Storm your shops! DS Lite street date broken [update 2]

by Christopher Grant { May 31st 2006 at 2:00AM }

Several CAGs have reported finding DS Lites -- which aren't scheduled to be on store shelves in North America for another eleven days -- at local big-boxes Target and Wal-Mart. Cheap Ass moderator Trakan said his local Target had a "shitload" in stock and they weren't equivocal about selling 'em, street date be damned!

Anyone in the Joystiq nation manage to grab a DS Lite early? Any retail employees want to let us know if your store's already got these out? Feel free to post your successes (or failures) in the comments as a service to other readers ... especially if you're near me in the Philadelphia area.

(Update 1: All right kids, Joystiq reader Jake had the common sense to use this thing called "the internet" to come up with a better solution than us just posting our successes willy-nilly. The solution: Frappr. He's gotten us started; the Brier Creek Target in Raleigh, NC was a negatory as of 11am this morn'.)

(Update 2: Updated the image to sate those who won't believe it if they can't see it. Image from elliothtz's Flickr site. Redirected image and "Read" link to Frappr page to help aggregate this data.)

Tags: DS Lite, DsLite, Retail

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)

Jeff @ May 31st 2006 8:45AM

"Was that really necessary to post?"

Oh, lighten the hell up.

kelekod @ May 31st 2006 8:51AM

only bad part about trading in/selling your old ds is that when you go online is that you'll have to start a new profile record. it says on most of the online games that it creates a "set" with your games. So doing so will reset your records. which is why i'm thinking i may not upgrade, sure my 50-4 mariokart record is impressive, but theres too many snakers i've gotten recently to add more losses in.

Nick @ May 31st 2006 8:52AM

Kmart in Figtree, NSW, Australia has quite a few there. I was shocked to see them when I went in to work this afternoon, but I played with one briefly. It seems ok, but I've never been a portable gaming fan. So yeah, if you're in Wollongong, Kmart is stocked.

C. Grant @ May 31st 2006 8:53AM

Yup

Peter @ May 31st 2006 8:55AM

It comes with an XBOX360 remote? Sweet!

Brian Stuckey @ May 31st 2006 8:56AM

The_Toad - you must live in Roseville, MN. I was just at that store last night and didn't see any :-/

zero @ May 31st 2006 8:56AM

Just got the LAST ONE this morning (8:30am) at:

Montgomeryville Target
125 Witchwood Dr
North Wales, PA 19454-1833

It looks like they were stacked next to the regular DS's in bottom of the case. I had to crouch down to see the last one hiding in the back. Judging from the stack of regular DS's next to it, I'd guess they sold through 20 or so DS Lites already (unless the one I bought was shoved into the back for some reason).

Olly @ May 31st 2006 9:00AM

@Londoner
wow, thats awesome! Problem is, I've had a few run-ins with the guys at my local CEX and refuse to shop there. Shame really, because the other CEX's are quite good! Anyone else have problems with CEX?

...still, maybe I should swallow my pride and take up their offer!

V1L3 @ May 31st 2006 9:12AM

Since everyone else is on a PSP-bashing kick...

I own the PSP and the DS, but since Animal Crossing came out, I gave the DS to my g/f (who loves it). I think the DS is a great system for pick-up-and-play titles, but I've yet to play a game on it that I wasn't bored of within a few days. That goes with the territory, of course, but then the GBA is good for simpler games too, as well as being more portable and having a better battery life.

The PSP doesn't have as many great original games, but it depends more what you're into. If you only love racing games, you'd be nuts to buy a DS - Ridge Racer or Need for Speed Underground anyone? Ugh.

I never leave home without my PSP, but it's more for the movie and music playback, as well as the *ahem* other things you can do with the older firmware - 100+ Genesis games are more than enough to keep me entertained. I don't buy UMD movies, but when you've got the software to convert any DVD you own into MP4 format, you don't really need to.

Due to the game line-up, the DS is the better portable game system, while the PSP is the better all-round portable device. Sure, an iPod plays music and video too, but that plus a DS is more expensive than a PSP, plus more cargo than I intend to carry around on any given day.

I've been living on Wipeout Pure and Lumines since launch, and nothing else really interests me at the moment. Still, there are some titles coming out I personally wouldn't miss out on - Myst, Sonic Rivals, Landstalker, Final Fantasy Crisis Core...

Still, regardless of which system you prefer, I defy anyone who doesn't think the launch of the PSP hasn't been good for all of us. I don't think the DS lineup would be as strong as it is if Nintendo weren't busting their asses to keep Sony off their territory.

Competition, man. It's a pain in the ass for corporations, but nothing but good news for us.

Knoxximus @ May 31st 2006 9:26AM

SWEET!! My girlfriends been naggin' at me ever since I confinscated her's after Miyamoto signed it at E3 this year......this'll SHUT 'ER UP!! XD

Knoxximus @ May 31st 2006 9:26AM

SWEET!! My girlfriends been naggin' at me ever since I confinscated hers after Miyamoto signed it at E3 this year......this'll SHUT 'ER UP!! XD

Nter @ May 31st 2006 9:37AM

At cringer.

