Nintendo DS or DSi...Will DS become obsolete?

[EMom]

DD10 wants a DS or DSi for Christmas. At first, we were leaning toward the DS, since it is less expensive and she doesn't NEED the extra features. Then someone pointed out to me that the games are not interchangeable for both systems, meaning the DS games won't always work on the DSi and vice versa.

That got me to wondering....Do you suppose they'll phase out the DS over the next couple of years and focus on the DSi? Or maybe make more games for the DSi and less for the DS?

I don't want to get DD10 the DS and then realize I've gotten her the Beta or laser disc of kid toys.

Any thoughts or info, please!

 

[CurtisCandy]

Hey, EMom...

The DSi is basically an upgrade of the DS (and the superior DS Lite). While the DSi has a "store" that allows you to download games, the cartridges you buy in the store will play on either system. Anything you heard about exclusivity for DSi games would only be referring to downloadable games, which are really not that big of a deal. Any title is going to come out on cartridge, as well.

The DSi does not play Game Boy Advance games... DS Lite does. Some of those games are actually pretty cool, and you can pick them up cheap.

If your daughter isn't into the "extras" in the DSi, like the camera, then definitely get her a DS Lite. Beesides, the camera in the DSi is very low res, and is just a cute little add-on, not a camera you'd actually want to use to take photos you want to keep forever.

A common misconception is that the DSi is a "next gen" system. It is not. It is simply a DS Lite with a few extra bells and whistles, but minus the backwards compatability of the DS Lite, with the Game Boy Advance game availability.

Whenever Nintendo does eventually come out with a next gen handheld system, both the DSi and DS and DS Lite will all be the old guard.

Long story short, by all means get her a DS Lite. You won't have any dropoff in available games, and the only advantage of DSi is in a few little gadgets.

If you have any other questions, feel free to post them or PM me.

Hope this helps.

 

[love2disney]

My 2 cents. A new DS lite cost 129$. For the last few days dell has been giving discounts which end up making DSi about 132$. So with a price difference that small getting a DSi makes sense. But if you are buying a used DS Lite.. gamestop has great one from 75-99$ then get a DS lite... there is not much difference in the lite and the DSi except for cameras which the kids seem to forge about once the novelty wears off.

 

[Scurvy]

There are a few games that only work on the DSi - any of the ones the incorporate the camera won't work on the DS. There aren't that many of those, though. The big advantage that the DS has over the DSi is that the DS will play Gameboy advance (GBA) games, which are really cheap now when you can find them in used game stores. (One thing to keep in mind though is that the DS lite will not play multiplayer GBA games. The single player games will all work fine on the DS lite.) As far as I know, all DS games work on the DSi.

As CurtisCandy said, the DSi was never intended to replace the DS lite. It's just another thing to be sold alongside it until something else comes along to replace them both. Actually, the newer version of the DSi will be coming to the US early next year. It's called the DSi XL, and it will have larger screens and a longer battery life than the DSi.

If I were buying my child one or the other, I'd get the DS lite so that he'd have the option of also playing all the GBA games. (He currently has the DS and DS lite and has no interest in a DSi.) If you don't think your child would want to play any of those and you think she'd enjoy the camera and the games that use it, then I'd recommend the DSi.

 

[3boymthr]

I went with the DS Lite because of the backwards compatability. We currently have about 40 GBA games floating around the house (We also have 3 GBA systems). We have about 5 DS games. The price difference in the GBA and DS games is huge.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well reading on the gamefaqs message board the general advice is to go DSLite. The wealth of games available for play is what you are really looking at.

So you can download a few games exclusively for the DSi (supposedly). Not worth it because it cannot play GBA games.

Nintendo will be releasing a upgraded version in 2ish yrs. It will probably be a bigger screen and better camera resolution, which will make the DSi seem "beta".

 

[mjkacmom]

With the Dell deal, I'd go with the DSi. My kids play with that camera feature just as much as the games (ds11 got one - they only have ds lites, and poor dd13 just has a DS). A 10 year old girl would love what you can do with the pictures! My kids rarely play the old gameboy games anymore.

