DSi: Get/Got/Getting?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

This poor little subforum looked so lonely with no threads, so I thought I would post another thread to see if it cheered up.

I already know what kawaiipikachu is going to post in here, but I thought I'd see what the rest of you fine folks feel like.

So... does anyone have the DSi yet? Does anyone plan to get one? I'm sure this thread is going to turn into a debate or two about the merits of the new system, but the fact of the matter is that it's going to have some ready customers. So what do you think of it? What are the best features? What are the worst? Have you tried DSiWare? How about the camera? Etc.

If you have a DSi or are planning to get one, this is your thread.

[digiki]

DS phat (with a big scratch across the screen due to silly sister using a screwdriver) ftw!

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by digiki

DS phat (with a big scratch across the screen due to silly sister using a screwdriver) ftw!

A screwdriver as a stylus?

[digiki]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

A screwdriver as a stylus?

Yeah I bought it used, and it didn't have a stylus, and before I got one from a friend (a few months later), I used to use a dull refillable pencil, since it worked well enough. Then I let her play then went to go watch, TV and she had used a small screwdriver

[Dave82481]

I have the DSI preordered I just hope they release gameboy games soon.

[Pegasus]

I'll be getting my black DSi tomorrow.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

It's out in North America tomorrow. I was talking to a buddy of mine at WalMart and he says they're breaking street and releasing it today, but I have my doubts about that one.

I was also talking to cute EB chick, and she said they only had 2 DSis reserved. The chick at the other EB said that 50% of their 6 blues and 12 blacks were reserved, but they figured they would all be reserved by the time tomorrow comes. It doesn't look like they're going to be a big line-up-at-midnight sell-out-in-10-minutes item, but who knows.

[Mr. Cheez]

Originally Posted by digiki

DS phat (with a big scratch across the screen due to silly sister using a screwdriver) ftw!

Why, of all things, a screwdriver? Why not a pencil or a withdrawn pen?

I gots a DS phat. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Lite, but until I see a price drop and that Virtual Handheld, I'm not even thinking about getting a DSi.

And hey, we got new emotes!

[enigmaopoeia]

I am getting a Blue Nintendo DSi because it'll match my light blue LG Chocolate 3 phone. I am getting the DSi because my cobalt/black DS Lite have seen better days, so I might as well upgrade.

I am going to get my Nintendo DSi tomorrow on Sunday because my reserve would still be there regardless if I went to the midnight launch or not.

[Earl_Wiggles]

At first I wasn't really bothered, but now I see Warioware is on DSi I might just get one in the future. I'd be more interested if there was a nice looking special edition, one for the future perhaps.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by enigmaopoeia

I am going to get my Nintendo DSi tomorrow on Sunday because my reserve would still be there regardless if I went to the midnight launch or not.

I don't think we're having a midnight launch here. The only midnight launch I ever went to was to get Wii Fit, and by "launch" I mean 20 fat people standing in line at a checkout counter. It was underwhelming.

Are you going to keep your raggedy old cobalt/black Lite, or are you going to trade it in?

[enigmaopoeia]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Are you going to keep your raggedy old cobalt/black Lite, or are you going to trade it in?

My Mom said that she wanted to keep my DS Lite so she can play games on it. Either that or a girl at my job said that she'll buy my DS Lite along with Personal Trainer: Cooking from me. So I will have to see.

[Spore]

If the DSi brings the price of the Lite down then I'll buy a Lite.

[hansolo350]

Originally Posted by Spore

If the DSi brings the price of the Lite down then I'll buy a Lite.

Same here. My original DS's battery is dying and can't hold a charge for longer than two hours. The only reason I haven't bought a lite yet because I hate the squishy buttons.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

This poor little subforum looked so lonely with no threads, so I thought I would post another thread to see if it cheered up.

I would delete this subforum and throw it all into the DS forum.

