DS to fade away? You decide!

The ever-nearing US release of the DSi has been a mixture of Good News and Bad News to those who pay close attention to Nintendo hardware.

The Good News is that they will still be able to play their old DS games, since the DSi isn't really an upgrade in that fashion. They will also have a whole new library of games with DSiWare to look forward to, as well as a host of multi-media functions.

The Bad News is that, with the GBA slot gone, they will be losing a very well-loved library entirely, as well as losing features on DS games that give special bonuses when interacting with specific games in the GBA slot. (Pokemon fans in particular may be miffed by this, since they won't be able to bring their older Pokemon with them to the new games).

Of course, they could always hold onto their DS Lites for as long as possible, but if something happens where the systems break down and/or get lost, there is the fear of not being able to get a replacement.

For the moment, the DS Lite isn't going anywhere but there is the very real possibility of it being phased out once the DSi really gets going. When asked about the potential for the DS Lite being phased out in time, Nintendo rep David Yarton would only say:

We'll let the market decide. We expect some people will upgrade, but we also anticipate that we'll win over people who were still undecided on DS; the extra features will help convince them. There's an extra incentive.

Will the camera, DSiWare and multi-media functions really convince enough people to "upgrade" away from some of their older, beloved games, as well as convince Pokemon fans they don't really need their Emerald Pokemon in Saphire?

What do you think?

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Comments [12]

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blublur

Nah, i dont think the DS lite will fade for a LONG time. Most people with DS/DS Lites have GBA carts and other peripherals they'll still wanna use (Guitar Hero strummer, Rumble Packs, etc.)

Toneman

I hope they keep making DS games for a while, and that they wait longer to release a new handheld. It's allready underpowered compared to PSP so it's not like they have to keep up to new technology. I think DS still has some good years in it.

scarosone

I can see it being around for 2 more years and then DSi taking over. DS is a great little system and because DSi plays most DS games the transition would be pretty quick and easy.

indysurfn

Yeah losing a ability is a bad thing to all. UNLESS! There had to be one, you will never use the GBA function, and it does not hurt you resaling it, AND they dropped the price to giive you something in return for dropping the machine. It could not still cost that much to manufacture the thing after all.

Kubrick

I don't think the DS Lite will fade away until the DSi drops in price to match the DS Lite.

ESRB_Hater

If someone were to suggest get rid of the UMD drive it would be a no brainer, as everyone has wanted that for ages, but to get rid of the ubiquitous cartridge? Then again, Pretendo has always been good at getting you to re-buy games you already own. I guess that's good for their bottom line, but how's that for innovation? Oh well, the lemmings will ensure that this will do just as good as the gamecube 1.5 (wii). God I hope Apple puts them out of Business!

wariomangreat123

ESRB_Hater wrote:

If someone were to suggest get rid of the UMD drive it would be a no brainer, as everyone has wanted that for ages, but to get rid of the ubiquitous cartridge? Then again, Pretendo has always been good at getting you to re-buy games you already own. I guess that's good for their bottom line, but how's that for innovation? Oh well, the lemmings will ensure that this will do just as good as the gamecube 1.5 (wii). God I hope Apple puts them out of Business!

Nintendo is no pretender since they defined 2d and 3d gameplay with Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 64, have well known and better rated franchises than Sony does. Sony was the one that said blu-ray would revolutionize everything and lost most of their third party support and alienated their PS2 base with it's bad decisions which helps set everything it gained backward. It's Sony taking a huge step back by alienating it's PS2 base and trying to comspensate for it's lack of creativity with graphics( Example Untold Legends franchise).

SilentGhosteye

I wish Nintendo just made this an entirely new system, that could handle bigger games with better graphics, rather than just upgrading the DS. That means in a few years I'll have to buy another system when they do decide to release a new handheld. I don't see the DS Lite fading away, but eventually store will stop seling them as people replacing their broken DS's and people getting a DS for the first time decide to get the DSi.

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