DS Lite coming June 11 for $129
by Blake Snow 
{ May 4th 2006 at 10:00AM }
In a press release sent today, Nintendo announced that on June 11 the DS Lite will be released in North America. The handheld will be priced "as low as $129" which might imply that in addition to a base unit, bundle(s) could be made available. Also provided in the release were key enhancements to the system:
- It's less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter.
- Its two bright screens can be adjusted to four levels to adapt to different lighting conditions and to extend battery power.
- The microphone sits in the center of the unit, and the LED lights are clearly visible whether the unit is open or closed.
- The stylus is 1 centimeter longer and 1 millimeter thicker than the stylus of the original, and slides into a side storage slot.
- The Start and Select buttons were repositioned for easier access.
- A removable cover keeps the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot clear from dust and debris when it's not in use.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Paul @ May 4th 2006 10:05AM
That is awesome price. Heh, I sent this in and when I pressed submit and went back to the main page, it was there. I can't believe they are pricing it this low, that's astounding.
Chris Lawrance @ May 4th 2006 10:08AM
WOW, ok they just got me to get one. Very exciting
JodyAnthony @ May 4th 2006 10:09AM
Who wants one of those kiddy systems anyway? they are for children. Get a psp, they make you cool! They're shiny and everything!
Stgl @ May 4th 2006 10:10AM
Nothing on the Europe release?
Maybe if we are lucky we will see it before xmas and Wii before 2008:(
miinus_273 @ May 4th 2006 10:14AM
#4. "Nothing on the Europe release?"
The problem with a europe release is that even if you are British, it needs to be translated into like 10 different languages. :-p
DCSimian @ May 4th 2006 10:14AM
Huzzah! Time to go sell my current DS. This is good timing too. I won't have a DS to play for over a month, which (I hope) will allow me to study for this test coming up in June...DS Lite will be mine afterwards. Wonder how much it'll run bundled with NSMB...
GlitchCog @ May 4th 2006 10:15AM
Can anyone tell me if the Lite is any less durable than it's bulkier counterpart? I like my portables tough.
Kate @ May 4th 2006 10:15AM
They also announced that it would only be available in Polar White with other colors coming later.
christian aka nsomneia @ May 4th 2006 10:15AM
psp ?! !?ftw .. .
when the psp comes out with original titles i'll get one, other than that it's just ps2 ports that are done badly i feel, with what, too long of loading times and edgy graphics .. . but till originality strikes (LocoRoco is a sweet game i must admit), i'm in love with the ds.. . and i have a jones for the LITE .. .
C. Grant @ May 4th 2006 10:16AM
Jody, seriously! That's what we've been trying to tell people!
;)
Princess Zelda @ May 4th 2006 10:21AM
I've been wanting a DS since November 2004 but I wanted a white one. Today I am very happy, especially at that price of $130 US. I fanally get to play Mario Kart and Tetris online.
Daniel M. @ May 4th 2006 10:27AM
sooo, where are the preorders?
calthaer @ May 4th 2006 10:29AM
I've actually bought 6 or 7 Nintendo DS games (all of the gems that I anticipated being hard-to-find later, and I was right about certain ones like Phoenix Wright - pre-ordered that and got several cool "hand" stylii), but have not yet gotten a DS. As soon as news of the Lite came out, I knew I'd wait for one of these.
I hope they come out with some special editions of this - maybe even one colored like the classic NES? Please? :)
R.U.Sirius @ May 4th 2006 10:34AM
Hm, unfortunately no May 15th release. But the price sounds good.
-R.U.Sirius
Martin @ May 4th 2006 10:35AM
I've also been waiting to get a DS Lite, even though I have an original. But I'll most likely wait a while after it's release to secure a black DS Lite (or at least an Enamel Navy).
Gotta love em for sticking with an identical price point as their chubby counterpart. I bet the original DS goes to $99 or $109 when it launches.
RW @ May 4th 2006 10:39AM
im speechless right now, cause i just bought the ds lite off ebay for 200 usd and it arrived yesterday... luckily its the enamel navy one, so hopefully itll appriciate a bit... hopefully..
Sense @ May 4th 2006 10:41AM
I'm surprised by the price point as well. I think I'm keeping my original DS though. I don't know. Depends on how much I could get for it I suppose. It's the Mario Kart Hot Rod Red. I don't know if it's rare or anything.
