Nintendo confirms April 5 U.S. launch for DSi

Nintendo on Wednesday confirmed that the DSi gaming handheld will retail for $170 when it hits U.S. shores on April 5. The official word from the company is in line with widespread rumors that cropped up last month.

The DSi will initially be available in blue and black models. Given Nintendo's track record, it's a sure bet that additional colors will eventually follow.

Already available in Japan (see photos below), the DSi is an evolutionary upgrade of the monstrously popular Nintendo DS Lite. The new model includes larger screens, 2 cameras, and an SD slot in place of the Game Boy cartridge slot found on current models. The expandable flash storage will dovetail with new DSi Shop, an online marketplace for downloadable games available via the unit's built-in Wi-Fi connection.

Up close with the Nintendo DSi

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the DSi? Are you content to stick with the current DS Lite? Or does the Sony PSP or iPhone/iPod Touch fulfill all your portable gaming needs?

Update at 1:20 p.m. PST: This post was updated to show the correct U.S. launch date.

[zcollvee]

im not gonna buy this... its not a real upgrade worth getting

[kieranmullen]

When will the upgrade for the Wii come? The Virtual Consult and Wiiware titles are more popular than they tought and as a result more people are needing additional space. Currently the SD slot will only allow one to transfer games there for backup, not play games off of it.

KieranMullen
http://360Oregon.com

[chrkeller]

Agreed 100%

[blondepianist]

I'm pretty sure Nintendo has announced a firmware upgrade slated for this year that will allow the current Wii to play games stored on an SD card, which is good because the storage on my Wii is just about full.

[iBuzz]

I agree. Both of these systems (DS and the Wii) should have enough on-board memory to be able to hold a good collection of games downloaded directly over WiFi from an on-line App Store. I would like to be able to buy/store all of my games this way. It seems silly that I have to keep a collection of plastic boxes containing discs around for all of my games. I think the iPhone and its App Store model (which the Wii already has) is the way to go for the smaller casual games.

[mmntech]

Downloadable content was a long time coming for the DS given that every other current generation system has it. However, I can't help but feel it's over priced for what it does. The PSP is $169 ($199 with value pack which adds game and 1gb MSPD) and the iPhone is $199. Both offer far more value. The DSi should really sell for $140 and the DS Lite should be reduced to $99, as was done with past Gameboy models. The high cost probably won't stop people from buying it but that still doesn't make it worth the extra money.

[C433Z]

I know that's the problem. I wish people wouldn't do that so I could afford one. In fact I didn't even buy my PSP new either, I got it from a friend for $50. Also I didn't even pay for my whole DS, i split it with my sister.

Too expensive for a portable.

[quikboy835]

but 170 dollars isnt really that much for the new features

[dragonbite]

I hope my son doesn't see this! ;)

[firefoxluva95]

If your son had an older DS or DS lite, he probably would not think this system is worth it. It really isn't, you're getting two very low resolution cameras, less battery life, and no GBA slot. Sure there's a music player and downloadable content but music is best left to dedicated media devices and downloadable content is only worth it if the system is worth it. I really do not think this is a good deal at all. So my advice? Buy a DS lite now before this junk takes over if you (or your son) want a DS system.

[Randall Flagg]

I have a PSP2000 and an ipod Touch. I love the Touch and hate the PSP. Biggest waste of money in the last 3 years for me. I never play it. I also have an Xbox 360 and PS3 - both of which get used more than the PSP and all I do is watch Blu-rays on the PS3. UMD media sucks, games are too expensive and take too long to load. Controls are mediocre at best.

I'd never buy a DS or DSi - I'm more than happy with my ipod Touch. Yeah, the games may not be as pretty or long, but I'm looking for something I can take with me in my pocket and play for 5 minutes if that's all I have.

[Nataku4ca]

so u've never tried a ds?

[the_iceman]

I like the additions of the cameras & SD card. Nintendo seems to make a new hand helds too often though...buy this now so next year you'll want the improved DSi Lite in more color options.

