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Comments: 179 +- Games: Nintendo Announces DSi XL on Thursday October 29, @04:23PM
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lbalbalba writes "This morning, Nintendo announced the third upgrade to the DS family, the DSi LL (or DSi XL). It will be released in Japan on November 21, one year after the DSi debuted, for ¥20,000 (approx. $220). The LL's main improvement is the size of its screens, which have been increased from 3.25" to 4.2" with a moderate increase to the size of the chassis. The device also includes a much bigger stylus, which looks to be the size of a ballpoint pen, and battery life has reportedly been increased to five hours at maximum screen brightness."
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After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Funny)
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Insightful)
You jest, but that's exactly right.
The target market for this DS is big and growing. Older people (parents, etc) find the current DS line with screens that are too small - now Nintendo sees a huge market for large screens and less agile hands.
Nintendo's no longer just a "kiddy" company - their products are aimed at everyone, particularly non-gamers. Nintendo might not win the console wars, but they'll infiltrate the homes of everyone else.
Parent
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I'm about to give Nintendo some more money.
I lost my Gameboy Advance's power cable. :-( Can I just borrow my friend's DS cable instead? Will it work with the GBA?
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:4, Insightful)
I think their products have been aimed at everyone for a long time. Look how many NES' Nintendo shipped (over 60 million). Tetris on the Gameboy was HUGE! Nintendo sold over 100 million Gameboys. The original Mario Brothers was an arcade like game that worked with two players. Their products are not aimed at "non-gamers". Their products are designed to *create* gamers. Maybe not the gamers the "hardcore" or the "game industry" thinks of (M-rated of course), but gamers none-the-less.
Parent
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Wow, you're right. They are winning. As much as I dismiss the Wii (I like to play turn-based RPGs. Not that many/any on the Wii), it has surpassed both the Xbox360 and the PS3.
I wonder what this means for the future of gaming.
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"Only due to a deliberate decision by Nintendo to *not* increase production."
Which was a smart idea. To increase production would have required an additional factory. When they finally DO meet demand, they'd simply have an extra factory to maintain and lost money in building it. Their decision cost them an immediate access to the demand but secured a steady revenue stream for years.
No matter how "hardcore" gamers view Nintendo, it's hard to not respect their business savvy.
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:4, Informative)
On the other hand, Nintendo's profits fell by over 50% [reuters.com] last quarter over the same quarter last year. Additionally, the PS3 outsold the Wii in September in the US, taking the top spot in console sales.
To read Slashdot, you'd think Nintendo is experiencing exponential profits growth, and the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 10-to-1.
Parent
Re:After reading the tech specs I can see (Score:5, Interesting)
Not knocking the PS3, it's a great console; but neither Sony or MS come close to approaching Nintendo's success this gen.
Parent
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To read Slashdot, you'd think Nintendo is experiencing exponential profits growth, and the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 10-to-1.
I thinking you must read a different slashdot than I do. There is a rather substantial anti-MS crowd here that talk down the 360 every chance they get. It's more like this:
Wii: The Jesus of consoles.
360: A machine that does nothing except RROD.
PS3: Sony installs rootkits on your computer!!!
Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Price (Score:5, Interesting)
When your portable costs more then your home system, something is wrong with your pricing path.
Yes, since laptops have never cost more than desktops.
Parent
Re:Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Except that the DS is far from being capable of the same things as modern consoles. A laptop could be set up to run a 64-bit OS with 8 gigs of RAM, store a half terabyte of data and render DX11-level graphics smoothly at 1280x800 or higher, which is what many full-sized desktops are used for today. Expensive, yes.
The DS, on the other hand, is running substantially weaker hardware than current consoles, with graphical capabilities roughly on-par with the Nintendo 64. From a technical perspective, that falls pretty far short of the major consoles.
Parent
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I understand fanboyism because I used to be one. First it was "Commodore is better than Atari" then "Amiga is better than ST" then "Motorola/Mac is better than Intel/IBM PC".
Now that's I've grown-up I just buy the top two systems (Nintendo 64/PS1, Gamecube/PS2, Wii/X360) and be done with it. I no longer care whose name is on the box, and recommend the fanboys do the same.
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Now that's I've grown-up I just buy the top two systems (Nintendo 64/PS1, Gamecube/PS2, Wii/X360)
Shouldn't that read XBOX/PS2?
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When your portable costs more then your home system, something is wrong with your pricing path.
To be fair, the DSi is cheaper than a Wii. This is the 'premium' edition for those who want it to look a little nicer cosmetically.
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It doesn't cost more than Wii (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm wondering where the demand for this was? It's not like they're increasing the resolution and now the DS size history has gone from its original size, shrunk down to the Lite version, then the DSi came out which was comparable to the Lite, and now they're making it larger than the original DS with the XL.
But Nintendo usually knows what they're doing, as long as they don't color it red and require it be strapped to your face, that is.