In your comment #17, you said that you can't save your progress with a DS game.

I call Bullshit. There's a save feature in all DS games.

ALFANOMFG @ May 31st 2006 9:59AM

If you go to options in the wifi settings menu, you can transfer your settings from one DS to another. So you don't have to worry about losing your stats.

By the way, does anyone else here not like Metroid Hunters? I'd almost rather play Metroid Pinball.

Jesse @ May 31st 2006 10:00AM

Just checked Walmart and Target in the West End of Richmond, VA. No dice...

Naota @ May 31st 2006 10:00AM

damn your from the philadelphia area? me to, I'm calling gamestops around the area asking if they got any DS Lites yet

clearskin @ May 31st 2006 10:05AM

Great news. I'll be heading over to Walmart and picking one up post haste. However, while I like the white, I do wish that we could get those sexy black ones over here, but oh well, Europe needs the love.

krazyman @ May 31st 2006 10:06AM

I was at Target on Saturday, but they might have not recieved them yet. Anyways, even if I did find one, I wouldn't be able to buy one because I already ordered one from Gamstop.com Note that gamestop.com is only selling the DS lite in bundles now.

Pancakeshouse @ May 31st 2006 10:33AM

That was some excitment when I woke up to find this post. I called every Walmart in the Minneapolis, MN area, and they either had them and wouldn't sell them, or they just had no clue what I was talking about.

Then I called all of the Targets, and the Crystal, MN Target was a winner. It was a older women who must have thought nothing of street dates and just put them alongside the Phat DS's. Lucky me, I took the morning rush hour drive and picked one up. There were about 15 more in the display case. Anyway, if you live in Minnesota and want one, go to Crystal.

zakm @ May 31st 2006 10:42AM

Is the Navy enamel going to be released in the US ? If so, when?

Benjamin Dow @ May 31st 2006 10:51AM

well i tried wal-marts and target in springfield, mo and i came up with nothing, i'm going to try again on friday

Princess Zelda @ May 31st 2006 10:53AM

Anything instock in Canada Yet?
I just called Walmart and got the usual "What's a DS Lite, Nintendo's not making a new DS"

Brian @ May 31st 2006 10:54AM

That's a big negatory on Tampa, Florida for 2 Target stores. Maybe Wal-Mart has them, but I am not trying to get that place on the phone to check. Their electronic sections are like a flea market of madness with the clerks looking at the items like the cavemen looking at the monolith in the movie "2001."

bi11 brasky @ May 31st 2006 10:58AM

I work at Target and i put them out and baought one because there was no indication of a street date on the box like everything else that has a street dateand nintendo never informed us about a streetdate, and most Targets will put them out caus they are not told not to.

Thecommish @ May 31st 2006 11:01AM

I have a DS Lite preordered at EB Games. If I go buy one at Walmart today, do you guys think I can 1) get refunded for my preorder at EB, or 2) by from both and return the EB one to Walmart?

Dan Zuccarelli @ May 31st 2006 11:05AM

I just bought my DS lite at Target in Mount Laurel, NJ - bout a 10
minute drive from philly

Jason W @ May 31st 2006 11:10AM

Ok, I saw this up this morning. Went to taget at 10:45 Am on the East Coast. Walked in and bought a shinny new white DS lite. I cant wait until Im off work and can go home and compare it to the old one. I think this one fixes my only complaint about the DS and that is its screen brightness. This sucker is bright on the high setting. Thanks Joystiq for the info. And at 129.99 it was not a bad deal eaither.

Jim N @ May 31st 2006 11:10AM

I saw this post and called the local Target they did not have them, but the local Wallmart did!

So in Mankato, Minnesota is selling early.

LordAlu @ May 31st 2006 11:18AM

"I'd like to think that the UK release will see a similar disregard for street date, but I'm not holding out much hope for GAME here in Belfast letting them go early."

As a GAME worker, I wouldn't hold out either - despite the fact Gamestation used to break street dates regularly, we've only broken one - the first PS2 Tomb Raider... and we got destroyed by the media for it. GAME will not be doing that again! Even staff aren't allowed them until the day...

"I tried to get Animal Crossing for my girlfriend the day before street date, but they wouldn't let me have it - despite the fact that they had dozens of boxes on the #2 shelf of their charts.

I spent a couple minutes arguing with the guy at the desk that if it's on the shelf and at #1 they must have sold some, surely. He told me that it wasn't for sale until the next day, and that I should have known that it wasn't for sale yet because quote, "it doesn't have a price sticker on it".

It didn't have a "coming soon" or release date on it either, though."

Technically for anything to be "on-sale" in a store, a clear price must be displayed on the box, so if it doesn't have a price sticker, it isn't for sale. To be honest all the Animal Crossing boxes we were sent had the release date showing in the bottom left corner, so really you don't need to sticker them (it is possible they just put out the real boxes, in which case the date wouldn't be on them... unlikely, but possible!).