[homercles82]

They produce a new handheld every 3 to 5 years that is an upgrade over the previous one. Not every year.

[Nataku4ca]

i think u get that feeling because u dont follow nintendo products very often

besides ds lite is like the update from ps2 big fat one to the slim one, i didn't really count them as upgrades

[the_iceman]

170$ is too much for a hand held though, my max would be 100

[ChiBears09]

I'm sure people will buy this, but this is typical Nintendo adding upgrades to their systems in order to make more money. The same thing happened with the gameboy advance when it turned into the gameboy advance sp, which later was upgraded to a gameboy advance sp with a better backlight. But as I said before people are gonna buy it so Nintendo is not gonna stop producing.

[Nataku4ca]

welllllll.... they try to update their products

at least sp was a better thing than advance was in my opinion, advance felt.... big or bulky is u may

[Waam]

Who knows anymore. I have an iPod touch and thats all I need now.

[kwahhn]

I bought the DS Fat when it came out and felt upgrading to a DS lite was worth it (sold my DS Fat on Ebay so it didn't hurt my wallet too much).

However, upgrading to this? Nope, not worth it.

[reidme314]

The shorter battery life and no GBA slot make it seem like a downgrade to me. Until they have virtual console so you can download old GB, GBA, NES, SNES, and N64 games I'll keep my DS Lite.

[firefoxluva95]

And the DS games should be able to interact with the GBA save files. This is vital for some features in games like Pokemon. Unfortunately, guitar hero won't work but why would you play the DS version if the full version is the only version that's fun?

[tmt345]

Why has every single reviewer of the Nintendo DSi failed to mention that it has a processor thats twice as fast, and four times as much RAM as previous DS models? Isn't this a big deal? What happened to white, that blue looks pretty UUUUUUUUgAAly to me!

[Nataku4ca]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

lol, ya thats becoming a problem

color will come, just wait

[fcz1]

There are too many excellent GBA games out there for me to give up that slot. I don't want to have to repurchase some of them as DLC and save them to a SD card. I love my DS, but I won't be upgrading.

[Nighteye19]

But does it support WPA or WPA2 yet? Some of us don't want to expose our wifi with WEP. The DS lite only supports WEP. Is this one the same?

[myfacehurts]

it is a tourment to see how nintendo has fallen off for me. its like how cashmere sweaters are no longer in style. they were so high on the vert list and now is so low. id much rather have the psp or an iphone.

[myfacehurts]

it is a tourment to see how nintendo has fallen off for me. its like how cashmere sweaters are no longer in style. they were so high on the vert list and now is so low. id much rather have the psp or an iphone.

[Nerfman]

I'm curious as a second generation PSP fan I have to admit that the lack of titles coming out concerns me but will the DSi have some of the great titles available on the PSP?

[paulimusmaximus]

I for one am dreading when everything moves to digital downloading. I mean sure, it's easier and what not, and I have downloaded some classic games to my Wii, and Xbox 360. But I rarely buy a game when it is new because I don't like paying full price since I know I can either get it cheaper used in a few months, or they will drop the price to $20 in a year or so. Plus, you can't sell it once you're done playing it, and you can't let your friends borrow it.

[Nataku4ca]

lol, that is true, im just afraid i might lose the system and go -> sh** i cant remember my account either = =+

[Renegade Knight]

Since I don't plan on downloading games unless I can sell them or give them away when I'm done I'll only consider upgrading if they start selling SD card games.

[Nataku4ca]

huh? what do u mean? there is still cartige for ds games, did u mean old games on sd cards?

[Renegade Knight]

@Nataku4ca

I was under the impression this new one didn't have the cartridge and instead had SD cards. If I'm wrong it might be worth an upgrade when the price is right. I've also done some thinking. If the games are dirt cheap I'd buy downlaods as disposable fun. The problem there is that they are never cheap enough to allow for the lack of real ownership (meaning no right of sale).

[Nataku4ca]

well, I kinda assume the ds games will play on dsi
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26616590

only thing not available is gb games, they were gonna get ditched eventually anyways