Nintendo DSi XL Burgundy
by Nintendo
Our Price: $170.97
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Brand: NintendoAudio: English (Unknown)
Release Date: 2010-03-28
Platform: Nintendo DS
Model: UTLSWRA
Color: Burgundy
Publisher: Nintendo
Product features:
- Retains all the functionality of the DSi including
- New, large diagonal LCD screen size (4.2-inch) allows for the best visual quality DS gaming experience to date
- Unit comes pre-loaded with three DSiWare titles, including
- New release Burgundy color scheme adds a unique and distinct touch to your hand held gaming experience
- Hardware includes a full size, easy to hold stylus that matches the exterior color of your chosen DSi XL
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 32GB Secure Digital Card
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 10 4 GB Secure Digital Card
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 16GB Secure Digital Card
Video Game Reviews of Nintendo DSi XL Burgundy
Customer Review: The bigger screen definitely enhances gameplay but how important is a bigger screen to you?
Summary: 5 Stars
With the announcement of the Nintendo 3DS at E3, the manager at my local Gamestop really tried to convince me to wait before purchasing the latest portable console from Nintendo - The Nintendo DSi XL.
In a nutshell, the Nintendo DSi XL has a bigger screen, it's not as portable (so, it's not going to fit in your pocket because of its larger size), there is no GameBoy Advance support but it does contain everything else that the Nintendo DSi came with. The two pre-installed Brain Age games, digital camera, recording software, calendar and more. You also get a Nintendo DSi XL pen which you can keep the back up stylus in.
As I usually tend to purchase the latest console, especially portable consoles, I did skip the Nintendo DSi, mainly because I didn't think it was a major upgrade for me personally.
But the Nintendo DSi XL, I was not wanting this portable console for the DSi features, it was all about the larger screen. And this may sound quite unusual, since several years ago, I was talking about buying the Gameboy Micro for its smaller screen and portability.
The fact is that if I want portability, the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite has served me well over the years for that purpose and hopefully for many more years and now that I have a child who is now playing video games, I figured that he will be using those consoles for now.
I figured that this Nintendo DSi XL would probably enhance gameplay for me and since we at J!-ENT enjoy our Japanese import games or Japanese-based video games in general, I wanted to test several games and see how it compares from playing on the Nintedo DS Lite vs. the Nintendo DSi XL.
TEST 1: Does playing a game on the Nintendo DSi XL' s bigger screen make a big difference? Here are two examples:
* Jump Ultimate Stars
For those familiar with this awesome import fighting game, because of the number of characters, the characters are smaller. One thing you will notice is how the characters are a tad bit larger and I didn't see any blockiness or compression during gameplay (it is more evident during the opening sequence) but during gameplay, it actually made the game much more appealing. Seeing characters like Luffy (One Piece) and Naruto much larger makes a difference in my opinion. You actually notice the character designs much more with the larger screen.
For this review, I'm not going to get into DSi games or DSi functionality, which you can find a review everywhere else. What I will go into is how games, look and compare from a Nintendo DS Lite to a Nintendo DSi XL.
* OUENDAN
You literally have much more space to work with in a game like the import music game "Ouendan" (and the same for "Elite Beat Agents")
I tested both games on the Nintendo DSi XL and the bigger screen made things much easier in gameplay. It seems that when played on the original DS and DS Lite, there was a feeling of difficulty because your eyes were focused on the smaller screen and I have to admit, at times, my hands felt as if they were cramping up when I played the two Ouendan games. Playing it on the DSi XL felt right because you had more screen to work with, my hands didn't cramp as much.
OTHER TESTS:
* NEW SUPER MARIO BROTHERS - Aside from a more noticeable vibrancy in the game, I didn't see a major difference when playing the game on a DSi XL and on the DS Lite. But some may appreciate the much more larger screen for this game.
* PRINCE OF TENNIS - CRYSTAL DRIVE - I have yet to try this on several sports games like Madden or FIFA but I did try the game on the "Prince of Tennis - Crystal Drive" game and a bigger screen made things much more easier to see and it made things much easier a bit with the larger screen.
* Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney - For puzzle or text-based games, I suppose it comes down to your eyesight. The bigger screen definitely helps make things easier to read.
* Tetris DS - For puzzle-based games like Tetris, at first I didn't think it would make a difference but playing it on a big screen, not sure if it made things much better for my eyes because I was actually doing well in the game. So, go figures, I guess a bigger screen does help!
TEST 2: If the game looked ugly before, how much uglier is it on a big screen?
