Everything we know about the Nintendo DSi

The Nintendo DSi was announced recently and there’s been plenty of news regarding it that it’s hard to keep up. There also have been conflicting reports, so it does get confusing at times. It does release in Japan very soon after all, so the hype is building. To help clarify things, as well as keep track of all the news, I have decided to compile every bit of news regarding the Nintendo DSi that we have. There’s actually a lot of information, so hit the jump to read all about it!

First things first, the Nintendo DSi is not the DS 2. It’s not a successor to the DS by any means, but is more of an upgrade, similar to what the Game Boy Color was to the Game Boy. The Nintendo DSi is set to release in Japan on November 1st, 2008, with worldwide releases scheduled for 2009. That includes the US (after April 2009), Europe (Spring 2009), and Australia (Fall 2009). The DSi will sell for 18,900 yen, which is approximately $180 USD. It has been confirmed that the DSi will cost more than $130 in the US, which is the current cost of the DS Lite. The Nintendo DS Lite currently retails in Japan for the US equivalent of $150 USD. Since the DS Lite is actually sold in the US for $130, I think it’s safe to assume that the DSi will sell for around $150 USD in the US. It will release in two colors as well: White and Black.

But what can it play? The Nintendo DSi will of course be able to play Nintendo DS games. It will also be able to play games that are made specifically for the Nintendo DSi, though recently there has been a contradictory statement saying that there won’t be any software specifically for the DSi. Only time will tell if there will be or not. What about games from other countries? Nintendo DS titles from other countries will be region free, just like on the DS Lite and DS. However, any software made specifically for the Nintendo DSi will be region locked. The region lock was done because the DSi will provide internet services that are specific for each region and the DSi also uses rating-based parental controls, which differ by country.

Now for the cosmetic differences. The first thing you’ll probably notice is that it looks very similar to the DS Lite. The size of the Nintendo DSi has been reduced by 2.6 mm, which is about 12%, as compared to the DS Lite. You’ll also notice that the Game Boy Advance slot is gone. Some things have been moved around as well, like the power button. The power button is now located on the bottom left hand corner and is pressable, instead of like the one on the DS Lite. And it’s not just a power button anymore. It will bring up the menu in DSiWare titles (like the Home button on Wii titles) and will also act as a reset button for DS games. The volume slider is now on the left and is more of a switch, like the Game Boy Micro.

You’ll also notice that the power/network lights have been moved to be on the left side of the hinge. There are now three lights instead of two on the DS Lite. The lights seem to be indicators for power, an AC Adapter, and Wi-Fi. The DS Lite had four brightness settings, and the DSi now has five. The lowest brightness setting has a battery life of 9 to 14 hours, the low brightness setting will last 8 to 12 hours, medium brightness will last 6 to 9 hours, high brightness will last 4 to 6 hours, and the highest brightness will last 3 to 4 hours. On average, the battery life is about an hour less than that of the DS Lite. But while the DS took approximately 3 hours to charge, the DSi will take around 2.5 hours. And while we’re on the subject of the battery, the DSi will have its own AC Adaptor, different from the one that the DS or DS Lite used.

The Nintendo DSi also has some updates from the DS Lite, like higher quality and louder speakers (which are now two holes in the system instead of the multiple small holes on the DS Lite). As for Wi-Fi, previous DS models only had support for WEP. The Nintendo DSi will include WPA/WPA 2 support (only for DSi software, not for old DS titles), as well as “improved security features” for WEP. And while the DSi is thinner and smaller than the DS Lite, it does have slightly larger screens (they are 3.25 inches instead of 3 inches). The DS Lite’s stylus is 87.5 mm, which is longer than the stylus for the DS, and that trend continues with the DSi’s stylus, which is 92 mm long. The Nintendo DSi also has more RAM than the DS Lite, and will use it more efficiently with software. And if that’s not enough, the processor speed has also been increased.

I haven’t even mentioned the big, new features yet though. The Nintendo DSi follows the dual screen idea and has two cameras. One of the cameras is located on the hinge, right next to the microphone, and is used when the DSi is open. The other camera is on the outside of the DSi. Both cameras are 0.3 megapixels (300,000 pixels, 640 x 480 resolution) VGA cameras. The reason that the cameras are low resolution could be that it’s easier to use them in applications. Nintendo’s thoughts behind including the cameras revolve around using them in interesting ways and having fun with them, rather than trying to include the best camera out there in the market.

I can’t verify this but supposedly the L button has a camera icon, so you will press the L button to take a picture. Once you take a picture, you can then edit it with a photo editor that the DSi has. Using the touch screen, you can play around with the images. What’s interesting is that not only can you edit pictures after they’ve been taken, but you can edit them while you’re taking the picture. So if you want to add a Mario hat onto someone, just hold the DSi up to them so the camera can see them, and then you can add a Mario hat or whatever else using the touch screen.

Want to change the color of only a part of the picture? Want to combine two pictures into one? Well, you can do all of that and more. The photo editor is similar to the Photo Channel on Wii, but has more features. And if you have a Wii, you can sync up your photos with the Wii’s Photo Channel. But wait, that’s not all. You can use the camera to make a daily calendar album filled with any picture you want. That way you can create a visual diary of everything you see while you’re with your Nintendo DSi. You can even edit pictures that are put on a SD card.

