Find solution
When does the red DSi come out?

come on, grams...gimme back my dsi!

  • If you were having your 10th birthday, would you rather get a Nintendo DSi or DSi XL? (I saw http://ask.metafilter.com/138235/More-expensive-Nintendo-DSi-or-cheaper-DSlite-for-a-child-And-why thread and http://ask.metafilter.com/150797/Help-me-make-my-83-year-old-gamer-mother-happy one, but I still have questions.) My daughter is turning 10 and I'd like to replace her DS Lite (which she's had since she was six) with either a DSi or a DSi XL. Her favorite parts of the DS Lite are picto-chat, the voice recording stuff, and drawing games, so I'm pretty sure the DSi/DSi XL is going to be a huge hit with her. She also loves - and I mean LOVES - taking pictures, and I think the photo manipulation stuff will thrill her to no end. I'm afraid that the DSi XL isn't "cool," though, because of its larger size...more geared to grandma, maybe? But I like the larger size...am I hopelessly out-of-touch here? What are your thoughts, oh great hive mind? p.s. I'm not concerned with her losing it, or anything like that. She's very responsible with her things and her current DS Lite looks practically brand-new.

  • Answer:

    http://gizmodo.com/5505514/dsi-xl-review-its-probably-not-for-you that most differences between the two systems are negligible, but: Each individual pixel in the 256x192 panel is just bigger. Practically speaking, it makes everything a bit hazier and a bit blurrier, but the screen is larger, though not so large that it actually makes a difference in gameplay. Your eye just needs to move slightly further when you have to look from one place to another. The 'not worth the money' comment above may reference the DSi's noticeably shorter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DSi_XL [9-14 hours] when compared to the DS Lite [15-19 hours], though the DSi XL makes an improvement in this area [13 -17 hours] and the camera that many people might not use. From your description of her, you daughter will most likely love the DSi's camera feature, but it doesn't appeal to everyone [like me, I've kept my DS Lite because of the battery issues and because I already have a camera that I carry with me, plus the one on my phone]. And for drawing, she may prefer the larger, 'roomier' screen of the XL and the pen-sized stylus that comes with it [though there's no place on the system to store the larger stylus].

cooker girl at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

My thirteen-year-old son just replaced his old DS Lite with another DS Lite. He says that the DSi (which his brother has) is not worth the extra money, and he doesn't like the idea of the XL at all, because it's too big for his pocket, and too expensive. He chose metallic rose this time, telling me, "Pink is a manly color."

Ery

Personally, ten-year-old me [heck, who am I kidding: current, 26-year-old me] really likes the bright blue color of the DSi.

alynnk

To be fair though, you may want to weigh the added cost of the XL against the fact that there's going to an entirely new system, the http://kotaku.com/5499697/nintendo-announces-new-hardware-the-nintendo-3ds, which will be announced in May and come out in November or so.

Oktober

I could be way off base, but I think the DSi XL is considered much, much cooler right now, not least of all because it just came out.

srrh

I think you should consider what colors they come in. My nine year old wouldn't care which system it was as long as it came in pink or purple. I'm inclined to agree with srrh, usually whichever is newest is going to be the coolest.

TooFewShoes

Funny you ask, I just bought a DSi XL for my just turned 11yo niece. I bought the DSiXL at Best Buy. The salesperson told me that if it were her,she would not buy the DSiXL for an a 11 year old. She considered the eReader to be an adult feature, and the fact that the XL's only available in two bland colors (bronze and burgundy) as evidence that the XL was intended for older audiences, whereas the DSi is available in multiple colors and had a lot of cool accessories options. Although I agree that the XL accessories were boring, I still bought the DSiXL because that's what my niece wanted. I'm 100% she only wanted it because it was the *new*, shiny toy.

alice ayres

New system, great. Her birthday is now, though, not in November (we'll worry about Christmas when it gets here). She is definitely opposed to "girly" colors; her favorites right now are blue, red, and black. "Not worth the extra money," okay; but why not? And she always carries a small messenger bag with her, so pockets aren't a consideration. Accessories, eh? That's news to me. Must investigate. Again, I'm positive she'll love either version mostly because she uses her DS Lite to draw, draw, draw. And draw some more. I'm just torn on the DSi vs. DSi XL.

cooker girl

The DSi XL is aimed at older people, with the bigger screens. That's really the only difference - the DSi is just smaller. I'd go with the DSi - small screens for small hands.

Mwongozi

If she uses the DS Lite for drawing, my guess is that the larger screen of the DSi XL will make her quite happy (even though it's the same resolution as the DS Lite).

Prospero

Load more

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.