I just dislike the idea of having a subforum for something that doesnt needs it at all.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

I would delete this subforum and throw it all into the DS forum.

I just dislike the idea of having a subforum for something that doesnt needs it at all.

Probably makes sense given that there's not PSP subforum, but then again this is a Nintendo site, and then again again... here the subforum is. There's nothing I can do about it. The exact organization of the forum doesn't give me much grief, though, since I read with the "New Posts" link rather than navigating through the individual forums myself.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Probably makes sense given that there's not PSP subforum, but then again this is a Nintendo site, and then again again... here the subforum is. There's nothing I can do about it. The exact organization of the forum doesn't give me much grief, though, since I read with the "New Posts" link rather than navigating through the individual forums myself.

I should do the same.
It's annoying to click twice to get in here.

[The shoemaker]

Not getting. I was excited at first, but it went down over time. I might concider it if you could put music on it without the need of a SD Card. Honestly, apparenty this is supposed to be a little kids first ipod/camera, but how are they suposed to use it if I don't even know how to use it (Not to mention parents who still don't know how to use a computer.)

The cons of a DSi over power the pros.

I'd say go for a DSi if

- You still have a DS phat
- don't care for GBA support/ Guitar Hero DS
- like smaller things.

Other than that, I'd say wait a few years, a new non-DS handheld ought to come out.

I don't hate the DSi, I just have no need for it. I mean if I could trade in my DS lite for one, or if I had to pay $50 along with my DS for one, I'd do it. But I'm not spending another $250+ (after I've already bought two DS's in the last four years) to get a system that plays the games I already play, but with slight improvements.

[Versus22]

Originally Posted by The shoemaker

I'd say go for a DSi if

- You still have a DS phat
- don't care for GBA support/ Guitar Hero DS
- like smaller things.

Heh, I have no GBA games anyway, and I'm terrible at Guitar Hero!

Originally Posted by The shoemaker

But I'm not spending another $250+ (after I've already bought two DS's in the last four years) to get a system that plays the games I already play, but with slight improvements.

However, future games are worrying me. If there is a game that I really like and it's only for the DSi and not the DS, then I'll definitely be getting the upgraded system.

[Stratos]

I'm not running out and getting one right away, but I would like to get one sometime in the next year. I really wanted a Black DS Lite so now I can get that. I have a GBA SP so I'm not all that worried about losing access to all my old games.

[Shortay]

If anyone in the UK is interested in the DSi but doesn't want to pay £150, Littlewoods Direct has a great offer where you order it over the phone and get it for £99 by quoting a coupon code that apparently works for all orders.

More details here.

[The shoemaker]

Originally Posted by Versus22

However, future games are worrying me. If there is a game that I really like and it's only for the DSi and not the DS, then I'll definitely be getting the upgraded system.

I doubt too many games that take advantage of the camera will really interest me. Sounds like the majority of the good DS titles that are coming, can be played on all three DS's.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

It's interesting to me that apparently 8 people already have DSi systems, which is the same as the number who voted for the old-school systems. One person so far claims to have more than one DSi, but I can only assume that's a joke.

[Pegasus]

A few first fleeting impressions: the web browser works, but loads too slow to do anyone much good. The cameras are gimmicky as expected, though, for now, I'll keep seeing my crazy ole mug every time I'm in the DSi menu - I can see how playing with them could be fun, though. Haven't touched the audio thingie yet. The DSiWare shop is very much like the Wii Shop Channel. Downloaded Pyoro and AS: Aquite with my free points; good fun. Can't play them from the SD card, though, which may or may not change whenever the GB VC channel will be implemented. The matte finish felt a bit odd at first, but I actually prefer it over the glossy case. The bigger screens are nice.

Verdict: It should serve those who are still sitting on Phats well. No rush for Lite users. Wait till some more stuff like the VC is added. All in all, I may not regret my purchase, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. *shrug*

[sponge]

got a ds lite, good enough for me! if there is a good enough reason, maybe. but i dont see it happening for a while.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

My inner tech geek got the better of me.

