Nintendo is getting ready for the US launch of the third iteration of the DS handheld, the DSi. From the information I’ve read, they’ve added:
[ul][li]2 low-res cameras (even lower than a cel phone, which already take pretty cruddy pictures)[/li][li]a music player[/li][li]an SD card slot[/li][/ul]
They got rid of the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot, so now the DSi won’t be backwards compatible with GBA games or be able to play games like Guitar Hero that used the expansion slot.
Software-wise, Nintendo is hyping the customized Opera browser and some goofy photo-effects software you can use on your newly snapped pictures. What I’m not seeing are the new games which would take advantage of the platform’s new features.
When the DS was announced, I thought “cool, the touchscreen opens up a whole new style of interaction and game play”. Same with the Wii and its motion sensing controls. But a camera? The best I can come up with is a photo-based variation of the “Drawn to Life” games.
I’ve loved the Nintendo handhelds ever since getting the original Game Boy in 1990. I like adding color, getting the ability to save, and was very excited about the touchscreen. But this time, my reaction is “Um, why should I spend money upgrading?” It’s like they added a bunch of popular smartphone features without adding the phone.
Nintendo is not stupid, and these things are selling extremely well in Japan. So obviously I’m missing something. Can one of our video game experts tell me what?
The only thing I can see that you are missing from your list is Downloadable games. The DSi has internal memory, and SD card slot to store downloadable games.
The DSi is basically filler while they work on a DS 2. I know I won’t be getting one, unless there is some killer exclusive game.
As for why it is so popular in Japan? It’s Nintendo, pretty much everything they do sells incredibly in Japan, that’s the only explanation I can think of.
It’s a nice expansion on the DS base. Nintendo has decided that it’s time to move on from the GBA platform (which they did a good job of running in parallel for a while) and so they added a few nice, but not brilliant, multimedia features. It’s not intended to attract someone who has a DS, I know I won’t get one; it’s intended to attract a few more people who might have been thinking about getting a DS.
Is this true? Because I am also at a loss about why the DSi is a big deal besides better screens. But I still have a DS phat and was thinking of getting the DSi just to upgrade. But if there is yet another improved version in the works, I’ll hold off.
Also, I didn’t know if they were going to stop developing DS games to move completely in favor of DSi ones. Anyone know?
It also has a faster processor (133MHz ARM vs 66MHz ARM), more RAM (16Mb vs. 4Mb), and the wifi now supports WPA/2.
I’m pretty sure it’s not just a stopgap, either. Personally, I think it’s supposed to be the successor to the DS, but they just don’t want to come out and say it. It’s a bit like the Gameboy -> Gameboy Color switchover before it.
The Gameboy Color was a stopgap, though, intended to tide the market over while they worked on the Gameboy Advance. They started releasing GBC-exclusive titles towards the end of its life cycle but most Gameboy games could be played on either device.
The DSi is a DS, so there aren’t going to be any retail games that are “DSi only”. There will be the online-only DSi Shop, but that is purely because the original DS doesn’t have a memory slot.
And there is unlikely to be another DS/Game Boy in the future anytime soon. The DS is still selling ridiculously well (it just passed the 100 million mark) and developers are still responding favorably to it.
Every year, some jackass journalist spills a ton of digital ink about the totally unfounded rumor he heard about the “DS2” or the “Game Biy Evolution” or whatever cutesy name you want to give Nintendo’s next handheld. I’ve heard it every year since 2005 and it hasn’t yet come true.
This isn’t quite accurate. While the Game Boy Color was more or less a stopgap (it lived only three years), GBC-exclusive titles make up more than half of the system’s lineup.
This might get me to buy it. I’ve never been able to get my wireless router to work with my DS unless I turned off all security. My Wii, on the other hand, works just fine.
Still, I can’t imagine DSi-exclusive games will be common. You’d be shutting out a userbase of 100 million people for one that will only number in the low millions for a good long while.
I agree with you. It’s a nice gadget, but I can’t afford games for the systems I have let alone get a new one. I think there’s a lot of people in this situation right now. I’m counting on any exclusive content for DSi being able to run on “the next DS”, unless this *IS *“the next DS”, which has already been discussed as being unlikely.
