Nintendo DSi

[Nate]

The comic isn't asking "Where are the games for the DSi," it's asking "Where are the games?"

That's why the response is about the Wii, because of Nintendo's announcement to remake Pikmin, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, and Mario Tennis for the Wii, despite the fact that you can play Gamecube games on the Wii.

The comic is saying "Why are you remaking a system we already own instead of making some new games?"

I hope this clears that up. It took me a minute to get it too so you are not alone. XD

[Fantasy Dreamer]

That's what I want to know. Why a new system when theres not games for the earlier model!?

[ShiroiHikari]

I love and hate Nintendo.

[Robin Firedrake]

A lot of Nintendos ideas stink. But they are still the people who created and keep the Legend of Zelda up and running. That's good enough for me!

[Shao Feng-Li]

lol, they jacked the price up $40.

[Maxim]

Hopefully I'm not gravedigging, but everyone here seems to be more informed about these systems than I currently am.

Also, I'm lazy.

My question: After the Dsi comes out, will I still be able to buy a new DS Lite? That's really my only concern, since I don't own one yet (and want one badly).

[animaniac]

its not fair! my old DS had a glich in the controls(wherever you touched it would go an inch to the left) then i got a DS light last year aand i thought life was good.....and now the crying begins*tear tear cry cry*

[Benn]

If the DSi has say a 2 or 3 MP camera then I'd get it. I'm really suprised that Japan went with such a low resolution. Especially when their cell phones have big resolutions. The technology is there.

I wish there were DS' that had some shade of purple.

You could always mod a DS Lite. There are companies that sell aftermarket cases in various colors. It'll voide the mfr warranty but you'd stand out from the crowd. ^_^

[Nate]

Thus proving once again that Nintendo can release the same product repeatedly and people will still buy it.

I got suckered into the DS Lite, but NOT THIS TIME. I've gotten wise to your ways, Nintendo! YOU SHALL LOSE THIS ROUND.

[ShiroiHikari]

The DS Lite was at least an improvement. The DSi is just plain unnecessary.

[blkmage]

The DS Lite was at least an improvement. The DSi is just plain unnecessary.

The DS Lite was just a form factor redesign. It had no additional features. In what way is it any more of an improvement than the DSi?

[Radical Dreamer]

The DS Lite was just a form factor redesign. It had no additional features. In what way is it any more of an improvement than the DSi?

Maybe it's just the fact that it's the third time they've remade the same system, instead of working on new games for it. XD I mean, it's basically planned obsolescence that doesn't add anything particularly fascinating and actually takes away the factor of backwards compatibility to be more like the iPhone. I dunno, I just think it's a dumb move on Nintendo's part. XD

[Cognitive Gear]

The DS Lite was just a form factor redesign. It had no additional features. In what way is it any more of an improvement than the DSi?

It was an improvement on three things that I can think of:

1. The form factor. (Much better looking and easier to hold)
2. The buttons were changed from "clicky" cell phone style buttons to more classic buttons.
3. The backlights on both of the screens were significantly improved.

It doesn't seem like much, but it was definitely worth the upgrade.

Apparently Nintendo is trying to get more PDA style aps available for the DSi. So in an odd way, it might start competing with the iPhone. I swear, if I ever see a "Nokia DSc" I'm going to....

actually, I think I'd buy that. Crap.

[ShiroiHikari]

Apparently the DS Lite also had better battery life than the old DS.

[blkmage]

Yes, the DS Lite had changes, but they were incremental changes of the same type going from the DS Lite to the DSi. Were there any new games? No. Did people whine about Nintendo just remaking the system back then? Yes. Do people still care anymore? No.

I'm giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt. The questions that are being asked about the camera, the improved wifi, and the SD card slot are the exact same questions that have been asked about the Wii controllers, the second screen, and touch based controls.

What I'm finding is that there's a lot of dumping on Nintendo that's not really grounded in any solid fact other than the fact that people think their ideas are stupid.

[Robin Firedrake]

Thee is one problem Blkmage. No GBA slot. How are pokemon players supposed to migrate pokemon?

[ShiroiHikari]

Yes, I do think it's a stupid idea that Nintendo, a maker of game systems, is trying to make its game system compete with a phone. Maybe instead of trying to be the next iPhone, they should stick to making good gaming systems.

