• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

DSi North American Launch Date: April 5th, 2009

Yixian said:
April is too far away so I'm thinking of getting my cousin in Japan to send me one. Will I have any issues using a JP DSi here in the UK?

What do I need to do about voltages?
Click to expand...

Don't forget that unlike the DS, the DSi is region-protected. You would be stuck with Japan's DSWare, and any future DSi-specific cartridge games would only work from Japan as well.
 
Dreamwriter said:
Don't forget that unlike the DS, the DSi is region-protected. You would be stuck with Japan's DSWare, and any future DSi-specific cartridge games would only work from Japan as well.
Click to expand...

He would be stuck with its DSiWare, but do we KNOW that it's region-protected for retail games?
 
AstroLad said:
Agreed in general. I don't really mind memory cards though if you can get huge ones. PSP Store and Wii Ware are steps in the right direction. We have seen hell--UMDs--and we are coming back from it.
Click to expand...
indeed. i sincerely hope never again in my life to have to deal with disk media in a handheld. ever. again.
 
A Link to the Snitch said:
He would be stuck with its DSiWare, but do we KNOW that it's region-protected for retail games?
Click to expand...

No. In fact I think we have enough previous history to guess they would not be region protected. You can argue the DSiware angle, but that seems locked by the store at this point.

It's just a guess either way, though.
 
The first few seconds of that Amazon DSi commercial had me thinking "Apple... Apple... Apple..." All I could think of were the iPhone commercials until they started into the "CHECK OUT THIS COOOOL HUGE SCREEN". Then I laughed as they showed the Menu with a few applications, and then scrolling through nothing as if it was awesome. :lol

NoE really kicked NoA's ass when it came to the trailers. And it's helping my decision to import a DSi instead of buying one domestically. I'd like access to the Japanese applications, anyway, and I'm starting to wonder how many of the DSi apps NoA will actually bring over. Their track record with localizing titles hasn't been too good as of late, and it's one thing for NoE to show them in their trailer, it's another for NoA to gloss over them in theirs.
 
Anyone know how long it took to get out new dsl colors? I really want to hold out for a white to match my wii. Is this ridiculous?
 
Dreamwriter said:
Don't forget that unlike the DS, the DSi is region-protected. You would be stuck with Japan's DSWare, and any future DSi-specific cartridge games would only work from Japan as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah but tbh I'd never download any DSWare anyway.
 
zigg said:
Then buy an average cell phone.

Really, this is like complaining the Eyetoy can't be used to take your family photographs.
Click to expand...


No, it's like complaining that DSi doesn't have a proper camera. The Eyetoy is not meant to take family pictures, but the DSi could be used as a street photography tool, if that is, it had a decent camera. So, they decide to include more multimedia features to enhance their portable and I'm not allowed to complain because the specs are not up to date? wtf people.


Btw, i have an iPhone 3g, and the 2mp camera is really annoying. On the other hand, the camera in this machine is hardly one of its basic features or selling points, something that is not the case with the new model of the DS.
 
None of the new features really interest me either, with the exception of DSiWare ( I see the potential at least ).

I might buy it regardless, though. I'm just a sucker for Nintendo's handhelds...
 
wsippel said:
Thanks, didn't know that. Well, either way, the DSi seems to be the new Gameboy Color, right up to the improvements (2x CPU, 4x RAM, improved networking). Except that there won't be any hybrid games this time as far as we know.
Click to expand...
I guess the internal teams are busy with Wii titles. More importantly, there isn't a obvious reason for using the extra power. GBC hybrid titles just add the colour as a selling point. Whenever a developer studio wants to make a DSi title, it needs to bring an obvious argument for it. Just slightly prettier graphics and/or minimal use of camera don't really justify a hybrid game or DSi only game. I can see download contents to make the difference, but they are rather an argument for the internal storage than for the improved specs.
 
Neo C. said:
I guess the internal teams are busy with Wii titles. More importantly, there isn't a obvious reason for using the extra power. GBC hybrid titles just add the colour as a selling point. Whenever a developer studio wants to make a DSi title, it needs to bring an obvious argument for it. Just slightly prettier graphics and/or minimal use of camera don't really justify a hybrid game or DSi only game. I can see download contents to make the difference, but they are rather an argument for the internal storage than for the improved specs.
Click to expand...
We don't even know if improved graphics are even possible - the reason DS games look the way they look isn't really due to performance issues, it's mostly the overall architecture with it's many artificial limitations. If those are removed/ fixed, the results might range from "slightly prettier" to vastly improved.

