Nintendo officially unveils Nintendo DSi and online store, coming Nov 1 in Japan for $180

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 2nd 2008 at 12:50AM }

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Even before Nintendo announced it, the DSi had been the talk of the town. According to our Japanese correspondent, the DSi will be 12 percent thinner, and will get rid of the GBA slot entirely. The DSi will also include two built-in cameras (one reportedly VGA resolution) and music playback. It will add an SD card slot and internal storage (we don't yet know how much) to enhance its multimedia capabilities. The screens are now slightly larger at 3.25 inches, photos can be synced to the Wii Photo Channel, and the unit will include a free browser application.

Nintendo is also launching the "DSi Shop" to sell content directly over Wi-Fi. Prices for the store, which are also tied into ~~Wii~~ Nintendo Points, will use 0, 200, 500 and 800-point tiers. Until March 2010, 1000 Nintendo points will come bundled with the device.

Nintendo is calling the DSi a "third platform," implying that it's not competing with the DS -- though as a history lesson, the DS was originally a "third platform" against the now-retired Game Boy Advance.

The DSi will launch November 1 in black and white colors. It will cost ¥189,000 (approx. US $178). We won't fault you for misreading this as "iDS," given the very iPod Touch-esque additions.

Update: The official DSi website is up.

Update 2: Check out our comparison chart, Nintendo DSi vs. PSP-3000 vs. iPod Touch v1.0

Gallery: Nintendo DSi

[Image Source]

Tags: breakingnews, ds, dsi, nintendo, nintendo-ds, nintendo-dsi

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

mr nimblewick @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:52AM

Onboard storage with its own VC for GB games please? That would make me upgrade from my phat.

mr nimblewick @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:15AM

Oh man... they're doing the DS store and downloadable content... now I actually have to spend money and possibly wait in line outside of K-mart again. Damn.

I really thought I was going to be disappointed.

Gump619 @ Oct 2nd 2008 2:53AM

Don't worry, you can still be disappointed. If there is still no WPA/WPA2 support, what good does the DS store do? And if you ARE using WEP, you better do some internet research on wireless security.

Mr Khan @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:08AM

Unless you live in an apartment building with a lot of tech-savvy neighbors, or are doing your Wi-Fi-ing on the go in public, why would you need wireless security in the first place?

DammitBran @ Oct 2nd 2008 10:56AM

It's called MAC address filtering, L2secure your network.

glutto @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:26PM

MAC address filtering is not considered a valid or secure method to secure a wireless network. It's pretty easy to bypass it.

WPA2 with TKIP + AES should be mandatory.

Raikage (Mr. ESC? Mr. ESC? MR. ESSSSSSCCCCCC!) @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:52AM

DSeye

AMIRITE?

:P @ Fernando

Fernando Rocker @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:53AM

Raikage (Mr. ESC? Mr. ESC? MR. ESSSSSSCCCCCC!) @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:14AM

This actually looks pretty awesome, I'm interested in the DL features and the two touch screens.

I'll keep my phat for GBA games though... I wuvz them.

Giroro @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:16AM

Nobody ever said it has 2 touchscreens.

Raikage (Mr. ESC? Mr. ESC? MR. ESSSSSSCCCCCC!) @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:23AM

Umm... yeah GoNintendo did, and the other site we don't talk about that starts with a K...

Blurrz @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:52AM

Widescreen too? Type faster!

Giroro @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:16AM

Look at the picture. It's there for a reason.

Sturat @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:59AM

I was really hoping at least one of the screens would have a higher vertical resolution so it could play NES/SNES/Turbo GrafX games at full resolution. Without that, it isn't as much of a must-buy for me. I wonder if they'll release an SD card reader or flash drive or something for people using older DSes to play DLC.

Moorio - XBL: peacebyanymeans @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:52AM

Please have mp3 player and internal storage and I'll sell my DS Lite and be in line day one for this.

LocalToast @ Oct 2nd 2008 5:38PM

I think it's AAC, actually. And just use an SD card for storage, they are dirt cheap.

CesarSalad @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:52AM

OMFG HELLZ YEA!

