Nintendo DSi Console

With the competition in the gaming industry getting fiercer than ever, selling a gaming console or handheld device worldwide is no walk in the park. You need to come up with a very good advertising concept and a really good product with loads of features for maximum attraction. Even if the sales were so great in key locations like Japan and the United States, some areas may have less affecting the overall total sales.

Surprisingly, the DSi console sold very well in the UK, which is a market that many competitors are trying to dominate. In fact, they sold even more than the original DS and DS Lite in the same 2-day period after the launch date making it the fourth fastest selling video game console. Magic wasn’t involved at all for the 92,000 units that were sold. There are some things that contributed greatly to the successful launch in the UK.

One of the first images of the DSi Console that we got to see.

Closely Packed Release Dates

UK gamers are the ones that suffer a lot with many of the games and systems due for release weeks or months after the launch in the US. This can be a lengthy wait for the DS lovers and may prompt them to find something else to do or something else to buy. This time around, the release dates were more closely packed than ever before. In fact, the European launch took place a couple days before the North American launch, leaving the UK fans relieved and excited to get their new handheld without delay.

DS Brand

Many people in the UK most probably have heard of the DS before, but never bothered to get it. The recent launch of the DSi console was more like a reminder for those people who had doubts to give the new version a closer look. With its improvements and new features, many people in the UK were attracted to buy the handheld.

Excellent Lineup of New Features

Because both the original DS and DS Lite sold very well in the UK, so many people already have them and probably don’t want to spend more money on another handheld. However, the Disc has plenty of neat features making it a bigger upgrade than the DS Lite. The bigger screen and improved speakers were welcome additions along with the new SD card slot for files to be stored and certain file types like AAC to be read. The two cameras that are built-in added more value to the unit with some future DS titles using it. The DSi Shop was among the best features that make it worth the dropping of the GBA slot.

Same Launch Price

The DS Lite made its debut with a 150 Euros price tag and now the DSi was launched with a similar price tag. People in the UK were happy about this because the added features were rather welcoming and the price isn’t too expensive for people to ignore.

It takes all of these factors combined for any handheld like the DSi console to be successful in a region. The Nintendo DSi had a very strong start and it is expected grow in sales numbers as the DSi is both for entertainment and productivity.

Nintendo have been reworking their handheld console, with the release of the DSi in Japan, people have been welcoming almost every new aspect of it. On the hardware side, there are a lot of changes that can easily improve the gaming experience. Also with new software features, the handheld console Nintendo made is really improving itself with every new model being released.

In Japan, the Nintendo DSi has already been released. With the public having a great positive response to it, the sales skyrocketed and sold 170,000+ of units within the first two days of release. The immense acceptance by the public would certainly mean more developers are making games for it which further increases its longevity within the market.

On the most noticeable changes, there is another camera added. This can have a great gaming advantage to entertainment aspect advantage in which can also be synced with the Nintendo Wii when storing pictures.

The overall size has been minimized. The Nintendo DSi console is 12% slimmer. This can always translate to more portability as it can squeeze through pockets without worries. The DS iterations are all made in a clamshell design which can easily withstand even with the roughest handling due to its screen protection.

The next is the new and bigger screen. The DSi console has two screens, of which it was formerly 3 inches in size, Nintendo added a quarter of an inch to make it better to view the media on the screen, keep in mind that there are two screens that have been upsized. Another side note is that there are now 5 brightness settings as opposed to the 4 settings on the DS Lite.

Another advantage is on the external casing. Since the DS Lite has a glossy screen, Nintendo wanted to eliminate the simple fingerprints to be shown. Their response is to make a matte finish on the case, eliminating the chances of getting smudgy with fingerprints.

Within the software side, Nintendo added the feature of music playback. Although it can only support AAC files, it?s a great start. As this can easily make the device become a personal media player, it can also store pictures and save other data with its built-in 256mb internal memory. The Nintendo DSi?s ram has been quadrupled; it has now 16mb of ram to easily handle the more challenging tasks that the software demands.

In addition to other features, the Nintendo DSi console also offers WPA 1 and WPA 2 support. There is also the internet store which is called the DSi shop to purchase add-ons to software and games.

Making use of the advantages is the goal of the new hardware and software features. Nintendo had been improving their handheld console from customer feedbacks and engineering assessments to further improve their products.

One thing that?s to be the disadvantage of the whole this is that it would only be sold worldwide outside Japan in April 2-5, 2009, otherwise, everything is looking pretty solid with the next iteration of a great handheld.

Gaming on the new handheld model has never been better. There are numerous tweaks to the hardware and complimented by better software to make sure the DSi console experience will be greater than compared to its previous models.

Whether you are playing Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, Super Mario DS, and many more, it is better to play on the new Nintendo DSi mainly to its screen size. It has now been upgraded to 3.25 inches compared to the previous 3 inches screen size. If you are playing Indiana Jones, Star Wars Complete Saga, Zelda phantom hourglass, and many games, you can easily have more space on the screen as making use of the touch screen features can be better due to the screen size.

All of the previous games that are released are compatible on the new DSi console. Also with the addition of improved speakers, the games audio effects can be clearer and crisper. Gaming with the Nintendo DS is also better when played outdoors due to its 5 settings of brightness as opposed to 4 settings on previous models.

Games can also come from downloadable content. With the new DSi online store, users can now purchase applications and games directly from the net and save the content though the SD card on in the internal 256MB memory.

With pertaining to a greater gaming experience, there is an additional camera added which can then be used on games that require them. Nintendo has been known for its gamble on new input features as opposed to traditional input controls. This is evident on the Wii consoles’ nunchucks and the DS’s touch screen. Presently, Nintendo has been the best that have been making use of the new feature to be implemented in games.

With its rivals such as the Sony PSP and albeit not being a real handheld console, the iPhone, both are miles away from the gameplay features of the DS handhelds. With this edge over other handheld gaming platforms, they have constantly improving their best product to be used for a better gaming experience.

Whether you want to play Final Fantasy series of games, Pokemon games, Castlevania series of games, or even Cake Mania, the gaming experience is simply better and more enjoyable with a good speaker, brighter and bigger screen, and other enhancements.

There are also downsides to the new iteration of DS handhelds. One this is that there is a significant reduction in battery life but still longer than its rival, the Sony PSP. Also the Game Boy cartridge slot has now been removed, you can now say goodbye to your past games and you will be forced to play newer ones.

Gaming with the Nintendo DSi console is only months away from the release; you can also purchase an import Japanese version that only plays games on its designated region. But if you really want English-language games, you can wait till April 2-5, 2009 for the worldwide release of the best handheld gaming console to date.