come on, grams...gimme back my dsi!
April 19, 2010 7:05 AM Subscribe
If you were having your 10th birthday, would you rather get a Nintendo DSi or DSi XL?
(I saw this thread and this one, but I still have questions.)
My daughter is turning 10 and I'd like to replace her DS Lite (which she's had since she was six) with either a DSi or a DSi XL. Her favorite parts of the DS Lite are picto-chat, the voice recording stuff, and drawing games, so I'm pretty sure the DSi/DSi XL is going to be a huge hit with her. She also loves - and I mean LOVES - taking pictures, and I think the photo manipulation stuff will thrill her to no end. I'm afraid that the DSi XL isn't "cool," though, because of its larger size...more geared to grandma, maybe? But I like the larger size...am I hopelessly out-of-touch here? What are your thoughts, oh great hive mind?
p.s. I'm not concerned with her losing it, or anything like that. She's very responsible with her things and her current DS Lite looks practically brand-new.
(I saw this thread and this one, but I still have questions.)
My daughter is turning 10 and I'd like to replace her DS Lite (which she's had since she was six) with either a DSi or a DSi XL. Her favorite parts of the DS Lite are picto-chat, the voice recording stuff, and drawing games, so I'm pretty sure the DSi/DSi XL is going to be a huge hit with her. She also loves - and I mean LOVES - taking pictures, and I think the photo manipulation stuff will thrill her to no end. I'm afraid that the DSi XL isn't "cool," though, because of its larger size...more geared to grandma, maybe? But I like the larger size...am I hopelessly out-of-touch here? What are your thoughts, oh great hive mind?
p.s. I'm not concerned with her losing it, or anything like that. She's very responsible with her things and her current DS Lite looks practically brand-new.
To be fair though, you may want to weigh the added cost of the XL against the fact that there's going to an entirely new system, the 3DS, which will be announced in May and come out in November or so.
posted by Oktober at 7:19 AM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Oktober at 7:19 AM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think you should consider what colors they come in. My nine year old wouldn't care which system it was as long as it came in pink or purple. I'm inclined to agree with srrh, usually whichever is newest is going to be the coolest.
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:23 AM on April 19, 2010
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:23 AM on April 19, 2010
Funny you ask, I just bought a DSi XL for my just turned 11yo niece. I bought the DSiXL at Best Buy. The salesperson told me that if it were her,she would not buy the DSiXL for an a 11 year old. She considered the eReader to be an adult feature, and the fact that the XL's only available in two bland colors (bronze and burgundy) as evidence that the XL was intended for older audiences, whereas the DSi is available in multiple colors and had a lot of cool accessories options. Although I agree that the XL accessories were boring, I still bought the DSiXL because that's what my niece wanted. I'm 100% she only wanted it because it was the *new*, shiny toy.
posted by alice ayres at 7:27 AM on April 19, 2010
posted by alice ayres at 7:27 AM on April 19, 2010
My thirteen-year-old son just replaced his old DS Lite with another DS Lite. He says that the DSi (which his brother has) is not worth the extra money, and he doesn't like the idea of the XL at all, because it's too big for his pocket, and too expensive. He chose metallic rose this time, telling me, "Pink is a manly color."
posted by Ery at 7:38 AM on April 19, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Ery at 7:38 AM on April 19, 2010 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: New system, great. Her birthday is now, though, not in November (we'll worry about Christmas when it gets here).
She is definitely opposed to "girly" colors; her favorites right now are blue, red, and black.
"Not worth the extra money," okay; but why not? And she always carries a small messenger bag with her, so pockets aren't a consideration.
Accessories, eh? That's news to me. Must investigate.
Again, I'm positive she'll love either version mostly because she uses her DS Lite to draw, draw, draw. And draw some more. I'm just torn on the DSi vs. DSi XL.
posted by cooker girl at 7:43 AM on April 19, 2010
She is definitely opposed to "girly" colors; her favorites right now are blue, red, and black.
"Not worth the extra money," okay; but why not? And she always carries a small messenger bag with her, so pockets aren't a consideration.
Accessories, eh? That's news to me. Must investigate.
Again, I'm positive she'll love either version mostly because she uses her DS Lite to draw, draw, draw. And draw some more. I'm just torn on the DSi vs. DSi XL.
posted by cooker girl at 7:43 AM on April 19, 2010
Best answer: Gizmodo says that most differences between the two systems are negligible, but: Each individual pixel in the 256x192 panel is just bigger. Practically speaking, it makes everything a bit hazier and a bit blurrier, but the screen is larger, though not so large that it actually makes a difference in gameplay. Your eye just needs to move slightly further when you have to look from one place to another.