I purged a bunch of extra stuff from my Saturn and GameCube collections until I had enough for one of these and picked one up on impulse (blue). After fiddling with it for a bit I'm still not entirely sure what to think of it.

My initial resistance to the DSi was mainly because I was sure it would just be abandoned/superseded within a year or so, but that was before I learned of the increased CPU power, RAM, and the prospect of DSi-specific games.

Here are my initial impressions, in basically this order:

1. I'm dubious of the matte finish. They say it'll protect from fingerprints, but I don't know how well it'll hold up against scratches. It also feels kind of "slippery" in my hands. It makes the plastic feel a bit less durable than the DS Lite's. When I first opened the DSi, I thought it felt a bit "cheaper".

2. The L/R buttons are weird. Maybe they won't be as prone to breaking as the DS Lite's, though...

3. The screens are noticeably bigger. I didn't think it would make a difference, but it does—they look great. There is now an extra brightness setting, too, but it doesn't appear to be brighter than the DS Lite's brightest. I think the new brightness setting is a lowest-brightness battery-saver. The battery life is a lot lower in this model.

4. The camera is absolutely terrible. It's clearly just a toy meant to be used to play around with that weird filter software they included. And there is a loud shutter noise that's independent of the system volume and can't be turned off. No secretive photography!

5. The unit is not noticeably larger or smaller than the DS Lite. At a rough handle, they feel about the same size and weight.

6. The browser works about the same as the the DS Lite one: functional but annoyingly slow.

7. I have some minor menu annoyances. In order to change the brightness, you have to click into the DSi System Menu, then into a Brightness menu, and then change it up or down. It's too much clicking for something that should be right on the main front screen.

8. The newly positioned power button is great. The new volume button is also great—much better than the inaccurate slider.

A couple of incidental notes separate from my own impressions:

1. If you play a lot of GBA games on your DS Lite, then this obviously isn't the system for you. If you use the GBA slot for Guitar Hero, rumble, etc., then this isn't the system for you.

2. I currently don't know whether flash carts like the CycloDS Evolution, R4, etc. are compatible with this, but I'm sure the info is out there on the net.

3. If you're really attached to mp3, then the music player won't do you any good.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with it, though it's not worth the money (yet). Once we start seeing some more quality DSiWare, see whether the VH rumours pan out, and start seeing some interesting DSi-specific software (not likely for a long time), and once we see about the possibility of a price drop, then this becomes a solid replacement for the DS Lite. I happen to be lucky in that I play GBA games exclusively on my GBM, and mostly all of my music is in AAC format anyway. I haven't had a chance to use the SD card functionality yet, but I imagine I will in time.

So, yeah, I bashed this when it was first announced, but I've almost pretty much changed my mind. It's still far from perfect. It has unrealized potential that we don't know will be met yet. And it's too expensive for what you get. But on its own merits as a system, it stacks up well.

[WiiMan192]

Sounds okay, Jogurt. One of the main reasons I want to purchase one is my old DS phat is showing signs of age; the battery life is becoming shorter, there are some visible scratches on the front (and I generally look after my things well enough so that doesn't happen) and when starting up occasionally it plays an echo of the sound and the entire game ends up with double echo sound! It's big, impractical, and I like the sound of DSiWare, so I'm gonna give it a shot. Eventually.

About DSiWare, do you think the Portable Zeldas (Oracle of Ages and Seasons, Link's Awakening, Minish Cap) will be released?

[SKTTR]

Just adding everything together.
The DS Lite is $120 and the DSi is $170.

So, if you add the Browser to the DS/Lite ($30) that comes free with the DSi you would pay $150 for the DS/Lite.

Then, if you add the mp3 player to the DS/Lite ($30) that comes free with the DSi (AAC player) you would pay $180 for the DS/Lite.

