Nintendo DS Lite (polar white)
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February 27, 2006 07:21
5.0/5
For those who think the Nintendo DS is too big, heavy, and bulky. You better look at this! I am sure there won't be any more redesigns for the DS. This is by far the best console redesign I've ever seen! Yet, this would be perfect if it had a larger screen(top one) and an analog stick for easier control. But that doesn't matter, this is still a DS. The DS gaming library is greater and better than the PSP's. Don't argue that this is a childish console. The DS is meant to be targeted at all audiences including non-gamers. This is both innovative and original.Updated
The DS is for a different market than the Sony PSP. It is at the right pricing for a real portable gaming console unlike the PSP. Would you expect the DS to have optional movie and music playability? Again, the DS games are more original and arguably better than the PSP's. -
June 17, 2006 08:47
4.0/5
I recently traded in my ds for a $70 credit for a ds lite. So basicly I got my DS lite for $60 and no longer have the original. I'm not sure it was worth it. The DS Lite does look a lot better, and is more pocketable, but the face buttons are not as good as the old ones. Fighting games, or games where you hold one button down and press another with that same thumb don't work as well (running in mario games). The D-pad and face buttons are less accurate and seems slower, especially in street fighter type games. The D-pad is smaller on the lite, and harder to control for me. If you have small hands this shouldn't be a problem. Still, the ds lite makes games like metroid hunters alot easier thanks to the fact that you can hold it with one hand for hours on end (unlike it's heavier counterpart). And the R and L buttons on the DS lite seem to be of higher quality and are supperior to the old DS's. The last con of the DS lite is a big one for me. GBA games stick out. I use a supercard sd flash cart with flashme on my DS so that I can play music, movies, pictures, and homebrew games. With this in, it really kills the look of the ds lite, and takes away the fact that the ds lite is less wide than the regular one. Still the battery life is better than the originals. I would suggest the DS or DS lite over any other portable system (PSP), but would only suggest trading your old ds for the ds lite if you don't like 2d fighters, or gba games. I'm not even sure about the gba part because soon they will come out with a flashcart that fits flush with the ds lite. (Flashcarts allow you to play backups of gba or ds games too) you don't have to carry all your games a round and your gba games won't stick out. If you get a ds lite with a microsd flashcart, 2 1gb microsd cards, and max media launcher, you would have the ultimate gaming and multimedia setup. With those things you can play mp3 music on those bumpin external speakers, gba, ds, and homebrew games and emulators (oldschool genesis, snes, and nes games), and movies and pictures on your ds lite without anything sticking out. People say that the psp has more features than the DS, with these things it certainly doesn't. The DS is even getting a web browser next month. -
July 24, 2006 08:14
4.5/5
I don't know where Sony fanboys can get off beating this marvel of electronic genious down. Nintendo has even come out and said that they are not trying to compete with sony or Micro$oft, so do they even truly have a right to beat it down? Not when Nintendo is targeting a completely different market.
This system boasts a plethora of nice features.
1) An extremely brighter and more readable screen.
2) A massive pre-existing library of GBA and DS games. (However the GBA games do not work with Multiplayer on the DS)
3) Long Battery life
4) I already mentioned a massive library of games, but the games being enjoyable to play is also a bonus. Having owned both a PSP and a DS, the DS is definitely the way to go for enjoyable gameplay selection, unless you truly need a multimedia device.
5) No analog stick (Having owned the PSP, I found the analog stick to be useless, if not painful to use. Analog sticks should be left for a platformer, not a handheld.)
6) Although we have yet to see it, The president of Nintendo, Saturo Iwata, has made statements that the DS will be compatible with the Next Gen Nintendo Console known as the "Wii", making future game demos available for in home download to the DS through the Wii Connect-24 service.
7) Sleek new looks lowered weight.
The only negative points I know of are:
1) No multimedia capabilities (MP3 or movie)
2) I know it has no internet browsing capabilities, but who honestly would actually use it. That is not what it was made for.
