Nintendo DSI

The Nintendo DSI which has was released in Japan last year on Novemer 1st, has now been released in the US.

Things that we know are true about the Nintendo DSI:
* it has 2 cameras
* one camera is inside to take pictures of yourself, one is outside to take pictures of others.
* There will be camera channels, where you can edit photos
* Possibility of setting a home screen picture

The Nintendo DSi has "DSI ware", which is similar to Wii ware. Nintendo is aiming to make an almost portable Wii system. To show that this theory may be correct- some games will involve the camera for game play. You will have to move your body on the camera to play the game.

To purchase DSI ware, you need to use the DSI shop. It will range from points of 0 (free) to 200, 500 or 800 points. The 800 point games will be the premium games.

There's a virtual console like the Wii has. The Nintendo DSI also has channels similar to the Wii. You will no longer have to turn off the game system when switching games. You will be able to press the power button only once, don't hold it down, and it will go back to the main screen with all the channels, and you'll simply be able to swap out the game cards.

The regular Nintendo DS games will still work on the DSi, but there is a drawback. There will be no more Game Boy Advance cartridge slot, so you won't be able to play any Game Boy Advance games on here, unless you're able to get them in the virtual console, as well as Nintendo DS games that require the slot, such as Guitar Hero.

Other accessories may not be able to be used, due to the lack of this game boy advance slot, like the DS rumble pack. They have done this to make the game system thinner. Another upside to this would be that they have put in a SD slot, which may mean that you'll be able to put your Wii virtual console games on the DSI, as well as you may be able to get emulators to work, so you may be able to still play some GBA games.

You can pick one up for between $150-$200

You'll add a camera and audio improvements and a browser, but comparitivly, how do the Nintendo DSi and the Nintendo DS stack up?

Screen Size: DSi a little bigger than the DS Lite, but not much

Actual Size: pretty darn close in size, subtle differences, for example: Nintendo DSi is a smidge thinner than the DS Lite

You'll need another special adapter

The charging time will be a little bit different. The DS lite's charging time is about 3 hours, where the Nintendo DSi will be about 2.5 hours.

One place you'll notice a differences is the battery life. On the low light settings, the DS Lite wins hands down, but spin it around, and on the high light settings, the DSi comes out ahead.

Another unique difference is in the card slot. The DS Lite has a Gameboy Advance card slot- which will now be gone on the DSi. The Nintendo DSi will have an SD memory card slot.

You can see more pictures here