These two features alone make the DS/Lite more expensive than the DSi.

Now, the DSi has extras like
cameras,
bigger screens,
more cpu power and ram,
memory,
sd card slot,
eye toy gameplay,
better speakers,
the DSi Shop
and nice work on little details.
All for free (still comparing it to the $180 the DS Lite would cost with Music player and Browser)

I think the DSi is the future of handheld gaming, no doubt.
And it's a fair price compared to the older DS/Lite if you don't have GBA games.
And yeah, really! The only drawback there really is, that's the missing GBA-slot.
That means: No GBA games, no rumble, no Guitar Hero.
So don't sell your old DS/Lites.
They really should have kept that Slot!!
GBA games will show up in the DSi Shop downloadable for a reasonable price at some point, I'm sure.
And what's with all the old Game Boy/Color games? They weren't playable on the Nintendo DS/Lite in the first place.
But they're might be downloadable on the DSi. So the DSi is the definite console to have if you want a full collection of handheld games on 1 console!

But ditching the rumble pak as a whole in favour of longer battery work?
They should have built the rumble pak into the DSi, just like the sound player.
A rumble pak with the option to turn it on or off.
(But maybe there was no place inside that thin console for a good rumble pak?)
That's my only complaint.

Right, there's something missing... ah yes... Guitar Hero....
The Guitar Hero DS device is crap. Guitar Hero should be played on a "real" plastic guitar on a TV screen so I'm not worried at all about that things being gone.

[KeeperBvK]

I'm not gonna get one any time soon. Sure, DSiWare has me interested, but still tehre's no way I'm going to shell out €170 and not be able to play GBA games or Guitar Hero...and what nobody has mentioned yet (as far as I can see): Some DS games feature some sort of connectivity with GBA games which also can't be done on the DSi. I'm talking about Feel the Magic, Actionloop, Pokémon Dash and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon for example. It wasn't much but still a nice feature to have.

[Versus22]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

My initial resistance to the DSi was mainly because I was sure it would just be abandoned/superseded within a year or so, but that was before I learned of the increased CPU power, RAM, and the prospect of DSi-specific games.

That was my main reason too, and the music.

The battery life is a lot lower in this model.

Heh, not as low as the original Nintendo DS!

I have some minor menu annoyances. In order to change the brightness, you have to click into the DSi System Menu, then into a Brightness menu, and then change it up or down. It's too much clicking for something that should be right on the main front screen.

If I'm not mistaken, I think you can only change the brightness settings in the main menu of the Nintendo DS as well.

If you're really attached to mp3, then the music player won't do you any good.

Unless you have the latest version of iTunes. It allows you to create an AAC version of the music in your iTunes library.

[Pegasus]

Frankly, I think the DS Lite would be much more prone to slipping out of your hands than the DSi. IMO, the matte finish offers a much better grip.

As for brightness, you don't have to go into a menu to change it. Hold down select and press the - or + volume button to adjust it.

The speakers are also way better. Tried playing a few games with the volume cranked up and, man, it's almost too loud now! They do sound a lot better, though. It's too bad that that extra bit of volume didn't carry over to headphone use.

MP3 is an antiquated tech now. Heck, I remember when I had my first brush with it back in '97. AAC (aka MP4) is the improved format.

[Versus22]

@Pegasus - So are you saying the DSi is better in your opinion?

[Pegasus]

For now, it's really only worthwhile for Phat owners. I like it, but it was definitely not an essential purchase. I do appreciate not having to turn off the system every time I want to change a game out.

[enigmaopoeia]

Originally Posted by Pegasus

I do appreciate not having to turn off the system every time I want to change a game out.

That was one change that I immediately noticed when I switched between Rhythm Heaven and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. It's a bit of a step down from the DS Lite, but I don't regret getting this new system. I also need to mess around with my SD card and see how the DSi work with AAC files and images.

