Nintendo Announces DSi XL 179
lbalbalba writes "This morning, Nintendo announced the third upgrade to the DS family, the DSi LL (or DSi XL). It will be released in Japan on November 21, one year after the DSi debuted, for ¥20,000 (approx. $220). The LL's main improvement is the size of its screens, which have been increased from 3.25" to 4.2" with a moderate increase to the size of the chassis. The device also includes a much bigger stylus, which looks to be the size of a ballpoint pen, and battery life has reportedly been increased to five hours at maximum screen brightness."
After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Funny)
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Insightful)
You jest, but that's exactly right.
The target market for this DS is big and growing. Older people (parents, etc) find the current DS line with screens that are too small - now Nintendo sees a huge market for large screens and less agile hands.
Nintendo's no longer just a "kiddy" company - their products are aimed at everyone, particularly non-gamers. Nintendo might not win the console wars, but they'll infiltrate the homes of everyone else.
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I'm about to give Nintendo some more money.
I lost my Gameboy Advance's power cable. :-( Can I just borrow my friend's DS cable instead? Will it work with the GBA?
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Actually, the GBASP and the original DS use the same power adapter. DSLite's is different. I'm not sure if the DSLite power adapter works with the DSi or not. Also not sure about the GBA Micro. The original GBA used AA batteries and didn't have a power cable.
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Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:4, Insightful)
I think their products have been aimed at everyone for a long time. Look how many NES' Nintendo shipped (over 60 million). Tetris on the Gameboy was HUGE! Nintendo sold over 100 million Gameboys. The original Mario Brothers was an arcade like game that worked with two players. Their products are not aimed at "non-gamers". Their products are designed to *create* gamers. Maybe not the gamers the "hardcore" or the "game industry" thinks of (M-rated of course), but gamers none-the-less.
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Nintendo might not win the console wars, but they'll infiltrate the homes of everyone else.
They already won the console wars. While the others still think about who creates the most powerful console, while making losses, Nintendo made money like crazy.
And before they know what the real goal was, Nintendo will kick their asses through total dominance.
(*Hopes it will not come to a monopoly.*)
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Well, sure they are making money, but not as much as they used to. The big news today is that their profit is halved compared to last year.
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Wow, you're right. They are winning. As much as I dismiss the Wii (I like to play turn-based RPGs. Not that many/any on the Wii), it has surpassed both the Xbox360 and the PS3.
I wonder what this means for the future of gaming.
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Nintendo won the console wars years ago.
The NES and SNES console wars. Not the N64 or GameCube wars.
The present war is still in effect.
It took nearly 2 full years for Wii stock to meet demand.
Only due to a deliberate decision by Nintendo to *not* increase production.
The Wii is tracking ahead of the PS2 in terms of sales, despite the global recession and the high failure rate of early PS2 models.
What does the "high failure rate" (oh, please. the "high failure rate" is *nothing* like the *present* failure rate of the Xbox 360) of early PS2s have to do with Wii sales rates?
How far out do you have to extrapolate for the Wii to surpass the PS2 as the top selling console of all time? The Wii hasn't even surpassed the NES, which itself h
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Only for 2nd place. Nobody reasonably thinks the 360 or PS3 will ever surpass the Wii. It would take two years for the PS3 to catch up, even if the Wii stopped all sales completely, today; and since the Wii is still currently outselling the PS3 and 360, the gap is getting larger every week.
That said, I think the Wii hasn't yet hit the halfway point of getting to the PS2's sales, so it's still got at least a few more years before it starts setting records. the PS2
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"Only due to a deliberate decision by Nintendo to *not* increase production."
Which was a smart idea. To increase production would have required an additional factory. When they finally DO meet demand, they'd simply have an extra factory to maintain and lost money in building it. Their decision cost them an immediate access to the demand but secured a steady revenue stream for years.
No matter how "hardcore" gamers view Nintendo, it's hard to not respect their business savvy.
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I don't see how a shortage of stock and rampant hoarding equates to a successful product launch. Had Nintendo not botched the launch supply, they probably would have sold far more Wiis. A lot of people got tired of waiting and bought something else, or they waited for the early adopters to get bored (they all do), and bought one second-hand.
