Sorry for the post-E3 tumbleweeds around here. For what it's worth, I spent a couple of weeks in Japan, and then got sucked back into my (exciting) Panic-related work upon my return. Returning from vacation is, as they say in China, like putting a mouse on a frog on a cat on a cock (rooster) — a delicate balancing act, to be sure!
Anyway, I'm back, a ton of stuff is going on lately, and I have a lot of topics to post about in the coming weeks — including stories, photos, and movies from Japan!
Enough about me:
Today, if you didn't know, was the Nintendo DS LIte USA release day!
So, after all my hullabaloo, I feel obligated to ask: did you get one? How'd it go? Is it everything you thought it would be? Are you disappointed in any way? What do you think of that death backlight? Etc. etc.
Let me know! Post a comment! Tell your story!
While doing a bit of shopping today I tried to poke in and check availability around the Portland area. Our local Fred Meyer was sold out, but the really bizarre Best Buy near the airport seemed to have quite a few sitting on the shelves! I guess that's... good? Did you have any trouble finding yours?
(PS: And for no obvious reason, here's my layered Photoshop File 
for the above graphic. Drop in your own screens! Shadows/higlights are free!)
for the above graphic. Drop in your own screens! Shadows/higlights are free!)
posted at 9:57 PM
132 Comments:
The whiteness...
Yeah I got one, May the 31st, the day before they were released in Australia. Love it. The only problem is it's quite distracting from my end of semester studies :(
I got with the DS: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, Tales of Phantasia, Zelda: Minish Cap, and Mario Kart DS.
The only thing that is annoying is that I had to make another profile for my Airport Express with lower security so the DS can connect to the Nintendo WiFi Connection. Profile support does make it easier though, thanks Apple. Thapple.
I underestimated the brightness of the DS Lite. I didn't know it'd be THAT BRIGHT. I mean I can see it crystal clear in direct sunlight. Damn, man.
Anyways, currently enjoying Sudoku on BrainAge with a bit of Tetris and NSMB inbetween.
But just because the DS Lite came out doesn't mean you should stop doing videos! Review more stuff! PLEASE!!
All in all, I'm quite impressed. The build is solid, very Apple-esque.
Unboxing pr0n: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60049907@N00/sets/72057594050517786/
I am loving NSMB, and I may pick up brain training next week.
I only know one other DS owner in PDX (well two if you count my Mom). Maybe I should hang out at Backspace or something. Where do DS owners hang out?
its one of the best addictions to have.
thank you Cabel
thank you so much for reopening the door to portable gaming
and keep doing the video reviews, i love them.
(thats what made me want to buy a DS lite in the first place)
thanks again!!!
Probably going to need a new wifi router if I want to use Nintendo wifi. Probably get it with one or two games. Anyone got any reccomendations? (I was thinking Mario Kart and NSMB)
-Jay
"http://members.iinet.net.au/~decryption/dslite/DSC_0905.jpg
I love it :D
Can't wait for Brain Age to come out this week too. Or maybe not, the New Super Mario Brothers is keeping me very occupied.
The death backlight? Wow, that thing is strong. I usually play it on the second or third setting (the first being.. the least, and the fourth being death). I mean, I went out to feed the dogs, and since I couldn't find my flashlight, I just turned my DS to death, and I had no problem seeing (ok, slight exageration... but it was very bright.. and I had barely any problem seeing)
So, thoughts about the new DS. Well, it's certainly shinier and prettier. And lighter. And smaller. And... well, you get the idea. It's revitalizing my interest in playing DS games. I just hope this new-found strength lasts ;)
And as for the death setting, I like it, but I'll probably knock it down one notch for regular use.
Oh, and as far as the DS Lite itself goes: freaking awesome. New Super Mario Bros. rules and-- despite the praise on this site-- I am still surprised at how much fun Brain Age is.
On the other hand though, we do get the black Lite. Wiii! What color do you like better Cabel?
NSMB is done so very well. It gets everything right about the franchise that Lucas screwed up about Star Wars. Magic.
I picked mine up at Best Buy yesterday around 1pm. No lines and many in stock. Heck, the "video game guy" didn't even know they were in stock. Weird.
