The DSi has a release date and MSRP, but Mr. Nash is still trying to figure out whether or not the thing is even worth getting. At the moment, it isn't looking good for the handheld as far as winning him over is concerned.

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Is the DSi Worth It?

With Nintendo finally announcing a release date and price for the DSi, I'm left here still trying to figure out if it's worth my while to get the thing. I'm still not convinced that any of its features will usher in anything all that groundbreaking gameplay-wise, and so many of its features are things that I just don't care if they are on a DS or not in the first place. Making matters worse is that the system is losing a couple of important features from previous DSes that I'd rather not see gone.

So, starting with the new features, the ones that stand out for me are the built-in camera, and integrated web browser. The camera's picture quality is sounding horrifically low clocking in at 0.3 megapixels. Unless a developer comes up with a breathtakingly original game that makes amazing use of this camera, I just don't see myself using it. Even the crappiest cell phones are capable of taking better pictures, so why bother with this camera? Speaking of cell phones, many of them have integrated web browsers as well, so why would I use the one in the DSi when I can use a cell. The only real reason one would absolutely need to use the browser is to grab downloadable content from DSiWare. There's also an SD slot which may be useful for holding music to listen to while on the go, or for transferring these low quality pictures to another computer, but, as some developers have already brought up, will this just be gaming pirates' glory hole on the DSi?

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The two glaring shortcomings of the DSi over the DS from what I can see are that it doesn't run GBA games, and it's region locked. Personally, I still like playing GBA games sometimes. There are a lot of games in that handheld's library that have held up quite well over the years. Metroid Fusion, Gunstar Heroes, Ninja Five-O (if you can find it), Starfi, you name it, there are tons

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of great games on the GBA that I still want to play, but won't be able to on the DSi because it doesn't support them. Also, if you like to play imports like I do, forget about it on the DSi, or buy two of them (one for the US, and one for Japan), because the thing is region locked. In the past, handhelds were gamers last bastion for hassle-free import gaming. Want to get the new Dragon Quest game ASAP without waiting for the North American release? Want to play Jump Superstars? Forget about it with the DSi. This wasn't a problem in the past, but now it looks like it will be. These two issues really irk me more than any other.

One other thing that I've been thinking is why fork out $170 now for a DSi amid a deluge of awesome game releases. The DS alone has a bunch of new RPGs coming out over the next few months, as well as games like Rhythm Heaven, Scribblenauts, a new Puzzle Quest, and a bunch of others. Factor in games coming to other systems (Mad World says , "Hi!"), and suddenly it becomes clear that there are mountains of must-have games coming out, and only so much cash to go around. That being said, is now the time to fork out the dough on a DSi, consequently missing out on some games in the process?

The DSi has a bunch of minor improvements that I can just as easily find (and am more likely to use) on other electronic devices, while stripping out a large chunk of the gaming goodness that I love about the DS, and all of this at a time when the release calendar is dripping with awesomeness. It's new features can just as well be found on other devices (and are likely executed better on them), making them less enticing to the casual crowd, while taking away GBA support and adding region locks, thus irritating the hardcore set. So who does this leave that will line up to buy this thing? Well heeled fanboys? Nintendo, I love ya, but I'm just not feeling it with the DSi. Sorry.

Mr. Nash

February 20, 2009