So as I was sifting through GameFly and GameStop’s website earlier in the the week, looking at games to possibly review, I noticed something quite interesting.  The DSi is already coming out next month.

Seeing as how I consider myself to be an extremely hardcore handheld gamer, it caught me by surprise.  The DS and the PSP are my main systems of choice this generation, mainly because I’m always on-the-go, and I just prefer the gameplay both systems offer for their games.  Although lately I’ve grown fond of my iPod touch, which not only plays music–but it has the App Store.

But here’s the question:  Is the DSi coming out at the right time, and should I get one?

The first part is easy.  While its upcoming release definitely surprised me, it is indeed the right time.  Releasing it in early April means Nintendo will be getting a head start as the summer and E3 rolls around.  Not only will parents be buying DSi’s for their kids in preparation for long road trips, but college students will be picking them up on their long trips back home.  When E3 comes, Nintendo will already have systems out on the floor, and it definitely gives them room to unveil new additions and applications (which I’ll cover a few paragraphs down).

That, along with the fact that the DS has arguably the strongest library out of its competition, means Nintendo has made the right move.

There are two ways to go about answering the second question about whether or not you should buy a DSi, and they depend on whether or not you already own a DS Lite.  If you already have a DS Lite, you have to look at what the DSi has to offer. Here are a few of the nuances:

As a presentation freak, the most important new feature to me is the bigger screens.  Bigger screens not only make games easier to see, making them easier to play, but they also give users more room to roam with the stylus, further enhancing gameplay.

Is that a selling point for people who already have a DS Lite?  Not really.

Another significant new aspect is the fact that the handheld now has “eyes,” according to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.  The DSi has two cameras, one for casual photography, and another camera when the DS is open so it can take pictures of you playing.  While the outer 3-megapixel camera will have obvious uses, the webcam-like inner camera is an interesting addition that casual players could find appealing.

Being a college student who spends a lot of time on Facebook, it’s rather annoying to be walking on campus seeing people just take random pictures with their Apple Macbook’s PhotoBooth application.  If the DSi takes off, and chances are high that it will, I can only imagine all the stupid faces people will be making with the DSi’s inner-camera, in effect making the DSi the new and sleek photobooth whore tool (seriously, with all the similarities, including the similar marketing strategy, I don’t see why Apple and Nintendo haven’t talked about a merger)  If you’re an intense camera whore, then this is indeed a reason to get the DSi.  If you’re normal, this new feature doesn’t matter.

If you were paying attention to the header image, you probably noticed the asterisks next to DSi sound.  Yes, the DSi can play all your favorite music, and it will allow you to play with it by being interactive with it.  But of course, there’s a problem: it can only play AAC files.  Sorry, MP3 fans.  So if you already have an MP3 player, music on the DS is not the selling point.

Along with these cameras comes 256 MB of internal memory and the handheld’s support for SD cards, enabling players to save their pictures.  With that option, the DSi also comes equipped with its own image-editing software.  While it’ll definitely be no Adobe Photoshop, the DSi having its own image-editing software allows users to simply crop and enhance their images on-the-go, rather than having to wait until they get home in order to have these images fixed.

Seeing as how I like to take a lot of pictures, this is actually a pretty cool feature. I also bet it would be a great companion to Photoshop users.

What will also be used in conjunction with the handheld’s new wealth of memory is the DSi Browser along with the DSi Shop, which has been confirmed to enable users to download applications (Nintendo did an App Store for the lulz) such as a Zelda-themed calendar.  The DSi’s online capability is where possibilities remain endless.  The Wii Shop Channel on the Wii allowed players to download video games from yesteryear into the Wii’s internal memory.  Is there a possibility of the DSi Shop allowing users to download old Game Boy and other handheld games in the past for a fee?  That’s a question Nintendo has yet to answer or even address, but that alone would be a selling point for the DSi–which is actually $40 more expensive than the DS Lite at $169.99.

If you already have a DS Lite but are on the fence with buying a DSi because of the new online options, wait a bit.  There’s no telling what Nintendo will do.  Remember the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive?  Yeah, that never happened.  What about the GameCube’s online port?  Yeah, that was only used for like two games, and it was rendered useless as soon as the Game Boy Player came out.  Nintendo has been good lately with using the many features that the current DS and Wii hardware are capable of, but there is still no harm in waiting–especially in this economy.

This happened at the end of last summer, and I was devastated.

That’s what I’ll be doing.  If you’re my friend on Twitter or Facebook, you’re probably aware that the DS Lite I bought in late 2006 finally gave out in the fall of last year.  But as Christmas rolled around, I shelled out $127 on eBay to grab this new enamel DS Lite.  (That’s not available in the U.S., folks!)

But this rare, yet cheap, Christmas purchase renewed my happiness.

Now, if you don’t have a DS Lite, this is the time to go ahead and buy it.  A lot of great games have come out over the passed year or two, including the first Zelda game on the DS, the intriguing Professor Layton, and the surprisingly impressive Big Bang Mini.  If you’re an RPG fan, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride highlight an already impressive 2009 lineup–and that doesn’t even include last year’s remakes of classics such as Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger.

Then again, the wealth of great DS games available might not work to one’s advantage.  With the recession, money is hard to come by, and obviously the bare essentials are more important than video games.  There’s nothing wrong with opting for a DS Lite before they get phased out–although Nintendo doesn’t expect to do that so soon, and they won’t be lowering the prices either.  But even if you’re a penny pincher, be content with the fact that if you don’t have a DS Lite, the DSi should be worth the cash.

If you’re someone who has the old-school DS “phat,” then yeah, it’s also probably time to upgrade that old thing.  While you do lose the GBA slot, the brighter screens, the more responsive stylus and touch screen, and the smaller, more sleek look equate to an experience like no other.

Check out Gamer 2.0′s Handheld Section for more updates.

For more information regarding the Nintendo DSi directly from the source, check out Nintendo’s official DSi Website.

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About This Author: Danreb Victorio

Danreb Victorio is SmashPad's longest tenured staff member and has been writing for the publication since its existence as Gaming-Nation, Inside Gamer Online, Amped IGO, Amped News, and Gamer 2.0. Though SmashPad has gone through many branding changes, Danreb has remained the same--he pushes out content while also improving his craft with every piece that gets published. As a Co-Managing Editor, Danreb, along with Chris Selogy, is in charge of assigning, maintaining, and providing SmashPad's editorial content. Danreb is currently an undergraduate at San Jose State University studying to earn a bachelor of science in magazine journalism. In addition to SmashPad, you can read his work on Yelp.com and San Jose State University's student newspaper, The Spartan Daily.

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