Nintendo DSi

Originally Posted by hylianhero5249

Do you have any type of GBA? Then you can play your old games and still get a DSi without buying them on DSi Shop.

My GBA is old and wearing out, and has a far dimmer screen than my DS.

Besides, it's annoying to take two portable systems around just so I can play all the games I want to.

Besides, I know there were plenty of great games for all of the GBs, but you have to admit, they're old!

So?

Now, about you saying the DSi won't sell as much. Well, I say nobody can judge, since it is to early in the life span.

It's also way too late in it's lifespan.

The "DS 2" (or whatever) can't be much more than a year away from being announced, and as soon as it is you'll see a slight spike in DS sales, followed by a massive drop, especially if it's backwards compatible.

The "i" has far less time to sell units than the Phat or the Lite, and most people who want a DS have one already. I imagine the market of people who say: "You know, I was never interested in a DS, but now that it has two low-quality cameras and can no longer play GBA games I must have one!" is rather low.

Plus, Gamestop said the total numbers of DSi preorders were more than the DS Phat, and that's not including other stores that took preorders for the DSi. And you have to admit, the numbers of DS Lite units are slowly going to stop selling since the DSi was released.

None of which matters at all. Developers would still be incredibly foolish to release DSi only titles, especially anything with any kind of budget behind it.

Especially since the camera is really just a gimmick, something that's rather difficult to use well in games.

My sisters' friend brought her DSi over today. I only got a small glimpse of it. She showed me the camera feature which looked like ****. I honestly can't be bothered with this.

Taking out the GBA slot was a horrible decision. Whoever thought of that should have been shot dead on the spot. It's not just the GBA games themselves, but the peripherals that could've been potentially added. Games like Guitar Hero on the DS won't work on the DSi.

The DSi is a DOWNGRADE.

I don't really mind whether the DSi has a GBA slot or not. :/

If I'm honest, I would have preferred if they had kept the GBA slot but the DSi makes up for it with DSiware - if they have Link's Awakening DX or proper multiplayer Four Swords, I'm more than happy to buy it. I only have a handful of GBA/GBC games, and the DS didn't even play GBC games anyway, so I've kept my GBA anyway.

*SIGH* Just imagine a proper Wifi version of Four Swords - MAN that'd be sweet.

Originally Posted by Marluxia

I don't really mind whether the DSi has a GBA slot or not. :/

Same here, i sold all of my GBA games a long time ago.

Originally Posted by John

It's also way too late in it's lifespan.

The "DS 2" (or whatever) can't be much more than a year away from being announced, and as soon as it is you'll see a slight spike in DS sales, followed by a massive drop, especially if it's backwards compatible.

The DSi for all practical purposes is the DS2. It's technically more of a DS Color, but the point of the matter is, get comfortable with the system. It's going to be Nintendo's main portable for the next three or so years going forward.

Originally Posted by Jοe

Taking out the GBA slot was a horrible decision. Whoever thought of that should have been shot dead on the spot. It's not just the GBA games themselves, but the peripherals that could've been potentially added. Games like Guitar Hero on the DS won't work on the DSi.

The DSi is a DOWNGRADE.

There are really not that many peripherals that use the GBA slot, let alone games that support them.

Here is a short editorial/blog post that I wrote for Heretic-Gamer on the DSi.

Thoughts on the DSi:
By now, two days since the DSi launch, we have all likely come to a conclusion of whether the DSi is for us. It has been talked about and debated on the forums, but here are some thoughts that the reader may have not considered before.

First of all, the removal of the GBA port REALLY isn't that big of a deal. How many Gameboy Advance games do you still play, and further, how often is that? Over the last few years, I've sold all but my four or so favorite Gameboy Advance games, (which include The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, among another, if you were wondering), that I've held on to only because I consider them to be classics, not because I ever plan on playing them again in the next few years, if ever at all. No, the removal of the GBA slot is really just something I believe some people have come up with to whine about when talking about the DSi. The bigger loss in the DSi's transition is the slot for an expansion port. While Nintendo expansion paks do not typically receive wide support, if Nintendo ever wanted to make another gyroscopic game, they might be a Squirrel On a Limb.