The problem with the Wii is it has no staying power. It has too few "killer games", thus is relegated to being that thing you fire up when you have company over, who
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:4, Informative)
On the other hand, Nintendo's profits fell by over 50% [reuters.com] last quarter over the same quarter last year. Additionally, the PS3 outsold the Wii in September in the US, taking the top spot in console sales.
To read Slashdot, you'd think Nintendo is experiencing exponential profits growth, and the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 10-to-1.
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Interesting)
Not knocking the PS3, it's a great console; but neither Sony or MS come close to approaching Nintendo's success this gen.
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On the other hand, Nintendo's profits fell by over 50% [reuters.com] last quarter over the same quarter last year. Additionally, the PS3 outsold the Wii in September in the US, taking the top spot in console sales.
To read Slashdot, you'd think Nintendo is experiencing exponential profits growth, and the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 10-to-1.
Perhaps not, but read that Reuters stupidity with huge grains of salt.
Because it's full of BS.
Nintendo's profits may have fell by over 50 %, but they're still far ahead of their competitors despite that.
Sony game division nearly lost as much (-$600M+) as Nintendo earned in profit ($700M+) this quarter, and MS game division earned $169M in profit this same quarter.
Nintendo still post quarterly profits that the other players in the game industry rarely reach in a full fiscal year.
In H1, Nintendo earned $1.2B
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To read Slashdot, you'd think Nintendo is experiencing exponential profits growth, and the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 10-to-1.
I thinking you must read a different slashdot than I do. There is a rather substantial anti-MS crowd here that talk down the 360 every chance they get. It's more like this:
Wii: The Jesus of consoles.
360: A machine that does nothing except RROD.
PS3: Sony installs rootkits on your computer!!!
Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Price (Score:5, Interesting)
When your portable costs more then your home system, something is wrong with your pricing path.
Yes, since laptops have never cost more than desktops.
Re:Price (Score:4, Insightful)
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Laptops are expected to be able to do the SAME thing as your desktop though(with the exception of high end current games), in portable form. Take the same tech and shrink it, it will cost more.
But no laptop can do what a desktop does for the same price, and you already thrown in an exception in your statement, that renders it irrelevant.
Besides, there are several things that the DS can do that the Wii can't.
So what's your point?
This analogy with computers is just plain wrong anyway.
Re:Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Except that the DS is far from being capable of the same things as modern consoles. A laptop could be set up to run a 64-bit OS with 8 gigs of RAM, store a half terabyte of data and render DX11-level graphics smoothly at 1280x800 or higher, which is what many full-sized desktops are used for today. Expensive, yes.
The DS, on the other hand, is running substantially weaker hardware than current consoles, with graphical capabilities roughly on-par with the Nintendo 64. From a technical perspective, that falls pretty far short of the major consoles.
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The DS hasn't really sustained even Nintendo 64 levels of 3d power. Of IGN's top 25 DS games, only about 1/3rd are in 3D. I'd guess that most people view the DS as the gaming equivalent of a Flash Player.
Which is why it's interesting that it has a commanding lead over the much more capable PSP. I guess technical capabilities don't necessarily lead to better game experiences.
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Except that the DS is far from being capable of the same things as modern consoles. A laptop could be set up to run a 64-bit OS with 8 gigs of RAM, store a half terabyte of data and render DX11-level graphics smoothly at 1280x800 or higher, which is what many full-sized desktops are used for today. Expensive, yes.
The DS, on the other hand, is running substantially weaker hardware than current consoles, with graphical capabilities roughly on-par with the Nintendo 64. From a technical perspective, that falls pretty far short of the major consoles.
The problem with what you're saying is exposed in the end: from a technical perspective.
But the DS and the Wii are NOT sold as technical objects, they are NOT in the technology business. Wii and DS are in the entertainment business, and thus are sold as such, their value is in the entertainment realm, and this is what determines their price, not technology.
And in the same way, the "modern consoles" are far from being capable of the same things as the DS, so this argument is void.
Even the laptop you describe
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Handhelds are expected to be able to do the SAME thing as your console though
Since when?
GB ~= ???
GBC ~= ???
GBA ~= SNES
DS ~= N64
Nintendo handhelds have generally been a generation or two behind the home console.
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I understand fanboyism because I used to be one. First it was "Commodore is better than Atari" then "Amiga is better than ST" then "Motorola/Mac is better than Intel/IBM PC".