Whatever the case, I've gots to have my DS Lite. It's just so sexy!
Sagan @ May 4th 2006 10:52AM
@5 Wrong. It doesn't need to be translated. Each and every DS Lite has all languages built in.
The only thing that needs translation is the manual, and they need a different AC adapter for European power sockets. Both should take 1-2 days.
So the reason why Europeans will probably have to wait, is that Nintendo doesn't like us Europeans.
Miharu @ May 4th 2006 10:53AM
miinus_273, there is no problem translating a console into the five major European languages, since the lite's menus are the same as a normal DS's. And even the Japanese lite already has all these languages.
My estimate is this will cost 149 in Europe, and comes no earlier than September. Just because Nintendo likes to piss us Europeans :(
pete @ May 4th 2006 10:53AM
They just made a believer out of me. Go Nintendo!
Martin @ May 4th 2006 10:56AM
Right, 'cause it's only Nintendo that likes to dick around with the European and Australian markets. /sarcasm
Lynk @ May 4th 2006 10:57AM
Well now that there's a date for the US, Australia won't be far behind...
Ace @ May 4th 2006 10:58AM
i reckon for us brits (and the rest of europe lol), we'll be expected to pay around 89.99 as everything costs way to much over here. thats why i just stick to importing now lol
Ace!
Sense @ May 4th 2006 11:00AM
I think the guy above was referring to the press release needing to be translated, not the DS.
Lan @ May 4th 2006 11:03AM
I said it at the Japan announcment and I'll say it here. Black DS Lite please.
don_sf @ May 4th 2006 11:04AM
i like the problems tacked with the ds lite and ds. the problem remains tho when playing gba games the ab buttons are in the wrong place.
x and y should be the buttons that do the gba games. other than than its a great console.
psp is great, but after super mario 2d comes out boy the ds will be the best for the time being.
MSaccarello @ May 4th 2006 11:04AM
GameSpot said it is going to be priced at $149.99
Who is right?
Martin @ May 4th 2006 11:08AM
Nintendo's official press release says $129.99. GameSpot is wrong.
Babylonian @ May 4th 2006 11:09AM
Un-fucking-believable.
Nintendo delivers again.
Simon @ May 4th 2006 11:11AM
On current exchange rates, $129 is ~60 here in the UK. Who else can see Nintendo still pricing this at 100? As everyone knows, the UK always gets the best deals on prices >_>
YeahYeah @ May 4th 2006 11:11AM
They did not mention available colors?
Jim N @ May 4th 2006 11:14AM
Jody, C. Grant, I have a PSP along with a DS. I bought my PSP the day it launched, and it has had some good games. But just recently I think the games have really started to come around. I think Sony was concentrating to hard on getting UMD PSP movies out, instead of concentrating on games. Now that the UMD movies are flopping like a fish out of water, I think they are working hard on some great games. The launch titles were OK at best the Tiger Woods 2005 sucked so bad because of long load times and bad game play but the 2006 is really good, and most of the other games were really not that great. Skip ahead to Grand Theft Auto: LCS, SOCOM, and now Syphon Filter (which I consider to be the best hand held shooter game ever! And has incredible online multi player that is on the level of basic Xbox Live service), and Daxter which has some of the best graphics I have ever seen on a handheld, honestly it is hard to determine where the cut scenes end and the game itself begin. The graphics on Syphon Filter, and Daxter are as good as most of the PS2 games. So I hope we will start see some great titles come out that will really show off the horse power and capabilities. But do not count out the DS. I use to think that it only had kiddie games also. But to be honest I love playing Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Brain Training, Mario Kart. All these games may appear cartoonish, but I just enjoy playing them and they are incredibly addictive. I compare it to watching Pixar, or Disney movies. As an adult I still enjoy watching those movies with my kids because they are fun to watch, even though I also enjoy watching adult action adventure movies.
I plan on giving my DS to my daughter who is fifteen, and I am getting me a white DS Lite. Hope we start seeing some bundle packages and some pre orders very soon. And the new Super Mario brothers!
aDub @ May 4th 2006 11:15AM
Great price, better design, brighter screen... sounds really good to me. My only concern is the LITE's durability, since I really appreciate this particular quality of my original DS.