However, according to Jackson, if you want to use any DSi features, the games will be DSi only. I don't know if that includes WPA support, which is most likely desirable for a lot of developers (and a selling point for quite a few customers, depending on the games). Other than that, it doesn't matter which feature pushes developers over the edge, because they'll get everything or nothing. If they want access to the camera, internal storage, or SD slot, they might as well use the additional horsepower, too.
 
Annoying Old Party Man said:
No, it's like complaining that DSi doesn't have a proper camera. The Eyetoy is not meant to take family pictures, but the DSi could be used as a street photography tool, if that is, it had a decent camera. So, they decide to include more multimedia features to enhance their portable and I'm not allowed to complain because the specs are not up to date? wtf people.
Click to expand...
what would be 'up-to-date' for you in such a camera? the megapixel count? do you honestly believe that if nintendo had put there a 3MP cam, like in the current phones, dsi would have suddenly become good for actual photography?

Btw, i have an iPhone 3g, and the 2mp camera is really annoying. On the other hand, the camera in this machine is hardly one of its basic features or selling points, something that is not the case with the new model of the DS.
Click to expand...
well, practically all current generation phone cameras are annoying if you try to use them for anything marginally serious. as current technology stands, you need at least a cubic inch worth of specialized equipment (and then some software) if you want to have a camera worth of being called a camera - something none of today's handheld consoles or phones can afford.

once again: dsi's camera is nothing more than an eyetoy. it was never meant to be something more.
 
Ok, for those of you who want the DSi to be your next National Geographic SLR, here is Nintendo's rationale:

Iwata Asks and Laughs said:
Iwata: How did you decide on the pixel count?
Kuwahara: It is generally thought that the higher the pixel count the better, but that isn’t necessarily so considered from the objective of giving a game console eyes. With higher pixel counts, the physical size of the camera increases, as does the amount of data it must be able to handle, substantially increasing the processing load.

For a digital camera, where you’re mainly interested in just capturing an image, simply putting in the requisite circuitry for the number of pixels is enough, but we were expecting to use this for a variety of applications, so we decided on a 0.3-megapixel camera.

Iwata: Makers of digital cameras and cell phones have been competing with each other in recent years, resulting in ever higher pixel counts, so some people may think that 0.3 megapixels isn’t much for this day in age, but that’s 640 × 480. In other words, you can capture images at a resolution 2.5 times that of the length and width of the DS screen.

With the Nintendo DSi you can enlarge part of a picture you’ve taken and there’s no sense that the resolution isn’t high enough. Another problem with higher pixel count is that the memory needed to save each picture increases considerably.

Recently when I use a digital camera with a high pixel count, it takes so much space to store each image that I find myself lowering the resolution when I save. We gave thought to what would be the right size for viewing photos rapidly one after the next on the Nintendo DSi screen. I guess you could say that we’ve lived up to Nintendo’s tradition for using technology that withstood the test of time. Besides the camera, what were the other hardware changes? ...(interview continues on)
Click to expand...
 
So, any word on the possibility of sending your pics through e-mail or wirelessly to your pc? Two things my phone can't do (well it can send e-mail, but it's just too slow). And I hope they're working on some forecast and news channel like on the Wii, it's just perfect for a portable device.
 
actually, to return to my pet theme of ds-10:

i would freaking love to see a dsiware app by AQ interactive which reads ds10 saved tracks and sends them over the wifi to a desktop, or even renders their waveform and sends that.

hear that, AQ?
 
Jtwo said:
Damn....
A few weeks without a DS though.... :[
Click to expand...


I know...man I know. Though on the bright side, once you return it'll be better than ever.

jrricky said:
Got this preordered. Learned the gamestop is cutting off preorders on Monday.
Click to expand...

Wait what? Or are you talking about something else?
 
wackojackosnose said:
So have there been any major DSi exclusives announced yet?

