Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSi

By Louise Yang . April 5, 2009 . 8:37am

Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSi

Nintendo fans may probably know this already, but the DSi is being launched this week. With its five brightness settings, two cameras, and 12% smaller size, it’s an improvement to the DSlite. But are the improvements worth it? What would convince you to get a DSi?

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSiJenni: While I joke about a Square Enix announcement of a Before Crisis DSi port being all the motivation I need to pick up a DSi, it’s a bluff.

I’m completely satisfied with my DS lite, and have no desire in the DSi at all. The Japanese DSiware I’ve seen doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t need a camera or camera games. (My unused PS2 Eyetoy can back this up.) The internet options aren’t appealing either. And when it comes to music, my iPod and cell phone have me covered.

Even if they announced a DSi Virtual Console, with rereleases of old GB, GBC, GBA or even Game Gear games, I’d turn it down. I still have working GBA SP, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket units, so I don’t need to pay more money for games I already own.

The DSi is a nice novelty and option for people who don’t own a DS yet, but it looks like there’s nothing it offers that I want.

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSiSpencer:I have a Japanese Nintendo DSi, but I got it as a present. I wasn’t sold on the new hardware when I first saw it because the only DSi exclusive games so far are on DSiWare. If I’m going to upgrade or purchase a new system there has to be at least two or three games I want to play. PM Studios told us DSi enhanced carts are coming months ago, but none have been officially announced. The DSi has a hole-in-the-bucket problem. Developers don’t have an incentive to make a DSi game since they can stick to making games for the regular DS and its much larger install base. And without software supporting the new platform why should anyone upgrade to a DSi?

Now that I have a DSi I appreciate the larger screen, clicky D-pad, and Moving Memo Pad. When rotating through multiple RPGs the memo pad is great for jotting down notes on what to do next so you don’t forget. I like Ishaan’s idea of installing DS and DSi games on an SD card, but that sounds like a pipe dream. As Jenni suggested, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII would be a killer app and the system should be able to pull it off. Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII uses a cell phone’s camera to pick up colors for spells. The DSi has a camera and Square Enix isn’t opposed to porting mobile phone games so…

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSiLouise: I’m with everyone else here. Until they release a game that makes killer use of the DSi features over the DS, I’m going to hold out on buying one. It’s great the screen is bigger and the size is slightly smaller, but with the current economic climate, I’d rather save my money for something else. When the DSlite came out, upgrading from the DSphat was a no-brainer. The Lite was sleek, brighter, and a lot lighter. Between the DSlite and DSi, there’s not that big of a difference.

I would be really surprised if Nintendo allowed loading multiple games onto one SD card. If they actually did that, which I highly doubt, I’d buy a DSi just so I don’t have to lug all my games around with me as well as support their position. If they’re just going to use the SD slot for MP3s and videos, then I’m not that interested. I have smaller gadgets that do that better.

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: The DSiIshaan: As far as games are concerned, the ability to copy games to the SD card and not have to lug a dozen DS carts around with you. Also, good DSi-specific features in “enhanced” carts. Fixing the typically broken DS Wi-Fi would be nice, too.

In the media functionality aspect, enabling video-chat at some point and enabling MP3 playback would be a godsend. I also find it very hard to understand why I can’t send pictures to people on my DSi contacts list over Wi-Fi. DSi has a ton of potential, but it’s Nintendo’s responsiblity to tap into it and give those of us on the fence a reason to upgrade.

Also, I’m going to have to say I want to see Before Crisis on DS just so I can witness the total meltdown that takes place after the announcement. It won’t be nearly as good as the Final Fantasy XIII one, but I’m counting on the FFVII brand to pull it off.


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  • Wishy

    I'm going to go pick up my DSi in an hour or so, I still have the classic DS from 5 years ago and frankly it's age is starting to show (Scratches, hinge is getting loose, etc) and since I skipped out on the DSlite upgrade (Which was just as 'useless' imo) I can finally get a smaller, more portable DS.

    Im' just hoping that DSiWare and exclusive games really blast off soon.

