Full FeedDSi? Do not want.
My name is Jenni and I’m a Nintendo addict.
Hello Jenni.
I have a particular fondness for the Nintendo portable systems. Throughout the years, I’ve accumulated a collection that includes a Game Boy, a Game Boy Micro, a Game Boy Color, a Game Boy Advance (imported from Japan), a Game Boy Advance SP, a DS and a DS lite.
I’ve had no qualms about purchasing ‘tweaked’ versions of existing handhelds. Until now.
*clap* *clap* *clap*
The DSi crosses a line. Instead of being a familiar, handheld game system, it is trying to do it all. It resembles a PDA or a Windows Mobile Device more than a video game system. If people are buying a handheld console, they’re buying it to play games. Let’s keep things simple, and not drastically alter a system in its golden years.
Here are the reasons I am not getting a DSi.
I don’t want another camera.
My cell phone has it. If I need to take a picture, its simpler to just pull out my phone, snap it and move along, rather than prepare a DS. On the DS, it’s more of a gimmick than a necessity. There’s been talk of games using the camera function but this might not be anything to get too excited about. So far, Otona no DS Kao Training, a face muscle training game, and a Shisedo makeup game make use of a DS camera peripheral in Japan. If Square Enix decided to port the Japanese cell phone game Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis to the DSi, then maybe it would be worth the purchase but it seems like a silly and unnecessary built-in peripheral.
I don’t want an internet browser.
My laptop already does that. My PSP has an internet browser in it and I’ve used it once. Seriously. I went online once with my PSP to see how it would work. That’s it. The portable game browsers have too many limitations, when it comes to viewing pages, using email clients and accessing the web to make it worthwhile.
I do not want slightly bigger screens.
The DS Lite has 3-inch screens and the DSi will have 3.25 inch screens. There won’t be any difference in brightness or in the number of colors that can be displayed. So, basically, your games will just appear a quarter of an inch bigger. Yes, that quarter of an inch (about the size of a mosquito, in case you’re curious) is going to make a drastic difference when I want to play games.
I do not want to have to charge my DS every day.
The DSi has a shorter battery life than the DS lite. This is a crucial issue for me, since the battery life of my PSP keeps it captive in the house because I can’t trust it to keep a charge or last over five hours. Kotaku specifications post on the DSi shows the DS lite getting between two and six hours more battery life at each brightness level than the DSi. That’s disgraceful.
I do not want another MP3 player.
I have an iPod (and a phone and PSP) for that. My PSP has 50 of my favorite MP3s on it. Do you know how many times I’ve used it to listen to said mp3s? If you guessed once, you’d be right. The rest of the time, I use my iPod because it doesn’t kill the battery on it. I can understand some people possibly wanting one gadget to do everything, but I don’t want that from my handheld gaming system. I want everything to be focused on providing the best gaming presentation.
I do not want region locks.
CVG has just confirmed that the DSi and its specific games will be region locked. So you can’t play Japanese DSi games on your US DSi and vice versa. Regular DS games will be fine, but any DSi-specific games will be exclusive to that country’s handheld. It is unfair that a company should try to limit people’s playing and libraries by imposing region limitations.
I do want my GBA slot.
The elimination of the GBA slot will be a let down for many gamers. Especially for those who purchased Guitar Hero for the DS or imported a Japanese DS peripheral. So much for enjoying games like Guitar Hero: On Tour, Oshare Majo Love and Berry, Slide Adventure: Mag Kid or Arkanoid with the paddle controller. Plus, it means you have to have a separate unit for playing GBA games. Quite a hassle. Plus it halves your gaming collection. I know, the games could also be released via the upcoming DSware gaming store, or a Virtual Console for the DS could be implemented, but I don’t want to pay for a game I already own.
Nintendo shouldn’t have created the DSi. Instead, it should have saved these additions and implemented them in the next incarnation of the DS. Thanks, but no thanks.
My name is Jenni and I’ll be sticking with my DS Lite.
*clap* *clap* *clap*
Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Videogaming247] Also Read [CVG]
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Hey Jenni,
You have some good points here, but I just wanted to note that the DSi will likely have brighter screens, as the new hardware will feature 5 brightness levels, as opposed to 4 with the DS Lite.
on October 7, 2008 at 01:59 PM - LINK@ Eric C -
Yeah, but brighter screens aren’t really a monumental deal, considering there really aren’t any screen brightness issues with the current DS lite. Still it is a good point to remember.
(Honestly, I have no idea what brightness I even have set. I never bothered changing it.)
on October 7, 2008 at 06:23 PM - LINKJenni, have you ever thought that maybe, just like the DS’ touch screen, dual screens, and microphone when they were first introduced, that new types of gameplay may be invented. When the DS first came out, these features were not to be associated with video games. By introducing these risky, but new hardware features, developers made new gameplay and game genres and experiences that could not be had anywhere else. The new DSi comes with 2 cameras, and audio playback. I’m sure devs can figure out new ways to implement these into video games along with the touch screen, and etc. Nintendo did not implement these 2 features just to compete with cameras and mp3 players. The reasoning here is different, its for the sake of new ways to game. That’s my 2 cents. On top of that, the DSi has internal memory and an SD card slot for memory expansion. Some games could come out that could use some of this extra memory. And on top of that there’s going to be some indie games to download now similar to wiiware. And if that’s any indication the rule book goes out the door. There’s a lot to miss out here if you skip the DSi in my opinion.
on October 7, 2008 at 07:25 PM - LINKSorry for the 2nd post Jenni, but for example, when I was watching the Nintendo press conference from Japan, they showed how you could manipulate pictures and audio files with the onboard DSi software such that you could make your own animation. In unison with the DSi’s microphone and touch screen, there’s a lot versatility there. If I was a dev, the possibilities seem endless with these new abilities. I’m sure I could think of something creative.
on October 7, 2008 at 07:43 PM - LINK@ AC - Yes, I can see that perhaps this could expand gaming. Call me a purist, but I don’t think Nintendo should be trying to make the DS into an all-in-one media device.
Especially since some of the features they’re copying are PSP features which, frankly, aren’t doing too well. I own both handheld systems, and I’ve never used the internet or music features of the PSP.
If anything, this new update is a slight to current DS owners. They may eventually be forced into buying a whole new handheld if Nintendo and developers decide to utilize DSi capabilities.
(No need to apologize for the 2nd post btw. You had a lot to say, and if you had more you thought of later, its good to come back and voice your opinion. :D)
on October 8, 2008 at 02:34 PM - LINK