As
expected, Nintendo has announced the new DSi at its Fall presentation in Japan. The device features a
dual touchscreen layout almost identical to the DS Lite, though the company is calling it a "third platform," which means it's complementing the existing system, not necessarily replacing it. Looks-wise there's not much different happening, but it's some 12 percent thinner -- partly because it omits the GBA cartridge slot. The displays are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there's an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage -- we're not sure how much at the moment -- but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo's also launching an online "DSi Shop," which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and "DS Ware" game -- and the company will offer free wireless connectivity at "Nintendo Zone" hotspots located in Japanese McDonalds. The shop will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points), 1000 of which will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. The DSi will come in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st -- the rest of us will have to wait until next year.
Update: We've added the official Japanese DSi site link,
check it out! Our brothers at Joystiq have done a comprehensive spec-check of the DSi compared to the PSP-3000 and iPhone / iPod touch. Be sure and
take a gander. You can also watch Nintendo's DSi demo video after the break, and trust us, it rules.
Update 2: Joystiq is liveblogging Nintendo's San Francisco media event.
posted Oct 2nd 2008 12:44AM
woot?
3 Mega pixel camera
bigger screen
Video Chat
i'd say Woot!!
Hey, ya that does look pretty cool. I haven't had a hand held gaming system since my gameboy I got in 5th grade... Which was well ya a long time ago
i still don't know why you would want/need two screens. all the best games ever made used one screen. give me one large widescreen display up top, and dual analog on the bottom. pure win.
/imo
why do people low rank others for having an opinion? i wasn't trolling or saying the DS sucks. it's a nice handheld, i just think there a better one could be made. (imo)
No back compat, no woot (not that I'd buy one anyway)
Larger screen but no bump up in resolution??
They need to increase the resolution .. and make the screen wider dammit.
Please update the content..
No dual touch screen
0.3MP camera
Not worth it IMO. A 0.3MP picture will look awful on a decent TV.
SD slot is nice, would make homebrew a cinch, but if it doesn't support GBA ROMS then i'm not interested.
.3MPx is standard SD, 640x480, which would look fine on a decent TV should the bitrate be high enough
I don't see what a TV has to do with this though, the DS screen res is well below VGA (it'll still probably look bad but that would be because of a bad lens rather than a low MPx)
@Cal
Why do you say there's no back compat? Details are scarce but it looks to me like it just plays DS games. Screen is same resolution, one touchscreen. Really, it's looking more like a DS Lite 2 than a "third platform" to me. I'm guessing that this was mostly a move to block out Slot 1 Card products to fight piracy. Which is why I'll stick to my DS Lite, thankyouverymuch.
Not bad.. wish the screen was a little more bigger.
woot? more like huge Yawn. The big N has more money than god herself, they could have done a bit more than yet another incremental upgrade.
There were chatting Mii's of Reggie and Iwata!
I presume part of the fun will be transferring pictures to your Wii?
So 640x480 doesn't lend itself too well to the ever prevalent HDTV, it just seems like they could have put the effort in with a 1MP or something.
However, this is all pointless if the sensor is awful..
People lower your comment because they disagree with it. That's what those + - are for. That's their opinion on your comment. Deal with it.
why...2....cameras? 1 would be cool, 2, overkill.
cool
fool
pool
drool
TOOL!
Need... more... info!!!!
I wonder if its SDHC compatible? God I cant wait till they hack this thing... 32GB of GBA roms. W00t!
I completely agree. I Also wonder if this means DS Lites get a software upgrade. I really really hope it does, because I'm to broke to upgrade.
hi 5!!!i need more info 2...
Details. This one-liner stuff is killing me!
Hey, at least they threw in a logo for the time being!
crap i just bought a DS too =/
Well, thank you for bring us the new DS!
and your username is "wako"
Coincidence?
fuck i bought a ds like two months ago. Whatever i want this one so ill buy it too.
Me too.
But new DSi could be pretty useless to me since I play games off R4 - and I'm not going buy DSi unless R4 would be declared compatible.
Also, they made DSi thinner than DS Lite. DS Lite was already hard on your hands because you do not have any grips on its surface. I expect it's going to be even more problematic - tiring for fingers - with DSi.
HAH! I knew I was smart to skip out on the DS Lite. :D This is my reward for sticking with my DS Phat Brick.
I still have a DS Phat so maybe I'll pick one of these up butI'dliketoknowifR4orsomethingsimil arworkswiththenewDSi.
Crap, I just bought a Pandora. :)
@ frogboy:
The Pandora will be great too, if not better.
u agree that a dsi rock?if u doo,hi 5!!!(loz)
Nintendo DSi !!! COOL !!
I want one! :-)
I want to see some Pictures... Is it going to have Gamecube graphics?
Lol with graphics like the GameCube, it wouldn't be very spectacular lol.
@Striker
If it had Gamecube graphics I would be thoroughly impressed.
The Wii barely has Gamecube graphics, do you think a portable that looks almost exactly the same as the DS is going to as well?
/sarcasm
lol, I guess I made it too subtle, reading that again made me realize that it sounded like a total Nintendo hater comment. I'm actually really interested in this BTW.
what is with all this low ranking going on?!
The new DS is kinda weak sauce and will not have better graphics than the ones before it, just bigger screens and a camera. If you like that then buy it?!?!?!!?!?
OK.. Peace-nasty
idk what's up with the low ranking either, a few valid comments are ranked low.