  • Malek86

    What about battery life? Did you notice any difference?

  • Lucian(GER)

    battery life is only 4 hours.ds lite has 7 hours!

  • RavenSchwann

    I'll be getting one today. My old DSlite was stolen like a week ago. Life is just weird like that. They want me to buy this thing.

  • thaKingRocka

    I think the DSi is the best veiled attempt at combating piracy I've seen in quite some time. However, I don't think it will be a big seller for DS Lite owners. I expect a fair number of the non-traditional gaming community, i.e. Wii owners, to jump on this since the Wii is likely their gateway machine to the hobby.

    For me, the DSi offers absolutely nothing of interest, and I think the price tag is unjustifiably high.

  • http://www.nakedsushi.net/ Louise

    That's not good at all. The primary draw of a portable console is that you can play it anywhere. But if I have to charge it everytime I get home, it gets annoying.

  • takotacos

    My DS Lite's top screen stopped working two weeks ago just as I was getting into Pokemon Platinum, so now I'm getting a DSi as opposed to paying to get my DS Lite repaired.

    Originally I had no interest and probably would have held off for a long time (or entirely) before getting a DSi, but here I am. I think there's a potential here to create something worth upgrading for, but it's all up to Nintendo and the direction they take things in. I think the idea of porting cell phone games to the DSi for digital download is a great idea, because these games simply don't get released outside of Japan 99% of the time. And I know many gamers would buy the DSi just for that.

    Looking at the difference between the features the PSP had on day one compared to now, upgradeable firmware makes all the difference. If the DSi has features regularly added to it, that's another selling point, but that's more of a long-term idea that won't sell units on launch.

    Still, yet another DS upgrade that lacks a GBA slot is a tough sell for gamers who are content with their Lites. Eventually I hope the DSi ware games as well as enhanced DSi cards and more added features will make it worthwhile, for Nintendo's sake anyway.

  • Foo FOO Li

    oh my god! will people stop bitching about the missing gba slot already. it's gone! move on already! jeez. nintendo is just getting ready for the future. i'm pretty sure the nds 2 or whatever they decide to name it, won't have a gba slot. it was going to happen eventually, but it just happened now with the ndsi. so no more crying, o.k?

    sooooo, if you wanna play your gb/gba games so badly, wait until a couple months down the line when nintendo announces the inevitable gb/gba store for the ndsi(yeah they're gonna resale you everything). sony's going to do the same thing full force will it's psp games(and also the inevitable ps2 games store for the ps3). the umd slot is gone.

  • vicviper42

    Yeah, but the brightest setting on the DSi is much brighter than that of the DS Lite. Who needs it that bright anyways?

  • JeremyR

    I'm torn. I have about 15 GBA games and 4 DS games, so I really like the GBA functionality of the DS.

    On the other hand, one of the reasons I don't have many DS games is I don't like the tiny screens and buttons and wobbly d-pad. So if the DSi has bigger and better ones, maybe I'll play the DS games I own.

    I also hope battery life in sleep mode is better. At least for me, it seems like it completely runs dry when I close it. Whereas in the PSP, sleep mode it only loses a percent or two over night.

  • http://twitter.com/iidxgold scott

    Why doesnt anyone mention the infinitely better D-pad on the DSi?

    Yeah, i wouldn't have bought the DSi, but certain circumstances pushed me to get it. I could have waited, but oh well…

    The SD slot in there seems like a total waste. I have a 2GB sd card in there for only AAC music and photos. You can't even load DSi shop games from it… and the internal flash only has 128mb of space for downloading games.

    If we're going to see anything cool from the DSi (not the DS-DSi hybrid games), it'll be from the DSI-exclusive carts, that break out of the 256mb barrier. We'll finally see some nice graphics from the new DSi-ARM processor, and not suffer through horribly compressed video.