Now that's I've grown-up I just buy the top two systems (Nintendo 64/PS1, Gamecube/PS2, Wii/X360) and be done with it. I no longer care whose name is on the box, and recommend the fanboys do the same.
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Now that's I've grown-up I just buy the top two systems (Nintendo 64/PS1, Gamecube/PS2, Wii/X360)
Shouldn't that read XBOX/PS2?
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Now that's I've grown-up I just buy the top two systems (Nintendo 64/PS1, Gamecube/PS2, Wii/X360)
Shouldn't that read XBOX/PS2?
No, it should read PS2/PS1 (in the more natural #1/#2 order, instead of the OP's Sony-diminishing reverse order). Or if you want the top five (for context):
PS2/PS1/NES/Wii/SNES (the last three having sold far fewer than the first two).
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>>>No, it should read PS2/PS1 (in the more natural #1/#2 order, instead of the OP's Sony-diminishing reverse order)
(rolls eyes)
Kiddies, kiddies, stop fighting. It doesn't matter that was my whole point. And for those who wondered why I chose a PS2 and Gamecube instead of an Xbox, it's because the Cube and Box were essentially tied and there was little on the Xbox that interested me, but the Gamecube had Metroid and Mario Sunshine and Zelda, so I picked that one.
>>>PS2/PS1/NES/Wii/SNES
You
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Not necessarily.
The XBOX and GameCube were neck-and-neck worldwide.
Depending on how he defines the top two, it could be either of them.
And neither of them have outsold the PS3...
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When your portable costs more then your home system, something is wrong with your pricing path.
To be fair, the DSi is cheaper than a Wii. This is the 'premium' edition for those who want it to look a little nicer cosmetically.
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How is this insightful? Making things smaller has always been half the point of hardware manufacture, and has always been one of the most expensive things to achieve.
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This is larger and more expensive than the regular DSi.
It doesn't cost more than Wii (Score:5, Informative)
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Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm wondering where the demand for this was? It's not like they're increasing the resolution and now the DS size history has gone from its original size, shrunk down to the Lite version, then the DSi came out which was comparable to the Lite, and now they're making it larger than the original DS with the XL.
But Nintendo usually knows what they're doing, as long as they don't color it red and require it be strapped to your face, that is.
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Funny)
Not to mention that my old eyes are going. It's getting hard to tell a pikachu apart from an electabuzz.
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Who's that Pokémon???
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Does this have larger external dimensions as well? Obviously the screen is larger but nowhere does it say the actual unit is wider. PSP-width with this size screen would be about perfect.
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From the summary (which was copied from the article): with a moderate increase to the size of the chassis. Of course they don't say how much larger it actually is.
Fortunately, a Google for "DSi LL dimensions" yields some useful results. Product-Reviews.com [product-reviews.net] has this:
According to a recent Cnet article it seems as if the handheld has had to be almost completely re-designed around the display, the physical dimensions of the device are (when closed), 161mm wide, 91.4mm height and a 21.2mm depth.
It also suggests checking out the image on CNET's article [cnet.com], which appears to be the same image as in the story /. linked to, except it shows the dimensions.
Also, someone has made a comparison chart [sizeasy.com] on Sizeasy.com [sizeasy.com].
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It is wider, taller and thicker. It is thinner than the DS Lite though.
Size comparison at Engadget [engadget.com]
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Hunh. so it's 16cm wide. A NES controller is 12cm wide for comparison (DS Lite is 14). That puts it on par with an SNES controller, which is pretty comfortable. Unfortunately the DS XL uses the same buttons as the DS Lite, which are fucking tiny. I think I would have been a lot happier with a half inch smaller screen with SNES-sized D-Pad and ABXY buttons. Not bad though.
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I hope they realized that a large portion of gamers don't all have tiny Japanese school girl hands? Even with my original DS, it can be a hand cramper to hold when using the stylus and playing.
There's a joke in there, but I'm afraid to go there...
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Re:Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's for the old people they introduced to gaming with the Wii. Now they have a handheld they can see with their aging eyes, and probably a larger stylus they can grasp with their arthritic hands. If you spend a lot of time in doctor's waiting rooms, these things come in handy.
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Funny)
I'll get off your lawn Sir.
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The Gameboy was only released twenty years ago. If we arbitrarily set "old" gamers to be fifty, then that would only be people who used gameboys when they were thirty or over.
