New DS Lite coming

[erwos]

Some thoughts:

If it has WPA support, I'll buy one. If not, no. That is my numero uno complaint about the DS Lite. I'll consider it as supporting WPA even if there's no such support for legacy DS games.

The removal of the GBA slot in favor of SD was probably the right call, but it's going to piss some people off who were using GBA slot peripherals. I have a GBA-SP (AGS-101!), so I might just buy a new battery and use that for my GBA games.

Battery life seems to have been _significantly_ decreased over the DSL. This doesn't bother me much (I don't have issues with my PSP's battery life), but it could be pretty bad for some folks.

I still have a few questions left, though. Will it have TV-out, preferably via component? Is the wireless using 802.11g now? What's the status of flash carts (which are the only thing that make the PSP and DSL really portable, IMHO)?

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: erwos
Some thoughts:

If it has WPA support, I'll buy one. If not, no. That is my numero uno complaint about the DS Lite. I'll consider it as supporting WPA even if there's no such support for legacy DS games.

The removal of the GBA slot in favor of SD was probably the right call, but it's going to piss some people off who were using GBA slot peripherals. I have a GBA-SP (AGS-101!), so I might just buy a new battery and use that for my GBA games.

Battery life seems to have been _significantly_ decreased over the DSL. This doesn't bother me much (I don't have issues with my PSP's battery life), but it could be pretty bad for some folks.

I still have a few questions left, though. Will it have TV-out, preferably via component? Is the wireless using 802.11g now? What's the status of flash carts (which are the only thing that make the PSP and DSL really portable, IMHO)?

Id imagine that WPA support is a no brainer, and if they let current flash carts (R4, etc) still work, theyre just asleep at the wheel.

 

[Queasy]

DSi to hit Europe in Spring of '09. I assume it will hit the USA around the same time.

I'm on the fence about this one right now. I just don't see a big jump in functionality right now to justify waiting for it. I was thinking about giving my DS to my daughter and buying a new one for myself. Don't know if it is worth doing that with the current information.

 

[R Nilla]

Cool, I'll definitely get a DSi even though I don't even use my DS that much.

I have nearly every major iteration of Game Boy and DS, so I won't be able to resist adding this to my collection.

 

[Thraxen]

I'll probably get one for my wife. She plays her DS all the time and has wore out the touch screen. It still works fine, but there are now marks worn into the screen from playing all those casual games that use the stylus. So even though the added functionality is minimal, she still needs a new one and we've been holding out for a new DS since the rumors have been around for a while now. I hope they announce an actual US release date soon.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Thraxen
I hope they announce an actual US release date soon.

Nintendo of America is doing a press conference later today so we should hear then. I don't know what the exact time is though.

 

[erwos]

Oh... and I hope they changed the charge connector to be standard mini-USB. And I hope it can function as a standard SD card reader when connected to USB.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: erwos
Oh... and I hope they changed the charge connector to be standard mini-USB. And I hope it can function as a standard SD card reader when connected to USB.

Good point. With the cameras added, being able to just connect it to a PC/Mac with a USB cable would be a nice feature.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: Imaginer
Goddamnit! The speculations are right on about the new DS!

Pros
* 3MP camera* Built in memory with SD card expansion
* DS ware for the DS akin with Wiiware for the Wii
* Double the fun! Double the touch screens
* Larger screens
* A bit more compact
* Better WiFi
* White AND Black upon release
* Music Playback, Photo Editing Playing tools, maybe video playback?
* Built in browser?
* Quite possibly another step in getting close to that all in one electronic device?

Cons
* I guess that ends peripherals taking advantage of the Slot 2... Goodbye Rumble pak, goodbye Guitar Hero On Tour, Tilt cartriage functions? And worse of all.... DS is going the way of Gameboy Advance Micro??!!!! (DS only games, no backwards dances with GBA)
* More expensive than the first introduction price of the DS and DS lites...
The fact that my DS lite is just 2 years old.... for some, even less. Now I have to fight myself from getting yet another handheld?!
* Another Handheld amongst a growing collection of electronics I have.
* Did I mention no more Slot 2 already?

I am excited and saddened at the same time about this...

