The Features of the Nintendo DSi

The Nintendo DSi was released in Japan in November 2008 and UK shops should have the Nintendo DSI in stock in the spring of 2009. Reaction to the DSi in the UK has not been exactly ecstatic, but Nintendo themselves have said that the Nintendo DSi should not be seen as the “future”; not a revolution but rather an evolution of the Nintendo DS.

At first sight you might think that its detractors have a point. The addition of a couple of digital cameras whose resolution falls short of that of mobile phones, an iTunes-compatible audio playback and some improvements in the speakers and screens do not seem to be guaranteed to get the pulses racing. However, Nintendo’s aim is to make the DSi a more personal console which will allow users to swap music and pictures. With the Japanese market for DS reaching saturation Nintendo needed to offer something to encourage families to stop sharing a single DS. There have also been suggestions that Nintendo may have had an ulterior motive for upgrading the DS. The R4 module has been extremely popular as it allows DS users to store and use homebrew content on a microSD chip. However, it can also be used for playing pirated copies of games which has been creating some concern at Nintendo headquarters. The new Nintendo DSi will not work with any R4 unit, and plugging one in causes an error message to be displayed. Of course Nintendo will argue that the new features of the Nintendo DSi allow you to do everything that you can legally do with an R4 unit.

The 640 x 480 resolution of the external camera is no replacement for a digital camera or phone, but it is good enough for taking pictures to be displayed on the console. The Game Boy Camera was very popular and users may find the DSi camera just as much fun. The DSi is also lighter and has a larger screen than the DS Lite. It has five brightness levels compared to the four of the DS Lite. The audio playback allows the user to record their voices via a microphone and the speed and pitch can be altered independently. There is also a lot more RAM and built-in internal storage for downloading games from the DSi shop. Once data has been stored on the console users can activate it using the Nintendo DSi Menu. DS developers have indicated that they find the new features interesting, opening up the possibility of using them to create new games for the DS.

After its UK release Nintendo DSi availability should be good, as many retailers will ensure that they are well stocked to satisfy all those keen gamers out looking for Nintendo DSi stock! No one knows the UK Nintendo DSi price as yet, but online price comparison sites will enable consumers to find the Nintendo DSi cheapest price. Nintendo DSi prices can vary widely between different retailers, and of course there are bundles to be considered as well.