Also another thing I noticed is that cheating devices don't work on the DSi anymore which may or may not be a good thing for some people. But of course, that doesn't stop them from finding another way around it.

[Versus22]

I personally think that the DSi is better than Game Boy Micro.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Versus22

I personally think that the DSi is better than Game Boy Micro.

I wouldn't go that far.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Just adding everything together. The DS Lite is $120 and the DSi is $170. So, if you add the Browser to the DS/Lite ($30) that comes free with the DSi you would pay $150 for the DS/Lite. Then, if you add the mp3 player to the DS/Lite ($30) that comes free with the DSi (AAC player) you would pay $180 for the DS/Lite. These two features alone make the DS/Lite more expensive than the DSi.

Faulty logic. DS Lite buyers don't have to buy the browser and mp3 player (nor should they—they're junk). The fact of the matter is that the DS Lite is at a pretty good price point, and the DSi is insanely expensive. At this point in the DSi's life-cycle (relatively feature-light: no VH, no DSi-specific games, only a couple DSiWare games, etc.), it's probably not worth $50 more than a Lite. Not to me anyway. Depends on the player's needs.

Originally Posted by Versus22

If I'm not mistaken, I think you can only change the brightness settings in the main menu of the Nintendo DS as well.

I don't know, I never had one, I only had a DS lite. Anyway, Pegasus solved my problem with this, so it's one less strike in the cons category. Thanks Pegasus!

Originally Posted by Versus22

Unless you have the latest version of iTunes. It allows you to create an AAC version of the music in your iTunes library.

Yeah... I said if you're really attached to mp3. That still doesn't do those people any good. I'm not attached to mp3. I mostly only listen to FLAC, and that's easy to downconvert into any format.

Originally Posted by Pegasus

Frankly, I think the DS Lite would be much more prone to slipping out of your hands than the DSi. IMO, the matte finish offers a much better grip.

We'll agree to disagree.

Originally Posted by Pegasus

The speakers are also way better. Tried playing a few games with the volume cranked up and, man, it's almost too loud now! They do sound a lot better, though. It's too bad that that extra bit of volume didn't carry over to headphone use.

I would say the new speakers are slightly better. The DS Lite speakers were already incredibly loud (I usually played my games with the volume at half or lower), so what matters to me is sound quality and fidelity. The DSi's speakers are better, but not by much.

Originally Posted by Pegasus

MP3 is an antiquated tech now. Heck, I remember when I had my first brush with it back in '97. AAC (aka MP4) is the improved format.

Yep. I think the only reason people are still really attached to mp3 is because of easy piracy availability. Mp3s are everywhere for download on the net, but the format itself really doesn't hold a candle to AAC.

In my original impressions post, I did forget to mention a couple other things I really like: pressing the power button while in a game now just boots you to the menu, so you don't have to power down and then power back up to do something else. Being able to change games with the system still on is convenient but not really a deal-breaker. But these are a couple more nice touches, at least.

It seems like Pegasus and I have reached pretty much the same conclusion after our hands-ons (so to speak). It's a good system overall, worth an upgrade if you've got an old/broken/tired DS. But it's a bit early and feature-light right now to warrant a $200 upgrade from a working DS Lite. It'll make the DS Lite redundant in due time, but not quite yet.

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

At this point in the DSi's life-cycle (relatively feature-light: no VH, no DSi-specific games, only a couple DSiWare games, etc.), it's probably not worth $50 more than a Lite. Not to me anyway. Depends on the player's needs.

VH?

textext

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by pdRydia

VH?

textext

Virtual Handheld, DS equivalent of Virtual Console. Coined by someone around here, actually... Ouenben maybe?

[PKShadowPower]

I honestly do not want this right now.

Seems a bit pricey, especially with good games I want to buy I.E. Persona 4
I can't find my DS Phat and I don't want to Trade in my DS Lite because from time to time I like playing my GBA games. Or maybe the VH will handle all of those problems for me? XD