Topic: Official DSi Discussion (was: New DS model Details :rumor)

[Adrock]

Sure we the gamers will know to hold off on buying a DSL because of whats on the horizon but soccer moms and grandparents every where looking for a holiday gift will still buy DSLs and those same people might buy their (spoiled) kids a DSi down the road whenever its released here.

That same logic didn't stop parents from rebuying their (spoiled) kids a DS when Lite came out. Holding out until "well into 2009" does nothing except postpone when some people give Nintendo their money. Like I said drop the price of Lite, and release DSi as soon as possible. Everyone wins. Since many parents won't know the difference and most kids won't care until they see another kid with DSi, parents will buy their kids the lower priced Lite.... then probably buy DSi down the line when their poor parenting skills kick in and they adhere to the whims of their petulant children.

[BeautifulShy]

Preorder your DSi here

[Pale]

My guestimate is June.... so I'm thinking a couple months later than what vudu is saying... but in all honesty, it probably depends on what else Nintendo has releasing around then.

[UncleBob]

When does Nintendo's Fiscal year start?

[King of Twitch]

April 1? Or whenever the Pikmin first see their shadow

[EasyCure]

Sure we the gamers will know to hold off on buying a DSL because of whats on the horizon but soccer moms and grandparents every where looking for a holiday gift will still buy DSLs and those same people might buy their (spoiled) kids a DSi down the road whenever its released here.

That same logic didn't stop parents from rebuying their (spoiled) kids a DS when Lite came out. Holding out until "well into 2009" does nothing except postpone when some people give Nintendo their money. Like I said drop the price of Lite, and release DSi as soon as possible. Everyone wins. Since many parents won't know the difference and most kids won't care until they see another kid with DSi, parents will buy their kids the lower priced Lite.... then probably buy DSi down the line when their poor parenting skills kick in and they adhere to the whims of their petulant children.

i actually agree with you. My post was meant to try and explain Nintendos possible logic since we all know they do some silly things from time to time.

[NWR_Lindy]

I'm very curious to see how much this will cost from Play-Asia.  The black DSi is a rather tasty little piece of hardware.

[BeautifulShy]

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-dsi-spec-not-high-enough-to-grow-user-base-says-ubs/?biz=1
In the article above this analyst thinks it won't do well in the marketplace.

Agree disagree?Your thoughts.

[BeautifulShy]

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207322/nintendos-ds-lite-versus-dsi-by-the-numbers/
A comparison of DSL and DSi

[Spinnzilla]

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-dsi-spec-not-high-enough-to-grow-user-base-says-ubs/?biz=1
In the article above this analyst thinks it won't do well in the marketplace.

Agree disagree?Your thoughts.

Disagree, Apple releases slightly different Ipods every year and they sell TONS.  and the DSi has pretty significant upgrades for a nintendo system.

[TheFleece]

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-dsi-spec-not-high-enough-to-grow-user-base-says-ubs/?biz=1
In the article above this analyst thinks it won't do well in the marketplace.

Agree disagree?Your thoughts.

I think that delaying the release in the US will cause a huge demand for it and Nintendo will be able to sell bundle sets like hot cake. I also agree with Spinzilla- Apple releases new products about twice a year and people lose their minds over them, consumerism is consumerism.

[Adrock]

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-dsi-spec-not-high-enough-to-grow-user-base-says-ubs/?biz=1
In the article above this analyst thinks it won't do well in the marketplace.

Agree disagree?Your thoughts.

Agree. It won't necessarily "grow" the userbase any more than Lite has/is. However, many DS owners (Lite or original) will buy DSi. Nintendo has essentially sold 3 of the same product to many people. Now, we can assume that these people hand over their older models to someone else though I find trade-ins (mostly to help offest the price of buying a shiny new DSi) a much more believable scenario in most cases. That said, the numbers will suggest that the usebase has increased though that is ultimately misleading.

If Nintendo really wants to expand their userbase, they need to release appealing software. Titles like Nintendogs and Brain Age did just that. And this isn't necessarily about appealing to non-gamers. If Nintendo scored a brand new Metal Gear, would that not appeal to Metal Gear fans who may or may not own a DS.

[Kairon]

The DS has almost all bases covered in software though. Mertal Gear is such a niche fanbase, that's why it's one of the few things that could expand it's base.

