Nintendo DSI or Nintendo DS in 3D?

[srobinet]

I am mostly familiar with Nintendo Wii. My granddaughters would like a DS for Christmas. The newest version offers 3D and from what I can tell are $199.00 in most places. This of course equals over $400 with taxes.

Other than the 3D effect is there any difference between the Nintendo DSI or Nintendo DSXL? Both girls wear glasses so I am not sure the 3D would be good for their eyes.

I have seen the DSI or the DSXL for $100.00 while looking online. This price would allow us to purchase more than one game for the system.

 

[kerplop]

Nintendo just put out a new DS that is the 2DS and supposedly it's the size and speed of a 3D unit, but with only 2D graphics. That might be an option and it seems very affordable at $129 at Walmart.

 

[dpswift]

We have the original DS and my 21 yr old has the 3ds. They will use both systems and my younger kids do not mind the DS. However my younger kids only use the DS for long car rides.

The big thing to consider is that the newer games may not be available for the traditional DS. The reason my 21 yr old bought the 3 DS was because the game he wanted was not available for the DS.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

The big thing to consider is that the newer games may not be available for the traditional DS. The reason my 21 yr old bought the 3 DS was because the game he wanted was not available for the DS.

Agree with this! I got DS a 3DS for this reason. The game I knew he'd love only comes in the 3DS version. You can still play the straight DS games with the 3DS. I'm afraid they will do this more and more so I decided to just get him the 3DS. You can turn off the 3D effect if it bothers their eyes.

 

[MinnieKitty]

How old are your granddaughters? Nintendo does not recommend the 3DS for children under a certain age because of the effect it has on their eyes. I second a PP suggestion of looking into the new 2DS. Since it is a brand new system, they wouldn't have to worry about new games coming out and not being compatible with their system. Plus the price is very reasonable!

 

[luvmy3]

Take a look at the new 2DS system before deciding. I'm not sure how portable it is, it doesn't seem to fold close like the other DS systems do. Maybe it is just really small to begin with. I'm also not sure of the point of it because you can play 3DS games in 2D on the 3DS. I'm not sure if it is able to pay (regular) DS games either

OP, if it were me, I'd get them the 3DS. It is backwards compatible so it will play DS games as well as 3DS games. You are able to toggle the 3D so if you don't want it, you can turn in completely off, or gradually have it on, or have it fully on.

 

[jstbcuz]

My DS has the 3DSXL but doesnt like the 3D. I am still glad that we got this version tho.......and I love the bigger screen.

 

[eisforpants]

Get the XL if you can. We have both the DSXL and the 3DSXL. The 3DS has a lot of cool games and can play the older games as well. But my son always turns the 3D off as it hurts his eyes.

XL is the way to go though. The regular Dsi screen is really small.

 

[Alesia]

My daughter ordered one from amazon and it was under $200, total including tax. I'm not sure where you're getting that it will end up costing over $400. Where are you that you will pay over $200 in taxes on a $200 item?

 

[JanaDee]

My daughter ordered one from amazon and it was under $200, total including tax. I'm not sure where you're getting that it will end up costing over $400. Where are you that you will pay over $200 in taxes on a $200 item?

If she has 2 granddaughters, it will be over $400 with taxes for both gifts.

 

[srobinet]

Thanks for all of the replies. My granddaughters turned 8 and 9 in May/June of this year. I do want them to be able to play games in the car so not sure about new 2DS system. They have really only played with the Wii in the past. Having said that there are tons of games for the DS that will be available to them.
They don't spend hours playing with the Wii as they still like to play doll house and with Barbie on occasion. They do like computer games and apps like Angry Birds. I want something that might keep their attention for the next couple of years that is affordable.

They both wear glasses so the 3D effect concerned me.

 

[Sunnywho]

The 2DS is more for younger children. It can't fold and has a small screen.
My kids want a 3DS not for the 3D but because the newer games aren't available for the older DS.
I like the size of the XL better for their eyes but my daughter likes the smaller one because it can fit in her pocket.

 

[Eastern]

The teens I know all want the 3DS for the new games.

 

[Ephany]

Many of the newer games won't work with the DSi, that's why I ended up giving my DSiXL to DD and buying a 3DSXL for me. I've never used the 3D feature, I just wanted to play Professor Layton and Mario.

I'm sure there'll be sales on both the DSi and the 3DS systems closer to Christmas. IFIRC, I bought my 3DS with Mario Kart for $160ish last year, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's similar sales in the next few months. I generally watch slickdeals.net; there's often threads regarding sales. Also, if there's not much of a price difference, consider the XL versions. That extra bit of screen space really does make a difference.

 

[Yoshi]

I would go with the 2DS since it is newer and eventually regular DS games will stop being released (although probably not for a few more years) and most of the new Nintendo published games seem to be for the 2DS/3DS rather than the original DS systems. I have a 3DS but don't use the 3D feature at all since it gives me a headache.

 

[tina.tina]

If they are not really into certain video games, have you thought about a tablet? My 12 yo daughter & 8 yo son love their Kindle Fires.

My daughter enjoys games but isn't really into games like Mario, etc. She is satisfied with the approximately 50 free game apps she has and also likes using her Kindle to read and access the internet.

My son likes games and has about 200 free game apps. When his Kindle starts running a little slow, we move the games he's tired of to the cloud. He will probably get a 3DS from his grandparents but that's because he really likes video games and wants to play certain games.

 

[wiigirl]

My DS has the 3DSXL but doesnt like the 3D. I am still glad that we got this version tho.......and I love the bigger screen.

 

[lucyem]

Personally I would probably buy a Kindle or a 2DS.

Kindle I think for girls in that age group will have the longest usage and apps are inexpensive. It would give them more options (apps, books movies etc) then just games at $29 a pop.

If I were going to buy a DS I would stick with the 2DS. My boys are big into video games, especially my oldest. He bought his own 3DS before the announcement of the 2DS. He never bothers with the 3D features as he said it is a big battery drain. DS games are expensive though sometimes my son will buy older ones via the nintendo store on the DS.

With anything you buy I would highly recommend a good protective case

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

We faced this dilemma when DS6 asked for a game system for his last birthday. We ended up going with the 3DS b/c of the game compatibility. We always keep it in 2D mode. I'm not sure he even realizes it has 3D. He loves it. My advice would be to wait and watch the sale prices. It may go on sale closer to Black Friday/Christmas.

 

[sksjasams]

We just went thru this decison with my DS for his birthday this month.

He had the old DS Lite and while he didn't play it too often, he would always get the new Pokemon game when it came out each year.

Well, this year the new Pokemon game only came out for the 2DS, 3DS and
3DS XL. The 2DS is not compact, does not fold, and has a small screen in proportion to the large size of the system. He opted for the 3DS XL over the
3DS because the screen size on the XL is 90% larger. Really! It makes a huge difference. He is thrilled with his choice and I think he likes his new Mario games even more than the new Pokemon game.

The 3DS XL can still play his old DS games, and the 3D feature is adjustable...meaning you can adjust it on a sliding scale from full 3D all the way down to no 3D. He likes tonplay with a little 3D so it looks cool and dimensional, but not enough so that it bothers him.

I got the 3DS XL on sale at Best Buy for $180. I am positive you will be able to get a deal with that good of price or better between now and Christmas. The regular 3DS is on sale this week for $150 at Shopko, so you may be able to find an even lower price on that one if you can't swing the 3DS XL with your budget.