Reggie: DSi not in North America until 'after April'
by JC Fletcher 
{ Oct 3rd 2008 at 2:00PM }
Before G4's Dan Hsu spoke to Reggie Fils-Aime about the DSi, the closest estimate we had for a North American release date was "well into 2009." Reggie has narrowed the window a bit, saying that because of strong DS Lite sales (Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G hasn't happened here to distract people from the DS), the DSi launch is "going to be in our next fiscal -- so, certainly after April."
He then went on to downplay the immediate importance of DS Shop downloads in North America, in a way that we can't help but read as stating the obvious given that we won't be able to buy anything to play DSWare until "down the road:
"We believe that as we continue to drive sales for DS hardware in total, the biggest opportunity's going to be on packaged software. Down the road, with the DSi Shop and downloadable software, certainly will be a growing opportunity and something developers are excited about, but it really is much longer down the road."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dwonder3 @ Oct 3rd 2008 2:12PM
DAMN NINTENDO! I want my DSi for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!
chao1212 @ Oct 4th 2008 5:45PM
i hate nintendo right now
Mike @ Oct 3rd 2008 2:25PM
The longer the keep it away from the US the more we will just play games on the iPhone.
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:03PM
Thats just ignorant. You do realise that the games will mostly be compatible with the old DS right? And besides, the DS and the iPhone aren't even in the same market. Wow, the iPhone CAN play games, but it's DESIGNED as a business phone.
The graphical power is only there so that stuff like PDF and office files load really fast, not to put out state of the art 3D graphics. That, and theres the price difference. I don't know about the US (Assuming that's were you're from, sorry if I'm wrong) but the iPhone is £350GBP on Pay-as-you-go in the UK. That without any games. The DSlite however is only ~£100. And it usually comes with a free game.
Not to mentaion the fact the DS already has one of the highest penetration rates of any consumer electronic thats currently out, as Reggie stated, and it's not slowing down.
Anyway, I'm all done now. ^_^
Might import one for Crimbo though. Doesn't seem like the price is gonna be much higher than the DSL is at the minute, if Play Asia is anything to go off.
iofthestorm @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:29PM
I agree mostly, but the iPhone is definitely a multimedia/consumer phone, and not a business phone.
Pistolero @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:30PM
Yes, I can really imagine myself booting up Final Fantasy VI for iPhone or indulging in the next Mario/Zelda title, for iPhone to find my game quit upon launching or better yet, distorting the sound of the game.
Pistolero @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:47PM
*Final Fantasy IV
Josh @ Oct 3rd 2008 2:49PM
This makes it seem like DS Ware isn't really going to be as big or important as WiiWare.
And "certainly after April"...Hm, sounds like fall to me.
Niz @ Oct 3rd 2008 2:52PM
I think the DSi is pants most people have phones that do all of what the DSi is offering new. BUT its great because it will drive down the price of the lite which i think is a much better system, cheers nintendo!
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:04PM
*sigh* Did you even watch the video? Yeah, people have phones which have a better camera, and better audio player, but the DSi's features are there to improve the entertainment factor in the software. Not to take top quality photos.
Niz @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:00PM
The camera etc features can only be used by games that are sold on the DSi on-line thing or risk alienating DS and lite owners, already alienated DSi users from buying guitar hero!!. The new features are a gimmick on the DSi. They are not bad ideas at all don't get me wrong, but these are things that should be in DS2 not DSi. So when the system starts a new everyone has the features! The move from DS to lite works as it was really only cosmetic. This is a system and a quarter. The only changes i can accept are screen size, cosmetic and DS lite should have had WPA/WPA2 etc security and all 802.11b/g/n.
So from my thought as a gimmick people will just use it to take pictures, listen to music but their phones do a better job already!
Teddy @ Oct 3rd 2008 3:36PM
I think Reggie knows that the DSi is just a prelude to the next-gen Nintendo portable console. In other words, it might convince some current Phat owners and even some current Lite owners to upgrade, but he knows most of us will wait for the next hardware announcement. The Japanese are a different story.
The future is definitely in downloading games to the internal flash drive/SDHC card in your portable system. The convenience factor is just too overwhelming to ignore. The problem is it's too late for the current generation to really take advantage of it since most of us already own/played most of the best games that will ever come out on it. Had it been released two years ago...
Anyway, here's looking forward to the next gen Nintendo/Sony portable systems where you can download games, install them on the 16/32/64GB internal flash drive/SDHC/MS Pro card and be able to play dozens of games anytime you want on your system (as well as music & videos)...like what you can do on the iPhone/Touch now.
Merci S. @ Oct 5th 2008 8:12PM
i wonder if hc sd cards will work cause i know that some comps or mp3 players with sd slots don't
Gurbinder @ Oct 3rd 2008 3:46PM
omg seriously? psp 3k comes out soon and id rather let dsi and psp3k win over ****ing apple.
really want to see a combination to beat apple. Who does steve jobs think he is trying to declare itouch or iphone or iwhatever the best portable gaming device...