Anything of the Metroid / Zelda class?
Click to expand...

like people have said in the thread, there are zero DSi exclusives announced. There are DSiWare games, and the DJ Max people have said that hypothetically they'd be interested in doing a DSi version.
 
Knowing nintendo I kinda thought the DSi would be region locked but, someone will use a flash cart and hack it somehow.

On a sorta off topic note: Does anyone have a blue DSi wallpaper I could use?
 
Seriously. Whats up with this Gamestop cutting off preorders Monday thing? I work at Gamestop, and the last thing they told us was to start talking up customers about preordering the DSi. Heck, the marketing is just going up tomorrow to start up about the trade in DSlite/classic and get an extra 25 (though my assistant manager told me 45) bucks) added to the trade in value.

Is that just something you heard Jrricky? Because it doesnt really make sense to give extra bucks to trade in something towards the preorder of something for one day.
 
Teknoman said:
Heck, the marketing is just going up tomorrow to start up about the trade in DSlite/classic and get an extra 25 (though my assistant manager told me 45) bucks) added to the trade in value.
Click to expand...

1. When does this end?

2. Can I trade in two Lites and get a $50 bonus?

:o
 
Teknoman said:
Seriously. Whats up with this Gamestop cutting off preorders Monday thing? I work at Gamestop, and the last thing they told us was to start talking up customers about preordering the DSi. Heck, the marketing is just going up tomorrow to start up about the trade in DSlite/classic and get an extra 25 (though my assistant manager told me 45) bucks) added to the trade in value.

Is that just something you heard Jrricky? Because it doesnt really make sense to give extra bucks to trade in something towards the preorder of something for one day.
Click to expand...

Amazon sold out of preorders in one day, so anything's possible. Sounds like you need to call your store and get us the scoop.
 
Andrex said:
1. When does this end?

2. Can I trade in two Lites and get a $50 bonus?

:o
Click to expand...

Well when it does start, you should be able to trade in both and get a bonus on both. However...some Gamestops have a policy of not being able to trade in the same item (game or systems) twice at the same time. So you might have to go one day then return another day to trade in two. At least thats what I was told.

Tobor said:
Amazon sold out of preorders in one day, so anything's possible. Sounds like you need to call your store and get us the scoop.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Whoa, had no idea that happened. Has to be hoarders or something...i'll try and get that done in a few then.
 
Andrex said:
1. When does this end?

2. Can I trade in two Lites and get a $50 bonus?

:o
Click to expand...

Depends on how friendly they are at your GS. I don't think they are supposed to take in more than one of any system. And even then I'm not sure that the deal would apply but it should. Honestly if you just haggle them enough they should do it. And considering that the DSi is still a ways off I would say the deal is at least going to go on for 2 weeks minimum.

I could be wrong though:lol

spoot, beaten :P

VQ
 
Alright 75 bucks store credit when trading a lite towards DSi confirmed. No one has said anything about cutting off preorders monday, just the standard "preorder as soon as possible because of high demand" spiel.

Called 3 Gamestops in our district (North Houston), my Gamestop included. All basically said the same thing.
 
Teknoman said:
Alright 75 bucks store credit when trading a lite towards DSi confirmed. No one has said anything about cutting off preorders monday, just the standard "preorder as soon as possible because of high demand" spiel.

Called 3 Gamestops in our district (North Houston), my Gamestop included. All basically said the same thing.
Click to expand...

Oh wow, nice. How long does the trade in store credit option last? I'm seriously considering getting the DSi, but I don't really want to be Lite-less for two whole months.
 
BrandNew said:
Oh wow, nice. How long does the trade in store credit option last? I'm seriously considering getting the DSi, but I don't really want to be Lite-less for two whole months.
Click to expand...

That im not sure. I'd guess up until release date.
 
leroidys said:
Anyone know how long it took to get out new dsl colors? I really want to hold out for a white to match my wii. Is this ridiculous?
Click to expand...

The store that I work at sold the Japanese import DSi over the holidays. The white, matte finish of the console really shows dirt and is quite tough to clean. Just FYI.
 
nildem said:
The store that I work at sold the Japanese import DSi over the holidays. The white, matte finish of the console really shows dirt and is quite tough to clean. Just FYI.
Click to expand...


