Is the DSi worth it?

In my perspective the DSi is an excellently crafted upgrade with dual cameras, longer stylus, brighter/bigger screens and a new DSi shop. With all these extra upgrades is it worth it? well its bad news for those who initially had the original DS but purchased a DS lite but good news for those who sticked with the original DS and those who r just planning on buying.:lol:

Yes and No.

The DSi has a load of cool new stuff; I especially like the intergrated Web-Browser, SD Card Slot and the improved WiFi speed. Those are the 3 things that make the DSi worth getting... IF you have a use for them.

I have a DS Lite. I also have the Opera Web-Browser for my DS Lite. It's horribly slow and pretty much useles. But if it worked like it does on the DSi, I know I'd be using often. And because I play alot of WiFi games on my DS Lite, I can see the improved WiFi speed coming in extremely handy.

So for someone like me, it's kinda worth it.

im not to sure does dsi have mp3 compatibility having a camera and downloading games doesnt warrant a purchase, if it does i think it is worth a purchase if u have a ds liegronk-bonk

I forgot to say that it has Mp3 support (sorry).

anyone who doesn't already have a ds, well why not?

and anyone who still has their ds phat and never upgraded to the lite, well now would be a good time to upgrade.

still, its not that neccessary and i'm good to go with my lite.

Well I don't think so.

Fist of all, the camera coming with DSi is very poor in quality as far as I hear. It is only 0.3 megapixel (even worse than some free cell phones).

Another big minus is the loss of GBA slot. If you are still playing GBA games you will miss it a lot. Also some DS games interact with GBA (eg Castlevania). You lose a bit of gameplay after this upgrade.

Also it becomes more power-hungry. This means the battery life is shorten considerably.

I don't quite like the fact that it moves the power button up on to the surface of the control panel (ie next to the bottom screen). The power is a button so it is possible that we may mispress when we are playing some intensive games. Sigh!

Comparing with DS Lite, the screen is only slightly larger. Well you should be benefited a bit more since you are upgraded from original DS to DSi [Why doesn't Nintendo make the largest possible screen in the first place? Why Nintendo? :(]

DSi shop can be a plus but that means you will be tempted spend more money on DS. We still don't know how useful/great the DSWare are.

All in all DSi is a mixture of upgrades and downgrades. You get something but also lose something. What's more you lose money to "upgrade" (or downgrade?). After all it really depends on how you value the features you get and you lose, and how you value money. If you ask me, it isn't worth it. For that amount of moeny, I expect I will get a much better DSi in nearly all aspects, instead of something like that.

Well I don't think so.

Fist of all, the camera coming with DSi is very poor in quality as far as I hear. It is only 0.3 megapixel (even worse than some free cell phones).

Another big minus is the loss of GBA slot. If you are still playing GBA games you will miss it a lot. Also some DS games interact with GBA (eg Castlevania). You lose a bit of gameplay after this upgrade.

Also it becomes more power-hungry. This means the battery life is shorten considerably.

I don't quite like the fact that it moves the power button up on to the surface of the control panel (ie next to the bottom screen). The power is a button so it is possible that we may mispress when we are playing some intensive games. Sigh!

Comparing with DS Lite, the screen is only slightly larger. Well you should be benefited a bit more since you are upgraded from original DS to DSi [Why doesn't Nintendo make the largest possible screen in the first place? Why Nintendo? :(]

DSi shop can be a plus but that means you will be tempted spend more money on DS. We still don't know how useful/great the DSWare are.

All in all DSi is a mixture of upgrades and downgrades. You get something but also lose something. What's more you lose money to "upgrade" (or downgrade?). After all it really depends on how you value the features you get and you lose, and how you value money. If you ask me, it isn't worth it. For that amount of moeny, I expect I will get a much better DSi in nearly all aspects, instead of something like that.

LuckyChan

-The camera on the inside is 0.3mp. on the outside, its 3mp.

-The GBA games have been replaced by an SD card. Use your DS lite to play them.

-It can't have a camera and have the battery life be the same.

-I acctually like the button on the inside, instead of ON the SD slot.

-Like you said, if the screens are bigger, the battery life won't be.

-Who knows? maybe we'll be able to download GBA games and people will finnaly stop compaining.

I, for one, acctually like the DSi, instead of picking at every little thing that seems out of place.Im probably getting it on release day.

For me, it will depend on the DSi's battery life (according to actual reviews once it's released) and how much money it goes for in the U.S.

If all that falls in line, I'll get it simply to have a matte finish, bigger screens, and a longer stylus (all things I didn't like about the Lite). I don't care too much about the extra stuff, but it will be neat to have.

