Topic: Should I Buy a DS Lite?

Hi everyone. I am a total novice at this so please bear with me!! My daughter wants a DS for her birthday. She is only 7 and just wants to play the games and she is not interested in all the gadgets so I thought a DS Lite would be perfect. However, I have heard rumours that Nintendo are phasing out the DS Lite soon and that future games will be DSi/3DS playable only. Has anyone heard this and have any information on it? The difference in price of a DS Lite and a DSi is about £35. Any advice would be much appreciated.

If you want to download games from the DSi shop buy a DSi. If you have any interest in buying her old GBA games buy a DS lite. All DS games are playable on the DSi and will be playable on the 3DS.

DSi and 3DS are 2 seperate things..... Though, DSi has a FEW exclusive games, along with, cheap, downloadable DSiWare games, it generally plays all the same games as DS Lite, and is considered to be more of an "extension" of the DS systems, instead of an all new one. 3DS, which is not out and easily may not be out by the time when your daughter's birthday rolls around (I don't know when it is though so I could be wrong, not to mention the 3DS does not have a release date yet). The 3DS will have all original games but at the same time original DS games will be playable.

So, it's probably best to go with the DS Lite, unless you think she'd be interested in DSiWare games. If you're not aware of what DSiWare games are, they are cheap games (they range generally from $2-8) that are only available via a download on the DSi's shop channel, which requires an internet access to be used. If you don't know about any DSiWare games out there, then you're on the right site, as there are reviews of all DSiWare games out there. However, as I said, I think a Lite would suffice for a 7 year old.

No.

It depends on when your daughter's birthday is. For playing Nintendo DS games and nothing else, the DS Lite is ideal, in my opinion. However, please be aware that the 3DS will be coming out next year, probably in March. This will play all games - DS, DSi and 3DS - whilst a DS Lite will only play DS games. Unless you can get a new DS Lite fairly cheap, I honestly would wait, because a new 3DS will be good for many, many years, whereas DS games probably won't last much longer than another twelve months from now.

You will get much, much more from a 3DS, but bear in mind it will be a good deal more expensive than the DS. If your daughter wants to play DS games, the 3DS is compatible with those too. So basically, if your daughter can wait, and if you can afford it, go for the 3DS. Also, bear in mind that it won't be long before people stop making games for the DS. Also, welcome to NL Cityblue! By the way, the DSi is better than the DS Lite as it features two cameras and a photo-altering functon for kids, which your daughter would enjoy, and a sound-recording program built-in. It also has DSiWare, which has some good games for kids, if your daughter would be interested.

I'd go for a DS Lite. They're fairly cheap nowadays, and once 3DS drops, DSi will fade out pretty much just as quickly as the DS Lite. There are a few DSi "enhanced" games, but no exclusive games outside of DSiWare downloads to my knowledge. They may manufacture the DSi longer, but you won't get much more game-wise out of it to justify the extra cost, unless you're really interested in DSiWare. There's a MASSIVE back library to choose from for the DS, so for a child that young, it doesn't really matter if a new system is releasing. Little kids don't need the latest thing. These games are all going to be dropping in price too once the 3DS comes out as well.

In a year or two, once the 3DS builds a library of titles she's interested, you can always sell the Lite used or trade it in somewhere to upgrade, and she'll still be able to play all of her old games. Also keep in mind that if you got a DSi instead, there's a good chance you wouldn't be able to transfer your downloaded titles to the 3DS anyways. At this point, you're better off avoiding DSiWare and picking up a cheap DS Lite to hold your daughter over.

Thanks to all. Token Girl, I think you've hit the nail on the head there. As my daughter is so young and with the large back catalogue of games I think I will go for as DS Lite, and maybe upgrade in a couple of years when she has outgrown it. She really isn't interested in anything else but games so I think this will be best.

Do you think it's best to buy now whilst I can still get hold of one, or hold out until nearer Christmas in the hope the DS Lite might be cheaper?