Slashdot Mirror
Nintendo Announces DS Lite
Conradq writes "Via Joystiq: 'Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today announced Nintendo DS Lite, a slimmer version of the best-selling Nintendo DS. Also featuring brighter screens, Nintendo DS Lite will launch in Japan on the 2nd of March. Nintendo DS Lite will be less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter. Nintendo will announce more information about the availability of Nintendo DS Lite in North America and other territories in the future.'" Additional: by Z : Commentary available via Gamasutra, Next Generation, and The Game Chair. A good move, right on the heels of the news that Nintendo's profits more than doubled in Q3 as a result of the DS's sales success, and that they've hit 3 million online connections via their online component. Also, for the record, they snowed us earlier this month.
So is this going to be a portable version of the DS? ;-)
See, now I might pick one of these up to complement my PSP. One of the things that kept me from getting a DS was how big and clunky it looked. I'm starting to think that Nintendo intentionally de-sexys their first version of any portable, so they can release a hotter version a year later.
"Stumble before you crawl"
is this just an improved version that will replace the DS, or is there something missing?
It looks 3 times more sexy, I wonder if it still takes flash cartridges =P
:)
In that case I might get one real soon now
Their press release can be found here.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
Considering that Nintendo just finished denying that there was no redesigned DS, this came as a surprise.
Perhaps that explains the DS shortages in Japan? Maybe Nintendo was busy manufacturing the new models?
Anyway, it's smaller, thinner, lighter, brighter, and only $10 more. What's not to like? I wonder how much I'll get on trade-in with my current DS...
If not, I'm not interested. I love Nintendo and the games they make, but if they can't adopt a given STANDARD for security reasons... I have no reason to buy their products.
I am looking forward to Revolution though... and this coming from a PURELY PC gamer. I don't own any consoles.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
From joystiq comments:
New one:
133.0 x 73.9 x 21.5mm, at 218g.
Old one:
148.7 x 84.7 x 28.9mm, at 275g.
I wonder if it still takes flash cartridges =P
Good point. I wonder how many security blocks Nintendo put on this thing. The newer DS's being sold have a newer firmware that blocks PassMe, but PassMe 2 gets around it (but requires some annoying setup to use). I'd bet the new one will block PassMe 2.
I'm an unabashed Nintendo fanboy, but I have to admit the DS struck me cold at first. Now that the DS has a far better game selection than the PSP, a lineup which is only getting stronger, it's a perfect time to catch all those hesitant buyers like myself. The PSP seems to be intent on being a media platform and not a game console, and this redesign will only help Nintendo cement their portable superiority.
Nintendo seem to have chosen the 'Lite' name because it is smaller and brigher than a standard DS.
It sounds to me more like a name for a cut-down version, rather than an improved one.
That sound you hear is that of a million DSes being dumped on eBay, followed by hasty Far Eastern importage of the Lite.
Ooh, it looks like the Nintendo DS and an iPod have had sex babies.
Nice.
On the one hand , I already have a DS , I love the form factor , the weight is perfect for me , it brings back nostalgic memories of Game and Watch and I have big pockets. So really I can't justify getting a new one
.. wow that thing looks gorgeous and would really go with my iPod and being perched next to the mac.
On the other hand
Unfortunately I am not that shallow and unless I get an injection of cash I can't justify it .
I really think that this could boost sales in the Gadget/ fashion conscious markets though
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
I'd trade 20% lighter in for 20% larger screens.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
I don't read Kanji, but my friend does. He said Nintendo specifically mentions a smaller size and easier usability so that more women and seniors buy it.
That's right. Your grandman's getting a DS.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Yes, it will. The cart slot is still present and the ARM-7 processor used for GBA support can't be removed without breaking every single DS game.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
First off a disclaimer: I own a DS, no PSP and am a total Nintendo fanboy.
That said....
The PSP has its distinct andvantages. The screen is just brilliant and it lends itself to being a great media viewer _in addition to_ a game system. Now here a the point of contention. Which is its primary position? If it is truly supposed to capture the video game and not media view space then I think its fair to say Sony really needs to get their shit straight. If that means headhunting Nintendo employees and turning out some 1st class in house wares it certainly wont be the first time we have seen someone buy their way back into things. But again the PSP still has its overwhelming edge as a personal media viewer that is unmatched.
The DS is an amazing machine and does what it is designed to do almost perfectly. But it does not have the built in added bonus of being a media reader although it has the physical capacity to do so. I know of movie players from lik-sang and the like but it is confusing and clunky even to someone like myself and not in the minds of the average gamer when looking at this purchase. Now in japan there is a movie media cart for the GBA SP I believe - and they already sell the official Big N wireless adapter for the DS. They NEED to fill this gap with what they already have and just sell the SD reader / software etc done with Nintendo quality and at least take back some of that market. For a cheaper price than the PSP you get games that are unmatchable and 90% of the PSP's function. While you certainly dont have the PSP screen you still the best of the media reader value by not being hampered by disk drive movement and size while using SD cards.
I mean they have to see this too right? Sell it in a crispy package right next to the broadband adapter. $100 for the software to convert down movies to DS screen dimensions - use the tap screen for the menus, use the internal headphones for mp3, and a 256? meg SD card that fints into the GBA slot cartidge. They can sell it at shitty margins and they will still win in the long run by taking market from sony. Its the one thing the ds doesnt do and its huge.