This leads me to my next point: From the "innovation" standpoint, I actually wish the DSi was more of an upgrade. If they included a gyroscope inside the unit, in addition to the new cameras, in addition to the slightly upgraded hardware specs, the DSi would have been a lot bigger of an upgrade just in the amount of unique games it would be able to provide. It would also allow for cross-platform development of games with the iPhone, which would be a great thing for developers. Instead, we just got a new camera, and while that will allow for some new experiences, I highly expect most of them to feel gimmicky. Plus, from the technology standpoint, gyroscopic technology plus Eye Toy motion tracking together would have allowed for some extremely cool motion controls. I'm talking Wii-level (non-Motion-Plus, of course,) motion controls.

The other thing I'm interested in seeing is how much of a difference the increased hardware specifications make. First of all, we don't even know if the four times the RAM and two times the CPU frequency is accessible to developers to design DSi-only games around it. Disregarding that, however, I wouldn't expect too huge of an upgrade in graphics. The increased RAM will obviously make the biggest difference, allowing more enemies and effects to appear on screen, and allow for a better draw distance, which I'm all about. Though of course the extremely low resolution will bottleneck all of this, which makes the fact that they didn't increase the screen resolutions very disappointing. I've been complaining about this for years.

The increase in CPU speed I'm not expecting too much from. You may have seen the comparison videos of the extra effects they were able to add into the PSP games when developers where finally able to utilize the system at its native clock speed of 333Mhz instead of 222Mhz. Graphics were definitely enhanced, and a lot of PSP games came closer to looking like the best PS2 games because of it, but the 33% increase in frequency didn't allow for miracles to happen. Just more advanced shadowing, and once again more enemies on the screen, and so on. This is of course because while the frequency has increased, the actual processor technology used is exactly the same as the original DS's, and of course, bigger speed jumps usually come in improvements to architecture rather than frequency increases. Still, any kind of better graphics on the DS will be appreciable.

What would be fantastic is if hackers were able to unlock the 133Mhz CPU mode on the DSi for older normal DS games as they have done respectively on the PSP, allowing for faster loading (not a problem for most DS games,) and a faster, more consistent framerate (a problem for many DS games).

I should be receiving my DSi in the mail in the next couple of days, and while the only thing I'll be able to appreciate about it now is the improved speaker quality, (the first thing I intend to do upon receiving my DSi is 100%-ing The World Ends With You), like many other people have said, the DSi is a system of potential. Considering that potential is something Nintendo realizes as often as they shun (DS rumble pak, N64 Exapansion Pak, Wii Balance Board, a competent online system), with only two colors initially available and a considerably higher price (don't expect that to drop anytime soon), it may be better to wait your DSi purchase out until a clear verdict can be made on the system, most likely from some must have game.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

It's going to be Nintendo's main portable for the next three or so years going forward.

where'd you get your information? I know a lot of potential DSi buyers are worried that the DSi will run just like the GBA SP, where it'll only run for about a year and then they'll churn out yet another handheld system.
the DS overall has been running for about 4 1/2 years...that's a pretty long time all things considered. I'd be shocked if the DSi had as long of a run on its own, being only an upgrade of a system already in existence. the Advance only ran for 3 1/2 before the DS came out overall.

Originally Posted by Shaelyn

where'd you get your information? I know a lot of potential DSi buyers are worried that the DSi will run just like the GBA SP, where it'll only run for about a year and then they'll churn out yet another handheld system.
the DS overall has been running for about 4 1/2 years...that's a pretty long time all things considered. I'd be shocked if the DSi had as long of a run on its own, being only an upgrade of a system already in existence. the Advance only ran for 3 1/2 before the DS came out overall.

Because Nintendo is running the platform just like the Gameboy Color. It can play Gameboy games, but Gameboy Color-only games existed as well that were not compatible with the original Gameboy. The same thing is happening to the DSi.

How am i going to transfer Pokemon into my dsi... thats a question i have been asking myself. Luckily i dont have guitar hero...

