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Is it stilworthit to get A DS?

JWong said:
Quite obvious to wait for the 3DS to come out. Price drop on previous DS will happen.
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Price drop has already happened, now it's DS Lite $130, DSi $150 and DSi XL $170.

I wouldn't wait, but that's me. I also think the 3DS won't launch in NA in March.
 
I made a random list of pros and cons.

DS Fat:
− Screens work
− Case is ugly but it works
+ Good D-pad is better than GBA's D-pad but still not as great as the SNES.
+ Plays GBA
− Doesn't play Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
+ Is cheap

DS Lite:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
− Horrible D-pad is worse than GBA's D-pad and I'd almost say it's broken for some games.
+ Plays GBA
− Doesn't play Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
= Might be cheap soon

DSi:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
= D-pad is supposed to be halfway between DS Lite and DSi XL?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
− Probably won't be cheap soon


DSi XL:
+ Fuckawesome screens
= Pretty case
+ Improved DS Lite D-pad is about as good as DS Fat but why the hell isn't Nintendo just using the SNES D-pad?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
− Is expensive (docking it an additional half minus)

3DS:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
+ DSi XL D-pad?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
+ Plays 3DS games
− Is very expensive (docking it another full minus)


You can balance the importance of the pros/cons how you will. I prefer good controls over good screens myself, so if I couldn't afford both (the DSi XL), I'd go straight to the DS Fat, especially since you don't have a GBA.
 
Doesn't the XL use the same d-pad as the DSi?
And the DSi d-pad is the same size as the DSL's, even if it less mushy I doubt it's as good as the Phat's.
 
I love the shit out of my various DSes, but I'd personally hold out for the 3DS.

Budget-wise, it'll be cheaper to buy one 3DS than a DS anything now and one later, unless these guys are talking about waiting 5 years again for a 3DS. Reality-wise, you have one system instead of two and not need to worry about selling the DS later and taking a hit on that, which is another financial consideration.

The 3DS isn't going to drop in price for a long time, and while the DS likely will drop some, the fact the 3DS is basically a whole tier higher in price makes me think that Nintendo is hoping to keep DS prices high for some time, too.

I also expect that DS game prices could drop a bit once the 3DS is out, so there's that to consider, as well.
 
richisawesome said:
Buy an XL and trade it in when the 3DS comes out.
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The sheer size of the XL screen is why I bought one and plan on keeping it even when the 3DS comes out. We already know the screens are smaller on it, and there's no way I'm giving up my giganto screens for home play.
 
Initially when I bought a XL, I planned to trade it in once the 3DS was released. After playing on large screens for the past few months, I think Im keeping it. The large screens are very nice for long play sessions, I rarely get a headache after making the switch to the XL.
 
You know, I think the DS phat suggestion is actually fairly sound.

It should be able to get the phat for next to nothing now, and that will give him an entry point for playing DS games. Then he won't have wasted much money on hardware, and will still get lots of benefits if he wants to buy a 3DS on day one.

I know plenty of keen gamers that are happy with the phat.

Last Christmas I got a DSi only because the triggers on my DS Lite kept breaking. I'm less comfortable about buying a 3DS on day one because as far as I'm concerned my DSi is still 'new', as it'll be only about 15 months since I bought it.

So yes, if you're especially keen to play something on the DS in particular, then find the cheapest DS phat you can and play away, my friend.
 
You know I was considering just getting a dslite but then I saw you guys keep bringing up this thing called shantae so I decided to look it up to know what you guys are talking about. I watched the YouTube trailer for it and was just like Screw dsl I'm buying a DSiXL tomorrow for this game!!!
 
Anticitizen One said:
You know I was considering just getting a dslite but then I saw you guys keep bringing up this thing called shantae so I decided to look it up to know what you guys are talking about. I watched the YouTube trailer for it and was just like Screw dsl I'm buying a DSiXL tomorrow for this game!!!
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I guess Shantae has that kind of effect on everyone! :D

You should at least pick up a GBA Micro or GBA SP so you can play those GBA games.
 
Has Nintendo announced any kind of ability to transfer DSiWare games across systems yet?

I want to buy Shantae, but not if it's confined to my DSi for all of eternity.
 
Ravidrath said:
Has Nintendo announced any kind of ability to transfer DSiWare games across systems yet?

I want to buy Shantae, but not if it's confined to my DSi for all of eternity.
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I think they did talk about the possibility of transferring DSiWare to the 3DS.

But that may change.
 
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
I think they did talk about the possibility of transferring DSiWare to the 3DS.

But that may change.
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It seems like they have something in mind, but havent made up their mind what it is just yet. When asked the question, they are quick to dodge it or are very vague with details. I hope it is because they are working around a few technical problems, rather than thinking of charging us again for the same game.
 
Anticitizen One said:
Are the professor Layton games good? They seem lie a cross between Sherlock holes and the old Indiana jones point and click adventures
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It's good. They're basically puzzle games disguised within an adventure story.

Really good brain teasers.
 