CesarSalad @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:57AM

if the camera is a 1.3 Megapixel I'm gonna laugh. well, at least Mp3 is a great start

In A World (XBL) @ Oct 2nd 2008 2:59AM

It's actually only a 0.3 (zero-point-three) megapixel camera, meaning a maximum resolution of 640x480

hvnlysoldr @ Oct 2nd 2008 4:19AM

There are 2 cameras. The internal camera where the microphone was has .3 mega pixels. The external camera is 3.0 mega pixels.

In A World (XBL) @ Oct 2nd 2008 11:03PM

hvnlysoldr, you are wrong. BOTH cameras are 0.3MP
There is no evidence to suggest otherwise.

Elisha Adeagbo @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:53AM

no GBA slot? :(

religiousjedi @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:12AM

Seconded...impressive looking DS, but makes me wonder if I should get it to replace my broken Lite (I likes me GBA slot).

Anticrawl @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:33AM

Solution: Go to Walmart, buy clearance 25 dollar Famicom gameboy micro, be happy.

My micro goes with me everywhere, with either Astro Boy, Sonic or SMB3 in it.

Shadow Hog @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:40AM

Yeah, but that doesn't support GBC games, either. If you can find it, a GBA-SP is far preferable.

GearSecond!! (a.k.a AwesomeStuff) @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:54AM

DSi!!! XDDD Cant wait for pics!!

Hoopla @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:54AM

Lowwer case i? APPLES GONNA SUE!

Lone Starr @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:59AM

It's at the end of the name though, it should be all good.

&rew @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:04AM

Apple doesn't go to the police.

Alvin @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:22AM

i get confused with DSi and CSI :S

Dovi @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:29AM

Apple: We aim for the legs

Dash @ Oct 2nd 2008 10:48AM

After the DSi and Wii Sports Resort launch Nintendo will have enough money to buy Apple. And also get Scrooge McDuck's money vault.

Suichimo @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:55AM

I like my GBA slot though.

If its just a revision, and not an entirely new DS, I'll look the other way.

Blank-Mage @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:38AM

Yeah, I'm only just now realizing how many GBA games I've missed out on now that I have something to play them on. Megaman Zero is indeed ftw.

Steven M @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:55AM

yay

Morbo- (PSN: ummfada) @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:56AM

Toasting in an epic bread

Lone Starr @ Oct 2nd 2008 1:05AM

I'll butter your epic toast.

Shadow Hog @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:56AM

No GBA slot = no purchase. At least, until they can convince me why my DS Phat is inadequate.

I was pissed off enough that my GBC games weren't playable (no Wario Land 2 & 3? Really? :( ), but this is a step beyond even that. Christ.

Christ @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:59AM

You called?

Squee @ Oct 2nd 2008 3:10PM

OMG, this is worse than when they released the N64 that not only wasn't compatible with my SNES games, it wasn't compatible with my NES games either! I mean, sure, I could just switch consoles when I wanted to play the old games, or I could buy the remake for the new console (if they make one for the game I am interested in), but I would rather be able to simply use the old cartridges in the new system! It'd be so much better.

Realize that Nintendo is trying to get away from the old GameBoy consoles because they are obsolete. Why would you be disappointed that GBC games don't work on a device that wasn't designed for them in the first place? The only reason they threw the GBA slot on there was so they could try to ease the transition from GameBoy to the DS (and to at least partially cover their asses in case the DS became another VirtualBoy). Seriously, though, the GBC is nearly 2 decades old. Get with the times.

Shadow Hog @ Oct 2nd 2008 11:54PM

Wow, what a horrible argument. The console line NEVER had backwards compatibility (regardless of whether it should have), so that analogy is shot right from the start. Not to mention how much more cumbersome it is to lug around two handhelds than it is to plug in two consoles.

And then, of course, you're telling me that enjoying older games is some sort of crime? Honestly, I think it's less that I should "get with the times" and more that you should figure that, given I want to play old games, I'll gladly respect Nintendo keeping what had been the backwards compatibility status quo than completely screwing me over.