I am thinking I will wait until the initial rush is over, before picking one up, since my current DS still serves me well.
But I am curious, has anyone already sold/traded their DS? and if you have, how much did you get?
Marco @ May 4th 2006 11:15AM
So, if at bestbuy my first phatds has a full "replacement plan", and a button broke, and i've been waiting for the ds lite to come out, so when i go to get an equivalent replacement, do you think they'll give me the dslite, since 130$ is how much i paid for my dsphat?
James @ May 4th 2006 11:16AM
When are they releasing the Web Browser for DS?
Martin @ May 4th 2006 11:21AM
Marco, I doubt it. I don't see why they would, from a business perspective, unless they just don't have any original DS models to give you. The original DS isn't going to generate as much revenue as the DS Lite will, so if it comes down to it, they'll replace yours with the original DS and sell the DS Lite to other consumers.
r-deezy @ May 4th 2006 11:21AM
For those that are thinking about selling their old DS's - I would consider keeping them. Think about the connectivity for the Wii... if your friend comes over to play a game that is enhanced by DS connectivity (See: Cyrstal Chronicals for CG) you'll have an extra sitting around.
Chris Lawrance @ May 4th 2006 11:26AM
I too noticed it only mentioned the white color. The white is great, dont get me wrong, but I was thinking about going with the navy. I black would also be great.
JodyAnthony @ May 4th 2006 11:27AM
with my website url being www.jodylovesnintendo.com, I hope noone really took my comment above seriously.
Pancakeshouse @ May 4th 2006 11:37AM
Why does Nintendo think Americans aren't interested in multiple colors?! It's probably because they think it will pick up sales 6 months to a year after release when things start to slow down, by releasing new colors.
YAY! Screw over the early purchasers with only one color!
Takeo Rey @ May 4th 2006 11:46AM
This is great news for everyone. The DS Lite price is the same for a current Phat DS, so if you were saving your money, you can now get the Lite for same amount! It's still affordable and now you get the new model.
As for just getting the white color, I'm a bit disappointed that they are only launching with one color. But the crystal white is a good starting color, almost neutral so that everyone (men/women boys/girls) can have a nice color.
*hugs enamel blue DS Lite*
AK @ May 4th 2006 11:48AM
UK price should be 81.75 thats $130 + our 17.5% tax rate.
However, considering the current DS is 90 ($165) there is no way in hell that is going to happen.
UK price will be 129.99, guranteed
crono141 @ May 4th 2006 11:56AM
What, do you want your pink one now?
The only other color besides white I would get is black, and that doesn't even exist in japan yet.
Even Navy blue isn't quite dark enough to be black.
Miharu @ May 4th 2006 12:01PM
Thanks for reminding me about getting a pink one. I shouldn't rush but I'm really tempted to get a white one as soon as it launches in Europe. Unless of course, the price is as high as everyone here is afraid of!
AdamBot @ May 4th 2006 12:02PM
Am I the only one that is curious about the 'EXPECTED to be AS LOW AS $129.99' comment? Does that make any sense?
32_footsteps @ May 4th 2006 12:02PM
You know, maybe the MSRP is $129.99, but GameStop plans on charging the extra $20 because they think they can get away with it. So maybe both Big N and GameStop are right, in their way.
Interesting that the newer version of the hardware would be launched at the price of the current version. Has that ever happened before?
AdamBot @ May 4th 2006 12:04PM
GameSPOT said it was $150.
Martin @ May 4th 2006 12:07PM
Not to incite a riot, but it's the same strategy Apple uses when they introduce upgrades to their products. Older versions go away, and newer versions replace them with the same price point.
As far as having it happen with consoles/handhelds, I don't think I've witnessed it before.
Eliytres @ May 4th 2006 12:07PM
Oh man oh man oh man! I can't wait that thing to get to Europe. Now (finally) I'm ready to give away my GBA SP and switch to even better, DS Lite. :)
Is it just me getting old or is anyone else excited about those Brain Training games? And finally a new 2D Super Mario Bros game! That price sounds very good too, hope they can keep it same level here.
R2P2 @ May 4th 2006 12:10PM
Euro-whiners: Remember the shortages during the Japanese launch? Maybe Nintendo doesn't think it can come up with enough units to have the European launch near the North American one.