Was the DS Lite Unimportant in the History of Handhelds?

It occurred to me that the only difference really between the DS and the DS Lite was cosmetic changes. Is it possible that the DS Lite was mere filler, along the lines of the Game Boy Micro?

It seems to me that the real evolution began with the DSi when they added Internet capabilities, cameras, and the SD card slot. These features, and not the Lite's Game Boy Advance slot, will make the transition to the 3DS. Meanwhile, nothing that was unique to the Lite will be part of the 3DS.

It was kind of unimportant but more options for consumers is always a plus. At the time when the original ds came out some people said it looks ugly and the lite's slight cosmetic change made more people want to purchase. I could have done without the lite if I knew the dsi was coming out.

I remember the DS lite being seen as a huge improvement and being a big help for sales, as it suddenly looked much "cooler" and the screens were much brighter (were they bigger as well? I forget, but I think the screens were bigger), buttons were much better etc.

Having owned a DS, DS lite and DSi, for me the DSi is the best one of the three, but I thought the DS lite made a world of difference by making the games look massively more attractive, better buttons and all the stuff I mentioned above. DSiWare and all the little camera/sound things you can play with are all fine and good, but DS lite was a much bigger leap in terms of improving the system in terms of the features it already had, which for me was more important than adding cameras and image editing stuff etc.

For me, the change to making the machine more cosmetically attractive, as well as making the games look nicer from having a brighter screen means the DS to DS Lite upgrade was more comparable to GBA to GBA SP upgrade.

It was a waste for nintendo beacuse their were just little minor tweaks and so most people still just got the ds but it was an extra choice on the market so that was nice but other than that it was very unimportant

The DS Lite was extremely important in kicking the DS into the front-line. One could probably argue that they were mostly cosmetic, but they actually turned a good bit functional for me personally. Having brighter screens was extremely functional for me.. Having screens that are more resistant to scratches was also a huge difference. I also think the shell closing more securely prevented inadvertent damage caused by change getting into the original DS' clamshell, something that scratched my screen more than once.

^ Agreed. I was very sceptical about the DS lite when it came out, but eventually upgraded and was amazed how much nicer games like Animal Crossing looked on the DS lite. There were quite a few gameplay-affecting changes and I remember the media reaction being much more positive to the DS lite upgrade than they were for the DSi upgrade, as the DS lite basically fixed all the most complained about failings of the original DS.

No the DS lite was very improtant to the succuess of the DS, before the launch of it the PSP was catching up and was starting to get better games. Then the lite came out and put it back in its place

DS lite is the version of the DS that is worth owning.

It has brighter and more responsive screens than the phat, and still had its GBA port unlike the DSi. To top it off it was wrappd in a smaller, sleek, sophisticated shell.

There are no DSi exclusives that make the loss of the GBA port worth it.

The competition could have won if Nintendo stuck with that old ugly thing called a DS. You'd be surprised just how many people were drawn by the sleek design of the DS lite.

And as for gamers, the brighter screens alone were a huge improvement.

Some have complained about the softer button types, as opposed to the DS ones.

It introduced a new market to the DS, including me.

I think it was unimportant. Because while the games were good, they get downgraded once you play them. I had a lot of fun with the DS. But there isn't a single game I want to revisit today. Hopefully the 3DS will turn out to be a different story.

I think it was unimportant. Because while the games were good, they get downgraded once you play them. I had a lot of fun with the DS. But there isn't a single game I want to revisit today. Hopefully the 3DS will turn out to be a different story.

outworld222

I think it was unimportant in the history of handhelds, but very important in the history of the DS.

It was important to me because I like the design of it but it was a filler. Silver_Slugger