Gaming It Printed Money! In 3D! The Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS/N3DS/Mobile Discussion

A complete list of Nintendo platform releases for this year, including DS.

 

I'm definitely picking that one up sometime this year. I really want to finish Harry Hatsworth first, though- it's not only still good, but the challenge is really starting to get up there- it's fantastic. Then I have Retro Game Challenge to give a spin too also.

 

I totally missed this announcement a few weeks ago: Nintendo Announces DSi LL with 93% larger screen.

[image=http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/10/dsill.jpg]

Wow- a big screen DS is a fantastic idea for those of us that game at home more often than on the go with our portable systems. I had no intention of buying a DSi (I planned to just get a Lite) but I'll definitely be grabbing one of these. I can use this one at home and keep my original Phat for on-the-go (or maybe I'll replace it with a Lite down the road).

 

Anotehr interesting thing- worldwide DS (phat/lite/dsi) sales total, as of the end of September, around 113 million units so far... and at least 1 million units were sold Thanksgiving weekend alone.

Worldwide sales of the Gameboy (Color/Advance) are just shy of 119 million. The GBA totals just under 82 million. The PS2 around 140ish.

Which means, in all likelihood, the DS has outsold the original GB/GBC by now (or if it hasn't will by year's end).

Going by the general sales figures each quarter for the past 2 years, by the end of thisspring (though probably earlier), the DS will have outsold the PS2.

And by the end of the summer...the DS will have outsold the total sales of all Gameboy variants.

That's...just staggering and amazing.

I mean, yes, the DS has what is arguably the greatest title catalog of any system previously- but it's still hard to conceive that the "4th Pillar Mystery Machine" experiment has managed to do in 5-6 years what previously took almost 20.

 

It depends- the only thing you really lose with the DSi is the GBA slot, which I use quite a bit.

I also still use the original DS- I just think it looks better overall, looks more futuristic instead of the iPod/gadgety look of the DS Lite. And I like the power button and mic placements better.

However, the DS Lite's screen is definitely superior (the Phat's screen can get lost in sunlight).

The downloadable elements are interesting for the DSi (the camera does nothing for me at this point), though.

I wasn't planning on getting a DSi, though had been considering getting a DS Lite (especially when i was having audio problems with my Phat, but that resolved itself). Instead I'll just wait for the DSi LL and use that most of the time and use the Phat for portable gaming and GBA play.

 

Failing to find ChronoTrigger in stores for the second consecutive post-christmas-purchase spree, I did get Scribblenauts and Spirit tracks (with the awesome collector's edition guide that matches the TP one), though I won't be playing ST until I finish PH.

Scribblenauts is lots of fun though- I've been doing the puzzle modes so far and have just about finished world 1 (though this last challenge with the flowers and the pirhanna is kicking my ass- what kills a pirranha besides a shark? I've tried sand, dynamite and a torpedo but none of them work underwater, and a fishing rod ends up with me yanked into the water, nor does SUBA gear help, and a boat doesn't help much; I'm also distressed that a flamethrower fails to harm a bee- thats a tough frelling bee!).

The fun is really in the Advanced challenges after you go back to a level you've already completed and have to figure out how to accomplish the goal three times in a row without reusing any of the same items- that can be tricky.

Also, I love how the ninja avatar runs.

On the basic "screwing around" intro screen, I've taken to note that the vampire is one of the hardest things to kill in the game. Sure, "vampire hunter" kills him in one shot easy, but the vampire himself took down monsters, cyborgs, demons, dinosaurs and even the space creature that emerged from a wormhole I created.

And, having watched a Top Gear segment just prior to messing around with it, I was pleased I could attempt to recreate the nun driving a monster truck segment