I need some help. I'm looking to buy a DS for my 8 y.o. son, but I know little about them. There appears to be at least three options, a DSi, a DSi XL, and a 3D. I want to make a smart purchase that won't be obsolete too quickly, and will play popular games that he'd like. But I also want to spend a reasonably "small" amount. I'm basically looking for the best bang for my buck, looking for good value. So, where does that leave me. What is a good purchase? Are there any dos and don'ts? Must haves, must avoids? Thank you very much in advance!!
I'd go with the 3DS. It is the newest handheld and will last a few years. The previous versions of the DS are slowly being phased out. The 3DS can play the new games coming out for it as well as any game in the vast library of DS games. With the price drop, the 3DS is not as much of an investment as it was at release. If you decide to get one this week, you can get a $25 dollar gift card when you buy one at target. That can be put toward a game and save you a bit of money. If you aren't comfortable letting your son use the 3D, you can always turn it off using the parental controls.
Well the smart purchase would probably be the 3DS, unlike all the other DS models the 3DS is the actual successor to the original DS, like how the PS3 and Xbox 360 are the successors to the PS2 and Xbox, where as all the other DS models are just the same system with different bells and whistles attached. The 3DS can play almost all the DS games (there where some DS games that also required the GBA slot which was only available on the DS and DS lite) and is the only DS system that can play the 3DS games, and as the system only came out this year, you have the huge back catalogue of DS games to you can go back to as well as everything the 3DS will get in the future.
Well the smart purchase would probably be the 3DS, unlike all the other DS models the 3DS is the actual successor to the original DS, like how the PS3 and Xbox 360 are the successors to the PS2 and Xbox, where as all the other DS models are just the same system with different bells and whistles attached. The 3DS can play almost all the DS games (there where some DS games that also required the GBA slot which was only available on the DS and DS lite) and is the only DS system that can play the 3DS games, and as the system only came out this year, you have the huge back catalogue of DS games to you can go back to as well as everything the 3DS will get in the future.spike6958
Good point. Without the GBA slot, you can't play games like guitar hero which have an accessory that plugs into that slot. Other than those few, any DS and 3DS game can be played
About the only concern with buying the 3DS I'm seeing is the battery life. Is the $25 gift card given to those who buy the 3DS at the store or just to those who buy it online?
I bought one in the store and got the gift card. I'm not sure if it applies to online orders. Battery life generally isn't an issue. If you play for short periods at home and then set in back in the cradle whenever you're not playing, it will stay charged. For long car rides, get the car adapter. The only time I've had a problem is when I forget to plug it in overnight or get hooked on a game and forget to charge it. If you want to extend the battery life, there are options like the Nyko powerpak which adds to the life but also makes the device more bulky.
Get the Nintendo 3ds, matter of fact, get the bundle pack for 199, if i was able to spend 250+ just for the system itself when it came out, it shouldn't be a problem buying the handheld system with a game for 199(including tax)
[QUOTE="TankZorz"]I bought one in the store and got the gift card. I'm not sure if it applies to online orders. Battery life generally isn't an issue. If you play for short periods at home and then set in back in the cradle whenever you're not playing, it will stay charged. For long car rides, get the car adapter. The only time I've had a problem is when I forget to plug it in overnight or get hooked on a game and forget to charge it. If you want to extend the battery life, there are options like the Nyko powerpak which adds to the life but alsoa makes the device more bulky. Dont put it in the cradle whenever your not playing -_- You realise with each charge you are weakening the battery life right? After 500 charges, thats rigrht just 500, imagine how many times your charging it in just one day, your battery life is only at 70% of the original battery life. Nintendo was wrong to tell you to keep in cradle. Imo the only time you should do something like that is if, as you said, your going on a long car ride.
[QUOTE="TankZorz"]I bought one in the store and got the gift card. I'm not sure if it applies to online orders. Battery life generally isn't an issue. If you play for short periods at home and then set in back in the cradle whenever you're not playing, it will stay charged. For long car rides, get the car adapter. The only time I've had a problem is when I forget to plug it in overnight or get hooked on a game and forget to charge it. If you want to extend the battery life, there are options like the Nyko powerpak which adds to the life but alsoa makes the device more bulky.simomate
Dont put it in the cradle whenever your not playing -_- You realise with each charge you are weakening the battery life right? After 500 charges, thats rigrht just 500, imagine how many times your charging it in just one day, your battery life is only at 70% of the original battery life. Nintendo was wrong to tell you to keep in cradle. Imo the only time you should do something like that is if, as you said, your going on a long car ride. Do some more research on what they mean by a charge...