My wife and I have yet to open it yet; maybe tonight!!!
I was fairly suprised nobody else was waiting around for one. I imagined that the DS Lite would have had a line inside, but no. I can think of at least 2 or 3 other handheld launches that had a line during the midnight hour. Hmm.
I think all of us were very happy with the DS Lite overall. One of our systems did have a dead pixel that turned crazy colors at the wrong times which was very annoying, so that will be going back to the store soon. I was very happy with the slightly larger pen for the lite and I also noticed that the bottom screen seems to clean up nicer than the DS and also seems much less prone to scratching or marks from the stylus. The death backlight is great, and I noticed there is a lot more pink than I expected to see in Wario Ware.
Overall: Very Happy. Bring on the DS Lite colors!
This is the first portable game machine I have bought and I am loving it. The DS Lite is such and awesome machine.
I'm loving it so far. I appreciate Nintendo for being able to play classic games that I grew up with and love like Zelda, Mario, etc.. I had a PSP awhile ago and never really found any games that I could get in to. I'm very impressed with it so far, thanks for all the reviews.
BTW, I was in P-town the other day and thought about stopping by to see the office and say hello. Do you guys allow drop ins or is it a private office?
So I grabbed the kids Sunday morning and went to Fry's. I gave myself only 1-in-3 odds of getting one since I hadn't pre-ordered from anywhere, but the friendly(!) Fry's clerk just gave it to me. Had to get it in a bundle with Super Mario Bros. (yay!!) and Tetris (meh); then the kids insisted on Tamagochi Connection, I insisted on Advance Wars, and I added Brain Age for its crunchy educational goodness.
We have not been disappointed =) The gizmo is lovely, I can pretend it's an Apple product. The screens are so readable, even by kibitzers. The touch-screen is nice and sensitive.
The only issue has been keeping the kids from fighting over it and demanding extra screen time. There was a certain amount of that yesterday, to be expected, but if it goes on, my wife will not be happy that I bought this thing...
This makes for my first DS, and I'm pretty darn impressed. Brightness level 4 is terrifying.
One of the things that I love most though is the D-pad, it almost makes me want to go out and rebuy Mario 64 DS, just because ti probably won't give me handcramps anymore. Another thing thats pretty cool, the system itself is so smooth, its pretty much laminated. This means its easy to keep the exterior clean, the dirt just slides right off!
Gotta say it again though thanks for your Lite review series, it really helped me descision to purchase the system, and made the wait just a little more bareable (or unbareable.)
How about that, a system with wireless capabilites that has online games that you actually want to play! What a novel idea! Take notes, Sony.
We don't get no Lite in Ing-Ger-Land for another 11 days
The joke is well and truly on me
steven
Bought Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
Having a total blast playing. Unbelievable. First Gameboy system purchase in soo many years.
Your comments/videos about the DS Lite got my juices flowing, and I immediately went down to my local Gamestop and prepaid for one.
Now that I have it, I'm depressed, because my wife has stolen it from me to play New SMB! Oh well, I still have my Gamecube... :/
I felt like when I was ten and recieved my first gameboy... except the DS Lite has the power to blind small children. Anyways, its completely amazing, and I feel alive again. I've got NSMB, Mario Kart DS, and Metroid Prime: Hunters. Game recomendations anyone? How about accessories? Anyone happen to pick up a case for their DS Lite?
While I was picking mine up, I grabbed a copy of Brain Age and Mario Kart DS. I had to go to Circuit City to pick up New Mario Brothers though, as Target was out.
I've got to say, I didn't put it down for most of yesterday, and took it with me everywhere I went. Even played it while I went shopping with my wife. It was nice to have the diversion. :-)
BTW, a big part of my buying-decision was made due to Cabel's 3-part video series. He made it look so cool I couldn't pass it up. Thanks Cabel!
Now I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the old DS... do I sell it or keep it?
but i was wondering the same thing as jollus earlier: where do the ds kids hang out in stumptown? none of my friends have one. it would seem like backspace would be a good place to linger around though. anyone want to get some sort of portland group together? (does one exist already?)
i was pretty skeptical about the old ds, so i got a psp instead. that was a pretty big mistake. the ds lite is indeed the ultimate winner!
