Wrestlevania Posted October 8, 2008 Am I stupid, or is this just a limp-wristed and highly cynical attempt to reenvigorate (non-)flagging sales of the Nintendo DS platform? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted October 8, 2008 I wonder how this will play out. Will all new games be DSi only, or will they have enhanced features (using the second touch screen and/or camera)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlevania Posted October 8, 2008 So it has two touch screens now as well? That seems even more daft than gluing a shitty camera into the casing and adding an SD card slot. Personally, I think the loss of the GBA slot is a crime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrobbs Posted October 8, 2008 I think it's merely an attempt of Nintendo to emulate Apple's schemes of bringing out small iterations of the same hardware in order to maintain the same price point...so agree with Mr. Vania, there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanJW Posted October 8, 2008 Personally, I think the loss of the GBA slot is a crime. That was my first reaction too, but on reflection I think the SD card and the access to the Nintendo Store (which will hopefully have many GBA games) makes up for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted October 8, 2008 Yep, definitely an Apple imitation. I think that's obviously what they were going for with the lowercase i. While I think the two touch screens are cool as I remember thinking that's what the original DS did, this reeks of one of those bad Nintendo ideas they tend to sometimes have. I can't help but think of the Gameboy camera and printer when looking at this, and I usually love Nintendo's crap (except maybe the Virtual Boy and Gameboy Pocket and Micro... although, the Virtual Boy has that awesome Wario game, so it is redeemed a little bit). It will suck if newer games require the functions of the DSi to play correctly and will force you to buy a new DS. They probably won't do that instantly, but I'm betting they will phase into that the way they did with Gameboy Color. But on the other hand, Gameboy Color was long overdue by the time it appeared on the market, and if I remember, it appeared a few years after the Game Gear was pretty much dead. I guess I don't care about losing the Gameboy slot like some people. It already sucks playing Gameboy games on the original, since you have a smaller screen and it plays advance games only, so I have to keep a GBA around anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jayel Posted October 8, 2008 Does it really have 2 touch screens? I can't find a reference to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted October 8, 2008 It sure does! I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted October 8, 2008 That bit I hadn't heard either. Hm... The SD card slot though, I'm totally down for. Been waiting for a DS online store for quite some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted October 8, 2008 would only work if they'd fix the wifi functionality Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlevania Posted October 8, 2008 It sure does!I don't know. It's just what the rumour mill churned out a couple of weeks ago and is a stupid idea. Making both screens touch sensitive would fundamentally break the DS design to such a degree as to make it a different platform altogether. And Nintendo certainly aren't that foolish. That was my first reaction too, but on reflection I think the SD card and the access to the Nintendo Store (which will hopefully have many GBA games) makes up for it. But I already own this stuff--why do I have to buy it again?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n0wak Posted October 8, 2008 That was my first reaction too, but on reflection I think the SD card and the access to the Nintendo Store (which will hopefully have many GBA games) makes up for it. Screw that, give me classic Gameboy games (Zelda 3, Donkey Kong, WarioLand) that are hard to find or play already, and fucking Neo Geo Pocket titles and import Wonderswan shit and all these quirky portable titles that are impossible to find because nobody carries old, bare portable carts anymore. But likely, knowing Nintendo, we'll get Mario Land for $8 instead and not much else (Oh, and I would pay for Gameboy "Golf" all over again. I am serious. It's my favourite golf game ever.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noyb Posted October 8, 2008 (edited) So I'm guessing that the DS Store won't work on original or Lite DS systems? No plans for a SD reader that interfaces with the GBA slot? Edited October 9, 2008 by Noyb SD != GBA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nachimir Posted October 8, 2008 Not announced. I'm not so sceptical of it. I'll be in no rush to buy one, but can see why people might go for it and that Nintendo might do some interesting things with it (That massive increase in research budget over the past few years will probably lead to something interesting... I hope). Also, bet it's less than a month before someone has pirated stuff running through the SD slot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaff Posted October 9, 2008 0.3 mega pixels? that's next to worthless. the iphone camera is shit enough.... remember the oh so succesful GBA camera? fail. im not entirely sure what this plan is all about but it is all over basically, and yeah removing the gba port is fail Think they might lock out the R4 cards also? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nachimir Posted October 9, 2008 It absolutely certain that there will be new firmware that locks them out. It's also pretty much a certainty that someone will find a way to both bypass code checks and reflash it. 0.3 mega pixels?that's next to worthless. Hmm, didn't realise that :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlevania Posted October 9, 2008 Oh, it's much better than that... Nintendo have stated that they fully intend to impose region locking on DSi exclusive titles, to stop gray importers "cannibalising" (i.e. short-circuiting tardy/lazy/limp-wristed) staggered market launches. Really think they're fucking with a lot of the exclusive goodwill they've had in the portable market in doing this. A sale is a sale is a sale. If you can't organise your distributors - or care enough to do a proper worldwide release - change your business. You're only encouraging gray importers (and mass piracy) otherwise. Why is it, 15 years on from the 16-bit frothing about grey imports--which actually changed laws in places like the UK, do console manufacturers and games publishers still fail so embarassingly to grasp this painfully simple fact? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted October 9, 2008 The region locking thing worries me Phoenix Wright-wise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eljay Posted October 9, 2008 Nintendo are by far the worst offenders in region locking, mainly because their European arm is so utterly poor at scheduling and keeping up with other territories. As to the camera the interior one is 0.3 megapixels sure, but the exterior one is a respectable 3 megapixels. (Also I'm pretty sure you're mad toblix, there is only one touchscreen) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