Pistolero @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:36PM
Being a Mac user and iPhone owner, I can't help but agree with you there. Steve Jobs was a fool to state what he did regarding the iPhone/iPod touch at the press event a few weeks ago. Gaming + Apple = Null. Hence why I have XP installed on a partition on my Mac.
Dog @ Oct 3rd 2008 4:12PM
I wish nintendo would add some processing power and better screen resolution to the DSi. Because to be completely honest DS graphic is way out of date already. It is useless to have the capability to store photograph and pics if your graphics and screen resolution sucks.
I don't really care about camera but I don't mind they choose to eliminate the GBA slot.
Looking at the design of DSi, I don't like the way the hinges stick out like that (at the back, when folded).
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:15PM
*sigh* Why don't people understand the whole "Nintendo portable Redisgn" concept? Sure, they could upgrade the hardware so that developers have more to play with, but then, what about the DS Lite/Phat owners? What will they play? Reggie even said in the video that NOA want the penetration of the DS in the Americas to be 100% or as close as possible. Now, how would they manage that if everyone who mought a lite or phat had to go out and buy the DSi just so they can still play games? It's not a NEW console, just an update to the hardware, like the PSP3k, iPhone 3G, or the 360 Elite. And as far as the new features like the camera and music player goes, yeah they MIGHT be seemingly useless things that have been tacked on, but that was what everyone thought about the touch screen and the Wii's Waggle stick. But would you look at that. How much does everyone enjoy the touch screen? Would LoZ:PH been half as good if it didn't have the touch screen controls? Maybe, but they made it unique among a series of game with practically nothing new since OoT. Yeah, each game had it's gimmick, like time travel, or riding a boat, but the boat was just WW's version of Epona. Hell, PH's control scheme is its gimmick.
Just stop nay-saying about it, unless it DOES turn out to be a big waste of time. Most of the software which uses the new features will be downloadable anyway, why do you think we won't see any DSWare for a while after launch? Because it's still being made.
/end rant
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:16PM
Oops. Didn't realise it was such a big wall of text. Sorry bout that ^_^;
ViRGE @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:59PM
The problem is that the 360 Elite and iPhone 3G weren't introduced 4 years in to the lifespan of the platform. The DS is old, it has already outlived the GBA and this upgrade means that it's going to live on as Nintendo's current-gen handheld for at least another 2 years.
As it is, it was born underpowered since it was an experiment and not intended to be the true successor to the GBA; it basically wasn't done right the first time since Nintendo wasn't sure it would succeed. If they would have known that it would become the next GBA, it would have come a bit later and been on par with the N64, instead of being weaker than anything save perhaps the Sega Saturn.
So what we have right now is a platform that was taken on as a risk and wasn't necessarily designed as well as it could have. Except it's been a runaway success, and Nintendo doesn't want to replace it so soon. But at the same time it's woefully underpowered going in to 2010, enough so that it's limiting developers' options on the kinds of games they can make due to the very limited 3D abilities.
It's not so much that we're dissatisfied with the new features, but we are dissatisfied that the already antiquated basic platform is going unchanged. Gimmicks won't make up for the fact that it's 2008 and people here are looking for new styles of games that the DS doesn't have the horsepower to pull off.
chibi_wings @ Oct 4th 2008 10:27AM
graphics don't make a good game. 2D games can be just as creative and fun as any 3D game *cough*worldendswithyou*cough*
the reason the DS is so successful is because it isn't about graphics but gameplay. Sure it would be nice if it were a little more powerful, but all-in-all, the fact that it's not up to *your* standards doesn't mean it's old and needs to be replaced. I feel like gamers today (you younger ones at least), always want these fantastic graphics and eye candy and forget what really makes a great system and great game. So I really don't agree, I think the DS is a lot more modern then you give it credit for and isn't yet to be considered an antique.
RasenganFury @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:11PM
Im not getting this since there is no gba slot. Plus based on past renovations to the gba, this will be the last ds and next is a new system.
1.Gameboy Advance
2.Gameboy Advance SP
3.Gameboy Micro
1.Nintendo DS
2.Nintendo DS Lite
3.Nintendo DSi
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:37PM
you could say past renovations to all Nintendo handhelds to an extent
Game Boy
Game Boy Pocket
Game Boy Colour (if it counts)
Vidikron @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:42PM
The problem is I need a new DS NOW... or, rather, my wife does. She's worn noticeable marks into her current DS playing various casual games that make use of the stylus. We've already been holding off due to the rumors of a DS hardware revision, but now that it's official we find out Japan is going to get it a half or more before us. Fucking lame, Nintendo.
Vidikron @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:44PM
Oops... that should read:
"Japan is going to get it a half YEAR or more before us"
The "Fucking lame, Nintendo" that follows is correct however.
Pistolero @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:46PM
No offence but I feel the reasons Reggie Fils-Aime gave for their decision are perfectly valid. It's still not stopping you from buying a replacement for your wife. I mean, the DSi is 7+ months away from a US launch and 5 months away from a UK launch.