The vast majority of gameboys were played by children, who are now in their twenties or thirties, and still have perfectly fine eyesight.
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It would be nice with the "100 classics book collection" as an ebook reader (original screen is a bit dark) and nice for the "colors" howebrew in paticular.
I'm confused.... (Score:2)
So is this "DS 39" or "DSi 40" or "DS9L" or "D6L" or what?
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It's a DSi XL.
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It's the DSi XL, clearly stated many times...
I'll admit my joke may not have been very funny at all - but, man, way to kill the fun. You're like Sam the Eagle or something, bein' all serious...
A lesser man would have simply said "whoosh". I, however, am willing to accept the notion that there's more at play here than your apparent lack of humor. :)
Makes sense (Score:5, Interesting)
The one person who uses his NDS Lite more than any other person I know is my 63 year old father. He likes to play all those brain games as well as card/puzzle games and those My Language Coach series. His only complaint - the size of the screen and the size of the stylus.
Nintendo knows EXACTLY what they're doing. Giving "casual" gamers exactly what they want.
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"Casual gamers"? Are you kidding? Hardcore gamers want it, too. I wasn't going to bother getting a DSi because it didn't offer anything over the DS for me. Now that it's got a larger screen, I'm probably going to import it. (I'm learning Japanese, too, so the import is so I can get the Japanese DSi games. The downloadable ones, at the very least, are locked to the region.)
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The one person who uses his NDS Lite more than any other person I know
Yes, that number usually turns out to be 1. ;)
Its a great option for geriatric gamers (Score:5, Insightful)
Nintendo has been trying to broaden its market with handhelds the same way that they have with the Wii. Games like brain age, professor layton and the Personal Trainer series appeal to and older crowd but the small screen size can make it rather limited. My mother for instance loves her DS but constantly complains about the text being too small or icons being indistinguishable, a larger screen size would be great for her. Based on the included bundle that appears to be the audience they are going for...smart idea IMHO.
Larger screen but same resolution? (Score:3, Insightful)
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I'm skeptical that this is going to do anything but highlight the shortfalls of the system; it being both the oldest and the slowest architecture on the market.
Actually the DSi has a fair bit more processor power (and memory I believe) than the DS, but few devs have taken advantage of it (for many games it's not really necessary, and obviously at this point the original DS still has a lot more market share).
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note: the web browser for the original DS and DS lite used an extra ram pack in the GBA cart slot (there are two variants of the rampack, one that looks like a GBA cart and a smaller one designed to sit flush in a DS lite).
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One of the comments that came out from people reviewing the PSP Go was that the screen looked "sharper" because it was smaller with the same resolution as the PSP 3000. Wouldn't this just have the opposite effect for the DSi? As it is the DSi has a rather low resolution and I'd be worried that increasing the screen size will just make games "bigger and uglier". I'm skeptical that this is going to do anything but highlight the shortfalls of the system; it being both the oldest and the slowest architecture on the market.
You can be worried. But this isn't aimed at the tiny group of people that care about this.
Instead, this is aimed at older people that don't care one bit about these silly technical things, and just want to entertain themselves.
The games are not ugly to most people owning a DS, and actually most people don't care about that.
And don't care either about highlighting shortfalls. The DS is on its way to become the most successful dedicated videogame system in history, already at 110+ millions units sold in 5 yea
It's obvious... (Score:3, Funny)
Technology from a couple years ago, larger fonts for older eyes...they're clearly targeting the Korean market.
Re:It's obvious... (Score:4, Funny)
Only if it includes an email client.
Only old people use webmail (Score:2)
[It'll be popular among Korean seniors] Only if it includes an email client.
DSi includes a web browser developed by Opera. There are numerous providers of WWW gateways to Internet e-mail. Do the math.
Maybe this one will support WPA? (Score:3, Interesting)
I kept wep on my router longer than I should have because I just liked playing Mario Kart just that much. I lost my dslite and thought to buy the new model, but it still doesn't support wpa, just wep. I decided I wasn't going to switch back just for one game, and opted instead to buy nothing. Maybe I'll get the new one if it can do wpa, but if not, no sale.
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I'll admit, I don't own a DSi... but why should the game care? It's the console that's doing the network connection, and once that data is past your access point, it's no longer in a WiFi format anyway!