Well, for one...I don't have many games that I can think of off-hand that are ugly. But of the ones I have reviewed, one game that is not the greatest in the looks department is the horizontal beat up game, "Tokyo beat down" (from Atlus) and it was not the greatest looking game on the DS Lite and on the Nintendo DSi XL, you do see edge enhancement, as the stair stepping edges are much more evident on the bigger screen of the DSi XL.
As for Japanese RPG games, I did a test with "Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure" from NIS America, which was a game originally created for the Sony PlayStation. The game was not the best looking JRPG game on the Nintendo DS but for the most part, the game did look good during certain cut scenes. But you do notice a little compression in the solid colors but it's nothing to be distressed about.
Speaking about the cut scenes, I did notice that the audio for the Nintendo DSi XL was much louder than the Nintendo DS Lite. This was a good test for audio because the Nintendo DS Lite sounds much more tinny and sounds much better on the Nintendo DSi XL.
TEST 3: BATTERY LIFE
So, far the battery life has lasted for over 10 hours which including a lot of gaming, pictochat and my son using the digital camera and voice recorder like crazy.
OVERALL:
With a good number of tests and various games that I have played on the Nintendo DSi XL, I would say that a bigger screen does make a big difference. But is it worth the money? This all comes down to your financial situation and how much of a need is there for you to own a portable console with a bigger screen. If you own a DSi, you should be fine with that. But if you have the money, having a big screen is worth it.
As you can see with the two comparison shots, it really helps to have a bigger screen area for gameplay. Upgrading from the first DS or DS Lite is a considerable upgrade but is it worth nearly $200, that depends on you. I for one, did not buy this for the DSi capabilities but by saying that, I did experience some of those built-in applications and they were pretty fun to mess around with. But for me, it was all about screen size.
Otherwise, if the screen size is not important to you, you can pass on the Nintendo DSi XL. Especially if you want portability. Parents, it's a bit pricey if you are planning to buy it for children but if price is not an object, this is an excellent gift for the kids.
So, in the end, I will say that I'm quite happy with this purchase and the fact that it has literally enhanced several of the games that I own in my DS collection because of the larger screen.
Description of Nintendo DSi XL Burgundy
Nintendo DSi XL BurgundyModern handheld gaming has long been dominated by Nintendo and Sony. Each hardware manufacturer has multiple viable offerings derived either directly, or evolving from the respective DS and PlayStation Portable product lines. All of these devices are impressive multifunctional devices, with designs meant to encourage gameplay on the go, integration with the Internet, backwards compatibility to previous games, and so on, but each goes about this in different ways. Taking a few minutes to examine the main features, and getting more familiar with available options, accessories and possible limitations of each handheld is the optimal way to determine which is the best choice for a player.
Handheld Console Choices
Nintendo 3DS View larger | Nintendo DSi/DSi XL View larger | PSP View larger | PSPgo View larger | PlayStation Vita View larger | |
| Suggested Retail Price (prices may vary) | $169.99 | $149.99/$169.99 | $149.99 | $199.99 | $249.99 - $299.99 (February 2012) |
| Display | Dual screen: upper - 3.53" LCD, lower - 3.02" LCD touch screen | Dual screen, backlit, 3.25"/4.2", LCD with 256 x 192 resolution | 4.3" full transparent | 3.8" full transparent | 5" OLED multi-touch screen |
| Internal Usable Memory | 64 MB | NA | 64 MB | 16 GB | TBD |
| External Media Storage | SD memory card | SD memory card | Sony Memory Stick Duo | Memory stick micro | New proprietary "NVG" flash cards |
| Size | 5.3" (l) x 2.9" (w) x 0.8" (h) | 5.4" (w) x 2.9" (l) x 0.74" (h) / 6.3" (w) x 3.6" (l) x 0.84" (h) | 6.7 (w) x 2.7" (w) x 0.7" (h) | 5.0 (w) x 2.71" (h) x 0.65" (d) | 7.2 (l) x 3.3" (w) x 0.73" (d) |
| Weight | 8 oz. | 7.5/11.1 oz. | 6.7 oz. | 5.5 oz. | TBD |
| Colors | Aqua Blue, Flaming Red, Cosmo Black | 7.5 oz. | Piano black (other colors via bundles) | Piano black, Pearl white | Black (other colors to follow) |
| Backwards Compatibility | Plays most DS and DSi games | Plays all DS games | Plays all PSP games in UMD format, or available via download; also plays downloadable PS1 games for PSP | Plays all PSP games available via download and PS1 games for PSP | Plays all PSP games available via download and PS1 games for PSP |
