DSi: My Two Cents

My DS was stolen a few days ago. Pity me right now, please.

I was originally going to replace my Lite with an identical one, but I began looking into the DSi. The initial reason I became interested in the DSi was purely superficial. I hate gloss electronics with a passion (I blame Apple), and the slightly smaller, sleeker, matte finish beckoned me

The major complaint people have is the lack of GBA support, and to be quite honest, I�m not interested in that noise. I don�t mean to sound like a DSi apologist, but I never really liked or played my GBA games on my Lite. It stuck out of the console awkwardly. I also had a Micro. If I ever felt like playing a GBA game I�d bust that out. It�s not like I�m ever in a situation away from home where I get the urge to play an older game. I never carry one around, anyway.

This thing comes fully equipped with a lot of gimmicky features. A horrible music player that doesn�t support the dominant MP3 format, a silly audio recorder, and a camera that can only really compete with the one on my phone (which isn�t really good - 2.0MP).

The upgraded firmware does come with some noticeable fixes, including the ability to update it. You can load a game when the console is on, you can change system options without having to restart the system, you can change the screen�s brightness in-game, and it has WPA support. Unfortunately, WPA will not work on older games, so that really hasn�t helped much. I don�t think it�s possible for Nintendo to fuck up online on any of their consoles anymore.

The prospect of the DSiware shop is probably the only noticeable thing, but it�s riddled with shit. Calculators, cell phone caliber games, and clocks. Even the Nintendo developed games are awful. WarioWare: Snapped is one of the most atrocious unresponsive games I�ve ever played. It tries using one of the cameras on the DSi in place of buttons or a touch screen, but it does not work. My skin is brown and my wall is white, and yet it can�t seem to find me. Am I going to need some bright orange Natal jumpsuits to play it?

At least I got Dr. Mario out of this�

I myself am satisfied with the purchase, but you can probably tell that it�s not necessarily because the console is $50 better. It could be once the store begins to find its stride, or if Nintendo decides to continue upgrading and improving the firmware. A DSi version of the Virtual Console would be exquisite.

I did appreciate the free 1,000 Nintendo points, of which I�m sure will not entice all of you R4 owners. Even if people design a cart similar to the R4 for the DSi, the fact that Nintendo can patch the console whenever they please can be troubling. It could render your $30 thief machine useless. I don�t really care, though. Buy games, you jerk offs.

So, I really paid $50 for aesthetics and $10 worth of fixes - satisfied, though!

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