So far Nintendo hasn't wowed with graphics, instead they've relied on the playability of games. Which is dangerous territory, as games are so 'hit or miss'. My DS reminds me of my old NES/N64, which is mainly why I like it. Most of my games are NES or 64 reproductions.
@Striker
You're also getting low-ranked because you flanked your comments with 'lol'. To some people this is an instant low-rank.
what's up with this post-rank obsession?
ds needed more cowbell anyway
O rly?
I'm interested...
So... what can we expect? A common rail (finally!) and variable valve timings?
Err, yes? Both intake and exhaust using multiple cam lobes.
I love the new practice of posting the article before the material is ready, that way Engadget can ensure they put out the news before anyone else!
Greates avatar ever.
& a camera ey.
I up-ed you simply based on your avatar.
"I'm not signing a release!"
You heard it first ... ... ... on Engadget.
Yea dude we need more details, like a live-blog event coverage type.
If this is Nintendo's version of a PSP I'm so there.......
Does the new DS have a better touchscreen? But does it improve my 3G signal???
And by "version of a PSP" I meant with better graphics... *crosses fingers*
No GBA slot? That'll pretty much kill any chance of another GH game.
thats probably for the better... DS GH sucked horribly...
You can install software from that store now. Wireless wi-fi guitar for DS?
Actually that's an rather intriguing idea you've got there. The only thing is could it be made to work alongside multiplayer?
Is it going to play my NES cartridges? ROFL just kidding,
Is that a camera I see?
WTF. The camera is on the outside?
Inside, next to the top screen makes way more sense.
Looks liek a second one is on the hinge.
There is one on the inside next to the mic as well.
From the picture, it looks like there may be two cameras, one above the bottom screen and one on the outside.
Now I see the tiny camera.
Clearly, there are two.
I wish my laptop had a camera on the back of the screen, but then, recording all my classes in /audio/ wastes enough disk space....
It's possible they pulled an OLPC. The dot next to the camera could be an LED that shows when it's active. The circle in the center of the hinge could be a microphone, and the dot next to it could be an LED to show when that is active.
It's a security feature that comes in handy so you know nobody is spying on you...
How is it a third platform when the name is exactly the same as Nintendo DS except for the i?
Perhaps how the game boy and the game boy advance weren't _exactly_ the same. and i suppose in a way how the advance and ds were slightly blurred as well
They said the DS was a "third platform" when it came out. Then they promptly killed the GBA when it did well. I think this is just posturing because is doesn't have a GBA slot.
There's a Camera in the middle as well on the hindge. Sucks if the hindge breaks!
yeah, onthe DS lite the hing can break easily.. 3 of my friends' DS broke at the hinge and mine is cracked (i was lucky) yey, screw idea of getting an mp3, i can get this and im having problems with the slot 1 with the spring.. so i can get this woot!!!!
Was JUST about to buy a DS lite this month.
more..........info..........please...............hurry...................
Dammit, I want to see the conference on video.
2 cameras???? Wow, now I'm REALLY happy I didn't buy a lite. Still got my launch day phat.
wat
Lovely, I've been holding out for an update. Looks like now is the time to get one.
Wait a minute, is the mic on the left hinge? Then what's that dot on the right of the hinge cam?
That's the inbuilt microphone.
is there going to be videos of the nintendo press conference in english so everyone can watch it please let me know soon
hah i bet no more M3 real or R4 :(
Lose the GBA slot, gain an SD slot...
Seems like more then a fair trade to me...
Wow integration with Wii? They're really bringing the platforms together. Awesome. First day buy for me.
Oddly enough, this is almost exactly what you would expect from a fan-made mockup or a rumor, not for real.
"The SD slot is retained" Do you mean the slot for the DS games, or an actual SD slot.
Also, do the up the res on the screens/better graphix?
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Nintendo Co. (7974.OK) said Thursday that it will introduce a new Nintendo DS game player, equipped with camera and audio player functions, in Japan Nov. 1.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the new product will be sold with a price tag of Y18,900.
Since they were launched in December 2004, Nintendo DS - short for "dual screen" - players have attracted a broad audience, with games that appeal to people outside the typical gamer demographic of boys and young men. Its best-selling software titles include Brain Age, a "mental conditioning" game aimed at adults.
http://owiily.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/press-conference-nintendo-dsi-announced/
OK i'm ready to buy..but what is the camera for? Safety features for kids? Engadget give us more details.
Apple steals Nintendo market-share by promoting the Touch as a gaming device. Nintendo retaliates by releasing its own content store to fight the App Store. Sony sits back and watches, foolishly believing that it controls 90% of the handheld gaming market, as one of its executives drafts another ridiculous statement to get free press on Engadget.
no GBA slot, but an SDHC slot? pleasepleasepleaseplease...
I KNOW, i was wondering if they will have expandable memory or atleast a suitable about of internal memory... because the max a nds game can have is like 256mb and if the internal memory is like 2gb, it can hold only like 20-35 games. if it does have expandable memory i have an 8 gb micro waiting (assuming if it is miro sdhc compatable)
**** YEAH!!! I've been waiting for this news for a looooong time.
Definitly going to pre-order (or import) mine when it's available here.
This thing is going to be huge...er.
Color me not impressed
The JPY price has one too many zeros...
Don't care unless it has WPA support. Not going to make my network vulnerable for a Nintendo anything.