Anticitizen One said:
Are the professor Layton games good? They seem lie a cross between Sherlock holes and the old Indiana jones point and click adventures
Click to expand...

They're the best games I can't actually bring myself to play, it seems.

I love the production values and everything... except the puzzles. I just find them completely momentum-killing.

I may not have been in the mood when I tried it and am going to look at it again, but it's basically Games Magazine with a cool story and Triplets of Belleville-style anime art.
 
Anticitizen One said:
Are the professor Layton games good? They seem lie a cross between Sherlock holes and the old Indiana jones point and click adventures
Click to expand...
Just got my first Layton game(Curious Village) and I'm loving it so far.

Not enough to get me away from Golden Sun, though. :)

But yea, OP, the DS is a magnificent handheld. If you've got a lot to play with other systems, maybe wait for the 3DS, but if you're looking for something new to play, get a DS immediately. I just got a perfectly good used DS Lite for $80 with 4 games for $45. $125 and I got a new system and 4 really good games. Money well spent, even if I will dish out another $200+ for a 3DS in about 5 months or so.
 
ruby_onix, good comparison list. A few remarks, though.

ruby_onix said:
I made a random list of pros and cons.

DS Fat:
− Screens work
− Case is ugly but it works
+ Good D-pad is better than GBA's D-pad but still not as great as the SNES.
+ Plays GBA
− Doesn't play Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
+ Is cheap

DS Lite:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
− Horrible D-pad is worse than GBA's D-pad and I'd almost say it's broken for some games.
+ Plays GBA
− Doesn't play Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
= Might be cheap soon

DSi:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
= D-pad is supposed to be halfway between DS Lite and DSi XL?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
− Probably won't be cheap soon


DSi XL:
+ Fuckawesome screens
= Pretty case
+ Improved DS Lite D-pad is about as good as DS Fat but why the hell isn't Nintendo just using the SNES D-pad?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
− Doesn't play 3DS games
− Is expensive (docking it an additional half minus)

3DS:
= Pretty screens
= Pretty case
+ DSi XL D-pad?
− Doesn't play GBA
+ Plays Shantae DSi
+ Plays 3DS games
− Is very expensive (docking it another full minus)
Click to expand...

* DSi's d-pad is at least as good as DS phat's.
* DSi's and DSL's screens are not equal. DSi has both 0.25" larger and better screens. Actually, the DSi has the best DS screens while still remaining pocketable.
* Shantae, while a good game, is not the sole justification of DSiWare - the entire service is a gem mine for old-school gamers.
* I think that for the majority of gaf the biggest con of 3DS is the device's non-availability till march ; )
 
Allan Holdsworth said:
Doesn't the XL use the same d-pad as the DSi?
And the DSi d-pad is the same size as the DSL's, even if it less mushy I doubt it's as good as the Phat's.
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Nintendo has made three main styles of D-pad, which all have significant design differences. The original, the clicky style, and the new DS style.

The original Nintendo D-pad didn't work very well with the small sizes in the GameBoy line, and Nintendo probably wanted to find ways to make them even smaller, so for the GBA SP they redesigned it to a flatter style that clicked hard because it wouldn't be able to move far. It works very well and is better than the original style if you want your D-pad to be that small.

They made the clicky style bigger for the DS Fat, which doesn't make much sense because they made it as big as the SNES pad, so they could've just used the original SNES pad. I believe that the clicky pad gained very little from the size increase. Some people really like the big clicky pad, but I think the SNES pad is better.

For the GameBoy Micro and DS Lite, Nintendo decided to create a third style of D-pad that has small-size pads but they tried to recreate the feel of the original pads without the drawbacks you get from it being too small. But it's very bad at doing diagonals. You don't know how much you take diagonals for granted until they're gone. And it's not a style preference, like how some people like Sega pads for doing rolls or some people like clicky pads. The DS Lite pad is just bad. I don't know why people don't complain about it more.

Nintendo tried to fix it with the DSi. Some say they fixed the problem, while others say it's still a little too weak.

Nintendo tried to fix it some more with the DSi XL. As someone who hated the DS Lite's pad and owned a DSi XL for two days, I say they've pretty much got it fixed it now. But the DSi XL is such a big clunker, you could almost hack an SNES pad into it if you wanted, so I don't know why they still expect us to use micro-size controllers.

blu said:
* DSi's d-pad is at least as good as DS phat's.
* DSi's and DSL's screens are not equal. DSi has both 0.25" larger and better screens. Actually, the DSi has the best DS screens while still remaining pocketable.
* Shantae, while a good game, is not the sole justification of DSiWare - the entire service is a gem mine for old-school gamers.
Click to expand...
I've never had a basic DSi so I pretty much guessed.

And the DSi XL is fully pocketable, if your pockets can hold DVD movies and paperback books. :P
 
With the library it has it will always be worth it as long as there is a DS model that is significantly cheaper than the 3DS, and if you like the large screens of an XL/LL it doesn't even matter what a 3DS costs.
 
