Nintendo: DSi won't immediately replace DS Lite in U.S.

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 5th 2008 at 2:00PM }

While there's been a fair amount of excitement and buzz over the recently announced, camera-equipped upgrade to Nintendo's best-selling handheld, it seems that the big N doesn't want American gamers to neglect the DSi's older, lensless sibling. In a recent interview with Game|Life, Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo's VP of sales and marketing (and world-renowned snowboarding expert), explained that the DS Lite has "huge, untapped potential" in the U.S. -- potential that the company hopes to tap before replacing the Lite with the new shutterbugish model.

Dunaway explained Nintendo's hopes to bring America's DS Lite sales to a level the company has come accustomed to in Japan, where one in every two households owns the handheld. While the DSi isn't due out in America until "well into 2009", Nintendo hopes to bolster Lite sales by allowing the two versions to "coexist for some period of time". Hey, as long as the DS Lite doesn't go all Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son, we're cool with it.

Tags: cammie-dunaway, dsi, dslite, nintendo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Dracard @ Oct 5th 2008 2:16PM

There were plans for a Good Son video game? Huh, learn something new every day...

Tiptup300 @ Oct 5th 2008 2:23PM

What's up joystiq? Lately it seems most of your news is like a day late. You're like 20x better then kotaku, what's wrong joystiq?

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir and MR.ESC) @ Oct 5th 2008 3:17PM

Weekend...

During that time, they don't bother to write up many news so we're down to six/day at most.

On these days, I wish they did as little as directly copy-pasting from their sister sites like 360,PS3,Wii and DS Fanboys.Hell even(in fact ESPECIALLY!) Big Download since they had some interesting news this weekend...

Haggard (Mr.ESC resurrected on a... thursday?!) @ Oct 5th 2008 4:56PM

Griffin stays up all weekend with a bottle of Tequila in one hand and a pipe in the other.

It's not his fault there's too much news for him to do!

Gun Barrier @ Oct 5th 2008 2:24PM

Theres a long way to go untill dsi is released, possibly till next summer.

Wardog @ Oct 5th 2008 2:29PM

American consumers in other words "hey here is somthing better but buy this product that is like the same but not as good". No thanks I will wait till you bring the new DSI. DS Lite "now Dead"......

Haggard (Mr.ESC resurrected on a... thursday?!) @ Oct 5th 2008 6:34PM

Well, you don't get a GBA slot on the DSi, so the 'superior' product is for you to decide.

Zephiel @ Oct 5th 2008 8:10PM

The argument doesn't work.
Everyone that would follow this logic already has a DS lite.
Everyone else has no idea it exits.

Superstar90 @ Oct 5th 2008 2:36PM

Does anyone know if you can import this thing and change the language to English?

hvnlysoldr @ Oct 5th 2008 3:06PM

Cammie did say she sees no reason you couldn't... Still DSWare might be region locked though.

hvnlysoldr @ Oct 6th 2008 11:38PM

It's been confirmed DSWare is region locked.

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Oct 5th 2008 2:37PM

If Nintendo didn't say this they'd be pissing off Activision more than they probably already are. I can't see the Lite staying around for much longer personally.

Mr Khan @ Oct 5th 2008 2:56PM

I could, if only to do something similar to what MS is doing with the Arcade

DSi being the high-level model that costs more, DS Lite being the low-level model that costs less

And its more appealing in DS's case, because the online store, photo, and music playback functions are more superfluous to the actual DS experience than having a hard drive is to the 360 experience.

Snowblind @ Oct 5th 2008 3:14PM

The 360 doesn't require a HDD to play games though, and it can always be bought seperatly later.

Jacksons @ Oct 5th 2008 3:21PM

But is it cost effective to manufacture two completely different devices?

Jakka(A tribute to whose who fought and failed during the Epic Flamewar of L.A. Noir and MR.ESC) @ Oct 5th 2008 3:27PM

"High-Level Model" stops being a "revision" and becomes a "successor" as soon as there are games that become hardware-dependable on it.

Considering that it's 100% certain there are Camera-based Games being developed as we speak, I also don't think Lite will last much longer unless Ninetendo brings out Music Player/Camera/SD Card addons for GBA Slot.

Jacksons @ Oct 5th 2008 4:04PM

@Jakka

Oh man, if there are games that are DSi-only I'll be seriously disappointed. Okay, to be honest I haven't touched my DS Lite in months, but I'd still be disappointed!

Moptimus Slime @ Oct 5th 2008 7:08PM

Jakka: The likelyhood of any RETAIL DSi exclusive games is slim to none with the install base of the DS/DS Lite.

Yobow @ Oct 5th 2008 11:57PM

GBA slot camera addon that could work I guess.

But things will definetly become much more complicated for a lot of people, between the DS models, addons etc.

Massmass @ Oct 5th 2008 2:58PM

This is very close to pulling a Sega. It could easily turn to that if consumers get confused or just don't care about the DSi. Just have one DS and leave it at that.

P.S

By consumers I mean people who don't read gaming blogs and get up in arms about a simple comment.

WiiFTW @ Oct 5th 2008 3:02PM

I think we should differentiate in some way between the two, like 'they' are consumers, but we are devourers.