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My guess would be because it is easier and more secure to keep the actual network stack in the game code. If it is in the game (as in on cartridge rather than in a ROM on the DS) it can be upgraded and modified by the developer as needed. For instance, say a vulnerability were found that allowed Mario Kart to connect to a rogue server for the purpose of cheating or piracy or any other damn reason. You could easily fix the vulnerability and include it newer versions of the game. It will also be patched in an
Nintendo's Kindle killer? (Score:2, Interesting)
Larger screens, more legible text, better wifi features... perhaps Nintendo is trying to break into the e-book reader market with this device. After all, e-book readers are popular in the DS homebrew scene, which Nintendo is not totally unaware of, and a company with Nintendo's clout could arrange a deal with Amazon for a Kindle app. I have limited pocket space, and when I'm on the go, I know I'd rather carry around a sightly larger DS than a DS and a Kindle...
i think i figured it out.... (Score:3, Funny)
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http://xkcd.com/605/ [xkcd.com]
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Nintendo predicts 10" screens on Nintendo DS Lite XXXL by 2012
By that time, they might as well introduce the TV adapter already.
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I remember the good ol' days when the gameboy color could entertain you for days and days without the need to replace (or recharge) your batteries. The battery life alone would make me not buy this.
As it happens, this device has some of the best battery life of any device you're likely to find.
I never use anything more than minimum brightness indoors. You won't need max brightness except in sunlight. Although, my DS lite goes so long between charges (on minimum), I couldn't really say how long it lasts exactly.
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That's what I thought too when I saw the summary. I've never actually tracked it but I'm pretty sure my DS Lite goes more than 5 hours on a charge. I'll have to time it some time and see.
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I used to get way more than 5 hours on my 1st-gen. If this is how things are now then I'll never be buying one of these.
Jesus, the reading comprehension of ACs... Less than 5 hours on maximum brightness, which is considerably brighter than the 1st gen. On the lowest brightness setting, I consistently get 10+ hours, some pages on the net say it's 15-18 hours, and this new DSi should improve on that too.
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Taking the same old DS and making the screen bigger isn't going to boost sales the way that going in a new direction would.
No, but it's not like they'd make more money by shifting focus away from a platform that is very popular right now.
They're not doing anything here they haven't done before. See GameBoy Pocket, GameBoy Advance SP, GameBoy Micro, and DS-Lite. You're not offering them anything they don't know already.
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They've done very well doing new and different. They have done just as well (possibly more so) taking what they know works and making small changes. If you doubt this at all, come by and look at my stack of Zelda games some time. If you wait a while you can check out Zelda: Spirit Tracks with me - I can't wait to play it.
Re:Nintendo's Niche (Score:5, Insightful)
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Now with it's two wide screens they will finally listen to my demands for it to play two movies at the same time! or watch a movie on the top wile playing an old 1 screen game on the bottom, the options are endless mwaahahahha!.... seriously two screen even bigger... don't really see how this is going to improve their sales, they might as well make a four screen device...
I haven't purchased a DSi yet, but I want one. Truth be told, I'd probably lean towards the one with the bigger screen. I think I'm part of their target market, one of those people who haven't purchased a DSi yet.
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I think the idea of two screens the way it's setup is kind of annoying to me, I like having one big screen rather than multiple screens
Can't say I agree. I play GBA games on mine (one screen only) and it annoys me that I have to stop the game to see things like maps or inventory. Give me two screens any-day.
My main gripe is that only one of the screens is touch sensitive.
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you want my opinion? get an Ipod Touch. save yourself some time and money, and become part of the Apple wave.
I have an iPod Touch and it's no Nintendo DS.
Re: Why upgrade? (Score:2)
Perhaps they just want to expand their market and sell it to people that didn't buy a DS because they want bigger screens.
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It apparently has all this with online downloads, newer Opera web browser and enough memory to run it, and a card slot for flash storage. It isn't that nice to have to buy the GBA games again as files or use some piracy tool to play roms but the machine is capable of runnin
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What is there to be puzzled about? It's a DSi with big screen for old people who have trouble seeing the regular one. You're not supposed to run out and buy one.
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There's no reason for anybody to get this if they are satisfied with the size of the standard DS screen... and if they AREN'T satisfied, this is a good option to have.
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Because lockdown of the hardware is the apparent goal of all mobile devices these days? You can't do that if you make things open and share them.