How the DSi holds up against other Handhelds
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 11:00am by Will
Based on the specs above, we have three very different systems available for hand held gaming. Do these specs matter to you? If not, what does?
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October 7th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
If people are going to keep including the iPhone in DSi comparisons, we may as well compare every other phone that has the capability to play games too.
There’s no reason for the comparison. People keep wetting themselves over the fact they both have a touch screen, in spite of the fact of the obviously different jobs and functions they perform.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
The specs don’t really mean dick to me. The only concern I have when shopping for a handheld gaming device is the quality of the games I will be playing. The PSP, a technologically superior unit, hasn’t got (in my opinion) games that are as fun as many of those on the DS. That’s why I have a DS.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
@ ModplanMan
dude calm down, it’s just a chart.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
@ Damien
I wasn’t angry. It’s just a bit tiring seeing the constant comparisons to iPhone, with little genuine reason to show for its inclusion in the ring of competing handheld gaming devices. Nothing against Infendo, entirely down to Joystiq and their spec sheet.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
“Do these specs matter to you? If not, what does?”
The price! I just learned that the PSP-3000 is going to be $170, which makes it cheaper than the DSi! That makes a big difference for those of us who already have a DSLite and would like to expand our portable gaming library…
October 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’d like to see a comparison on how much RAM each system has. Don’t think it’s been announced for DSi yet, though.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
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October 7th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think comparing the Iphone w/ the DS and PSP makes sense. Most people are not looking for immersive gaming w/ a handheld, for that, they seek the console. If the Iphone can deliver a quick, satisfying game experience on top of everything else it does, it may soon become a hard sell for Nintendo and Sony to push their handhelds onto the 18+ demographic.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
People also seem to forget that it’s not just the iPhone that has these capabilities, but also the iPod Touch. There is no monthly contract required, thus no huge extra expense, to be able to play iPod/iPhone games. The DS has a great library, and I use my iPhone all the time.. I am not seeing what the PSP has going for it.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Just something quick to point out:
The Japanese DSi will be an equivalent of $188USD.
That does not necessarily mean that the North American or European DSi will be that amount.
The DS Lite when it was first released was $150 and then dropped down to $130.
I’m betting the DSi will be released at $150 to start with – a cheap price is definitely something a consumer will look at first before looking at the technical specs.
October 7th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Batterylife is missing from that chart. That’s very important too.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
All I’m seeing from this chart is further reinforcement that the iPhone is massively overspecced for what’s been done with it so far.
October 7th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
The next DS really needs to up its screen resolution. That would be nice. All in all, the DS kicks those other two handheld devices’ butts when it comes to gaming.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
The chart means nothing to me; ENTERTAINMENT means something to me.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
the iPhone has nothing on either when it comes to gaming. Sorry, but even though I’m posting from my iPhone, it gets no gaming love from me. DS, that’s where the games are at.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
iPhone is sexy.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Sorry Daverage, I disagree. I spend over an hour on the bus every day to and from work and I totally get into immersive and pick-up-and-play games on my DS.
I also own a 3G phone, the Blackberry Bold, which although it has games (Brickbreak is a classic and WordMole is good too), I never see it as a gaming platform. Unless it comes out with a killer game, it will only ever be used for gaming if my Bold battery is low!
October 8th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I can play Hexic on my Zune!
(What? No love for Zune here?)
October 9th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Yeah, but my Zune’s battery dries up pretty quick after playing Hexic for 10-15 minutes.
October 10th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
The specs are a non-issue. Nintendo handhelds have always been been outclassed by their rivals in terms of specs, but it’s the games, the accessibility and what is done with what’s available that makes Nintendo’s handhelds stand out from the others.
I don’t even know why the DS is compared to the iPhone anyway…
October 12th, 2008 at 9:24 am
yes specs tell one side of the story. but how about unique hardware features? that’s why nintendo is winning the DS and Wii hardware competition. there’s unique abilities each hardware has that the competitor doesn’t, and therefore totally unique and immersive game experiences. it also doesn’t hurt that nintendo itself besides being a hardware maker is a top 5 software company in the world in the realm of video games. competitors cannot match. specs are factor, but its not everything. and i agree that the iphone should be included in comparisons. reason, is because it doesn’t just play generic phone games that can play on any phone. it will have exclusives, and also games that cannot only be played because of its unique hardware features. besides that, there are signs that there is going to be some real developer muscle coming to the machine.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Honestly I don’t buy a system for the specs. Sure they tell you how pretty a game can look on the system, big deal. I bought my DS and PSP for the games. Sure my PSP don’t get as much love but that’s because the system doesn’t have as many good games as the DS. I really can’t say much for the iPhone though, I don’t own one. But as far as gaming goes I love the DS. It does what it’s meant to do, play games. I didn’t buy my PSP to watch movies and listen to music. The browser is nice though because of the fact that I can jump out of the game look up a guide if needed and hop back in. As for the iPhone, it is NOT a dedicated gaming machine. In order for it to be considered a handheld gaming machine it has to be dedicated to games. That’s why the PSP in my opinion as well as the iPhone are both just fancy multimedia devices.
October 15th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I have a DS (original, titanium colour scheme) and sure, the graphics aren’t always great, but 99.99999% of the games are so immersive and fun (even Pokemon, can you believe it! Oh, and LONG LIVE SAMUS ARAN) that I would by a DS over a PSP anytime. I am grateful, however, that Nintendo is releasing an Internet browser, and a good audio system. And might I add, can you add your own touches to an image on the PSP or iPhone? See link at http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151781/hands_on_with_nintendos_dsi.html
October 15th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
How da F*** can you say that the DSi will be better den da PSP 3000
October 15th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Check this out!!!
New Nintendo Hand-Held Set to Shake Up the Market
By Oliver Davies
The new Nintendo DSi is the 3rd generation of Nintendo’s popular handheld Nintendo DS videogame device.
The DSi has a large amount of new features, such as the cameras, online marketplace, customizable startup, and better wireless range and reception.
It will also feature an online shop, and will be 12% thinner than the DS Lite, as well as the ability to take in an SD card for some of your own items.
“I am glad that Nintendo released the DSi because Nintendo needed something fresh in the mix,” said freshman Austin S.
Even though the DSi has a few noticeable improvements, it also has a few downsides, such as the missing GameBoy Advance slot (which says good bye to Guitar Hero: On Tour and the Rumble Pak), and many other features and that require the GBA Slot (GBA means GameBoy Advance).
In the online marketplace, it is rumored that users will be able to buy their favorite GBA, Original GameBoy and GameBoy Color games, though Nintendo has not confirmed the rumors.
Because the DSi is able to take SD cards (unlike the other DS models) it will give you the ability to play music (and potentially your own games) on the DSi, as well as upload pictures and videos.
It is not confirmed, but it is rumored that the online shop will give you 1000 free Nintendo Points, and the option to download a free web browser.
At Nintendo’s Autumn Conference in San Francisco on the 2nd of October, Nintendo’s CEO, Satoru Iwata claimed that they were releasing the DSi at that point because “the DS is losing momentum.”
It goes on sale in Japan on November 1st, and there is an extremely high chance that it will be bundled with the upcoming games, the much wanted Fire Emblem DS, and the highly anticipated sequel in the Diamond and Pearl series, Pokémon Platinum.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Don’t you love it!?