The Nintendo DS lite is coming to my area next Sunday (6/11) and I was wondering which one to get? I’ve not really looked at any of the handhelds before because I’ve used my pda and pocketdos as my portable gaming device but, my pda has been freezing up lately and I thought I might try a dedicated gaming handheld. My son has a PSP that he really likes but for me it’s a little to big and it’s game selection appears to be limited right now. What I really want to know is what are the major differences between the two and are the screens smaller on the DS Lite.
DS Lite, no question.
The screens are not smaller, but the overall unit is. The only non-baseless “complaint” I’ve ever heard about the Lite is that the old GBA carts stick out a bit more (because the unit is smaller) than on the old DS. This is so very minor I didn’t even notice it until someone pointed it out online, and I do use GBA carts in my DS Lite.
I’ve had a Lite for about 2 months now (import Japanese unit) and I recently tried using my old non-Lite DS and I couldn’t believe how dark the screen was. The DS Lite screen is so much brighter it isn’t funny. In hindsight it makes the original DS screen (which I never had a problem with previously) seem super dark like the old GBA screen! I spent a couple minutes trying to find the brightness control on the old DS only to realize it has two settings, off and on, and it was already on.
Not having had a DS before I guess you might not notice the screen difference, but then you will if you compare it to a PSP, because the DS Lite is similar to the PSP in terms of screen quality and brightness whereas the old DS is clearly a generation behind in terms of LCD quality.
I find that my hands cramp a lot less when using the Lite too, though this one is probably very subjective based on your hand size and shape.
The DS Lite is pretty much a slam dunk over the original DS. The biggest diff is the lighting, it’s much improved. It’s also lighter and smaller. The screens are the same size as the DS.
Plus most people like the styling of the DS Lite a lot more, your mileage may vary.
Oh I just remembered something else non-optimal about the DS Lite. Mine didn’t come with a thumb-strap thing. I don’t know if the US versions will come with a thumbstrap, but that thing works pretty well for some games, so I use my old DS’s thumbstrap on my Lite. Still, I’m sure this is something you could purchase for like 3 bucks aftermarket and you probably won’t even miss it if you’ve never used one?
One’s cheap and obsolete, the other costs more and works better.
How can this question keep being asked? The mind boggles.
One’s cheap and obsolete
Its obsolete? Interesting.
jafd wrote:
How can this question keep being asked? The mind boggles.
Because I have never owned a dedicated gaming handheld before. Even though my son has owned 3 of them I have never paid them much attention. As stated earlier I have been playing old dos games on my pda. I only thought about buying one today because my pda has been freezing up alot in the last couple of months and I’m tired of dealing with it.
The US version does not come with a thumbstrap, so anyone trading in their original DS for a Lite should hang on to the strap.
By the way, I hear Game Crazy has a pretty good deal on tradeins. They’re giving something like 75 dollars for the original DS. I’m not sure what Gamestop/EB is doing, but that’s a pretty good deal.
And this precludes you from doing research… how? http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=-RJgCcXPmtM5aXxTCr3Z1GyPAnLUdlYt
Given that one has equal access to both devices, why would anyone use the older model for any reason other than as a heavier paperweight?
Also obsolete? The apostrophe!
This week EB and Gamestop are giving 70 dollars trade in on the DS. The normal trade in value is 50, but this week they are giving you an extra 20 for trading in the DS, xbox, ps2, etc.
Its a pretty great deal considering how shitty trade in values usually are.
Behold, a three part video preview that’s also entertaining: http://www.cabel.name/2006/03/nintendo-ds-lite-first-look.html
Ok, that just sold me.
Does anyone else find it weird that the DS Lite is launching in NA on a Sunday?
No, because it’s not. It’ll be in stores on Monday/Tuesday.
That’s not what I’ve read. I’ve repeatedly seen that the date that stores can sell it legitimately is June 11th, which is a Sunday. That, plus the fact that we know that many stores already have theirs (due to the pretty prevalent street date breaking) means that Sunday is go day, as far as I’m concerned.
Which is weird. No?
I don’t find it weird because Sunday is the start of the retail sales week, and stores are looking to pull customers with ads for the DS Lite - especially bundled with other stuff. So that works for me.
Mike
GBA SP, GBA Micro, and the original DS all launched on Sundays.
And I think that is because they are targeted as consumer electronics rather than gaming consoles, so they play to those marketing rules … interesting to see what happens with Wii.
Is the DS lite hard to come by these days?
This almost has me sold to trade in my DS. The only thing that might stop me is that I’m in the middle of Animal Crossing and I know that cartridge + DS = unique code or something.
So if I get the DS Lite, will all my work on Animal Crossing be gone, or can I just plug the cartridge into the new one and keep happily growing thing?