Losing the GBA slot wasn't a dealbreaker for me. Considering that I already have a GBA, GBA SP, and GB Micro, the DS makes the fourth (well, fifth if you count my Gamecube's Game Boy Player) device I own that can play GBA games, so I have an array of options should the need to play something arise. I had no idea so many people were still actively playing GBA games. It's not that there's not always still something out there to try, but you just can't find 'em on the shelves anymore! To those of you apparently living in GBA-abundant regions, throw copies of Ninja Five-O and Tactics Ogre my way.

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They can take my GBA slot when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

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I only use mine for the DS Browser, and that's going to be built in, so it's not an issue.

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OMG Guy! how will I get my libra bonus at the start of FFTA2 now that the GBA slot is gone!

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I still transfer me Pokemans ya know, Nintendo!

iDS...er, DSi is impressive, but it went from must buy to probably not with that decision. My iPhone and DS Lite are happily married.

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Personally, I dont mind. But then again I still have a DS phat with a broken L button meaning I really wanted a lite but seeing how this DSi has been announced then I may aswell wait in there to get that seeing how I dont really play GBA games [And if I got the urge then I have my GBA and GBMicro]

But it better have WPA, cos if it doesnt then no sale

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As a huge fan of the GBAMP, yea I'm bummed.
It does have the built in music player which is the single most used function of my GBAMP but I have a feeling they overlooked the second most used function of my GBAMP: ebook reading & bookmarking.

My pockets are a lot lighter during my commute since I replaced the gbaSP, mp3 player, and a book with the GBAmicro and a GBAMP. I'll just have to keep the micro with me on my longer trips with the DS.

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I was hoping it wouldn't ditch the GBA slot, but sure enough it did. For now, that's a deal-breaker for me (that and I recently replaced my DS Lite anyway). I don't have a GBA, so I've used my DS to play all the great games that came out for it.

From the sound of it, the DSWare store is going to be a place to download GB, GBC, and GBA games from. Great, except I do have an old GBC that can play them all too. So this doesn't interest me unless it can also tie into the Wii's Virtual Console and play NES, SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafix-16, and Neo Geo games on it. I was hoping that the larger screens would allow for that, but alas they appear to be the same resolution as the DS has always had. That's been one of the main problems with emulation since the screen resolutions don't match up.

What's more, what will this mean for homebrew? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that all this new downloadable content and built-in SD card are going to be locked-down with a firmware that requires frequent updating. Nintendo's done a good job at locking out piracy and homebrew on the Wii, so now they're going to turn their efforts to the DS.

So what do we really get out of all this? A DS Lite with the same functionality that's been available from homebrew for a while, the potential loss of homebrew development, the ability to repurchase our old games all over again (and maybe some new games), a locked-down SD slot, minutely larger screens at the same resolution, and a couple cameras. Considering that there will most likely be a camera accessory made for the GBA slot anyway, the only thing this really has going for it is potential games over DSWare. Whether any of those will be killer apps remains to be seen.

No, I think I'm going to stick with my DS Lite for the foreseeable future. In the very least, I will keep it around for the GBA and homebrew capability even if I do get a DSi by some chance. However, I think I'd rather wait for the DS's true successor or even a PSP than get the DSi at this point.

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If they were smart they would make GBA games downloadable via the DS store.

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how's this going to work with Diamond and Pearl where certain pokemon can only be caught with FR/LG/RSE in the GBA slot? seems like some games are going to have limited functionality with this new system...

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It all depends on what the SD card slot will do, we don't have enough information yet. People seem to be focusing on the camera and screen size, while ignoring the SD lot or assuming it will be used only for photos and/or music.

We don't really know what we'll be capable of doing with it. We don't know what sort of games will be in the DSi store. We don't know if games will be swappable between the Wii and the DS. We don't even know if there will be improved performance for the DS browser, which could play into the use of the SD slot.

We've seen what the Virtual Console is capable of doing, sales-wise. People are eating that stuff up. It seems perfectly feasible that Nintendo would attempt to capitalize on the handheld equivalent. My hope is the DSi store will be filled with GB, GBC and GBA titles. Never able to find a copy of Tactics Ogre?...find it at the DSi store for far less than you'd ever pay on Ebay.

This is my hope. If this is what the SD slot has to offer, then I'm happy to see the GBA slot go.

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You can't expect Nintendo to stay backwards compatabible hardware-wise forever. I think it's good they phased it out, I've basically stopped playing gba anyways and if they do put the games I own online for $8 or less I would buy the ones I wanted to play anyway. It's worth the extra features, and having all those games on one card legally.

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What about Pokémon Platinum? That's a big deal, and it's dumb of them to release a new system that can't take advantage of its "importing from GBA pokemon" feature.

I'll get a DSi anyway, and keep my DS Lite around for when I need it.

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Since they are apparently doing that DSiware store in which you can buy GBA games, I'm not too bummed. Plus, I've still got both my SP, Phat, and Lite as candidates still able to play existing GBA games.

PS3 and XBOX 360 owners know this well: The key to true backwards compatibility is not getting rid of the old system.

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I haven't used the GBA slot on my newer DS Lite, and only used it a couple of times on my older one. For GBA games? That's why I have a GBA Micro...

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I'm not sorry to see it go, since I always play my GBA games on my GBA SP. However, I haven't played GBA games in a long while ever since I got my DS. I can't wait for the DSi to replace my old DS phat lol.

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I don't mind the GBA slot going, I still have a GBA but i really don't have to many games I still play on it. But I can see why people would be upset, having one portable gaming system to play all your portable games on would be nice.
Another reason it seems kind of pointless is that it seems that they removed it for the sake of making it smaller (although I'm sure the new SD card slot, a welcome add-on, also takes some of that room up) to me the DSlite is already small enough, I have pretty normal to big size hands, and unless you find the perfect position to hold it, your hand will inevitably cramp up. So I don't know if smaller is the way to go..

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