Ethan @ Oct 5th 2008 3:05PM

Two words: Price cut?

Shogan @ Oct 5th 2008 3:08PM

When you announce the coming of a new, better, product with more features, you've already killed the old one. The people you sucker into buying the soon-to-be-obsolete model won't be so trusting in the future. The greed of Nintendo of America is shameless.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 5th 2008 3:31PM

Yeah because Microsoft and Sony so totally don't do that.

OH WAIT..

Shogan @ Oct 5th 2008 3:47PM

When you look at how Nintendo of Japan operates vs NoA, I think it's a more valid comparison.

Slayer @ Oct 5th 2008 4:01PM

@Shogan

What are you even talking about? Don't all companies do that? Apple releases new versions of their ipod and Sony releases a new version of the psp even though it's the same shit. Most companies are greedy, not just Nintendo.

Shogan @ Oct 5th 2008 4:03PM

I'm 100% fine with a new product. It's the reason NoA wants to delay the thing that's bugging me.

TFoK (Naked Peach Defense Force) @ Oct 5th 2008 3:17PM

"The greed of Nintendo of America is shameless."

Doesn't every handheld manufacturer release revisions of hardware every few years or so?

TFoK (Naked Peach Defense Force) @ Oct 5th 2008 3:18PM

What's this!? The comment system didn't put my comment where I had intended it to go? WHAT A SHOCKER

Dragod @ Oct 5th 2008 3:45PM

Hardware revisions that are actually improvements, yes... The DSi is a step backwards, IMO. You don't take away functionality, add something completely unneeded, then jack up the price... Especially not on a third version of the same device.

It's a slap in the face, really.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 5th 2008 7:05PM

@Dragod

Perhaps the same can be said for Micrsoft and Sony as well.

pika2000 @ Nov 2nd 2008 2:09AM

Nintendo exec1: OK, we're going to make the DSi, but we need enough supply for Japan, and oh, what should we do with all these old DS lites?
Nintendo exec2: Just dump them to the US. Let them buy up the old stuff while we play with the DSi.

Dragod @ Oct 5th 2008 3:43PM

I would have bought one... If it had both GBA and GB/GBC compatibility. I was sad to learn that, for some stupid reason, the DS Lite can't play my old Gameboy and Gameboy color games.. That was a deal breaker for me, and I ended up keeping my Phat because I feel it is better in almost every way.

I would have probably bought the DSi, if it had complete backwards compatibility and the cracking of the screen hinge from the DS Lite was fixed.

But honestly, without a GBA slot, this is a definite pass.

Fernando Rocker @ Oct 5th 2008 3:55PM

Maybe they will include Gameboy, Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance games via DSiWare.

Dragod @ Oct 5th 2008 3:57PM

I'm sure that's what their plan is... I LOVE PAYING FOR GAMES TWICE!!!!

Fernando Rocker @ Oct 5th 2008 4:01PM

Well... according to Nintendo, the prices for DSiWare will be from 200 to 800 points. I don't have any GB or Gameboy Color game...

I will gladly pay 200 to 400 points for GB and GBC games.

SKI @ Oct 5th 2008 5:32PM

I would gladly pay $10 to rebuy Pokemon Blue. I lost my old cart. :(

Josh @ Oct 5th 2008 6:48PM

"the cracking of the screen hinge from the DS Lite"

I honestly have never heard any reports of this other than right in the very beginning, at launch. I was under the impression that it was fixed long ago.

And seriously dude, just get a GBASP+.

Dragod @ Oct 5th 2008 6:55PM

I have a GBC, GBA, GBASP, and DS... Should I have to carry around two or three devices just to save fractions of an inch in thickness on one device?

Zorque @ Oct 5th 2008 3:54PM

It had better never replace the DS Lite, since even plenty of DS games need that GBA port.

Brad Moore @ Oct 5th 2008 4:26PM

This really isn't much different than when they released the GBA SP and said it couldn't play Gameboy games anymore.. no big deal really.

ebob9 @ Oct 5th 2008 6:05PM

GBA SP? Do you mean GBA Micro? I believe the SP did play older games..

Brad Moore @ Oct 6th 2008 9:04AM

No, the SP did away with it, as well did the micro I believe..

Skipjimroo @ Oct 6th 2008 1:35PM

Let me just through in here:
The SP can and will play anything you through at it, all the way back to the big grey doorstop.

Alex @ Oct 5th 2008 4:50PM

Does it have a built in Web Browser like the PSP? I think that the DS could easily be a great little internet-thing, but that Opera Browser add on thing sucked eggs. The Touch Screen would be a million times better than the select-a-letter thing like the PSP.

Shogan @ Oct 5th 2008 5:05PM

It does and its faster.

Mogster @ Oct 5th 2008 5:23PM

I can't believe some people are still going on about the frickin' GBA slot. Do you actually still play those shitty old graphical and gameplay inept titles or do you just want some to moan about?

I'm guessing it's the latter.

Snowblind @ Oct 5th 2008 5:44PM

What about games like Pokemon, which require the old GBA games to access a lot of the content, or things like Guitar Hero, which require an attachment that usees the GBA or slot?

And that's not taken into account the boat load of really great GBA games, which I still play very regularly on my DS.