Vidikron @ Oct 4th 2008 12:16AM
Sure, the reasons are valid from a business standpoint. They hope to dump all their old models in the US market where your average cosumer won't be aware of the impending new model. Then, if Nintendo is lucky, they'll score multiple sales from someof those people when they find out about the newer model down the road. Plus, by pushing it to the next financial year they make next year's books all nice and pretty.
But as an informed comsumer that knows about the new model I'm getting screwed. I'm not going to buy the current model knowing it's going to be outdated in half a year. That would be foolish, especially if they actually do use the cameras for some of the games. I nor my wife use the GBA slot so that's a non-factor. So now I'm stuck waiting half a year so Nintendo can dump their outdated stock and make next year's financial statements look prettier.... or attempt to import one at a premium price.
Andy @ Oct 4th 2008 3:53AM
@FantomRedux
Quick, call the Nintendo Defense Force!
Anyway, I still can't understand why they're delaying this until April. People are not gonna buy a Lite now AND a DSi in April. So why should the current sales of the Lite be the focus for the holiday season? Hell, if anything, releasing the DSi before the holidays might mean that some people would otherwise not buy one (like they already own a Lite or were going to buy a Lite) might buy one. Maybe it's just me, but I'd have tried to release it by the Holiday Season...
Shadow31 @ Oct 4th 2008 9:28PM
I'm in the gaming industry and I believe I can answer this logic. Yes, most consumers won't buy a DS Lite now AND a DSi in April, especially if they know about it. However, the average American is impatient and therefore will buy the DS Lite, finding the DSi a useless upgrade. Let me rephrase that: there will be enough people who will buy DS Lites by holiday season that Nintendo will make money then.
Okay, fast forward, not to DSi launch where people waiting on it will actually buy it then, but past the DSi launch by 6-12 months. The DSi will pick up speed. People who bought the DS Lite now will begin to wear from the advertising and hype of the DSi. Nintendo, along with some 3rd party companies, will be in the perfect position to release some big, gimicky games (see pretty much every huge casual game released on Wii and DS). These games will use one or more of the DSi's features (camera, internal memory, music playback, DSWare, etc) that make it DSi exclusive. Basically they doubled their money.
So correct, people will not buy the DS Lite now and the DSi in April (assuming it comes that early, which is unlikely). Nintendo just has to downplay the difference between the systems until the DSi is released when they can focus on its hardware. They're not really looking at the sales for this year, but rather, the overall potential sales.
FantomRedux @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:24PM
I don't see how the DS can't pull of any particular genre of game, assuming that what you meant by styles of game. It has one of the biggest libraries out there. Thats not counting the GBA library. Last I checked, were well into the 2700's with ROM release numbers. Thats probably around 1500-1800 games if you take the different regions out. And theres a great range of games there too. Youve got RPG's, FPS's, Strategy, Sports. Admitedly, most of these are fairly lackluster on the DS, but thats the developers faults for not putting enough care into the games. Either way, while the DS may be low on the horsepower in comparsion to the PSP, and even the iPhone, the Wii is in comparison to the 360/PS3, but the games on that are just as exciting to play, if not more so, than the 360/PS3 because of the unique hardware.
Kralos @ Oct 4th 2008 2:49AM
April? pffft. I'll just import it then. And if I wait a bit, they should come out with some limited edition in Japan I can try to get, and it'll still be before april.
chao1212 @ Oct 4th 2008 5:47PM
not if youre getting dsware, you wont
Diortem7 @ Oct 4th 2008 3:54AM
I don't think older DS users will need to update their old systems. All that Nintendo needs to do is release an add-on, like the Play-Yan, so that the old models can play DS Ware games too. In fact, I'm almost certain they will eventually. It will probably be sometime after the DSi launch though, that way more people will be inclined to buy the new model. After all, DS Ware is really the main selling point for the DSi.
xcdjy @ Oct 4th 2008 4:20AM
Not to jinx it, but I've got the strangest feeling that UK will get it first. Don't ask why...
chibi_wings @ Oct 4th 2008 10:34AM
everyone knows Europe will get it first. Nintendo of Europe stated they will get DSi Spring 2009, while Reggie just confirmed NA will get it after April, so summer 2009.
xcdjy @ Oct 4th 2008 11:36AM
Okay okay okay, don't like... throw crabs at me.
Just joshing. Nah, I meant it as a follow-on to what DSFanboy said yesterday about 'if NA are getting it this date, odds are UK will get it even later than that' or something along those lines :D
Atreyufan @ Oct 5th 2008 12:19PM
Wow..People should stop complaining that the graphics suck on the DS. Graphics don't not make a game. Sure it makes the game looks good but it all comes down to what the consumer likes and the game play. Which I think for the DS Nintendo knows what they're doing with game play. (Also I'm talking about the DS not the wii so don't throw a bi**h fit when you read this because the wii doesn't have good game play in your eyes" Also you think the DS has bad graphics try and put a game like Final Fantasy IV on the iPhone and let it work without crashing.
Then talk to me.