| Wireless Communications | Supports local Nintendo wireless connectivity between devices and IEEE802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity | Supports local Nintendo wireless connectivity between devices and IEEE802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity | Local ad hoc connectivity between PSP devices and infrastructure Wi-Fi connection options | Local ad hoc connectivity between PSP devices and infrastructure Wi-Fi connection options | 3G support in one or two hardware releases; standard ad hoc connectivity between devices and infrastructure Wi-Fi connection options in both |
| Online Media Portal | Nintendo eShop | Nintendo DSi Shop | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Network |
| Streaming Video | Netflix* | No | PSN movie rentals, and other video content | PSN movie rentals, and other video content | PSN movie rentals, and other video content |
| Internet Browser | Built-in | Built-in | Built-in | Built-in | Built-in |
| Console Integration | Yes, with Wii | Yes, with Wii | Yes, with PS3 | Yes, with PS3 | Yes, with PS3 |
| Game Media | Game card and digital download | Game card and digital download | UMD disc and digital download | Digital download | Digital download, alternate media TBD |
| Online Multiplayer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local Wireless Multiplayer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Estimated Battery Life | 3-8 hrs | 3-14 hrs | 4-6 hours | 4-6 hours | TBD |
| Input Method | Touch screen, face and shoulder buttons, circle pad, motion/gyro sensor | Touch screen, face and shoulder buttons | Analog stick, D-pad, face buttons and shoulder buttons | Analog stick, D-pad, face buttons and shoulder buttons | Front and rear touch inputs, 2 analog sticks, D-pad, face buttons and shoulder buttons |
| Digital Camera(s) | 3 (0.3 megapixels); 3D capabilities | 2 (0.3 megapixels) | No | No | 2 |
| Built-in Microphone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Graphic Quality | Top adjustable 3D screen - 800 x 240 resolution; lower screen - 320 x 240 resolution | 256 x 192 resolution | 480 x 272 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) | 480 x 272 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) | 960 x 544 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) |
| General Game Price Range | Standard: $19.99 - $39.99 Downloads: $1.99 - $4.99 | Standard: $19.99 - $39.99 Downloads: $1.99 - $4.99 | Standard: $19.99 - $39.99 Downloads: $1.99 - $4.99 | Standard: $19.99 - $39.99 Downloads: $1.99 - $4.99 | Standard: $19.99 - $39.99 Downloads: $1.99 - $4.99 |
Online Play and Functionality
The wireless revolution in personal electronics has made online functionality and connectivity to the Internet a huge focus in handheld gaming. Every handheld console has an online arena that has either been built specifically for it, or that has been adapted to suit the needs of online players. By utilizing these portals players can greatly expand their chosen platform's potential, maximize gaming fun and increase the overall entertainment value of their devices.
The Nintendo eShop is your one-stop shop for exciting downloadable games, videos, applications, and so much more. Discover all-new 3D software, plus legendary titles from gaming past remastered in 3D. Revisit with classic portable "Virtual Console" games starring Mario, Link, many other faces from the Nintendo catalog of games. Gain access to hundreds of previously released DSiWare games, applications and much more. Browsing the Nintendo eShop is incredibly easy, and fun. Find any title in seconds, then view screenshots, game info, and even video to help you make your purchase. You'll even find details and 3D video of Nintendo 3DS games available at retail stores. All games are able to be saved in your own custom wishlist so you can always remember the titles you want to get.
DSiWare through the DSi Shop is a service that allows DSi players to download games and applications directly to their handheld console in exchange for DSi Points purchased through a local retailer. Experience new and innovative gameplay, fresh takes on the classics-and much more. Just shop, download, and enjoy. Visiting the DSi Shop is easy, just establish wireless broadband connection, click on the Nintendo DSi Shop icon from your menu screen and browse the shop and use Nintendo DSi Points. Games and applications can be saved to SD cards (sold separately).
PlayStation Network is an all access pass not only to a world of gaming, but also one of entertainment at-large. The service is 100% free, only requiring a PlayStation handheld (or a PS3) and a broadband connection to the Internet Once you are in visit the PlayStation Store where users can download games, first run and classic movies, previews, DLC add-ons for games, game demos, music and original PlayStation oriented streaming video content. Purchases can be made using a credit card or a PlayStation Network Card purchased offline. Content can be stored on external media or within the hard drive of the PSPgo.
* Existing Netflix unlimited membership account required.
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