Since there would be DS ware... I sure as hell hope that the DSi would stay region free like its good predecessor is. (crosses fingers)

Otherwise, fat chance in hell that another Elite Beat Agents thing will be pulled off again.... No more imports to show how much gamers want a particular game.

Read again

0.3 MP

The outside of the case gets a 0.3 MP VGA (640x480) resolution camera,

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: BD2003

The iTouch and iPhone are terrible gaming platforms. I have one, its useless for anything but the most casual of casual games. Buttons are not overrated, and neither is a stylus. Sure, you can *run* quake on one (jailbroken), but actually trying to play it is a total disaster. Even a simple game of tetris is an exercise in frustration.

If you buy one with the primary intent of gaming, you better hold on to your receipts and read that return policy very closely.

I actually have little interest in buying either Apple's products or the new DS. I was just making an observation that I think Nintendo needs to be careful, because if they keep trying to add features and up the price, they'll pretty quickly be competing in a market that advances quickly and they'll be seriously outmatched technology wise (even moreso than on consoles only they'll also have a lot more competition, including some that could very well undercut them on price). At this price I'd definitely be considering a PSP as well

But hey, if it works, good for them I guess. Personally I don't find the DS to be exactly top notch when it comes to gaming either (I will say its possibly the best handheld for that at the moment, but there's a lot of room for improvement).

 

[Queasy]

link

Reggie just announced that the DSi will not see release until "well into calendar year 2009" citing strong U.S. sales of current DS hardware.

Well, I guess the release date depends on your definition of 'well into'. It was nice for the European division of Nintendo to at least give a season/quarter when to expect the DSi. No such luck with Reggie and Nintendo of America apparently.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: Imaginer
Goddamnit! The speculations are right on about the new DS!

Pros
* 3MP camera* Built in memory with SD card expansion
* DS ware for the DS akin with Wiiware for the Wii
* Double the fun! Double the touch screens
* Larger screens
* A bit more compact
* Better WiFi
* White AND Black upon release
* Music Playback, Photo Editing Playing tools, maybe video playback?
* Built in browser?
* Quite possibly another step in getting close to that all in one electronic device?

Cons
* I guess that ends peripherals taking advantage of the Slot 2... Goodbye Rumble pak, goodbye Guitar Hero On Tour, Tilt cartriage functions? And worse of all.... DS is going the way of Gameboy Advance Micro??!!!! (DS only games, no backwards dances with GBA)
* More expensive than the first introduction price of the DS and DS lites...
The fact that my DS lite is just 2 years old.... for some, even less. Now I have to fight myself from getting yet another handheld?!
* Another Handheld amongst a growing collection of electronics I have.
* Did I mention no more Slot 2 already?

I am excited and saddened at the same time about this...

Since there would be DS ware... I sure as hell hope that the DSi would stay region free like its good predecessor is. (crosses fingers)

Otherwise, fat chance in hell that another Elite Beat Agents thing will be pulled off again.... No more imports to show how much gamers want a particular game.

Read again

0.3 MP

The outside of the case gets a 0.3 MP VGA (640x480) resolution camera,

Does better Wi-Fi mean WPA? That is the only improvement I give a crap about. Dont need camera, have many gadgets that do that. MP3? Same thing, many gadgets. I just need WPA function. Pretty lame they didnt put that into any of the current DSes even tho WPA was around befor the first DS ever hit and there has been a few revs since then and they still havent included WPA. Bastarsds.

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Seems to me that they're starting to get out of their market a bit. I think I'd spend the extra $40 and get an 8GB iTouch. A more open platform with more potential (and ease of integration into everything else). Gaming hasn't advanced too far, but then it practically just got started and is already advancing quickly. There's nothing here that would convince me to go with a DS, and in fact, it'd push me to consider other devices more. I'm going to guess the internal storage to be 256MB, Nintendo won't want to upstage the Wii with their portable.

Also, Nintendo announced their storage solution for the Wii. Its SD cards. So it'll only be about 2.5 years for them to implement something that could have (and in my opinion should have) been implemented at launch. Still limited to 2GB and won't be ready until next spring.

