I must admit that at first I was not happy with the announcement. The reduced battery life really kills it for me, as i believe that this could have been prevented, or at least such a drastic reduction could be prevented.
I however really do like the standard inclusion of a browser, but most importantly the fact that the DS supports WPA, which means i may finally start using the internet function more often.
The camera does nothing for me, but i think Nintendo are smart to position the camera not as an additional functionality to the DS, but as a new tool for developing innovative games. Hopefully we will get more interesting games that Face Training though.
Taking away the GBA slot will not impact sales too much either i my opinion. Most consumers (especially kids and parents) won't even be aware that this GBA slot exists. Also, i think most GBA games may become downloadable one day, possibly increasing the availability of GBA games to the consumer.
A ten to fifteen percent price rise may even be realistic for the extras, but i somehow have a feeling that the new version is going to come along with an even higher price rise in UA but especially Europe.
So after a few days of contemplating, i may get a DSi sometime after it comes out. But i might have to buy a new DSL first, especially for long distance travel.
As far as sales are concerned, I do believe the DSi is going to sell very well. The DSi will definitely see a boost is sales in Japan. Having seen how well the updated PSP sold in Japan, i think the DSi will be a huge success in Japan, and will undoubtebly be sold out for the first few months.
Europe and US are still very DS hungry so any version of the DS will sell in those regions by default. Though the DSL might be sold as an alternative for slightly longer than the original DS was.
Member of the Pikmin Fan Club