  • Shuyin

    I have a DS Lite and i don't want to buy a DSi. Its features seem useless (as Jenni said): a low-res camera (if i want a camera i have one that's 100x better on my phone) that'll probably be used in DSiware games; which brings us to feature no.2: DSiware. Again, not interested. Internet options are also useless (i'm not using my PSP or mobile phone for internet, so why would i used the DS?). Playing music is a joke (AAC only? really? why bother, since i have a few MP3 players). The lack of the GBA slot doesn't matter to me since i didn't play GBA games on my DS anyway.
    All in all, nothing the DSi offers can make me buy another DS. My Lite is enough, thank you.

    However, i'd hate it if they made DSi-exclusive games. That's like showing the middle finger to everyone that has a Phat or Lite. Here's a DS game that you can't play on your DS so we're forcing you to buy another one. Redesigns shouldn't split the userbase into two; games should be compatible with all versions of that hardware.
    If Before Crisis comes to DSiware, SE probably knows there'are over 100 millions worldwide Phat/Lite owners, while only a fraction of that number owns a DSi. Logic dictates their profit won't be as high if an eventual Before Crisis would be DSi exclusive.

  • daizyujin

    I agree with thaKingRocka, at this point the system looks like a very poor attempt at combating piracy. I just don't see what the system has to offer at this point that is remotely worthy of dropping $170 on.

    For me it is going to take a hell of a lot, most importantly some really impressive chip games that are exclusive to the system. If Nintendo's idea of exclusive titles remains with DSiware, then I think I will continue to remain with my DS Phat. I know it isn't that bright but it works and I can see it just fine.

  • daizyujin

    I brought this point up before and was laughed at but you are right. No developer in their right mind right now would want to segment their market by making a DSi exclusive title outside of Nintendo themselves. It just makes no sense at all.

  • RavenSchwann

    I picked mine up. I haven't gone on the net yet but its not bad. Nothing to say thats already been said too.
    I do like the wii-channel like thing. The D-pad is great, and the L+R triggers stick out a bit, but they're easier then the DSlite ones. I also like the new pwr button and volume control.
    I'm with everyone else that theres no need to upgrade, i just like having new things.
    I found it funny that it contains a Parental Control in it with password lock and everything. But there are a lot of kids out there who are curious.
    But hey, most portable upgrades arn't always fantastic like the one before since everyone already has it, but this is Nintendo, they'll make it work even if it is the same as the DSlite.

  • http://www.micahglenn.com Divals

    Personally, I don't care so much about the GBA slot, since I bought a GBA at a yard sale a while ago and I can just play my GBA games on it (let's see how many times I can put GBA in a sentence). But, I did buy a DS Lite the summer before last, and I have little desire to buy a DSi when my Lite works just fine. Yes, the upgrades would sell me on it if I didn't already have a Lite, but unless they put out some super nifty games just for the DSi I won't see much reason to sell my Lite at a huge loss and buy a more expensive version of the same thing.

  • asdf

    Although very cool the features in the DSi don't merit a new piece of hardware.

    It's kind of the iPod Photo of gaming, they slapped on two features and shipped a new version.

  • Wonder

    Or, you know, some of us just like being able to play our Daigasso Band Brothers expansion cartridge. Or use the Guitar Grip to play Guitar Hero: On Tour. Or like using the magnet stand on our refrigerator when cooking with Personal Trainer: Cooking. Or using the Facening camera, the Weight Loss Coach pedometer, the Taito paddle controller or the rumble pak. Or playing Slide Adventure Mag Kid or…oh wait, you weren't interested in actually having a discussion about this, were you? Just preemptively yelling at and insulting people who hold opinions that are different from your own.

    Honestly, I don't understand why you're crying so much about people who think differently/care about different things than you. Is it really that scary and upsetting?

  • http://www.infinite-bits.com NickyD

    I'm with RavenSchwann. I just like new things, and it's got a much more interesting interface than the Lite. Hitting the power button in-game brings you back to the main menu, which is nice when I want to do a soft reset or something. Little things that matter. The distortion and effects given with the camera are fun to play with (nothing like a picture of my bulldog with a huge smile), but I hate taking my own picture, so whatever.

