Nintendo has gone Apple. Welcome to the i, the DSi. At Nintendo’s Fall Press Conference, they’ve unveiled their latest handheld device. While not an official successor to the original Nintendo DS, the DSi offers plenty of new hardware and software features.
Hardware –
No more Game Boy slot: I’m sure Nintendo fans will be annoyed with this move, but hey the future is forward, not backward.
Thinner: Yes the DSi is now even thinner than the DS Lite. Hopefully you won’t break the handheld in fit full of rage as you lose to a 9 year old playing Mario Kart online.
Larger screens: Now you’ll finally be able to read lines and lines of poorly written video game dialog! With screens being enlarged by 17% to 3.25 inches, I’m sure everyone will be able to notice the difference.
Audio Enhancements: It’s unclear what Nintendo has done to improve audio on the DS, but apparently whatever they did is worth talking about. But I’m still want to be able to listen to the radio on my Nintendo DS.
SD Memory: Portable memory is key to the success of a handheld. No one wants all their data stored onto only one device. Transfer information over to your Wii, PC, etc. Think of the possibilities.
Camera: Remember how the Game Boy Camera, sucked? Well Nintendo is going back to its roots by offering a new twist on an old friend. This bad-boy 3 mega pixel camera (yes it has more mega pixels than my cell phone!) is going to ‘change the way we play games.’ Ok, that’s an exaggeration, cameras and video games have already been in a long-term relationship.
Software –
DSi Shop/DSiWare: Download games, music, and more stuff that a shop can offer. Now you’ll be able to actually save your downloads onto your DS! Pricing starts from Free, 200 points, 500 points and 800 points.
Built in Browser – Surf the net without having to pay for a browser! Is Nintendo now imitating Microsoft?
All-in-all, I cannot wait for the new Nintendo DSi. I’m a sucker for this stuff. It has a release date of November 1 in Japan, at a price of $179.
