You know, after all this disappoint news about about the DSi and the fact that Nintendo doesn't really seem to acknowledge the iPhone/iPod touch as a competitor in the handheld gaming market, I've actually decided to take the plunge on a low end iPod Touch to observe it's gaming potential first hand. Maybe there's something to it that many of us Nintendo loyalists are overlooking due to our biases.

Who knows, I might even get into developing titles for the thing myself, if I like the setup.

Reply

Importing something I already have (a DS) costs money.

Money that can be used to buy more games!

Games for my DS!

Reply

For sure. I import Japanese games on a regular basis so it makes sense.

Reply

1) I'm going to Japan at the end of the year
2) I'm going to import Jpn DSi games anyway

So yeah. I'm getting one =)

Reply

nope, i'll just wait for the NA release. also 20 bucks says that half the people saying the DSi sucks and they won't be getting it will DEFINITELY change their minds and get one either way. why do i say that? because in time people change and so do their opinions, THATS why. don't you just love it when people talk so much crap only to eat it? i know i love it!

Reply

As long as there are no region locks for the actual games, we're all good. I'd have to see what sort of stuff they are offering for download in Japan, but since I usually don't do dl-content I don't think it makes that big of a difference.

Reply

I'd rather import a Navy DS Lite than purchase a domestic DSi (unless of course, it was Navy).

Reply

I won't be importing it, .. but I never planned to. I don't really see the big problem with DSI games being region-locked. It's not as if the moment DSI games come out that DS ones will disappear forever. I have a feeling that DS is going to still be the main format for the DS, and DSI is going to be for games that require other features to be used. Not to mention that I only import a small amount of games, as I enjoy RPG's and .. I can't really read hiragana or katakana (or kanji) too well. I do feel for the European market that import games from the US but .. thankfully I'm in the US. I think the cameras, internet, SD card slot, and DSware are going to make up for lack of GBA slot. Especially since I would (and I dont see why others wouldnt) keep their DSLite for anything that I would need GBA-to-DS functionality for. Trade Pokemon from GBA to DS on my Lite, then switch the game over to the other system. No big deal.

Reply

an SD card to save ... something? an mp3 player (like none of us has one of them already) a web broswer on a tiny screen that is bigger than the last screen by a minute amount, region locked, a shitty camera that is probgably the same as the one in my phone...

hmm. seems like i already have everything the new DSi offers, apart from DSi Games. and i dont know about you, but when we have to "wave arms frantically in front of the camera" to prove we really want some item for link, well, no thanks.

Reply

I was thinking about it but with shipping,mark up and such it might be cheaper to buy 2 domestic systems.

Reply

I'll still import... Japan gets better DL content anyway. If I want a US version at some point I could just get it I guess.

Reply

Look, guys. You probably haven't given it a thought, but what does the SD slot mean apart from media here? Of course you could save to it! And what does THAT mean? I tell you it is multi-card games, of course! Whatever you say, it is a big improvement and will eventually let you to port your saves in DSi games from old DS games like Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Maybe we can even get expansion packs.(Even if only in a PlayStation fashion, but we still have the card for regular DLCs...)

Of course we will have a shitty VGA camera, but they told us that we'll have a 3 mega pixel external camera too which apart from the relatively good quality means, that we will have an _extension port_ capable of handling such devices which means an entirely new generation of extensions.(Somehow I've just got this stupid idea of a multi-touch-pad DS :D )
I am really impressed about the whole new potential it has. For me DSi isn't like a new DS without the GBA slot(which I have never used), but rather a new (at least half) generation of a console with backwards compatibility for the DS(like the Wii to the GC with less design change), and the thing that they are going to make DSi-only games tells me that it is something like that.
Now on the topic I am definitely going to get it when it is released in Europe, but I really hope for someone to crack the firmware for some imports from either Japan or the USA...

Reply

BlackDS: If you say so, you might be right, but my point is, that there will be an _external_ one. In the entry about the features of the DSi("Nintendo announces Nintendo DSi") it said it will have "an external 0.3 Megapixel camera (for 640 x 480 pixel pictures) and a VGA camera located on the hinge, directed towards the user", which means even if it isn't an error(as VGA and "0.3 mega pixel" are the same 640*480 resolution) there still is some kind of extension port for the external camera, and that could lead us to a better camera("sold separately", which perfectly fits into Nintendo's current marketing policy) or any other interesting extensions not limited by the size and shape of the slot.

Reply

Absolutely. I'm huge into the DS homebrew scene, so if the system is going to be cracked to run indie code it'll be on the early models.

Reply

I'll still probably get one 'cause my DS lite isn't in the greatest of condition, and i don't really play GBA games anymore. I hop there'll be a video picto chat with the inside camera.

Reply