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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"
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'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.
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.
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?
I had the same problem, but found a solution for it using vpn. The idea is to create a 'insecure' zone which only offers standard (64/128 bits) WEP encryption provided by a wireless router/accesspoint, and a 'secure zone' which can only be accessed through a vpn connection on that same wireless network. The vpn can be encrypted through IPSEC using a, for example, 2048 bits encryption.
:)
Right now my main (wired network) router is an old pc running debian linux. I've connected my wireless router to a nic on the linux box, and setup the wireless router to operate as an access point (thus only providing access to the wirless network, leaving the actual routing to the linux box).
After installing openvpn on the linuxbox and fiddled with the firewall/routing rules, the insecure zone will only provide internetaccess to all adresses using UDP and a few adresses through TCP (needed to connect and play using Nintendo's WiFi service). The secure zone (accessed through the vpn connection) will get access to all udp and tcp addresses. This way, full featured network clients like laptops and desktops can install the openvpn client and use the internet with at least some decent security, while the DS can get access to its needed internetaddresses through the insecure zone.
Because Nintendo's Wifi Service uses direct UDP connections with other players, you cannot effectively prevent people who cracked your WEP code (and managed to get past the MAC address filter) to use your internet connection for UDP connections. But I doubt they'll bother cracking it just to play games on your connection