Who knows? maybe we'll be able to download GBA games and people will finnaly stop compaining.tekky14

[QUOTE="tekky14"]Who knows? maybe we'll be able to download GBA games and people will finnaly stop compaining.BuryMe

Maybe they will use some special code that the cartridge have to be a proof of a gba game that you own and letting you download for free, huh?

yes.

SD cart: You can download games

Better speakers

Bigger screens

exclusive dsi games will be made, I heard.

I heard the web browser we'll be better.

Those are 5 things that make it good.

[QUOTE="BuryMe"][QUOTE="tekky14"]Who knows? maybe we'll be able to download GBA games and people will finnaly stop compaining.meiaman

Maybe they will use some special code that the cartridge have to be a proof of a gba game that you own and letting you download for free, huh?

For a few new crap features, it's a rip off at $180King_Of_Pwn

Ok lets gather up the facts:

Has a camera, has DSware, bigger screens and stylus, lower the light, extend the battery, No gba slot (rumors of downloading games), sd card slot.

For just $180, yup, worth it.

Ok lets gather up the facts:

Has a camera, has DSware, bigger screens and stylus, lower the light, extend the battery, No gba slot (rumors of downloading games), sd card slot.

For just $180, yup, worth it.

MetaKnight50

About rumours of downloading GBA games to play, the new DSi has removed the GBA slot (and the device which represents running GBA games). I doubt if it's technically possible to run GBA games in the new DSi unless they changed the firwire inside the DS. Even if so, that may mean we have to pruchase the same game twice just to play it on the new DSi. This is not so nice to us, Nintendo!

Let me gather up the facts.

Plus:
+ A camera (for those who like using DS to shoot something instead of using your cell phones)
+ DSware (for you to pay on DS Shop)
+ Slightly bigger screen (it appears Nintendo likes to expand a bit every time it releases a new DS. Nintendo should really make it as large as DSi in the first place, instead of expanding bit by bit in every release)

Minus:
- A camera with very poor in picture quality (0.3MP which is even worse than some free cell phones)
- More power hungry (due to all the bells and whistles added to this new version)
- Free and great DSware already existing on the Internet long ago, as far as I know
- No GBA slot. Some gameplay is lost among games which interact with GBA games.
- Shorter battery life
- (IMHO) Less ideal placement of the new power button (it's moved up and put it next to the touch screen. It also becomes a power button instead of a switch. This only increases the chance of accidentally hitting the power button while playing a few instensive game. I prefer it putting on the side)
- higher official price tag than DS Lite

My judgement:
So the new DSi is a mixture of ugprades and downgrades. Whether it's worth or not really depends on you. I don't think I need one more camera (let alone its abysmal picture quality). Upgrading just for a slightly larger screen is a bit lame. I'd better save money buying more great new games.

I would be more than happy to see if Nintendo can release a new one which has two touchscreens (instead of one), and the support of multi-touch technology. It should bring much more potentials thanmerely adding some bells and whistles.

For anyone who is wishing to import a DSi, here is a shocker: I learned that suppliers in Japan are pricing the units between $292.50 to $295.50, more than double the price of the DS Lite. Because of this, I maybe reconsidering importing because I do not want to pay a higher price for a handheld system. I will wait several weeks until the prices go down if of course the U.S. dollar continues to erode against the Japanese yen.

http://www.shopncsx.com/nintendodsi.aspx (please copy and paste to your browser's URL box)

The price is about $100 more than I expected, and I could have bought a Wii for $292-95.

The only reason to buy it will be if there are great DSi exclusive games. They will probably be able to make games that uses the camera and SD card for new gameplay elements.

For example: they could make a Drawn to Life version for the DSi where you would be able to use the pictures you took with your DS inside the game instead of having to draw them. Devs could also use the SD card to include downloadable content.

For anyone who is wishing to import a DSi, here is a shocker: I learned that suppliers in Japan are pricing the units between $292.50 to $295.50, more than double the price of the DS Lite.thom-wiin

Also... DSi software is region locked... so importing a DSi isn't a great idea.

For anyone who is wishing to import a DSi, here is a shocker: I learned that suppliers in Japan are pricing the units between $292.50 to $295.50, more than double the price of the DS Lite. Because of this, I maybe reconsidering importing because I do not want to pay a higher price for a handheld system. I will wait several weeks until the prices go down if of course the U.S. dollar continues to erode against the Japanese yen.

http://www.shopncsx.com/nintendodsi.aspx (please copy and paste to your browser's URL box)

The price is about $100 more than I expected, and I could have bought a Wii for $292-95.

thom-wiin

[QUOTE="thom-wiin"]

For anyone who is wishing to import a DSi, here is a shocker: I learned that suppliers in Japan are pricing the units between $292.50 to $295.50, more than double the price of the DS Lite. Because of this, I maybe reconsidering importing because I do not want to pay a higher price for a handheld system. I will wait several weeks until the prices go down if of course the U.S. dollar continues to erode against the Japanese yen.

http://www.shopncsx.com/nintendodsi.aspx (please copy and paste to your browser's URL box)

The price is about $100 more than I expected, and I could have bought a Wii for $292-95.