 

[scrapquitler]

My kids love the camera with the DSi....my 13 year old bought herself one a few months ago with the money she earned babysitting (and then she bought one for my DH for his birthday, too!) She plays with the camera as much as the games.

The DSi DOES play regular DS game cartridges. It does not play the older game boy cartridges (game boy advance? I think). Thats not something that my kids care about anyway.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

The woman at the Nintendo store said to go with the DS Lite and buy yourself a digital camera for pictures. She felt the DSi wasn't worth it.

 

[TheGoofster]

Ask yourself a couple of questions to see which one you want:

1) Do you want to play (or have the option later on of playing) the older Game Boy Advance games?
- this is the one main advantage that the DS has over the DSi
- You can find many GBA games at really good prices (there are literally
hundreds of used GBA games on Amazon for under 2 dollars)
- This basically increases the amount of games that the DS can play that
the DSi cannot

2) Do you want internet access?
- the DSi does give you the ability to go on-line, whereas the DS doesn't
- Keep in mind though that you have to have access to a wireless router
(one that's not locked - usually the one used the most is the one
that you would have at home for your PC)
- The internet does not work great on the DSi. It's pretty slow, and not
that easy to navigate around with. We've only used it a couple of
times.
- It does offer a very safe parental locking feature. Without your 4 digit
password, you can't access the internet at all.

3) Do you want a camera? This is one of the biggest advantages of the DSi.
- My son has spent many hours taking pictures, and distorting them
since we got the DSi. It's has very easy to use photo features.
- Some of the games you can download on the DSi take advantage of
this photo feature.
- There are some new games being released that will only be usuable on
the DSi which also take advantage of the built-in camera. If they sell
well, I can imagine many more in the future, thus limiting the DS as to
which games it can play or can't play

4) Do you want to be able to download games (at pretty good prices) from
the DSi store. Right now there aren't a lot of good choices to download
but hopefully as time goes on, there will be many great games that you
can only get for the DSi, that the DS won't be able to play.
- Wiiware for the Wii has shown that it is possible to see some great
(though smaller) games that many developers like to try out. The same
should happen for the DSi

5) Do you want a bigger screen and better sound? the DSi has a screen
that is a bit bigger than the DS, as well as better sound quality (not a
huge difference, but it is a little bit better.)

6) Is price a major consideration?
- The DS is definitely cheaper (and we'll probably see more sales of it
as the holidays approach in order to sell out all remaining systems).
- this is the other major advantage of the DS over the DSi

We have both. My son had a DS for quite a while, but when the DSi came out he really wanted that, so we got that for his birthday (and I inherited his DS ). He does seem to enjoy his DSi more than he did his DS (mostly because of the camera, but also the bigger screen).
Right now both systems are almost 100% compatible (with only a few DSi games using the camera that the DS can't play). In the future, we'll see what happens.

BTW, as to the new DSi XL, don't worry about that. It was made specifically for the a large portion of the Japanese audience (the older generation) who complained about not being able to see the screen well enough. The thing is really big, but besides that nothing else was really changed.
There will be a newer DS coming out in a couple of years (possibly being announced next year at the E3 gaming conference), but it will almost definitely be able to play all the current DS games. (They are even talking about it being able to download all the GBA games as well - but we'll have to wait and see on that).

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

The $130 DSi deal at Dell is no longer available.

 

[Scurvy]

2) Do you want internet access?
- the DSi does give you the ability to go on-line, whereas the DS doesn't
- Keep in mind though that you have to have access to a wireless router
(one that's not locked - usually the one used the most is the one
that you would have at home for your PC)
- The internet does not work great on the DSi. It's pretty slow, and not
that easy to navigate around with. We've only used it a couple of
times.
- It does offer a very safe parental locking feature. Without your 4 digit
password, you can't access the internet at all.

Just to clarify this part, the DS does have the ability to play games online using a wireless router. It doesn't have the ability to surf the internet unless you are willing to seek out third party software that apparently doesn't work very well. And with that software and also the DSi, I have heard that the internet is "all or nothing", in that you can't block specific sites.

