Nintendo's Newst Product: DSi XL

In early November Nintendo announced that yet another first of the Nintendo DS will be coming to America by next year. There are currently three generations of Nintendo’s handheld, digital touch screen console, the original DS, the DS lite, and their newest model the DSi. The DSi is not even a year old yet in America, being released in April of this year. It already has many interesting upgrades like a built in camera, a larger screen, more comfortable controls, and lots of little gadgets that no one really needs on a handheld video game. Now,  less than a year later, Nintendo has announced that the DSi XL will be released in the United States sometimes next year.


        The Nintendo DSi XL, or DSi LL in Japan, will have one major difference from it’s hardly older comparison. The DSi release was all about being tiny and portable in any situation. We’re talking fit in your pocket tiny, squint to see the screen tiny. Well maybe Nintendo realized their mistake, because, like its name states, the DSi XL is the exact opposite.  The DSi XL will feature a 4.2” screen and become the largest of the DS generation. The DSi XL comes with a normal sized stylus, and also a larger, much more comfortable stylus that resembles a pen more than a little stick. The DSi XL will also have a lot more space on its bottom section, with a larger touch screen and more comfortable touch pad. The larger DS will get 4-5 hours of battery life on its brightest settings, about one hour longer than the DSi. (let me just cut in here and say that my original DS gets around 10..) On the lowest setting a user can expect around 13 – 17 hours.


      A major addition that both the DSi and DSi XL will have is the DSiWare service. Adopted from big brother Wii’s Wiiware they work a lot in the same ways. With a little internet connection, in addition to buying game cartridges, the two allow you to download content and games directly onto your DS without the use of a tiny little square.

      The DSi XL is being expected to be released in Japan very shortly and within the first quarter of 2010 for America.  The DSi XL is currently being expected to be sold in Japan at 20,000 yen (about $220). Nintendo hopes to use the DSi XL to entice older customers into upgrading and (get this) to compete with the iPod Touch. My guess is that Nintendo is focusing on making their product more like Sony’s PSP, now that they have the PSP Go to compete with. I guess they’re learning that bigger can be better. Maybe the DSi XL will bring a promising future to Nintendo’s line of products, but for now I think I’ll stick with my beat up original DS, after all, why should I waste my money when Nintendo’s bound to come out with something new again a few months after the XL loses its hype.