Nintendo Launches DSI
Jacksonville – Nintendo’s latest brainchild, the Dsi, hits shelves April 5th in America. The new handheld console has been available in Europe since April 3rd of this year; it was released in Japan in November and has since sold roughly 2 million units in that country.
Nintendo has always been an innovator in gameplay rather than graphics, bringing us such interactive hits as the original Gameboy, the DSL and the Wii (and a handful of misses; who else remembers that clunky PowerGlove?)
The DSi continues in this practice and is, for the most part, a hit. The DSi is an upgrade of the DS, as opposed to a whole new console. Structurally it is much the same as the DSL, with two screens and a stylus, and it has a slot for DSL games. The DSi is slightly thinner (enough so that you can slip it into your pocket) and the screens are about a quarter-inch larger. The DSi’s real advantages are the interactive features.
The stylus features a microphone, which you can use to record audio files and voice-overs; it can record up to 18 ten-minute sound bites. There are two cameras, one pointing outward and the other facing the user.
The DSi’s software gives you a variety of sound-editing options for your audio files, from changing pitch and tempo, to adding voice-overs and percussion, to playing the track backwards.
There is photo-editing software as well; you can distort and add on to any photo you have on file. The DSi also sports file-sharing options, built-in speakers and a headphone jack.
The DSi also features an online store where you can download select titles through the unit’s WiFi connection. Titles start at $2; the Nintendo store offers a points-redeemed system, and the DSi console comes with 1000 points already available to you.
Some disadvantages of the new console: unlike the DSL, the DSi does not have a slot for GameBoy Advance games, so some gamers may be reluctant to switch. Also, despite all its sound features, the DSi sadly does not have MP3 capabilities, and its storage space is relatively small (though you have the option of inserting fresh storage chips).
The DSi sells for roughly $169 in the United States; for the time being the DSL will remain on shelves as well, at the price of $130. Like the Wii, the DSi is likely to attract casual gamers with its highly interactive and social functions. It may not be revolutionary, but it follows strongly in the Nintendo tradition of creative and infectious gameplay, and it is bound to give the company a competitive leg up against Sony and Apple.
(Primary sources: Washington Post and ITProPortal.com)
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