MetaKnight50

thats too much if true, it would have to be a whole new system for that and even then.. so i'm thinking thats for importing and stuff...

Personally, I don't think I would get a DSi. I mean, maybe I would if I had both a DS Lite and a DSi, but that's me spending an extra $180 instead of simply trading in my DS Lite for the DSi and paying a small difference.

Anyway, the camera thing on the DSi is a gimmick, imo. It seems like Nintendo is running out of ideas and decided to put a camera on the DSi. Why would you ever use a camera if you had a cell phone? What if you have a digital camera already? And if there were games that used the camera, I probably would not buy it. So, the camera means nothing to me.

The larger screen is nice, but it's not bigger by much, only a quarter of an inch. Perhaps that might be noticeable once you actually have the DSi, but again, a quarter of an inch of extra screen I probably would not pay extra for.

The biggest issue with the DSi for me is the removal of the GBA slot. I have a lot of old GBA games that I still want the option to play. I mean, I have a GBA SP, but I lost the power cord for it a long time ago and why would I want to carry around a GBA or have to look for it when I want to play a GBA game.

Lower battery life? Okay, whatever, I don't play my DS away from home much, so not an issue. SD card slot? That sounds nice, but I already have an 80GB iPod. Does the DSi play movies? I heard a rumor that it might, but I doubt it. I have my PSP to play movies from.

All in, Nintendo is making a pretty hard sell of the DSi for me. I personally would not buy it. The new features don't appeal to me since I would never use the camera to play a game, I'm more into the traditional games that only need buttons to work.

Also, DSWare sounds cool, but that's another money sink. Just... no.

did you see the new video of the camera of dsi.. it look's great look's fun you can play with ur pictures.. btw questions.. what is dsware?? and when is it coming out in asia? philipines?.. dont have any ds yet.. do you think it will be worth it if i will wait for the dsi? or buy ds lite now? if it's coming out april 2009 i can't wait.. T_Tkbkb221

As you may have not noticed yet, in the Philippines, we didn't get the DS because Nintendo sent us here. The US version is just to be distributed in USA, Canada and Mexico. The DS's we see here are just some illegal imports. That's why our DS's here are even more expensive than the American PSP. Goes to show that Philippines is also full of fake DS and even GBA games TBH.

Well, it is already sold in Asia namely Japan...it was released today! hahaha. Might as well import one if you want it.Rather than wait for it to come here with a price of a PS3 hahaha

I don't think the DSi is worth it at all. The new features are lacking (no .mp3 support, just .AAC, etc.), and why the hell would I want two low quality cameras in my DS?! Not to forget about the shorter battery life and the misplaced power button (IMO). Also, why would I want to waste money for mini-games in DSware, when I could go out and buy a full-fledged DS game for under twenty bucks?

The only viable thing I see about this new DSi is the memory option that could enable DLC for some games, but still, would cost us more money for a game we already paid for. Everything else about the DSi though, could be done on a regular DS with an R4 flash cart. Also, the new DSi doesn't read flash carts and it has updateable firmware, which means that Nintendo will be all over our asses with firmware releases to fix their sorry console.

And at +$50 more than a DS lite, it just doesn't make sense to me, it really doesn't. Unless all of the games are going to be made for the DSi (which they aren't), then there's just no reason to upgrade or hold out for the new model. Period.

It hasn't come out yet so we don't know.

In no way is the dsi worth it (unless you want it). You guys are forgetting that Nintendo is a businesssun-son

And who cares that nintendo is a businnes?? What only matters here is the games they provide us and the awesome handhelds they make ;)

[QUOTE="sun-son"]In no way is the dsi worth it (unless you want it). You guys are forgetting that Nintendo is a businessNanu-

And who cares that nintendo is a businnes?? What only matters here is the games they provide us and the awesome handhelds they make ;)

[QUOTE="Nanu-"]

[QUOTE="sun-son"]In no way is the dsi worth it (unless you want it). You guys are forgetting that Nintendo is a businesssun-son

And who cares that nintendo is a businnes?? What only matters here is the games they provide us and the awesome handhelds they make ;)

Well maybe you dont find it awesome but there are others that do. For example i heard a lot of people that want the DSi cause of its extra cool features and since some of them dont have a D is even better. If you think you are going to waste your money in something like that just dont buy it

I think it's great. The camera will allow new innovative gameplay. The SD slot, Hardrive, and downloadable software are awesome as well...Head_of_games

Since when does the DSi has a hardrive? It's just 256mb flash memory, which fails!