Nintendo unveils a new, larger DSi handheld

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Nintendo has unveiled a new model of its DSi handheld console, which will appear as the "DSi LL" in Japan, or "DSi XL" in Europe. As you've probably already guessed, the DSi XL brings larger 4.2" dual screens. That is about an inch more than the current DSi's 3.25" displays or the DS Lite's 3" screens.

The DSi XL will be packaged with a regular stylus, in addition to a longer, thicker pen-like stylus. It is reported that battery life will be about four to five hours on maximum brightness and 13 to 17 hours on minimum, which is on par with the DS Lite. Charge time is around 3 hours when fully depleted.

The latest DSi will measure 161mm wide x 91.4mm long x 21.2mm thick, and the new stylus will measure 129.3mm long. It will feature an SD memory card slot, a stereo headphone/microphone connected terminal, and will be available in red, brown, and white.

The DSi LL will hit Japanese store shelves on November 21 for 20,000 yen (around $220), and the DSi XL will arrive in Europe sometime in the first quarter of 2010. No details have been provided for a North American launch.

Update: Kotaku is reporting an early first-quarter debut for North America as well.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/36769-nintendo-unveils-a-new-larger-dsi-handheld.html

 

[tigran1808]

i don't know if it's a good idea
big screen=bad image quality
the graphics aren't good even with the small screen on the dsi

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

That looks sweet, i wish it would be available in blue. I wonder if this has anything to do with Nintendo posting a decline in profit especially since the DS sales are always high, could make up for low wii sales? This will prob take even more sales away from the PSP go

 

[freedomthinker]

Nice but it can with lowered graphics but smoother gameplay , don't know which is better though :/ Im so used to playing old games on my 5 year old desktop it gets annoying !

 

[salbar1981]

is this Nintendo's propose for PSP Go ? probably ... but as long as there are no worthy games it doesn't matter how big or how small the device is, Nintendo won't pull it off

 

[lynxon]

Holy crap a 4.2' screen.... That's monstrous. I mean I only had one back with the DSLite and the 3' one. The only problem with that is how stretched out the picture will appear seeing as how it's still running the same display resolution.

 

[Deso]

wow about time the screen got bigger, that's like the top issue I've had against DS, maybe I'll buy one now, just wish you could add memory to them and play videos

 

[Clrabbit]

I love the idea, but I have to agree with the first poster...

It kind of seems like they would have made this a whole new system upped the specs a little and just had backward compatibility for DS games, with the new hardware speed they could add software smoothing to make them look nicer on the screen.

 

[levar]

Ok SONY came out with a fail system and Nintendo has to follow. At least they didn't take anything away, if they made it this bigger why didn't they just add the GBA slot =/ lots of people out like myself enjoy playing pokemon XD

 

[pomonasi]

$220 for a hand held? i remember times when my PS2 cost me $200. heck, PS3 is only $80 more than this price with so much more. in any case, i guess it is a different target market but it seems prices keeps goin up.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

Wow that makes 4 DS versions now. I wonder when they'll stop.

 

[MBK]

Cost has always prevented me investing in a portable device, and right enough, it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Bigger screen is nice, though, as has been mentioned, higher resolution would be good too.

 

[Colonel Lance]

Wish I could afford to get one of these things. I've been able to play around with one once or twice and I liked the control structure of it but $200+ is just way too much for me.

I like the look of that bigger screen,, but will have to see if it's worth it.

 

[buttus]

Nintendo really likes to milk their underpowered hardware. The Wii is starting to peter out (I for one refuse to purchase one until they make a HD unit) and now they are flogging the DS. My son has one of the first DS units and it's just as good today as it was 3 years ago when I bought it.

 

[treeski]

I never got into the portable gaming devices, but I know at least a couple people who will probably pick up one of these.

I personally would rather spend a bit more and get a whole gaming console or find some upgrade for my PC.

 

[Timonius]

Go brown! Brilliant colour choice! Who was the 'genius' who thought that one up! 8p

 

[jrronimo]

I really agree with everyone: Too big a screen for too small a resolution. Not really interested in buying...

 

[Obakemono]

Is this the one with the new CPU/GPU? I think it might cost more than the Wii I fear, as the DSi is 170.oo. I would rather get a second Wii, but when will the new Wii be released?

 

[Cueto_99]

I think Nintendo has started upgrading the DS where there is no need for an upgrade. Initially from the original DS to the Ds Lite they made the screen brigther and the size smaller (these have been the best upgrades IMHO). But lately, from the Ds Lite to the DSi their best bet was a 0.3 megapixel camera (come on, how is gonna use that in this era), and now they just made the DSi XL, probably bigger than their first released DS... I think Nintendo should start making better surveys...

 

[ken777]

There doesn't seem to be much point to this. There's no reason for an existing owner to basically buy the same thing again. They need to hurry up and get something like the rumored Tegra based DS out the door.

 

[mattfrompa]

So...this is the FOURTH ds console...admittedly it has come a long way since the first brick release, but I think the features implemented in the DSi should have put on hold for the DS2, coupled with the Tegra chip. Because of the DSi we have many DS owners who may not be able to play all of the DSi games, or just with reduced functionality. As mentioned already, this is a "buy it again!" release that is increasingly annoying. And the DS2 release is supposedly late 2010!? I guess with Wii profits down, is Nintendo thinking they should just try and pump us for hardware sales, instead of focusing on quality software development?

 

[BlindObject]

Hmm, this is pretty sweet, for someone who never had a DS, this looks like the prime choice.

 

[r3claimer]

I guess this is cool, but at the same time, who is going to walk around with this larger version of the DS in their pocket? And, I know it seems so petty, what with all the new stuff being introduced, but I'd be willing to pay more for a new console if it had complete backward compatibility. (All the way to GBC games, as I still play those more than the newer games)

 

[Jibberish18]

I've gotta say, throughout all of the redesigns Nintendo has made on their DS, I've never felt the need to go out and buy another to replace my original brick design. I love that thing and I love the games on the Wii. Don't get me wrong. It has it's problems. If I COULD have one thing though, a bigger screen probably would've been it. Otherwise, being the brick that it is, it fits in my hands quite nicely. Better than the ones after it.

 

[Vrmithrax]

If this unit has any significant upgrades under the hood in the GPU and CPU (is this the Tegra based unit hinted at earlier?), then there could be good reason for the move on Nintendo's part. A bigger screen, coupled with more multimedia functionality, could take a big bite out of the PSP marketplace, as the "all this stuff AND games" package of the PSP is part of its draw. Make it a decent resolution on a larger screen and able to play back movies as well as some enhanced games, and you've got a recipe to draw sales and possibly lure existing customers into upgrading. Just stretch the screens and give nothing new, and you've got no "must have" draw for the new product. Should probably wait to see what's going on inside before we judge it as lame or a winner, eh?