Yes. Everyone go out and buy an iPod Touch. GO NOW! :roll:

 

[Deeko]

At first I was pissed because I just bought a DS Lite last week. But basically, a 30% increase in price for a slightly bigger screen, slightly thinner size, camera/browser? Meh. If I wanted that stuff, and I wanted to pay the extra money to have them, I'd have gotten a PSP in the first place.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: BD2003

The iTouch and iPhone are terrible gaming platforms. I have one, its useless for anything but the most casual of casual games. Buttons are not overrated, and neither is a stylus. Sure, you can *run* quake on one (jailbroken), but actually trying to play it is a total disaster. Even a simple game of tetris is an exercise in frustration.

If you buy one with the primary intent of gaming, you better hold on to your receipts and read that return policy very closely.

I actually have little interest in buying either Apple's products or the new DS. I was just making an observation that I think Nintendo needs to be careful, because if they keep trying to add features and up the price, they'll pretty quickly be competing in a market that advances quickly and they'll be seriously outmatched technology wise (even moreso than on consoles only they'll also have a lot more competition, including some that could very well undercut them on price). At this price I'd definitely be considering a PSP as well

But hey, if it works, good for them I guess. Personally I don't find the DS to be exactly top notch when it comes to gaming either (I will say its possibly the best handheld for that at the moment, but there's a lot of room for improvement).

Yet you're still failing to recognize / acknowledge that the DSi is still first and foremost a gaming system, something the iPod Touch is clearly not. In fact, other than the PSP, there really isn't any other device provided by any other company that matches up with it. If anything this is simply Nintendo responding to the excellent (yet still 2nd place to the DS) PSP sales by adding/improving features we would have assumed to come from Sony and not Nintendo.

Someone looking to spend $189 (remember, this is the adjusted Japanese price, we still don't know the price for the US or anywhere else for that matter) for a DSi is most likely going to be interested in playing DS games...the extra features are perks to justify the additional cost over a DS Lite. They'd be an idiot to downgrade to to a iPod Touch by spending more unless they want better media playback support more than they want support for games, of which we still know next to nothing about how the DSi will perform when it comes to media playback.

 

[RaiderJ]

For me, the new features don't constitute and extra $50 in value. At that price, an 360 Arcade is much more appealing.

 

[ed21x]

while all the added features is a nice touch, whether i get it is really dependent on how good these features actually work. for example, the Opera browser for the DS sucked, so if this integrated version is just as useless, what would the point be? However, if this becomes a very useful feature like the browser on the iPod Touch, and we have the ability to webconference with that integrated camera, that would be amazing. also, the handwriting recognition on the DS is really good (seen in brain age 1/2) so if we have that as the primary text input method, this could very well be the best/cheapest portable web browser on the market.

 

[waggy]

i don't see any reason to get it. i already have a DS light. i don't need the 3mb camera and already have MP3 ability

 

[I4AT]

I think the biggest problem is that they're basically splitting their consumer base. Obviously dual touch screens are going to have a significant impact on gameplay. Are developers going to want to jump on this new platform when the install base for the current single touch screen DS is already so huge? Is the second touch screen going to be properly utilized or are games gonna be tailored to a single touch screen DS, with gimmicky hack support for those that have the DSi?

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: I4AT
I think the biggest problem is that they're basically splitting their consumer base. Obviously dual touch screens are going to have a significant impact on gameplay. Are developers going to want to jump on this new platform when the install base for the current single touch screen DS is already so huge? Is the second touch screen going to be properly utilized or are games gonna be tailored to a single touch screen DS, with gimmicky hack support for those that have the DSi?

There are not 2 touch screens. It's just the one, like all the prior DSs.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Yet you're still failing to recognize / acknowledge that the DSi is still first and foremost a gaming system, something the iPod Touch is clearly not. In fact, other than the PSP, there really isn't any other device provided by any other company that matches up with it. If anything this is simply Nintendo responding to the excellent (yet still 2nd place to the DS) PSP sales by adding/improving features we would have assumed to come from Sony and not Nintendo.

