Nintendo had updated their very popular DS Lite with the new DSi that launches today in the United States. This is the 3rd iteration of the DS consoles that have done quite well for Nintendo.
The DSi offers several updates in the hardware department. First, Nintendo has added dual cameras to the handheld; one on the exterior and one on the interior of the frame. This could be a huge development for portable gaming. With the advent of multiple cameras, players have a new way to interact with each other during game play. But Nintendo didn’t stop there. They also added a new sound application that can act as a voice recorder or a music player. This is a nice addition to the hardware that is almost expected in today’s electronics environment. Finally, regarding hardware changes, Nintendo removed the GameBoy game port and added a slot for a SD card. Sorry GameBoy fans, no more playing your old GameBoy games on the DSi. But it will be nice to have extra storage with the SD slot.
There is a nice software change of note as well. It’s the introduction of DSiWare. DSiWare is similar to WiiWare and comparable to Apple’s app store. The DSiWare shop will be open for developers to put new gaming content for download. And similar to WiiWare, users of the DSi can purchase points to download new content from the online shop. This is a nice addition to the DSi and seems to be the way the industry is going regarding getting new and different content onto their platforms.
It looks like the DSi will likely be another successful addition to the Nintendo portable gaming sector. The $169.99 price tag is a little steep for me but quite normal to see at launch. I expect that price to go down either right before or right after the holidays this year. If you have a DS Lite and you’re happy with it, I don’t see a great need to upgrade to the DSi right away. I will consider getting one myself after the initial price drop and after I see how successful the DSiWare shop is.
