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Nintendo Gives us an Average Update

Today saw the announcement of the Nintendo DSi, the follow-up to the 2nd version of the Japanese company’s DS lite. The new handheld comes with a few new features including a camera, larger screens and an SD card slot.

The new handheld also features Opera Browser, and the promise of an download store based on the WiiWare store, that should help fans of the Game Boy Advance as Nintendo has chosen to remove the slot for old games.

With the rumour mill swirling around, I can’t help but feel under-whelmed by the features. The camera is a shoddy 0.3-megapixel job (of which there is two) that sounds like a cheap afterthought, the thought of the download store does make things a bit better, but I’m sad at the loss of the GBA slot.

I hate to say it, but the update of the DS lite is remarkably similar to the promised upgrade of the Sony PSP (the 3000). However, if you compare the DSi to the original DS, then it’s a massive improvement on the chunky, slab of plastic that looks more like a cheap toy from a market, rather than a piece of touch screen genius.

The new DS is coming out in Japan next month, and should land on UK shores at the start of 2009.

Tags: DSi, Handheld, Nintendo