The rumors may actually be true: it looks like Nintendo will be releasing a new model of DS by year’s end, at least in Japan. It will apparently feature camera and media player functions, which is all well and good. But as I already have a pretty freaking great camera (my girlfriend gave me her old Nikon D70 as a hand-me-down) and I’m up to my eyeballs in iPods, this has no use for me.
But the bigger screen…that’s intriguing. But not as much as the possibly apocryphal SD card-based data-swapping with Wii. If Nintendo could somehow combine these two possible elements to create a portable extension to Virtual Console, allowing me to relocate Wii-purchased VC titles and play them in proper resolution on, say, a 320×240 screen…well. I’d really have no choice.
Luckily, Nintendo has no idea how to cater to my tastes anymore, so it looks like my wallet’s safe. Whew.
Makes me even more glad I stuck with my old-school toaster DS. Only have to upgrade once!
As cool as an SD-card-using, Wii-data-swapping, VC-on-the-go DS sounds, that seems more like an action that would be made by a company that felt threatened by their competitions remote play and wireless digital distribution capabilities. And, sadly, I don’t think Nintendo has any reason to feel threatened by that.
I’m filing this under “Wouldn’t It Be Rad If…” for now.
bah. you’ll have to pull my triforce ds lite out of my cold dead hands first.
If they allow devs to make use of the camera and the users’ music library, that could lead to some pretty awesome games. I’m thinking iPhone without DRM.
Silly question: do you think anyone at Nintendo feels guilty about the adamant denials of a new DS coming out this year? It seems like such a douche-move, to deny the plans that clearly were already set in motion. As frustrating as Microsoft’s “we don’t respond to rumors” policy is, at least it allows their employees to avoid flat-out lying to their customers.
I’ve wondered that myself. I have a feeling that the answer is “no.”
Parish, you’re too smart for your own good. Linking up VC and their portable juggernaut? It makes TOO MUCH sense.
@karchesky: devs using the camera could be really cool, but it would also segment the DS user base too much (not that that’s stopped Nintendo before…)
I have a feeling this next (and probably last) hardware update will be like the GBA Micro: interesting, but not as successful as the Lite (just as the Micro wasn’t as successful as the SP)
@feitclub: Really, it’s bad business to say “Yes, we’re working on something new, so don’t bother buying what we already have.” That’s also why companies don’t announce price drops for consoles until a few days (if not the same day) of the price drop.
This is the first I’ve heard of larger screens for the new update. But nevertheless, I just bought a Lite, and the addition of a camera (which I would never use) and MP3 player (I already own an iPod), along with the fact I doubt either would be integrated very much into future DS games, doesn’t really make me want to make a purchase.
How about WPA encryption compatibility? Then I would only need to have one wireless access point in my house.
I’m very happy with the Lite, and the experiencing of somehow managing to hunt one down in Tokyo right after its release was pretty awesome. But who am I kidding? I’ll buy any hardware revision they release, most likely.