Actually, the screens aren't 100% perfect. The bottom one (touch screen) is a tad dimmer and has a bit of a "mushy" or "sparkly" look to it compared to the top, most likely because of the touch layer. However, I could have sworn someone mentioned that the Lite no longer had that issue. Anyone else notice this?
Sparkly... Maybe
Yours must be broke.
I'm looking at my blue Lite and I just can't see anything mushy about the bottom screen.
Maybe you should stop staring at it while it's set on death.
Could this be the first case of DS Lite Inflicted Visual Impairment?
It's super cool.
Please advise.
Thank you
Thanks for the detailed video reviews, they made the choice to buy one easy.
It is not only suprisingly bright, but the colors are way more vibrant. The sound on my old DS was messed up also, so I was never able to listen on a normal volume or use headphones (it came out scratchy), so now I'm actually able to hear the music ans SFX for the first time!! Yay!
Thanks for the great vids... you were right on point with how cool the DS Lite is. ;)
"I excitedly declare the DS Lite the WINNER!"
Your video reviews are fantastic! Lots of information and humorous as well. You made the decision to get a DS Lite easy.
I did have one question regarding charging the battery: if I leave it plugged in overnight (6-8 hours), will that damage the battery or reduce its life? I called Nintendo Tech Support and they--of course--said no, but I was wondering if you had any insights or experiences to the contrary.
Thanks again for all your help!
A good page with info about Li-ion batteries is Apple's battery page
It's so sleek, and surprisingly, much more comfortable! The buttons, stylus, and even the size are all much, much more comfortable and all look so much better. The brightness on the screen is.. phenomenal, although I usually keep mine on the third setting.
It's seems like Nintendo has learned a thing or two from Apple with the iPod-like design and the battery. ..Awesome, because Apple owns =D
The only thing that bothers me is that the GBA cartridges stick out >.<
Cabel, could you please make some quick videos to fill up the time?/stop me from emailing the online store bugging them to send Lite out a few days early.
thanks.
A.) The bottom screen is very slightly less clear
-AND-
B.) My touch screen is kinda loose
nintendo's manual says only use the stylus but i see plenty of people touching the bottom screen with their fingers including cabel
thank you
Thanks Cabel!!!
The minigames are very addictive :)
I love the bright screens... But I already had to charge again, and I swear I didn't play that long...
Anyway, now I need more games.. But first I need more money.. But first I need a job.. But first I need time..
Hmm.
What camera is it that you use to do these reviews? And how exactly do you set the camera up? I'm gonna be doing video reviews for a news site I work for and I wanted to present them in your style.
I'm new to this blog, but heck, who cares!?
I reserved my DS Lite in case they would be sold out on release day at my local EB Games. Well, luck be it! They were! I called them (since they didn't call me) and the women told me that they were sold out except reserves! I was thinking "Thank god I reserved it!"
Well I walked out into the mall and sat on a bench with my cousin (who was currently holding my old DS). I pulled it out slowly (I'm a freak like that.) and I didn't even want to play it, yet my cousin convinced me to.
Well we played a few races in MKDS and a few rounds in NSMB. Then I walked back over to EBG and decided to buy Big Brain Academy. Damn did it look good! I love playing my DS Lite. (and staring at it.)
Thanks for the DS Lite preview! (which encouraged me to reserve it)
Peace Out!
I live in Europe so I have to wait till 23rd june. But I have a question.
If I buy a DS lite, would I have to charge it first? Or can I immediately play? And if I have to charge it, can I play my DS, without damaging my battery, while charging the first time?
I mean, sure my awesomesque black ds lite will "pwn" any inferior american ones, but the waiting...GOD THE WAITING!
Aw well, time for another round of katamari damacy then.
^o^
Hopefully i will forget time for a while, and one day it will realese here... I allready have 2 DS games whitout even having a system( pretty damm desprete) I sold my evil PSP a week ago to EBgames, and reserved a happy Lite. Can't wait - And come on Nintendo we need more DS games, MORE!!.. Especially some cute japanese 2D games.
Tanks for the amazing Reviewz cabel!! ^U^ love em
Overall, very happy. I do wish the screens were a little closer together, but that much is a vast improvement over the original DS. Otherwise, the screens *look* amazing.