[blkmage]

I've always been of the opinion that the GBA slot was a stupid idea. The DS is a portable system and maintaining backward compatibility for a format that requires additional hardware is a bad idea. Of course, I seem to be the only one who thinks this. And by extension, I loathed the concept of transferring Pokemon from Fire Red and Leaf Green to Pearl and Diamond.

It's strange, because I've never considered the DSi to be a competitor with the iPhone at all. I didn't equate the addition of downloadable content and a camera to mean that it's trying to usurp the iPhone's place. For one thing, the DSi isn't a phone.

I do see the value of downloadable content though. I can see how the success of the iPhone App Store and stuff like Xbox Live Marketplace, the PSN Store, and the Wii Channel might have influenced its addition to the DSi and I think that's a good thing. Not too long ago, downloadable content was a foreign concept to consoles, but now, people are fairly comfortable with buying games on XBLA or Wii Virtual Console or Rock Band songs.

I'll agree that considering how zealous Nintendo has been in insisting that they make game consoles that I raised an eyebrow when they went through the features of the DSi.

As for the camera, I've got nothing. But remember when we all thought it was a stupid idea to put cameras on phones and phone companies should stick to making phones and not competing with cameras? Or how about adding phones to iPods?

[Robin Firedrake]

As much as I hate that feature myself Blk, if they have it were you have to do that, they shouldn't take that ability away.

[Nate]

maintaining backward compatibility for a format that requires additional hardware is a bad idea.

So you hate the Virtual Console?

[blkmage]

1. VC doesn't require additional hardware, AFAIK. It's all software emulated, which is why they could, say, parachute in support for C64 games.
2. Unless you mean the hardware required for emulation, in which case, I format, since adding an additional slot for a completely different cartridge shape is a waste of space on a portable.
3. Unless you're talking about GCN support, in which case, that's kind of true, but it's a disc format and not a cartridge format so the additional hardware is more flexibile than taking in a format that's a different shape that you can't change.
4. And I said portable system. The problem with doing another cartridge format on a portable system is that the limiting factor to making the DS any smaller is the fact that you can't make GBA carts any smaller. It's much easier to throw in additional hardware on a home console since you're not trying to stuff it in your pocket every morning for the bus ride to school or work.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Cause having a little bit of extra hardware is suddenly a bad thing and the DS isn't small enough already?

I don't understand your arguments. You hate having extra hardware because... it takes up a little bit of extra space? That's a silly argument. If you hate backwards compatibility on portable systems, get a GBA Micro and a DSi or something where I can enjoy my GBA games on a console that's backlit, has a headphone jack, and isn't the size of a quarter.

[blkmage]

I'd like to qualify my statements by mentioning that I'm looking at this from an engineering perspective.

Really? You don't see how having an extra cartridge slot is a bad thing on a portable system? You don't see how having extraneous hardware for a portable device might affect it's size? If that's the case, then nothing about the form of the DS would change if Nintendo also added original Game Boy compatibility too, right?

With the DSi, we already see one improvement that removing the GBA slot has accomplished: it's thinner. You can't make it thinner if the device was limited by the fact that it had to hold a GBA cart. And besides that, the GBA slot takes up space that could hold other hardware that's more flexible than something that needs to read cartridges. One possibility is hardware for emulation, so in combination with the download service, we get VC on the DS.

The problem with backwards compatibility is that it's a constraint on the form factor and what you can include on a device that's already severely limited in physical space. Now that Nintendo's introduced the expectation of backwards-compatibility, it makes it hard to change if they want to try something new.

Notice though, I specifically mentioned different cartridge formats. It wouldn't be as much of a premium in terms of space if Nintendo used the same format, like the same cartridge format or an optical disc-based format, where they don't need to add an entirely new reader, as in the GB compatibility with the GBA.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I have no need for "intuitive engineering". (I'm an INFP) For me, if it works, it works. Now there's a difference between the structure of the DS and the DS Lite, but making the DS a quarter of an inch tinner or something hardly constitutes as a major upgrade. Functionality over form. This is why virtually nobody cares about Blu-Ray DVDs. I think the DS Lite is thin enough. Heck, it's smaller than a PSP.

If Nintendo wants to release a portable system that has new bells and whistles, then good for them. I personally don't care.

[Nate]

1. VC doesn't require additional hardware, AFAIK.

Classic Controller. You don't need it for NES and some Genesis/TG-16 games, but most games on the VC require the Classic Controller, sold seperately.