Black and blue it is then.
 
Hm. My Gen 1 DS has been on it's last legs for ages now, 3 hour battery life, buttons not quite as clicky as they once were, and I've put off getting a Lite for a long time now.

Do we even know of any retail games releasing for this system? It doesn't really feel like Nintendo is backing it like a new console or much more than they did the Lite either. I'm not terribly crazy about DSiWare, unless we get some sort of portable VC I suppose.

And as for the new screen size, do DS titles upscale or look any worse for being at a higher resolution?

At this point I'm leaning more towards getting a Lite at hopefully a discounted price around the time the DSi hits.
 
I have two Pre-ordered in the store and 2 online. My whole family is sooo excited for the DSi. Do people really expect it to sell for 300 to 350 dollars on eBay?
 
Freyjadour said:
Hm. My Gen 1 DS has been on it's last legs for ages now, 3 hour battery life, buttons not quite as clicky as they once were, and I've put off getting a Lite for a long time now.

Do we even know of any retail games releasing for this system? It doesn't really feel like Nintendo is backing it like a new console or much more than they did the Lite either. I'm not terribly crazy about DSiWare, unless we get some sort of portable VC I suppose.

And as for the new screen size, do DS titles upscale or look any worse for being at a higher resolution?

At this point I'm leaning more towards getting a Lite at hopefully a discounted price around the time the DSi hits.
Click to expand...

They upscale so to speak. Doesnt look stretched or blurrier or anything.
 
wsippel said:
Nintendo will never confirm anything in that regard. They only talk about user visible features, not the actual hardware.

What we know is that the CPU clockspeed was doubled and that the DSi has four times the RAM compared to a DS/ DSL. According to Bushing, it's pretty much exactly what Nintendo did with the Wii, the system even handles DS compatibility the exact same way, by turning off all new features and underclocking the system when running DS software. That's also the reason the homebrew scene couldn't do a complete analysis yet, to find further changes or improvements - they simply aren't visible/ available in DS mode.

There are no DSi games so far to draw any conclusions from, either. There's only a single DSi game that uses 3d graphics right now as far as I know, and that's an Art Style game with the usual simplistic graphics, so it's hard to tell if the GPU or VRAM was improved for example. I guess not, but we don't know for sure yet.
Click to expand...

Wow, I honestly had no clue that the specs were bumped to such an extent. So we could essentially be looking at the new handheld from Nintendo instead of a spin-off?

Looks like I'll be buying one this April :D
 
Diablohead said:
Nintendo are keeping the lite on the market right? if so we have two choices then, longer battery life, smaller unit with gba compatability plus the shine finish, or a slightly bigger matte unit with larger screens and two low end cameras, sd card slot and online marketplace for more money.

D:
Click to expand...

For now. I imagine over time they'll phase it out.
 
Diablohead said:
Nintendo are keeping the lite on the market right? if so we have two choices then, longer battery life, smaller unit with gba compatability plus the shine finish, or a slightly bigger matte unit with larger screens and two low end cameras, sd card slot and online marketplace for more money.

D:
Click to expand...

DSi is smaller than the DS Lite.
 
Diablohead said:
Nintendo are keeping the lite on the market right? if so we have two choices then, longer battery life, smaller unit with gba compatability plus the shine finish, or a slightly bigger matte unit with larger screens and two low end cameras, sd card slot and online marketplace for more money.

D:
Click to expand...

Except that the DSi is smaller, and while the battery life on the DSi is short on its brightest setting, the DSi's brightest setting is much brighter than the DS' brightest setting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Gothic 1 Remake finally has a release date. -June 5th 2026
2 3
101
2K
TanDad25 replied
Alien Strike Blasting the Intruders - Launch Date Trailer
Trailer Indie 
0
75
IbizaPocholo replied
The Blood of Dawnwalker - Road to Launch - Event Announcement - Streaming April 28th
2 3
146
452
viveks86 replied
Kiln launches April 23rd | Open Beta 9-11 April (Steam only)
1
150
Sethbacca replied
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire - Launch Trailer (Releases April 16, 2026)
Trailer 
10
224
Magic-DEI-Hire replied
Top Bottom