I DO think that the features of the DSi can expand it's base though, and continue to drive growth in traditionally under-evaluated markets: adults and females in particular.

Additionally, the way it opens up a new downloadable software space should almost qualify as expanding the market since it adds another avenue to utilize the current fanbase.

[AV]

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-dsi-spec-not-high-enough-to-grow-user-base-says-ubs/?biz=1
In the article above this analyst thinks it won't do well in the marketplace.

Agree disagree?Your thoughts.

Disagree, Apple releases slightly different Ipods every year and they sell TONS.  and the DSi has pretty significant upgrades for a nintendo system.

I agree  with Spinnzilla . The only real concern is this will be perceived as the new DS or upgrade to DS.  The people may say "meh I don't need to upgrade" if people think this replaces DS Lite this well sell well, but still it might disappoint people who want better graphics.

It can go either way, but I think 70% chance DSi will be huge

Edit:

I edited up a Youtube movie clicky My overall thoughts on DSi

[Adrock]

At the same time, there are still people who didn't upgrade to Lite. There will certainly be people who won't upgrade and that won't hurt sales. DSi is kind of the Gameboy Color of this portable generation since, despite what Nintendo says, there will be DSi only games though publishers will likely support both and DSi games will be far fewer in number.

[Snipper64]

Hmm.... I like how it seems to have upcomming camra games. Yes they have cheap ones on Xbox, or computers, but hopefully thes are better made!

(I am so happy this post is now an "offiacial post", I feel the love )

[KDR_11k]

When have analysts ever handled the DS and Wii correctly with predictions?

[stevey]

Boo, for the first time ever Nintendo is region-locking a handheld gaming system

DSi software (software that is only compatible with DSi) is region locked, eg: European DSi software can only be played on European DSi consoles, Nintendo DS software however is region free so you can play any DS software on DSi from any region. You can also browse the Internet on your DSi wherever you are in the world and exchange your photos with friends from around the world

link

BOYCOTT!

[Pale]

So DSi specific games confirmed? Was that confirmed before? I was expecting only DSi specific features in DS games.

[TheFleece]

I think it refers to the downloadable apps, right? Because Wii points are region locked as well right?

[Pale]

Oh good point.  Then yeah, that makes sense.  I won't be importing.

[Spinnzilla]

I like how nintendo's views on their consoles and handhelds differ completely.  They won't add a harddrive to the wii because it cost more to manufacture and be more expensive retail wise, but they'll redesign the DS every two years and sell it for more.

[TheFleece]

I like how nintendo's views on their consoles and handhelds differ completely.  They won't add a harddrive to the wii because it cost more to manufacture and be more expensive retail wise, but they'll redesign the DS every two years and sell it for more.

I don't think there really is a need for a hard drive- the Wii has two USB sockets that aren't being used for anything and in theory any drive could be hooked up and operate just fine if Nintendo allowed it. Why make a device when there are so many around to start with?
What I don't like is that this is the first I've ever heard of a hand held has been region locked (ever?). If the DSi is coded by region to download content from that country's server than importing it would be a waste.

[mac<censored>]

The DSi is very underwhelming.  In fact, on balance, I think it seems like a downgrade more than anything else, at a higher price to boot.

On the positive side, you get:

+ Slightly larger screens
+ Camera (but a very crappy one)
+ Some kind of vague wifi improvements

On the negative side:

- No GBA compatibility (this is a real bummer -- I've got lots of fun GBA games, and my GBA hardware is not doing so well)
- REGION-LOCKING

The size difference seems so incredibly slight as to be meaningless.

The region-locking is the biggest stupidity, and an ill harbinger for the future of Nintendo handhelds, but I'm guessing it (and maybe other changes to lock down the DS) is the real reason Nintendo is releasing the DSi in the first place.

The DS is such a nice little system, I guess it was naive to think Nintendo could keep up their winning streak...  I'm kinda glad I bought a DS lite before the DSi becomes the only choice!

[NWR_Lindy]

Pale, I don't think they ever confirmed it, but you had to assume that there would be some "games" (probably better described as "applications") that would exclusively use the camera for input, and therefore be DSi-only.  I'm thinking something like Mario Paint.

I'm sure there will be more conventional games that utilize the camera as well, but I'm not expecting a ton of them.  I think the camera will more be used as a "personalization tool" in those instances.