Somnid said:
Just save your money for 5 months. 3DS will play everything and even retains the same form factor so you really are better off waiting for that. The games aren't exactly going anywhere.
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Actually, some DS games I've had a bitch of a time trying to locate locally. Yes, if you're willing to spend "whatever" for a title online, they can probably all be had, but there are so many gems to get, you'll spend your way into the poor house. Meanwhile, if you're lucky some great games can be found used for next to nothing. Hell, I saw Dawn of Sorrow the other day for $14.99.

But I still can't find Apollo Justice anywhere. Which reminds me, the Ace Attorney games are must owns. My God, I love that series.
 
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
You should at least pick up a GBA Micro or GBA SP so you can play those GBA games.
Click to expand...
Came to post this. It's the best bang for your buck without any wasteful overlap.

Get a GBA(SP+ if you want to play GB/GBC games too... otherwise a Micro will suffice) used for super cheap. 3DS GBA VC is unconfirmed, and at best will be very selective and years down the road. There are so many gems on GBA that will tide you over until you can play DS games on your 3DS.

Go play the Golden Suns, Mario & Luigi, Riviera, Yggdra Union, the Metroids, the Castlevanias, and Minish Cap. You won't even realize 3DS came out by the time you're done.
 
ruby_onix said:
For the GameBoy Micro and DS Lite, Nintendo decided to create a third style of D-pad that has small-size pads but they tried to recreate the feel of the original pads without the drawbacks you get from it being too small. But it's very bad at doing diagonals. You don't know how much you take diagonals for granted until they're gone. And it's not a style preference, like how some people like Sega pads for doing rolls or some people like clicky pads. The DS Lite pad is just bad. I don't know why people don't complain about it more.
Click to expand...
Suggesting that the Micro and DSlite pads are identical is criminally negligent. Micro has far and away the best d-pad Nintendo has ever made.
 
Are you planning to get a 3DS at launch?

I'd say go for it, gba and ds both have such a huge library of games, you're gonna have years until you're done with it. So you have enough beaten by the time 3ds comes out, and it gets a good solid library within the time you can wait it out. You can always sell back your DS when you're done.

Be sure to check both these threads to see whatever catches your eyes.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222049 (DS)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316510 (GBA)

by the way, get Mother 3.
 
I just bout a DSi (my 1st DS) last week. I'll Gamefly the 6 - 12 DS games I'm interested in, then probably Craigslist it for most of my money back. Hell, I've been very impressed with Zelda: Phantom Hourglass alone. My DS has already proven to be a good purchase.

Can't go wrong, really.
 
Anticitizen One said:
Are the professor Layton games good? They seem lie a cross between Sherlock holes and the old Indiana jones point and click adventures
Click to expand...
1 is great.
2 is good
3 is concentrated awesomeness.

FYI, DSiware is transferable to 3DS, so you can transfer all your games. But I guess that means that it'll also be available stand alone there.

If you've never gone through the GBA library I'd recommend a lite, and withholding Shantae until march. If you want 2d action games, there's nothing like the GBA.
 
No, and I can't see how anybody could say yes.

If the DS didn't interest you enough to warrant getting one in all the years it's been out, why does it warrant getting one now, when it will be obsolete very soon? Wait until the 3DS comes out. You'll save a lot of money in the long-term, and DS games will likely be cheaper to pick up by then.
 
Shig said:
Suggesting that the Micro and DSlite pads are identical is criminally negligent. Micro has far and away the best d-pad Nintendo has ever made.
Click to expand...
I don't have a Micro, but they were made at basically the same time as the DS Lite and I've seen photographs indicating that their D-pads are (basically) the same. Of course, the pics I've seen don't illustrate how the DS Lite pads differ from the DSi or the DSi XL, so I don't know what exactly was wrong with the DS Lite pads or how Nintendo fixed them.
 
Ben2749 said:
No, and I can't see how anybody could say yes.
If the DS didn't interest you enough to warrant getting one in all the years it's been out, why does it warrant getting one now, when it will be obsolete very soon? Wait until the 3DS comes out. You'll save a lot of money in the long-term, and DS games will likely be cheaper to pick up by then.
Click to expand...

KarmaAnimation.gif
 
Palette Swap said:
Weird case in the title is weird.
I swear I read "Is it stilworthit to get AIDS?"
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Second poster to notice that, and no, it's not still worth it to get AIDS. Back I'm the day, yeah, but no one cares about AIDS these days.
 
just snatch a non-expensive one off Ebay and start saving for the 3DS

although the fact you resisted five bloody years to get one tells me that maybe the DS isn't your cup of tea. I demand explanations
 
I'm in the same boat and I can't choose between the DS Lite and the DSi XL. It would be great having a backlit screen for my GBA games but other than BC the DSi XL seems like the best iteration of the handheld for me, since I won't be carrying it around in my pocket anyway.

I was even considering the DS Phat but I can only find it used online and the screens are probably scratched to hell.
 
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