Someone looking to spend $189 (remember, this is the adjusted Japanese price, we still don't know the price for the US or anywhere else for that matter) for a DSi is most likely going to be interested in playing DS games...the extra features are perks to justify the additional cost over a DS Lite. They'd be an idiot to downgrade to to a iPod Touch by spending more unless they want better media playback support more than they want support for games, of which we still know next to nothing about how the DSi will perform when it comes to media playback.

No, I'm not disregarding that. As I pointed out, I'm not sure where Nintendo is going with this, are they aiming to put the DS as a competitor to something like the iPhone? If they're focus is the gaming, then why are the features not really aimed at that? Using devices like the Apple ones is just taking off. Give convergence devices a couple of years and then we'll see how they compare to the DS for gaming. Yes, right now comparing it to the DS for that is as stupid as comparing the DS to them for the other features, but since both are evolving in roughly the same direction I think its a valid comparison.

With Nintendo moving towards casual gaming as their core audience, don't you think that kinda is similar to people who would be buying a convergence device like the iPhone? Even if you think its terrible for gaming doesn't change the fact that more and more games are being developed for it and it is in fact taking off as a platform.

So, give the iPhone say another 6 months to develop on the app side, more accessories (including one that is aimed at adding gaming like controls to it), it'll probably drop in cost yet again. So, is it so absurd to compare even a $150 DSi with an $150 iPhone?

The reason I focus the comparison on the iPhone is well pretty obvious to me, but there are a lot of devices that are going to follow a similar path. Square and id are already developing for the Apple devices, and its not like Nintendo offers anything really compelling to keep other developers from doing the same.

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo

Yes. Everyone go out and buy an iPod Touch. GO NOW! :roll:

I was merely point out that it is in fact an option. At around this price the PSP is definitely an option (I didn't think I actually needed to state this since it was completely obvious).

Is there any doubt that even with all I've said, that the DSi will be a runaway success? I don't think so. Certainly, I would find it ridiculous somehow hampers your enjoyment of it. I'm looking at it from the market side and the way Nintendo is going, I just don't see long term success. They adapt far too slowly. It hasn't been too bad for them in consoles but its a more slowly evolving market, they haven't until about the past year had competition on price, and they're still riding a largely one-trick pony. The DS is established and is more than a one trick pony so of course it'll be all right, but what about beyond that?

 

[ed21x]

So, give the iPhone say another 6 months to develop on the app side, more accessories (including one that is aimed at adding gaming like controls to it), it'll probably drop in cost yet again. So, is it so absurd to compare even a $150 DSi with an $150 iPhone?

well, the iPhone will never develope into the game system that DS is, much like the DS will never develope to the music player that the iTouch (more comparable to DSi than iPhone) is simply because these are not their core target, so even if they are capability-wise the same, they won't overlap to the point where the iTouch is their primary gaming platform or DSi is their primary music platform. Because each one is so optimized for one task, the other functions are just icing.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: ed21x

well, the iPhone will never develope into the game system that DS is, much like the DS will never develope to the music player that the iTouch (more comparable to DSi than iPhone) is simply because these are not their core target, so even if they are capability-wise the same, they won't overlap to the point where the iTouch is their primary gaming platform or DSi is their primary music platform. Because each one is so optimized for one task, the other functions are just icing.

I wouldn't say never. There's certainly room for improvement, a lot, and maybe in its current iteration that is correct, but it will evolve and almost certainly more quickly than Nintendo evolves their own platform. I think too many of you are thinking about typical people on this board, but that is not who is driving a lot of the market. Of course, it is also true that the iPhone really isn't that same market right now either, so that holds true of my argument as well, at least for the time being. That really is my point though, as the convergent device market goes mainstream and Nintendo goes more mainstream, I think Nintendo loses a lot of their appeal because of the overall experience. Really, most of the things I'm talking about are beyond the discussion here, so I will stop harping about it.

 

[I4AT]

Originally posted by: ViRGE
There are not 2 touch screens. It's just the one, like all the prior DSs.

Huh? Is this confirmed? All the articles said it would feature 2 touch screens.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: I4AT

Originally posted by: ViRGE
There are not 2 touch screens. It's just the one, like all the prior DSs.

Huh? Is this confirmed? All the articles said it would feature 2 touch screens.

The article was in error. It's confirmed, it's just one touch screen.