Feb 24, 2010

Nintendo DSi XL

Nintendo (US) recently announced the upcoming US release of the newest model of the Nintendo DS game console. It's called the NDSi XL, which is much bigger than the DSi. The XL's screen is 93% larger and the touch pen in larger as well. Other than that, nothing else has been changed. The XL will launch on March 28, and the price is set at $189.99.

This model has been out for over a year in Japan and other parts of Asia, and it's called NDSi LL. I'm assuming the LL stands for larger screen and larger pen (?). There hasn't been much publicity about this. Perhaps because the NDSi hasn't been out in the US for too long, and the color options are very limited right now.

Is bigger necessarily better? I guess it depends on what you need/use it for. Nintendo said that they intended for the XL to be more of social gaming experience, where more people can watch you play games. The bigger screens can allow more people to be engaged in the game. The XL will be a cross between an individual handheld console and the standard gaming console. However, it is unclear whether the XL can support multiple players are once, and how that would work. So for now, the social gaming experience will be limited to watching someone play a game.

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