BTW, don't take charts as a true representation of a good game - they are paid for by companies. You'll see it everywhere, Dixons, HMV, Gamestation and of course ourselves. If a company wants it high in the chart, they pay for it up there, regardless of how crap it may be.

"For all UK residents, GAME are doing an offer where if you trade in your old DS, you can get the DS lite for £59.99. They are accepting pre-orders now and most shops have non-working models in store for you to 'try-out'. All stores will have both the White and Black models available at launch.

Very sexy."

This is correct, we are taking deposits for them at £20 (which gets taken off the price of the machine when you buy it). So £20 now, then when you buy it and trade your old DS in it'll only cost £40! Oh, and the demo model is damn sexy - it might not play any games and you can't even remove the pen (they've glued it in), but it is ooooooooh so shiny!

Nex @ May 31st 2006 11:24AM

For those of you waiting for a good DS fighter to come along, you have to start a petition. Sega has released a fighting game in Japan based on a popular manga/anime series there called "Bleach" which to my knowledge has not been picked up by america yet. Back to the game, it's 4 players ON WIFI, lots of fun, only problem with importing it is that to take full advantage of wifi, you need to make liberal use of friends codes to play someone on this continent consistenly. This is because when looking for games, it's either friends codes or regional which is based in Japan (so it will not look for other gamers coming from your own territory) this creates a laggy (yet still stable and playable) game.

I wish review sites would check out this import and start a craze for it. DS is badly missing fighting games, ESPECIALLY a WIFI fighting game (Bleach is based off the guilty gear engine, but better multiplayer and uses only 1 screen, overall Bleach is the better game).

If this doesn't get brought here BEFORE the anime, it could be a while (the game unfortunately contains a lot of spoilers from story mode). If not this game, something based on it's engine and WIFI should be brought here.

Smash Bros. DS?????????????????

John @ May 31st 2006 11:25AM

The Walmart in Ontario Ohio has them just picked up 2 units!

Omega697 @ May 31st 2006 11:34AM

No luck so far in Austin, TX. They might just not have them yet, though. I'm going to keep trying each day.

Kyjibo @ May 31st 2006 11:46AM

No luck in San Antonio, TX either but I've only checked a few stores

Keg @ May 31st 2006 11:52AM

Dear Joystiq staffers in Philly area,

The Walmart up at Franklin Mills apparently has them in stock. I'm heading up after work to see if I can grab one.

Your neighborhood,

Keg

Ryo @ May 31st 2006 11:58AM

I second the Evansville, IN post. Except I got mine at Target.

Brad @ May 31st 2006 12:01PM

Hey anyone in the Long Island, NY area managed to find an outlet selling them? I've called several Targets, Walmarts and Gamestop/EBs, but alas nobody will tell me what I want to hear.

horation @ May 31st 2006 12:04PM

Like #68 I just bought one at the Target in Mt. Laurel, NJ, which is about 10-15 mins from Philly. They have about 25-30 in the case! Yay DS Lite... it's so pretty.

pete @ May 31st 2006 12:09PM

Obviously no Walmarts or Targets in NYC, but has anyone had success in the boroughs or Long Island or even (*shudder*) Jersey?

Kitch @ May 31st 2006 12:10PM

Checked the Brier Creek Target and Walmart in Raleigh, NC at 11am EST. No dice. May check other area stores later today.

Anyone with luck in the Triangle Area?

Eric @ May 31st 2006 12:11PM

#49:

If you get the Lite before you get rid of your "Phat" you can migrate your Nintendo WiFi login to the other unit before you sell it. It's a simple process.

magikcow @ May 31st 2006 12:12PM

Anyone have any luck in the MD/Balitmore area?

ach77 @ May 31st 2006 12:16PM

there actually ARE targets in NYC - at least three of them. i know of one in queens, and two in brooklyn.

i called the target at atlantic center at flatbush/atlantic ave in brooklyn, but they said they weren't selling ds lites yet. regular ds, sure, but no ds lite.

anyone else in nyc have luck finding one? i really don't wanna go to jersey...

ResidentGamer.com @ May 31st 2006 12:17PM

anyone in NYC have any luck getting a DS Lite? If so let me know..I have my money ready.

ResidentGamer.com @ May 31st 2006 12:18PM

#77. Acutlly there is a Target in the Bronx and one in Brooklyn. Just none in the city. Maybe K-Mart or Best Buy might have them as well.

Bob422 @ May 31st 2006 12:19PM

Are there any stores/online-retailers that offer a discount if you trade in your phat DS?

Jon @ May 31st 2006 12:19PM

Well it is true :) The Walmarts in Indianapolis have broken. I am holding my brand new DS as I type :)

Chris @ May 31st 2006 12:26PM

Just checked the walmarts and targets in the Sacramento, CA area - no luck. Has anyone in California found any?

Keg @ May 31st 2006 12:36PM

Confirmed.

Walmart near the Neshaminy Mall up on Rt. 1 has them Joystiq'ers. And they're in the case.

Here's the directions.
Take Rt. 1 N and get off at the Neshaminy exit. Make a left at the light and then another left at the next light. Walmart is in that shopping center.

Cheers,

Keg