Nintendo DSi hits the U.S. in April – Another hit or a definite miss?
October saw Nintendo launch its newest foray into the handheld console market – the Nintendo DSi. Six months after launching in Japan, the DSi is coming to the States, with an April 5 release date now confirmed. Will the DSi be yet another hit for the company or is it all a bit pointless?
The Nintendo DS has been an absolute phenomenon. Alongside the Wii, it has shown Nintendo to be a forward-thinking company with the capacity to appeal to the mainstream like no other company can do. The little handheld has sold almost 100 million units worldwide, making it by far he bestselling console of this generation.
It could be argued that the DS cannot really be bettered at this stage in time. It’s small, finely tuned, accessible by all, and comparatively cheap as well. But Nintendo thinks it can improve on it, even if it’s just slightly. Enter the DSi.
The main differences between the DS and DSi are: slightly larger screens; it’s thinner and slightly lighter; and has two cameras built-in. But for those improvements, you lose backwards compatibility with the Gameboy Advance, and the battery life is significantly reduced.
The Nintendo DSi is being released in the States on April 5, 2009, for a RRP of $169.99. In its press release, Nintendo talks up the Nintendo DSi Camera, Nintendo DSi Sound and Nintendo DSi Shop applications. The first allows you to take and then manipulate photos, the second to record sound and then manipulate it, and the third to download new games via WiFi.
Personally, none of these new features really interests me. I have a digital camera already, and it’s a lot more powerful than the ones featured on the DSi. The DSi Sound app looks absolutely pointless, while the DSIWare app is just another way for Nintendo to make money. None of these things are really reason enough to hock in my DS for a brand new DSi.
Chart Get! recently noted that Nintendo has reached the incredible landmark of having sold 500 million consoles in total worldwide. That includes the NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, and Wii, as well as all the various handhelds released down the years. While that achievement should be applauded, I can’t help thinking the DSi is a complete waste of time and money. Having said that, it’ll no doubt sell by the bucketload and add to Nintendo’s already bursting-at-the-seams bank account.
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8 Responses to “Nintendo DSi hits the U.S. in April – Another hit or a definite miss?”
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February 18th, 2009
I dont give a shit about the DSi… a camera for BC is no good deal… I wanna play all the old gameboy games… not take fucking low res pictures…
February 18th, 2009
No doubt the DS brand will continue to destroy PSP in handheld gaming marketshare.
February 19th, 2009
Gain a crappy Camera but lose battery life? No thanks. We have a “family DS” and we barely use it as it is, with only 2 “brain training” games. It willl come in use on long journeys, but aside from that we barely use it and for the extra money i’m guessing that this is aimed at new potential DS owners.
February 19th, 2009
My girlfriend says buying a DS was the worst purchase she has ever made.
And I hate the pen.
February 19th, 2009
All three of my kids (girls 3-5-7) have DS’s and so do my wife and I.
the kids play it allot and I put moonshell on them and it works great for cartoons.
I use mine for long waits like at the hospital, doctors and while the kids are at gymnastics.
I don’t use mine since I got my Ipod Touch though.
Though the Ipod touch games don’t hold a candle to the DS or PSP yet.
Because the onscreen controls puts your fingers in the way. And most games are a whack-a-mole type shooting. Just sucks.
February 19th, 2009
I’m happy with my DS. I use it almost every weekend while I’m away.
The DSi to me seems to be really over priced. It seems like Nintendo is asking too much for the few minor improvements. Hopefully they will drop the price of the original DS now.
February 19th, 2009
I heard that this new version of the DS removed the possibility of running hacked DS game cards that allow use of microSD cards loaded with DS roms.
Now I don’t condone piracy (used for homebrew but we know the real reason) but this will definitely be a factor for gamers who want to upgrade their current DS and find out their flash cartridges won’t work with the DSi.
February 19th, 2009
such as myself.
Like I said my kids watch movies and their cartoon shows on them using moonshell.