October 29 2:04 P.M.
See images of the DSi LL
Most manufacturers are churning out smaller and smaller portable gaming systems, but leave it to Nintendo to buck the trend. The latest in its 100-million-selling DS series was unveiled this week -- and it'll be significantly larger than any prior DS system.
Sporting dual 4.25" touch screens -- a full inch larger than the DSi's, and with an 80% larger screen area -- the machine casing is both longer and wider to accommodate the extra real-estate. The substantially thicker stylus looks more like a fountain pen and is available in red, brown, and white flavors.
It's dubbed the "DSi XL", and although Japanese consumers can get their hands on it next month, it won't launch in the US until early 2010. Nintendo of America has yet to announce U.S. pricing, but the machine's expected to be more expensive than the DSi, which will remain on sale at its current $169.99 price.
But who's going to buy it? At a size that approaches a paperback novel rather than the DSi's sleek, cellphone-like lines, the DSi XL isn't going to slip into anyone's pocket. Larger (and, presumably, clearer) screens should make it an attractive proposition for older and younger gamers who struggle to read the current machine's 3" displays, however, and those are lucrative markets Nintendo has been keen to reach. One thing's for sure: after turning both the Wii and the DS into colossal successes, you'd have to be nuts to doubt their mass-market instincts.
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Posted: 29 Oct 2009