Also, I was a little disappointed Nintendo didn't bring any of the other colors. I had my heart set on the blue one. (But later I found out that what I had originally thought was a sky/baby blue was actually more of a light turqoise blue, and F that...)
I'll live with the white one. Anyone know if the white PSP is going to make it to the states?
To my surprise, the "Death Bright" setting was actually stilly hardly bright enough to use when I was outside, during late afternoon. When I used it again inside, later, there were details and colors all over the place that I hadn't noticed. Nonetheless, I could see well enough to play by, which was nice.
My big disappointment and frustration, however, is the WiFi USB Adapter. I spent $40 on it, and I have yet to get it to work. (I think it has to do with running it through my wired router, but Nintendo's help guides are not really useful in my situation.)
New SMB rules, too.
So I was wondering how the lite and the lcd sp stack up to each other.
good thing i bought the extra warranty geez....
I'll check you boys later now, byye byye!
By the way, Cabel. Your reviewses is a hell of a-lot a fun. Keep it up, little cowboy of mine.
Thanks for the video reviews, really pulled me over the line here :D
The original DS D-pad clicked in 8 directions, and it seems each of those directions had an equal amount of divided space for input. This made it very easy to find the diagnal directions and to hold them indefinitely.
The pad on the Lite, however, seems to give a lot less room for diagnal inputs, and I've had a very hard time finding and holding the diagnal directions. I've found this to be a real pain in playing Children of Mana (imported) when I attempt to attack diagnally, and sometimes in Castlevania when I try to do specific crouching + forward moves.
Those two are the only games I've played extensively since I've gotten the Lite, but I'm guessing this might also cause a slight problem in Animal Crossing.
That's my major complaint, but here are some other minor ones:
-This isn't the Lite's problem, I suppose, but it seems as if developers for games before the Lite came out tried to compensate for the original DS's dim screen by making their colors extra bright. This makes Animal Crossing look grossly neon instead of pleasantly pastel, and certain black screens (eg. Castlevania title screen) look purple.
-The start/select buttons are difficult to press.
-I haven't been able to decide whether it's better or worse, but the sound is definitely different.
Besides the D-pad, however, I'm really happy with the Lite, and I sincerely thank you for your great video reviews. But I guess I'll have to stick with my old DS when playing certain games.
http://smithmannow.blogspot.com/http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c366/Sueve/CIMG0986.jpg
Thats from my blog.
The only problem I have with it is the D-pad. It is extremely hard to make a diagonal movement in, say, Animal Crossing: Wild World. Overall, though, I am very satisfied.
Fortunately it becomes second nature to compensate for the diagonal difficulties caused by the small size of the D-pad.
http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2006/02/15/
A friend of mine then transported me to another dimension with something called a M3 Adapter. It uses a MiniSD card where you put GBA Roms, NDS Roms, Movies, Pictures, MP3s, gosh, i even put a homebrew PDA!!! A 1 Gb MiniSD will be able to store roughly 50 games, hmmmm, talk about portability, and avoiding the risk of losing the original carts, i already lost my spankin' new New Super Mario Bros. Cart.
Now, before anyone jumps in awe saying " OMG, what a pir8!", no, is not because of putting roms you can download from the internet, but the other uses that are really astonishing, MP3 Player, EBook reading, Movie Player (only drawback is you need to use an application to convert the videos to compliant files), Emulators (NES, SNES, PCE, Sega Genesis), Picture Viewer, carrying a backup of your games and keep yor originals safe at home, well, you get the picture. I simply put my PSP in a drawer never to be used again (even though i flashed the firmware to play homebrew games). Nintendo, are you listening?!?!?! The PDA and MP3 player alone would be great additions to this amazing handheld.
Well, let's just say the DS Lite has become the most useful and awesome gadget in my life, heheheh...
Thanks to your gret review(s) i'm totaly getting a DS lite next week. Great review!
so i must agree with anonymous, you should do more of them.
Greetings from holland
da one i have has another defect 2 n its my third 1!!!!!!!!!!
da defect is dat my top loooks a bit grayeish wenever it is white such as da warning screen i get rly annoyed!!!
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