DSi or DS lite?

[pinkxray]

My 5 year old daughter has been using the DS I received maybe 7/8? years ago as a b-day gift since she has been able to play video games. It doesn't look like it will last too much longer. I would like to upgrade and get her a new, pink DS for Valentine's Day. Is there much difference between the DS lite or Dsi. All she does is play games so can I stick to the lite? Anyone have a good place to get a good price? Thanks for any incite.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

If you only want her to play games, the DS Lite is the way to go. The DSi has two built in cameras, a microphone and software to record audio, and the ability to go online and download games (which you have to pay for). The DS lite will accept Gameboy Advance games and the DSi will not.

I have both. Although the camera and microphone are fun and you can edit things with it (change the pitch/speed of the voice) and morph the photos, it isn't really necessary. I'd save the money and get her a DS lite instead. You may be able to find a less expensive used one at Gamestop (or any used video game store), on ebay, or on craigslist.

 

[gabriellyn]

PP offered good advice, HOWEVER - we gave our DS8 a DSi and what was his favorite part of it??? The sound and video recording. I never would have guessed he would have such a blast making up silly sounds and pictures!!! I thought that maybe it was a useless feature, but I was totally wrong. YMMV of course.

 

[deerhart]

both my boys have the DSi now (we moved up from the game boy advanced square model). The LOVE the audio and picture morphing as well as the games.

The DSi does have parental controls to block the internet and such.

We bought the oldest the DSi for his b-day last year and then got the youngest the DSi for christmas. We looked at the DS lite for my youngest, but decided just to spend the extra $40.

 

[Bill and Jen]

One consideration, the DSi does not play the older Gameboy advanced games the the DS lite.

With that said my boys 7 and 10 got DSi's for xmas and love them. They uses the voice, camera recording stuff all the time.

 

[Kanga+2Roos]

I picked up the DS lite for DS4 & the DSI for DS7 for Christmas & wish that I would have just gotten both of them the DSI. DS4 likes to play with the DSI when he can sneak it away & loves playing with the camera on it. DS7 is just starting to play with the recording feature & has fun with that as well. I guess the big thing to consider is if your DD will want to play GBA games or not since you can't on the DSI.

Good luck!

 

[teacup princess]

I just got dd a dsi for Christmas. She loves the photo and sound part too and would not have been happy with just the DS lite.

 

[Princess April]

DD ( just turned 6) Got a DSI for Christmas and LOVES it!!!!!!!! She is the first in her class and group of friends to have one and everyone thinks it's the "coolest"!!! She loves all the extra options that it offers and it plays all her games from, before. I say go for it!

 

[aimlyles]

DS has the DS Lite and wanted the DSi for Christmas. I found out they are releasing the DSi XL early this year sometime so we talked him into waiting for that to be released to see if he wants that one. It will have a bigger screen and from what I read better battery life than the Dsi (but not better than the DS lite)

 

[mistysue]

I have a DSi, DD (6) has an old DS and she keeps taking mine- to play with the sound morphing feature.

We ran into some kids (about 8 yo) who have a DSi and DD said she had one, and they actually said "Yeah, but ours is a DS I Is yours just a DS, because a DS I is better." They had this full of themselves conceited attitude just dripping off of them when they said it. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide for her.

So if it is something that will ever leave the house or if your area has a lot of spoiled little rich kids, you might just want to consider a DSi. Most kids don't want to play the old game boy games anyways, and if you have a lot of them you could pick up an old SP or something really cheap.

 

[timzagain]

My DD11 had a DS lite for a few years and just received a DSi for Christmas. She absolutely loves it and seems to spend more time using the non gaming features (camera, voice recording, internet browsing etc). We haven't got around to it yet, but we are going to add music files to the SD memory card (you'll have to buy that separately - minimum of 2G)

An acquaintance offered to buy the DS but DD refuses to sell the DS because (a) she can lend it to her little cousin when he comes over (b) she still enjoys some of the Game Boy Advance games and (c) she won't be able to use the Guitar Hero add-on on the DSi and she loves Guitar Hero.

Unless your daughter has GBA games that she plays regularly, I would recommend spending the extra $$ for the "upgrade" to the DSi. Even if she doesn't use all the features now, she will probably grow into them soon.

Actually, I think the DSi is a fantastic travel gadget for kids - camera, game system and music player all rolled into one easy-to-pack device! If you are a minimalist packer like me, you'll appreciate the fact that you'll only have to pack one charger!