5) Do you want a bigger screen and better sound? the DSi has a screen
that is a bit bigger than the DS, as well as better sound quality (not a
huge difference, but it is a little bit better.)

If the bigger screen is an important issue, then I would consider waiting for the DSi XL. The screens are supposed to be almost twice as large as the current DSi screens, and it does have the added benefit of having a slightly longer battery life. Of course it won't be out in the US until first quarter next year, which might also be a consideration.

 

[TheGoofster]

Just to clarify this part, the DS does have the ability to play games online using a wireless router. It doesn't have the ability to surf the internet unless you are willing to seek out third party software that apparently doesn't work very well. And with that software and also the DSi, I have heard that the internet is "all or nothing", in that you can't block specific sites.





If the bigger screen is an important issue, then I would consider waiting for the DSi XL. The screens are supposed to be almost twice as large as the current DSi screens, and it does have the added benefit of having a slightly longer battery life. Of course it won't be out in the US until first quarter next year, which might also be a consideration.

The internet on the DSi is an all-or-nothing kind of thing (at least as far as I can tell). If you have the access to the internet (the four digit security code) then you do have full access (and I don't believe there is a way of blocking certain sites).

The DSi XL has a 4 inch screen as opposed to the 3.25" screen of the DSi. Right now it is due to be released in Japan in November, and in Europe in the first quarter of next year. As of now there is no official release date for the US, but it most likely will be here sometime next year.
Here is a link to see the size difference between the DSi XL and the Dsi:

http://www.infendo.com/

Also keep in mind, that even thought the screen is bigger the actual resolution won't be. So the graphics will be a bit blurrier on the DSi XL

OK, I just found another article (from another gaming site) that says that it IS now confirmed for North America in Q1 of 2010 as well, and they are now listing the screen as 4.2" (as opposed to what they said before of 4").
Here is the link to the other (newer) article about info on the Dsi XL:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/30/dsi-xl-faq-sized-up/#continued

 

[Scurvy]

Also keep in mind, that even thought the screen is bigger the actual resolution won't be. So the graphics will be a bit blurrier on the DSi XL

I hadn't heard that! That's really a shame. I love the larger screen but if the picture quality won't be as good as the DSi the larger screen really isn't much of an improvement.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Well, my dd has a DSlite and has been wanting the DSi because it is new. Her cousin got one and while the camera is fun it does not seem that much of an upgrade to me.

So dd will not be getting a DSi. She loves all of her GBA games and can play those on the DS lite.

It is nice to be able to walk into game stop and get a game for just a few bucks as a surprise. I have gotten many GBA games for under $5 that dd plays all the time.

We will be waiting for the next generation item to come out before we will upgrade from the DS lite.

 

[TheGoofster]

I hadn't heard that! That's really a shame. I love the larger screen but if the picture quality won't be as good as the DSi the larger screen really isn't much of an improvement.

That is what all the gaming sites are stating, that it won't offer higher resolution. But I don't know if it's been 100% confirmed. They might offer the higher resolution, but apparently there is nothing stating that they are planning to do so.
I think to change the resolution, they would need to change other things as well (more internal changes), thus turning a pretty simple change (larger screen) into a pretty complex change.
I guess we'll know for certain when it actually releases in Japan in a few weeks.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Personally, I would like a Nintendo that has like a 7' screen..... My eyes aren't what they used to be....

 

[zippitydoo]

I have a DSi and it is sooo much fun. I always have it in my purse at all times.

 

[HonnyDipp]

Have you guys seen this? They are coming out with a newer version of the DS & DSi!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/nintendo-goes-large-with-revamped-ds/1368589

 

[EMom]

Thanks for all your replies and info. I really appreicate it!

I do have another question that will completely show my lack of knowledge regarding games for the DS Lite......

Can someone give some examples of the cheap game boy games that you all keep talking about? I have no idea what they are or if she'd want them. She doesn't want terribly complicated games, so maybe she'd be happy with them. I don't know.

For what it's worth, I didn't realize there was a difference between the DS and DS Lite. I thought "Lite" was just a new term added to the DS to differentiate it from the DSi, but that it was still just the same old DS. I had no idea there was a DS, DS Lite and DSi. ACK!