I was going to sell my DS Lite for a DSi.
That was, until I found out it doesn't have a GBA slot. That SUCKS.
It's barely slimmer, and that's why they got rid of the GBA slot? Pathetic. And at the same time, they're going for huge fucking SD cards, instead of Micro SDs, which are the standard for most modern portable devices now.
It's not the fact that the GBA slot is gone that makes me mad, it's the fact that it's gone for no good reason. Just look at bottom of the device, it has a huge empty space that just has "Insert GBA cartridge here" written all over it. I'd be okay with the GBA slot not being there, if they at least made the DSi considerably smaller in exchange. But no, instead of making it smaller, it's actually pretty much the same size, and even bigger in two dimensions than it was before. What the hell?
And what kind of moron really believes the higher price of the DSi (in comparison to the DS Lite) is justified in any way? Apart from the slightly bigger screens and the two cheapo cameras, there seems to be no technical difference at all. And they're really charging a higher price, even though the DS Lite didn't have a price cut in ages?
I mean, it costs like 180$ even in Japan. Of course, that's probably not the price you'll pay in the states, but the figure alone is pretty close to the current price of an XBox fucking Threesixty. If you buy your DSi with a game, you're actually paying more than for an XBox360 Arcade, which already comes with a collection of games. That's an incredibly low value you're getting with your DSi, if you ask me.
The MP3 playback and WPA1&WPA2 compatibility is what we might have already had for a long time, if Nintendo wasn't so dumb not to enable firmware updates for the DS, unlike Sony, who were ahead of them once again. Okay, if that was the case, we might not be able to use our flashcards today, either, but still. How does something the other DS models could have had in the first place qualify as a selling point for their product? If Sony made a revision like this, the whole gaming world would be booing at them (remember when the PS3 lost its PS2 backwards compatibility?). But if it comes from Nintendo? "No problemo. Bought."
Does anyone remember when Nintendo said they might release a Wii model that's capable of playing back DVDs? This is basically the same thing.
And a camera in your Nintendo handheld. Seriously. As if the two people here who don't own a camera phone yet needed one now.
It might even seem like a good idea to some of you right now, but I bet you'll change your mind after using the camera function for a bit.
There's no button that'll send you into camera mode instantly, so in order to take pics, you'll have to reboot your DS and make your way through the safety warning and the DS menu. I also wonder what MP3 playback will be like. "Doodeedoo, I'm sitting here in the bus, listening to my favorite podcasts. Oh, look at that, two deers mating in the park, let's take a photo! Oh shit, why did the music playback stop?"
Maybe I'm just being pessimistic here, but that's exactly the kind of half-assed new firmware I'd expect from Nintendo. Unless I'm proven wrong, keep in mind that that's how the features might be you'll be getting with your DSi. I'll prefer a real MP3 player and a real digital camera at any time. Or a device that does both things fine. But I don't want a device that does both things, and neither of them right.