The problem with doing another cartridge format on a portable system is that the limiting factor to making the DS any smaller is the fact that you can't make GBA carts any smaller. It's much easier to throw in additional hardware on a home console since you're not trying to stuff it in your pocket every morning for the bus ride to school or work.

The DS Lite is thinner and smaller than my PSP. My PSP fits, not exactly comfortably in my pants pocket, but fits well enough. The DS Lite fits perfectly with absolutely no problems.

Seriously if you can't fit a DS Lite into your pocket the problem isn't how thin it is, the problem is why are you wearing pants that tight?

Also the size of GBA carts isn't a limiting factor for making the DS smaller. Remember that on a DS Lite, about half the GBA cartridge sticks out of the bottom of the system. They just halved the size of the cartridge slot.

You don't see how having an extra cartridge slot is a bad thing on a portable system? You don't see how having extraneous hardware for a portable device might affect it's size?

Nope. More features = good. And seriously how much space can it save to remove the GBA slot? Oooh, it's a quarter of a millimeter thinner. Big deal. I'm not trying to slide it underneath a door, the DS Lite is thin enough and portable enough for anyone's needs unless they are emo (I am using the stereotype that emos wear skintight pants).

That's all I can say really. If you don't like the GBA slot on the DS, that's your call. I won't insult you for that, though I am pretty sure you are literally the only person on the planet that thinks that. So you are at least unique. XP

I agree that DLC is a good thing. I won't deny that. But honestly I don't see any reason for them to have removed the GBA slot, especially not to add something as ludicrous as a camera. If they needed to make a new DS system for DLC, fine. I accept that. But why remove the GBA slot? Why put a CAMERA in it for no reason? Hasn't Xbox Live taught us that if you give a camera to people all they will do is take pictures of their junk? I don't want to play Mario Kart against someone's privates.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I don't want to play Mario Kart against someone's privates.

I lol'd at this. XD

[blkmage]

Classic Controller. You don't need it for NES and some Genesis/TG-16 games, but most games on the VC require the Classic Controller, sold seperately.

True, although that has less to do with portability and the console itself and more to do with Nintendo wanting more of our money.

For the GBA slot, I wasn't considering the width and length of the cartridge, but the thickness and the electronics inside that would handle the GBA stuff. Granted, I could be assuming too much about the internals.

I'll concede that the camera is lolwut and that I don't like how it looks on the outer case.

I don't want to play Mario Kart against someone's privates.

I thought people did this already with the power of drawing.

[Bobtheduck]

I don't want to play Mario Kart against someone's privates.

Except it requires friend codes, so you'll only be playing against pictures of your good friends' junk.

There is one thing I REALLY hate about the DSi. One huge thing.

Region protection.

As far as I know, this is the first portable in the HISTORY of portables that has Region protection. Gameboy didn't. GBA didn't. DS doesn't. PSP doesn't... Now while those only used to consoles are used to this, I have a PS3 and a PSP... I sort of like having the option to get any game I want for those systems. I have, in fact, downloaded many a demo from Japan and Europe on my PSP and PS3, and plan to start buying once I have a Japanese bank account.

Region blocking sucks. I understand why they do it, but it sucks. I also understand why they took the GBA slot out, and it is to benefit them rather than us. I understand it, but it sucks. I'd honestly expect more of this in the future... the BC and import friendly systems are going to be a thing of the past (and the PS3 was really just a fluke in regards to importing. I fully expect region blocking to be back next gen)

[ShiroiHikari]

Region lock is indeed the worst thing about the DSi. But I'm still unclear as to whether they're going to start making the games region-locked now or if it's just the software on the DSi.

[Bobtheduck]

Region lock is indeed the worst thing about the DSi. But I'm still unclear as to whether they're going to start making the games region-locked now or if it's just the software on the DSi.

DSi specific games will be region locked. DS games will not be, and I'm nearly certain cannot be.

Full... Full... Full... MOON

Oh, and no GBA capability makes me a sad alien cat duck, too... Since I don't have a DS, and I was considering getting one soon, I think I'll just get a light... I'm sure something may come along in the future making me want a DSi (like the discussed potential VC for GB and GBA games, maybe even Master system / gamegear?) but for now, having a huge library of DS and GBA games is what I'd prefer.

BTW... Gameboy micro was absurd and lame. There is such a thing as too small.