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Funny)
Not to mention that my old eyes are going. It's getting hard to tell a pikachu apart from an electabuzz.
Parent
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Does this have larger external dimensions as well? Obviously the screen is larger but nowhere does it say the actual unit is wider. PSP-width with this size screen would be about perfect.
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I hope they realized that a large portion of gamers don't all have tiny Japanese school girl hands? Even with my original DS, it can be a hand cramper to hold when using the stylus and playing.
There's a joke in there, but I'm afraid to go there...
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's for the old people they introduced to gaming with the Wii. Now they have a handheld they can see with their aging eyes, and probably a larger stylus they can grasp with their arthritic hands. If you spend a lot of time in doctor's waiting rooms, these things come in handy.
Parent
Re:Demand? (Score:5, Funny)
I'll get off your lawn Sir.
Parent
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It would be nice with the "100 classics book collection" as an ebook reader (original screen is a bit dark) and nice for the "colors" howebrew in paticular.
I'm confused.... (Score:2)
So is this "DS 39" or "DSi 40" or "DS9L" or "D6L" or what?
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Makes sense (Score:5, Interesting)
The one person who uses his NDS Lite more than any other person I know is my 63 year old father. He likes to play all those brain games as well as card/puzzle games and those My Language Coach series. His only complaint - the size of the screen and the size of the stylus.
Nintendo knows EXACTLY what they're doing. Giving "casual" gamers exactly what they want.
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"Casual gamers"? Are you kidding? Hardcore gamers want it, too. I wasn't going to bother getting a DSi because it didn't offer anything over the DS for me. Now that it's got a larger screen, I'm probably going to import it. (I'm learning Japanese, too, so the import is so I can get the Japanese DSi games. The downloadable ones, at the very least, are locked to the region.)
Its a great option for geriatric gamers (Score:5, Insightful)
Nintendo has been trying to broaden its market with handhelds the same way that they have with the Wii. Games like brain age, professor layton and the Personal Trainer series appeal to and older crowd but the small screen size can make it rather limited. My mother for instance loves her DS but constantly complains about the text being too small or icons being indistinguishable, a larger screen size would be great for her. Based on the included bundle that appears to be the audience they are going for...smart idea IMHO.
Larger screen but same resolution? (Score:3, Insightful)
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It's obvious... (Score:3, Funny)
Technology from a couple years ago, larger fonts for older eyes...they're clearly targeting the Korean market.
Re:It's obvious... (Score:4, Funny)
Only if it includes an email client.
Parent
Maybe this one will support WPA? (Score:3, Interesting)
I kept wep on my router longer than I should have because I just liked playing Mario Kart just that much. I lost my dslite and thought to buy the new model, but it still doesn't support wpa, just wep. I decided I wasn't going to switch back just for one game, and opted instead to buy nothing. Maybe I'll get the new one if it can do wpa, but if not, no sale.
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My guess would be because it is easier and more secure to keep the actual network stack in the game code. If it is in the game (as in on cartridge rather than in a ROM on the DS) it can be upgraded and modified by the developer as needed. For instance, say a vulnerability were found that allowed Mario Kart to connect to a rogue server for the purpose of cheating or piracy or any other damn reason. You could easily fix the vulnerability and include it newer versions of the game. It will also be patched in an
i think i figured it out.... (Score:3, Funny)
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http://xkcd.com/605/ [xkcd.com]
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Nintendo predicts 10" screens on Nintendo DS Lite XXXL by 2012
By that time, they might as well introduce the TV adapter already.
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I remember the good ol' days when the gameboy color could entertain you for days and days without the need to replace (or recharge) your batteries. The battery life alone would make me not buy this.
As it happens, this device has some of the best battery life of any device you're likely to find.
I never use anything more than minimum brightness indoors. You won't need max brightness except in sunlight. Although, my DS lite goes so long between charges (on minimum), I couldn't really say how long it lasts exactly.
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That's what I thought too when I saw the summary. I've never actually tracked it but I'm pretty sure my DS Lite goes more than 5 hours on a charge. I'll have to time it some time and see.
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Taking the same old DS and making the screen bigger isn't going to boost sales the way that going in a new direction would.
No, but it's not like they'd make more money by shifting focus away from a platform that is very popular right now.
They're not doing anything here they haven't done before. See GameBoy Pocket, GameBoy Advance SP, GameBoy Micro, and DS-Lite. You're not offering them anything they don't know already.
Re:Nintendo's Niche (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
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I think the idea of two screens the way it's setup is kind of annoying to me, I like having one big screen rather than multiple screens
Can't say I agree. I play GBA games on mine (one screen only) and it annoys me that I have to stop the game to see things like maps or inventory. Give me two screens any-day.
My main gripe is that only one of the screens is touch sensitive.
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There's no reason for anybody to get this if they are satisfied with the size of the standard DS screen... and if they AREN'T satisfied, this is a good option to have.