can use the camera to make games?
Maybe something like Drawn to life where you can take a picture for texture.

I don't use the gameboy slot so for me it's not a problem, but that a strange decision.

[TheFlyingOrc]

I'm not particularly interested, but I don't really understand the hate this thing has been getting.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingOrc

I'm not particularly interested, but I don't really understand the hate this thing has been getting.

It has new features that apply to gaming that you'll only be able to use by purchasing the new piece of hardware, which is also missing a feature that many of us still want. Buying a DSi is a double edged sword, I think it'd be easier to swallow if it had all those features and still included the GBA slot. I know I'd be much more inclined to buy it.

EDIT: The only thing close to this in the past was the Game Boy Color, but that was a slight reboot to hardware that had been out for 9 years at that point, and it didn't remove any functionality.

[Johan]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingOrc

I'm not particularly interested, but I don't really understand the hate this thing has been getting.

I'll tell you where it comes from for me. I find it very greedy of hardware manufacturers to drive new hardware in the face of still successful, and not terribly old, older hardware. It's a money grab, in my opinion, that unnecessarily frays the hardware base and pushes people to plunk down a few hundred dollars in order to be able to play upcoming titles.

I don't like being shoved into buying new hardware. All the console manufacturers do this, with MS arguably the worst and Sony the best (longest lifespan of hardware).

It will be very interesting, in light of the lousy economy, to see how the DSi does in sales. I also think the blue they chose is ass-ugly, and the black isn't much better.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

It has new features that apply to gaming that you'll only be able to use by purchasing the new piece of hardware, which is also missing a feature that many of us still want. Buying a DSi is a double edged sword, I think it'd be easier to swallow if it had all those features and still included the GBA slot. I know I'd be much more inclined to buy it.

Well, considering the thing has been out for over 4 years, and the GBA came out...wasn't it 8 years ago? It seems pretty reasonable to remove - especially since you can tell by the fact that the games don't actually fit that they went really out of their way to make that work on the DS Lite.

I understand wanting the GBA Slot, and I understand not buying it because of that, but blaming Nintendo over a pretty small feature for most people seems a little extreme.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingOrc

Well, considering the thing has been out for over 4 years, and the GBA came out...wasn't it 8 years ago? It seems pretty reasonable to remove - especially since you can tell by the fact that the games don't actually fit that they went really out of their way to make that work on the DS Lite.

I understand wanting the GBA Slot, and I understand not buying it because of that, but blaming Nintendo over a pretty small feature for most people seems a little extreme.

Well, its a combination of that missing (making it less attractive to some than the DS Lite in some ways) and the fact that the only way you can play the DSiWare games is via a DSi. Buying a DSi is like buying a Genesis with a SEGA CD and/or 32X built in. Only some of the DS userbase is going to be able to play some games built for the system, and that sucks.

EDIT: This is coming from someone who owns 7 iterations of Nintendo portable hardware, the only things I don't own are the GBA SP "Bright" and the GBA Micro.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

Well, its a combination of that missing (making it less attractive to some than the DS Lite in some ways) and the fact that the only way you can play the DSiWare games is via a DSi. Buying a DSi is like buying a Genesis with a SEGA CD and/or 32X built in. Only some of the DS userbase is going to be able to play some games built for the system, and that sucks.

I understand that, but if they are incapable of adding it to the old system, I'd rather they add functionality to the new system. I doubt the DSiWare games are going to be worth $170 by themselves.

It sucks, but it sure isn't worth getting mad over.