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

The same thing is happening to the DSi.

You better be talking about the downloadable games. I'd kill Nintendo if they released actual cartridge games for the DSi that won't work on my Lite.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

Because Nintendo is running the platform just like the Gameboy Color. It can play Gameboy games, but Gameboy Color-only games existed as well that were not compatible with the original Gameboy. The same thing is happening to the DSi.

Save that the Gameboy Colour was a huge improvement over the Gameboy.

The DSi is the DS with a camera. That's the extent of the hardware change. The GBA SP had roughly the same level of hardware/firmware change compared to the GBA as the DSi does to the DS.

So, no, it's not the "DS Colour", it's the "DS SP".


If Nintendo does try to use it as a successor then they're being fools, the difference between the two is far too small to make that work. People who currently have a Phat/Lite are not incredibly likely to upgrade, whereas people who didn't previously own the system aren't all that likely to buy it now.

It's a refresh, a small upgrade, not their new portable platform.

Originally Posted by John

Save that the Gameboy Colour was a huge improvement over the Gameboy.

The DSi is the DS with a camera. That's the extent of the hardware change. The GBA SP had roughly the same level of hardware/firmware change compared to the GBA as the DSi does to the DS.

Four times the RAM and 2x the CPU frequency, with DSi-only and DSi enhanced games. It's the Gameboy Color.

Originally Posted by Forte

You better be talking about the downloadable games. I'd kill Nintendo if they released actual cartridge games for the DSi that won't work on my Lite.

No, they're doing it for card releases as well.

Originally Posted by Forte

You better be talking about the downloadable games. I'd kill Nintendo if they released actual cartridge games for the DSi that won't work on my Lite.

It's not likely. They want us to be satisfied and it (DS/DSi) would not be that much different.

If Papa Ninty does, though, expect it to be big news.

Originally Posted by Evilsbane

*SIGH* Just imagine a proper Wifi version of Four Swords - MAN that'd be sweet.

Nice!

Originally Posted by Captain Crusader

It's not likely. They want us to be satisfied and it (DS/DSi) would not be that much different.

If Papa Ninty does, though, expect it to be big news.

http://kotaku.com/5184277/nintendo-p...dsi+only-games

Originally Posted by Leinator

http://kotaku.com/5184277/nintendo-p...dsi+only-games

You're great.

But really, he could have just read the post right above him.

I really don't understand why people don't believe me. I've been around these forums since 2003 (and prior).

I do not have a DSi, and I do not have any plans to get one at all...

I guess Nintendo's more money hungry than ever. It was time for the next generation handheld, but instead they come out and announce yet another DS rehash.

Um... Hello Nintendo? My DS from 2004 still works perfectly fine! I don't need another one... Why don't you work at least a little bit harder, and make an actual new handheld console... Only than do you deserve any money.

They have not been impressing me at all lately.

I use my GBA games anyways, and it's great for me to have my DS because my GBA SP broke and it's nice to be able to play my GBA games with a backlight.

The DSi for all practical purposes is the DS2. It's technically more of a DS Color, but the point of the matter is, get comfortable with the system. It's going to be Nintendo's main portable for the next three or so years going forward.

Good. If this is true the PSP2 will have some time to build up a decent library, and get the ball rolling. From the PSP2 roomers, it looks like the PSP2 hardware is going to far outshine the DSi.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

You're great.

But really, he could have just read the post right above him.

I really don't understand why people don't believe me. I've been around these forums since 2003 (and prior).

People don't like facts that prove them wrong. They'd rather just piss and moan about ****.

Originally Posted by Roscodingo

How am i going to transfer Pokemon into my dsi... thats a question i have been asking myself. Luckily i dont have guitar hero...

You won't be able to transfer them. At all.

Originally Posted by Forte

You better be talking about the downloadable games. I'd kill Nintendo if they released actual cartridge games for the DSi that won't work on my Lite.

The commercials for DS games no longer say the "DS", they say the "DSi". So now we have no clue which games are for the DS and for the DSi.