Yup, that’s right, the Nintendo DSi has a SD card slot. There a few features on the DSi that take use of SD cards. I mentioned that pictures could be saved onto them, but what I didn’t mention before is that the DSi is a music player as well. You can put music in AAC format onto a SD card and the DSi will be able to play it. And getting AAC file type music is pretty simple (just put any mp3′s you have into iTunes, right click them, and select the option to “Create AAC Version”. But as usual with Nintendo, their main focus isn’t having the best technology, but in having the best way to use technology.

The music player on the DSi, known as Nintendo DSi Sound, can do some interesting things with your songs. You can speed up songs by moving a cursor on the touch screen to the right, you can slow down songs by moving the cursor to the left, and you can adjust the pitch of the music by moving it up and down. So, if you wanted a high pitched, fast version of a song, you would move the cursor in the upper right hand corner. Not only that but you can put in an audio filter, meaning if you want to listen to only vocals or just the instruments in piece of music that you have, you can do that. Want to play something in reverse? You can do that as well. And if your songs aren’t enough, you can record your voice using the microphone (10 seconds max) and then play around with that audio.

Don’t want to listen to the DSi with your lid open? No problem. Just put in some headphones and you can listen to music with the lid closed. And if that’s not enough, there will be different visualizers to accompany your song, such as chicks hatching from eggs, Excitebike, tapping feet, and a globe surrounded by constellations. Another visualizer has you play a simple sidescroller with Mario. You’ll have the ability to press L and R to change the tempo and running speed, as well as be able to jump and collect coins. Oh, and Miyamoto helped design it, so that should be reason enough for this to be great.

That’s not all. The Nintendo DSi has something known as the Nintendo DSi Shop, which is similar to the Wii Shop Channel on Wii. The Nintendo DSi Shop will have DSiWare titles, which are similar to WiiWare on Wii. You’ll be able to purchase Nintendo Points, which when redeemed on the Nintendo DSi, will turn into Nintendo DSi Points. DSiWare is split into four categories: Free of Charge DSiWare, DSiWare200, DSiWare500, and Premium. Free of Charge DSiWare will be, as the name implies, free of charge. So far, we know of two DSiWare titles in this category: DSi Browser and Moving Notepad.

On launch day, the Nintendo DSi Browser (an Opera web browser) will be available free of charge for all Nintendo DSi owners. Moving Notepad allows you to create handwritten memos, as well as animations that can be created by drawing them or using your photographs. You can even record audio using the microphone to be used in these animations. They’re looking into being able to share these animations with other Nintendo DSi owners. Moving Notepad will release in December in Japan.

DSiWare200 includes the software that can be bought for 200 Nintendo DSi Points. These pieces of software will be very compact-sized tools and games. DSiWare500 will cost 500 Nintendo DSi Points, and will include simple puzzle games and tools of significant size. The fourth category are the Premium titles. Premium includes anything that is more than 800 Nintendo DSi Points. Nintendo also revealed that Brain Age 1 and 2 are being re-designed as DSiWare titles, and those DSiWare Brain Age titles will be known as “Literature Edition” and “Science Edition”. And while these aren’t confirmed, Satoru Iwata presented some ideas for DSiWare applications, such as “a Zelda calculator, an Animal Crossing clock, street maps for various large cities, or possibly a simple Tetris.”

But with all these downloads, where will they be stored. As I mentioned earlier, the DSi has a SD card slot, so you will be able to save them on a SD card in a similar manner in which Wii owners will be able to use SD cards in the Spring. But, you don’t have to buy as SD card, since the DSi will have some internal memory, though it is currently unknown how much that is yet. Games and applications from the Nintendo DSi Shop will be able to be downloaded straight to the DSi.

And to unite all of these features, the Nintendo DSi has a new interface. The new interface is very similar to the Wii Menu. The menu has easy access to everything, by scrolling left to right. And whenever you download a game to the DSi, it will appear alongside everything else, just like how a Wii Channel is created for downloaded games on Wii. From left to right, the menu will include options, the DS game inserted (by the way, you can now insert a DS game while the DSi is on and it will recognize it), DSi Camera, the photo editor, the DSi Shop, DS Download Play, PictoChat (which now has colored ink by the way), and then the titles you have downloaded.

And that’s all we know about the Nintendo DSi. If you still don’t think it’s worth it even after reading everything, you should know that the DSi is a “third pillar” as Nintendo said. When the DSi is released, Nintendo will continue to sell the DS Lite. But of course, the DS was supposed to be a “third pillar” and has now replaced the Game Boy. We’ll just have to wait and see on that. November 1st is when Japan gets the Nintendo DSi, so we should get to know everything about it when that day comes.

I’m very excited about the DSi. The only drawback to me is the missing GBA slot, however I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Even Activision has expressed that they are actually very interested in working on the DSi, despite the fact that Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades won’t work on it. Heck, what if they made a Guitar Grip that connected through the SD card slot? They could include DLC as well then. As usual with Nintendo, they create great innovation in their games.

Stay tuned to WiiNintendo for the latest news on the Nintendo DSi. Oh, and if there’s anything I’m missing in this post, please let me know. I will try and keep this post updated with the latest. I hope this was helpful to all of you!

Nintendo DSi Trailer from Japanese Nintendo Channel that details its features:

DSi/DS Game Montage from Japanese Nintendo Conference:

[Via Official Japanese DSi site, Go Nintendo, Tiny Cartridge, and Wii Everyday]

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