    Don't even have an SD card, so no comment. Already stream video to my PSP via PS3, so I don't see a reason to put video on it… ditto with music, along with my iPod.

    I haven't noticed shorter battery issues. Charged it overnight for its initial charge, played it about 5 hours today, with breaks in sleep mode, and it's only about half drained. I do have the brightness down a bit, if that matters.

    Overall, I like it. It's a pretty decent upgrade (and not having fingerprints all over the damn thing is nice, too), but not for $170. Fortunately, I got it for about $70. So I'm not sore. Just like new things.

  • EvilAkito

    I never upgraded to a DS Lite. They're cool and all, but with already having access to DS's game library through my DS Phat, I just can't justify spending $130 for what I consider to be only a slight upgrade. Now we're getting yet another model with a couple extra cool-sounding features, but once again, I just don't feel that the value is there.

    Maybe if they go with some of Ishaan's ideas (such as SD card game installation and video-chat), it would be worth it. But we already know that Nintendo is the all time king of failing to let its hardware live up to its potential.

  • Ishaan

    There's a difference between DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive, though. Nintendo has even gone as far as to say that the majority of upcoming games will be of the former variety. That means they'll run on both systems, but have additional functions when played on a DSi.

  • Ishaan

    The improved D-pad and and all the stuff you mentioned are REALLY tempting me to get one, too. But I'll resist until there's better software for the system.

    I really like that the new power button isn't a slider, btw. That slider on DS Lite is so annoying.

  • Shuyin

    I know the difference between DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive games. I wasn't talking about enhanced games. I can live with that.
    I was talking about DSi-exclusive games, which at this point, seem stupid (even from a company's pov since companies go for profit when they make games) given the far larger Phat/Lite userbase.

    Let's presume FF7 BC is released for DSiware. That'd make it DSi-exclusive. So my DS can't play a big release because Nintendo decided to split the userbase into two (those with Phat/Lite and those with DSi). Isn't that stupid?
    I mean, DSi is not DS 2, it's just a redesign. A redesign shouldn't force you to buy it in order to play new games.

    I still think Nintendo is giving Phat/Lite owners the middle finger.

  • jarrodand

    Nintendo did this before. It was called Game Boy Color.

  • pressstart

    I haven't really followed how Nintendo handled Wii firmware updates, but from what I know, they barely changed anything there, so I don't expect much from firmware updates for the DSi. They really should follow in Sony and Microsoft's footsteps and make updating firmware useful.

  • pressstart

    Tiny screens? How does that hold you back when the GBA screens were the same size, and when playing GBA games on the DS, the screen is even smaller.

  • http://www.infinite-bits.com NickyD

    Yeah, definitely wait to see if some software comes up you don't wanna miss. The internet browser is actually pretty slick, to be honest, but holy moly did I have issues connecting my DSi to the internet — I'll be posting a feature on that at my buddy's website in the near future.

    Also agree on the non-slider power button. Though it sticks out more now, I don't accidentally turn my DS off anymore haha

  • http://www.infinite-bits.com NickyD

    Very well said. An excellent point.

  • http://www.nakedsushi.net/ Louise

    What would be awesome is if they released a Lumines DSi with the option to load custom MP3s from an SD card and use that music for the game.

  • http://blog.technofranki.net technofranki

    I upgraded to DSi from the original Phat grey DS. Worth every penny.

    There's a lot of new features on the DSi. I like the use of SD-card, that it have 256 MB internal storage, that it have an upgradable firmware so they can add new features later. I'm able to download games, surf the new (even though it's not the best browser, it does work), it have not one, but two cameras.

    You can play GameCube games on the Wii, but how often do you do that? So the GBA slot is gone. I still have a GBA to play those game.

  • http://www.webix.name/beep-pc pcs

    I really like the GBA

  • james braselton

    HI THERE WITH THE WEB BROWSER THE NINTENDO DSI BECOMES A CHEAP EEE PC COMPUTER

  • james braselton

    HI THERE WITH THE WEB BROWSER THE NINTENDO DSI BECOMES A CHEAP EEE PC COMPUTER

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