The 'not worth the money' comment above may reference the DSi's noticeably shorter battery life [9-14 hours] when compared to the DS Lite [15-19 hours], though the DSi XL makes an improvement in this area [13 -17 hours] and the camera that many people might not use. From your description of her, you daughter will most likely love the DSi's camera feature, but it doesn't appeal to everyone [like me, I've kept my DS Lite because of the battery issues and because I already have a camera that I carry with me, plus the one on my phone]. And for drawing, she may prefer the larger, 'roomier' screen of the XL and the pen-sized stylus that comes with it [though there's no place on the system to store the larger stylus].
posted by alynnk at 8:03 AM on April 19, 2010
The 'not worth the money' comment above may reference the DSi's noticeably shorter battery life [9-14 hours] when compared to the DS Lite [15-19 hours], though the DSi XL makes an improvement in this area [13 -17 hours] and the camera that many people might not use. From your description of her, you daughter will most likely love the DSi's camera feature, but it doesn't appeal to everyone [like me, I've kept my DS Lite because of the battery issues and because I already have a camera that I carry with me, plus the one on my phone]. And for drawing, she may prefer the larger, 'roomier' screen of the XL and the pen-sized stylus that comes with it [though there's no place on the system to store the larger stylus].
posted by alynnk at 8:03 AM on April 19, 2010
Best answer: The DSi XL is aimed at older people, with the bigger screens. That's really the only difference - the DSi is just smaller. I'd go with the DSi - small screens for small hands.
posted by Mwongozi at 8:04 AM on April 19, 2010
posted by Mwongozi at 8:04 AM on April 19, 2010
Best answer: Personally, ten-year-old me [heck, who am I kidding: current, 26-year-old me] really likes the bright blue color of the DSi.
posted by alynnk at 8:07 AM on April 19, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by alynnk at 8:07 AM on April 19, 2010 [2 favorites]
If she uses the DS Lite for drawing, my guess is that the larger screen of the DSi XL will make her quite happy (even though it's the same resolution as the DS Lite).
posted by Prospero at 9:12 AM on April 19, 2010
posted by Prospero at 9:12 AM on April 19, 2010
The drawing aspect would tip it toward the larger screen for me. If she gets the idea that the XL is for "older" people, point her away from "uncool" toward "more grown up." There will be more accessories as time goes on.
posted by sageleaf at 10:17 AM on April 19, 2010
posted by sageleaf at 10:17 AM on April 19, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the input, everyone. By questioning her 13-year-old brother, her brother's 14-year-old friend, and surreptitiously questioning her*, we've decided on the DSi, not the XL. Basically, she thinks the XL is too big. I appreciate the answers!
*we also asked her which versions she preferred of the other five things she asked for; bike, American Girl doll, etc., so she doesn't know which one she's getting.
posted by cooker girl at 2:20 PM on April 19, 2010
*we also asked her which versions she preferred of the other five things she asked for; bike, American Girl doll, etc., so she doesn't know which one she's getting.
posted by cooker girl at 2:20 PM on April 19, 2010
I've had a DS (fat), DS Lite and a DSi (yes, I've been a teenager all my life).
The DS Lite is by far my favorite and comes in the most colors. The finish on the DSi is matte, whereas the Lite is glossy plastic. It's easier to clean and doesn't get dirty fingerprints everywhere from the get-go (grease marks, sure, but not dirt/foodstuff). I also think it feels better and looks better as well. The finish on the DSi will end up showing unsightly wear where she rests her hands/fingers.
I really don't notice that much difference in the DSi and the Lite. I can connect to Facebook with my DSi, but I'm 24. The camera is alright, but for the price, negligible. I haven't played any of the games that utilize it, but with the sort of camera-based technology that will be coming out on the larger consoles in the next year or two, I doubt it even compares.
My DSi (and I'm assuming all of them) came with a minimal copy of Brain Age and something else. Neither of which I use. If you haven't already bought the DSi, I would go buy the DS Lite in one of the lovely colors (Pink/White/Baby Blue) and use the money you save to buy her a gift card for games.
posted by june made him a gemini at 7:26 PM on April 19, 2010
The DS Lite is by far my favorite and comes in the most colors. The finish on the DSi is matte, whereas the Lite is glossy plastic. It's easier to clean and doesn't get dirty fingerprints everywhere from the get-go (grease marks, sure, but not dirt/foodstuff). I also think it feels better and looks better as well. The finish on the DSi will end up showing unsightly wear where she rests her hands/fingers.
I really don't notice that much difference in the DSi and the Lite. I can connect to Facebook with my DSi, but I'm 24. The camera is alright, but for the price, negligible. I haven't played any of the games that utilize it, but with the sort of camera-based technology that will be coming out on the larger consoles in the next year or two, I doubt it even compares.
My DSi (and I'm assuming all of them) came with a minimal copy of Brain Age and something else. Neither of which I use. If you haven't already bought the DSi, I would go buy the DS Lite in one of the lovely colors (Pink/White/Baby Blue) and use the money you save to buy her a gift card for games.
posted by june made him a gemini at 7:26 PM on April 19, 2010
Wow I totally failed to read the middle section of your post. I was incredibly underwhelmed by the DSi's photo manip software. There's only so many low-res photos I feel like putting a sunflower around.
If she already has a DS Lite, buy her a digital camera and a copy of Photoshop Elements. That will be so much better than another, bulkier, DS.
posted by june made him a gemini at 7:29 PM on April 19, 2010
If she already has a DS Lite, buy her a digital camera and a copy of Photoshop Elements. That will be so much better than another, bulkier, DS.
posted by june made him a gemini at 7:29 PM on April 19, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by srrh at 7:09 AM on April 19, 2010