DSi

I think it might be fair to say that I have been looking down on the Nintendo DS and DSi for a long time. Any recent interest that I have had in the Nintendo handhelds was solely based on the E3 coverage of Scribblenauts. Then for some reason I decided to take a look at the games that are offered for the Nintendo DS and DSi. Within an hour my Amazon Wishlist jumped up 50 items.

I think it is pretty obvious that in the areas of graphics and hardcore games the DS is not going to compete with PS3 or 360. I will also say that, in my opinion, there seems to be a lot of CRAP out there for the DS. All that being said, I can see how a lot of the games/software could easily cure daily boredom.

I often find myself not wanting to buy games due to the shear fact that I also like to watch tv. With only one tv in the apartment I really have to decide if I would rather play the flavor of the week game or watch any of the 30 (probably more) tv shows on my DVR. This is usually the problem with a lot of the Wii games. While I really do like Animal Crossing: City Folk, I am not sure I like playing it more than I like watching Heroes, Top Model, Flash Forward, LOST, or any of many others. With a handheld console this is obviously less of a problem.

The other thing that makes the DS/DSi more of a consideration for me is that I am a full time student that has to park two hours before my classes if I want to find a spot at all. I am sure I could find lots of productive ways to fill these 8 hours a week, but I usually end up in a reading room listening to podcasts. If I had a DS/DSi I could spend those 8 hours listening to podcasts while playing Peggle Duel Shot.

Another important consideration is that new games for DS/DSi seem to be a third of what they are for PS3 or 360. It is really not hard to find games for PS3/360 that are in the $50-$60 range while new DS/DSi games are around $20. What does that mean to me? Well it is pretty simple. I am far more likely to shell out $20 once every week or two, but $60 makes me really have to think hard even if I haven't bought a new game for months. Plus, if I spend $20 on a game and it turns out that I don't really like it I won't hate myself nearly as much as wasting $50-$60.

Ok, so there has to be a downside. My main downside is that with all the price drops there has not been one for the DSi...yet. I have no idea if there will be one, but at a price only $30 less than a Wii, I think it might be a little high. That is not to say that $170 is outlandish, but I am personally not ready to shell out that much money right now. Will it be on my Christmas list? Yes, but there is a lot of other things I can spend that kind of money on. If the price does drop to the $100-$130 range than it will probably make it to my "to-do" list for the week. That being said, I should also note that the DS lite is around $130.

Overall, I could easily see myself having a Nintendo DSi in the next 6 months. (My birthday is in March.) I don't really foresee a lot of you running out and buying a DS/DSi tomorrow, but I do hope that you will at least give it and it's collection of games a look.

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