IMHO
---- The real Slashdot is still here. You just have to browse at -1 to read the comments.
I recently bought a Nintendo DS to pass the time during a long bus ride (I'm terrible at sleeping on busses/planes) and I've utterly enjoyed almost everything about it. However, the experience of playing Mario 64 without an analog stick was awkward. Since the release of the DS, even in some of the initial reviews, it has been widely speculated that Nintendo would release an upgraded version in the future with an analog stick.
Now, we all know that Nintendo doesn't really listen to game pundits, but the addition of an analog stick, much like the addition of a backlit screen makes a whole lot of sense. I'll probably end up buying this upgrade anyway.
Does it strike anyone else as hypocritical that Nintendo refuses to release small upgrades to their first party games (releasing sequels to games that just add new levels instead of totally redesigning the game engine which would mean having a new Mario/Mario Kart game each year instead of one every 3-5 years) but they release tons of incremental upgrades to their portable systems?
(Big Grey GameBoy -> GameBoy Pocket -> GameBoy Color -> GameBoy Advance -> GameBoy Advance SP -> GameBoy Advance Micro & GameBoy Advance SP w/ Brighter Screen...)
sig.
Considering that it is a DS, it will probably be able to run DSLinux. I think they even have the touch screen working, but there's not much you can run considering the unit only has 4MB of internal memory.
It looks like the site is having some database problems right now, I hope those clear up soon.
Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
If you want to be able to use your DS online, you have to turn WPA off on your router. Completely. Meaning all of your wireless devices are unsecured. You can use WEP, but the script kiddies next door can break it in a day or less.
~ Aero
For a while I've been looking into getting a new handheld (right now I have a pretty beat up GBA (original, with a custom made LED-backlight), but I haven't jumped yet. Why? Multimedia capabilities.
In Japan, the big "N" released the Play-Yan (and more recently, the Play-Yan Micro) for the GBA/GBA-SP/GBM (it also works on the DS, from what I've read). This is a cart that includes a headphone jack (it has a dedicated audio chip) and a slot for an SD card (up to 1GB). It can play movies and music (MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio). It isn't too much of a battery hog, either.
It's also not available outside of Japan.
Sony hit it right on the nose saying that people want a mutlifunction device. While the GBA/GBA-SP may not be the sexiest things out there, and the GBM has a small screen, they could fill that purpose with the Play-Yan. But Nintendo refuses to release it in North America, and it's pointless to import from Japan as I can't read the interface or software (it comes with a program to convert your DVDs to MPEG-4).
The PlayStation Portable is a good device, but it has a shorter battery life than the GBM, and also costs almost three times as much ($90 for a GBM, $250 for a PSP). For one PSP, I could buy a GBM, import a Play-Yan, and buy six or seven games. However, the added price does get you an amazing screen.
I really wish one of these companies would bend and make life easier. I don't suspect Sony will do so, they're probably already taking a loss on every PSP. Nintendo should bite the bullet and get around to releasing the Play-Yan in America. Maybe even release a bundle with the damn thing packaged in for $30 more. I'm sure people would go for it.
freeflux-powered open-source blog
I don't own a DS yet because of two things: size, and game selection. Initially, the library only had one or two games that slightly interested me, and I rarely used my GBA as it is. Plus, the DS was just too large to easily fit in my pants' pocket. My coat pocket would work, but I don't wear my coat in the summer.
Now, Nintendo has corrected both problems. Games such as Wario Ware: Touched, Mario Kart DS, and the upcoming Pokemon games with the ability to chat, trade, and battle via WiFi have made me drool for this system, limited only by size and money.
When the big rumors hit the main gaming sites about a redesigned DS, I couldn't have been happier over a handheld console. Rumors they may be, but often they were predictive in some fashion. My hopes were actually hieghtened, not dashed, by Nintendo's subsequent announcement. I can't find a link now, but the wording was more that they haven't announced any new DS, not that they haven't made a new DS (first rule of gaming press releases concerning rumors: Look at what they don't say).
So, now, both of my reasons for not getting a DS are dashed. I cannot wait for the Revolution.
Well, there is one more reason. But I can eat Ramen for a month.
So when are we getting a DS Micro?
Then we will have the Diet DS, then the DS Zero, then back to the Classic DS...WELL MAKE MILLIONS!!!!
It may not be perfect, but WPA is more secure than WEP. More importantly, the hash for turning WPA passwords into keys is standardized. WEP has several different ways to do it. The upshot of this is that if you have both Macs and PCs, you have to use a hex number as a password if you use WEP. If you use WPA, you can use a real password and when your friends ask how to get on your network you don't have to ask what platform they are using or write down some difficult to remember hex string for them to type in.
I'm using an off the shelf from Best-Buy router, and it works fine with WPA. DS doesn't.
As to just filtering by MAC, I know some people who do that. But that's dumb because although it stops people from using your network, it doesn't make it at all difficult for them to sniff your packets. WPA makes that non-trivial (but not impossible).
Finally, I have the $30 Nintendo USB adapter. It sucks. See other post.
Finally finally, I use wired connections wherever possible. I have my house wired for GigE, including to my consoles. However, I don't see an ethernet jack on my DS. Does yours have one?
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
But then you'd have two different consoles, not only two different versions.
Are the PlayStation bundled with a digital controller and the PlayStation bundled with a Dual Shock controller "two different consoles"?