[QUOTE="gr7070"]I need some help. I'm looking to buy a DS for my 8 y.o. son, but I know little about them. There appears to be at least three options, a DSi, a DSi XL, and a 3D. I want to make a smart purchase that won't be obsolete too quickly, and will play popular games that he'd like. But I also want to spend a reasonably "small" amount. I'm basically looking for the best bang for my buck, looking for good value. So, where does that leave me. What is a good purchase? Are there any dos and don'ts? Must haves, must avoids? Thank you very much in advance!! 3DS is the latest version of Nintendo DS, so it becomes more smaller and have better screen pixel, The 3D without glasses is also a brilliant idea, but since you can see, the real technology of 3D is not that complete, which means now it's just a foredeveloping period of 3D technology, and personally speaking, i don't thing 3DS is that good compared with DSi, so my suggestion would go with Nintendo DSi, hope this can be help
[QUOTE="gr7070"]About the only concern with buying the 3DS I'm seeing is the battery life. Is the $25 gift card given to those who buy the 3DS at the store or just to those who buy it online? Thats only with the 3D effect turned on, which to be honest you dont want to be letting an 8 year old do anyway since 3D could potentially damage his eye sight as its still developing apparantly (as nintendos own health and safety section of the instructions would tell you....and yes theres a parental lock to stop him turning that on) without 3D you should get a good 8-10 hours per charge
[QUOTE="CCpotter"][QUOTE="gr7070"]I need some help. I'm looking to buy a DS for my 8 y.o. son, but I know little about them. There appears to be at least three options, a DSi, a DSi XL, and a 3D. I want to make a smart purchase that won't be obsolete too quickly, and will play popular games that he'd like. But I also want to spend a reasonably "small" amount. I'm basically looking for the best bang for my buck, looking for good value. So, where does that leave me. What is a good purchase? Are there any dos and don'ts? Must haves, must avoids? Thank you very much in advance!! 3DS is the latest version of Nintendo DS, so it becomes more smaller and have better screen pixel, The 3D without glasses is also a brilliant idea, but since you can see, the real technology of 3D is not that complete, which means now it's just a foredeveloping period of 3D technology, and personally speaking, i don't thing 3DS is that good compared with DSi, so my suggestion would go with Nintendo DSi, hope this can be help Dude he said he doesnt want to be obsolete to soon and the DSi is being phased out since its the previous console ... 3DS is the only way to go I'm afraid
[QUOTE="penpusher"][QUOTE="CCpotter"][QUOTE="gr7070"]I need some help. I'm looking to buy a DS for my 8 y.o. son, but I know little about them. There appears to be at least three options, a DSi, a DSi XL, and a 3D. I want to make a smart purchase that won't be obsolete too quickly, and will play popular games that he'd like. But I also want to spend a reasonably "small" amount. I'm basically looking for the best bang for my buck, looking for good value. So, where does that leave me. What is a good purchase? Are there any dos and don'ts? Must haves, must avoids? Thank you very much in advance!! 3DS is the latest version of Nintendo DS, so it becomes more smaller and have better screen pixel, The 3D without glasses is also a brilliant idea, but since you can see, the real technology of 3D is not that complete, which means now it's just a foredeveloping period of 3D technology, and personally speaking, i don't thing 3DS is that good compared with DSi, so my suggestion would go with Nintendo DSi, hope this can be help Dude he said he doesnt want to be obsolete to soon and the DSi is being phased out since its the previous console ... 3DS is the only way to go I'm afraid It's never out of trend if you really love this thing and its game, that's the reason why Xbox 360 has been released for over 7 years！And the Microsoft said they will only release their new Xbox series until 2013. No matter its NDSL or NDSi, the Nintendo Company and others like konami has been keeping doing games for them. And i'm afraid 3DS has a long way to go on its road so why don't you just wait for a moment and buy it after it's really good developed?
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