I could have gone a totally different direction with this review like all the Sony fanboys do in here, but I chose not to. If I have something bad to say about the PSP of the PS3, I'll go to their respective review page. I wish others would follow that example. -
July 17, 2006 07:12
4.5/5
I have been a gamer for a while and this gaming system has impressed me. I started gaming when atari was still popular and slowly worked my way up in systems since then. In the light of portable gaming my first portable hand held game was Sega's game gear.......which now rests in peace. (Although mine still works.) The DS is light and portable and although the graphics are not as good as PSP, the game play is great for all ages. But gaming is not all about graphics...it is also how long does something entertain...... with the long battery life entertainment can last up to 6 hours straight and still have enough power to play it the same lenght of time the next day. We buy these systems to play games, not to watch DVD's, use them for MP3s or even search the web......I have several things at home that performs these tasks. So why do I need them here? I am 29 and have a seven year old daugther and both of us can enjoy this DS Lite for a long time to come. -
June 30, 2006 10:56
5.0/5
Let me first state that I am a 35 year old professional. I have played video games since their infancy with Pong and the Atari 2600. I know games, new and old.
I have not been too partial to handheld video game hardware. My logic always has been that if I have time to play video games it will not be when I am running around town. It will be when I am at home. And if I am at home why would I want to sit in a corner squinting at a 2 and a half inch screen playing games with inferior graphics while my xbox 360 and home-theater surround sound and 52" plasma televevision beckons? Well, Nintendo did something interesting. I was already familiar with the DS and had no interest in it. At all! Then they released the DS lite and it's sleak new shape and design reminded me of their earlier liquid crystal display games of the early eighties under the subheading of "Game and Watch". The new DS lite is eerily remeniscent of those original flip open games and it took me back. Add to that a new, high tech sheen that rivals the sharp looks of an IPOD and I was suddenly intrigued. No longer was the DS a clunky, flip-open rehash. It immediatley had become a piece of sophisticated high technology. So kudos to Nintendo for reinventing the wheel. I have to assume it will open the doors to many others as well, and going by first week sales, I am correct.
But enough with my first impressions. Now that I have had the system for a week, let me tell you what makes this product so significant, in my opinion.
With this little handheld Nintendo has revolutionized the way games can be played. Granted many of these creative methods are far from being all new and completely original. Touch screens have been utilized in many business applications from menu systems to bar-riding trivia games. And voice recognition was concieved as far back as the creation of science fiction. However utilizing these devices into a portable gaming system is what makes it revolutionary. While being loyal to it's gaming roots Nintedo has extended it's arms out to a broader public with simple games that continue to challenge you beyond the 30 seconds it takes you to learn them. It truely is a toy for all ages. And for someone like me, I love being able to go back and revisit all those old classic SNES games and still have the ability to play games like Brain Age or ElectroPlankton. Add Wi-Fi compatability to that and it's extremely user friendly interface, along with great hardware installed features like Pictochat and wireless downloading and you have a portable system that I have no problem recommending to anyone. ANYONE. Old and young. East coast/west coast. This system promotes fun and interactivity. It helps me envison a time when children of the future will be utilizing touch screen notebooks to upload class assignments and do their homework on like devices and then taking a break and sending their friends a text message or breaking out a game of Mario Kart. This may sound like I am going off on a tangent, but the point is, that if this little portable game system can trigger that kind of imagination, just on it's premise alone, then that has got to say something. As it is, it is an amazing, simple, fun piece of technology that has redefined what portable gaming means to me.
If there is a downside to the DS lite it is the fact that it does not come packaged with any kind of protective case. But this is no fault of the hardware itself, but it must be noted. I could sit here and tell you how it doesn't do this and that (ie
lay movies, wireless internet, etc) but for the price of $129.00 I think it is a stellar deal and besides I don't need a gadget that does EVERYTHING. I have found, by experience that portable hardware that tries to do too much ends up suffering in one department or another, if not all.(PSP, anyone?)
I am sold on the Nintendo DS lite and I think everyone else would be as well if they spent a week with it. C-NET seems to almost discourage any "10" ratings, and I understand their logic, but considering what we're talking about here, when it comes to portable hand-held gaming, to me, it doesn't get any better. Go get one. Please. -
August 1, 2006 08:38
4.5/5
In My openion its absolutely the best system i have ever owned. most of the people that write reviews for this system either dont own other systems such as the "Sony PSP", Original DS or Gameboy Advance. i do own them all. yes the psp had multi-media abilities but its gameplay was poor. most of the games were smashed down versions of the ps2 games with added features. nothing missed. plus its controlls were really hard to use and confusing. the DS lite has wonderful gameplay and replay value its definantly a system that makes you THINK about your moves instead of just doing it on impulse. its a challenge not a lazy habit. And the DS lite DOES have multi-Media abilities in Japan. search it up on froogle, it even has a web browser. hmm, something to think about. -
June 29, 2006 10:20
5.0/5
i really love my ds lite. I imported mine about a month after the japan release. I got mine in crystal white. Ive seen the ds phats and these are way cooler, cept for that GBA games stick out a little but no biggie. Alot of PSP owners always ask me why i got this instead of the PSP and i always say that there are more games out there that are way better and most of them are all wifi. The US games are alright but i import most of my DS games. Alot of people say that the DS or DS lite doesnt have alot of multimedia features which is true but its a portable gaming device. I use it for gaming and this is my personal opinion but i never really had the sudden urge to watch a movie on the go or something, especially on such small screens (ipod video, PSP etc) so its not much of a problem for me. Plus, the opera browser for the DS is coming soon so we could go on the internet n things of that nature. -
June 7, 2006 08:02
5.0/5
This redesign solves all the problems that the original had. It covers all the cracks securing the Nintendo DS as the greatest game machine. Rivaled only by the Nintendo Wii which it cleverly has a similar design to, the Nintendo DS lite is opposed by no serious competition in the handheld market. Nintendo's way of saying to Sony: "WE GOT HERE FIRST!!"
[Edited by: admin] -
April 14, 2006 01:11
4.5/5
To review a device on features it was never meant to have, is wrong. That's like reviewing an oven and saying because it doesn't also have the ability to freeze your food you're going to give it a lower score.
The DS Lite accomplishes its purpose with flying colors. Though I very well can't say that for the PSP, which is suppose to be a handheld gaming device but flops miserably with its sad little library of ported games from the PS2. I guess that's what happens when you try to make your device do everything, you take the easy way out.
Keep up the good work Nintendo, by making fun games for EVERYONE. -
July 22, 2006 03:16
4.5/5
I picked up the DS Lite because I wanted a portable that played fun games. The new look definitely made that decision easier. Nintendo seems to have a stereotype attached to it that its consoles are for kids, I did feel a little funny buying it (Im 22). But, as soon as I started playing Mario 64 and Metroid Prime I immediately felt my decision on picking up the DS Lite was money well spent. The games for this console are superb and addicting, the touch screen makes for really fun, new and innovative game play. I have owned a lot of consoles over the years; games have begun to become very stale to me, even Halo 2, a great, but predictable first person shooter. It seems like the exact same kinds of games are being pumped out, with only better graphics, nothing new to the gaming table. I feel the hardware in the DS is a little behind in the current console line-up, but when it comes down to it; great games make a great console and not the other way around. I have quickly found that the DS is for all ages, offering games for all different kinds of gamers. Nintendo's philosophy on gaming seemed stupid to me at first, but based on the pathway their taking with the DS and DS Lite, I am incredibly eager to get my hands on their new Nintendo Wii when it comes out. The gaming market has become stale and I feel Nintendo and its games will really start to change the way we play games and who plays them, theyre not just for hard core gamers anymore. Good job Nintendo.
