Nintendo DSi

The Nintendo DSi is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS system, succeeding the Nintendo DS Lite. A seventh-generation console, it primarily shares the handheld market with Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Between 2008 and 2009, the console launched in Japan, Australasia (Oceania), Europe and North America. It is distributed in China by iQue, under the title “iQue DSi”. A larger model with bigger screens, called the Nintendo DSi LL, was released in Japan on November 21, 2009. It was released as the Nintendo DSi XL in Europe on March 5, 2010 and will be released in North America on March 28, 2010.

Nintendo began development of the DSi in late 2006, and unveiled it during a Nintendo Conference in Tokyo on October 2, 2008. After the success of the DS Lite, Nintendo’s goal was to narrow the gap between DS consoles per household and DS users per household. While the console’s design is similar to that of the DS Lite, it includes the major addition of two interactive digital cameras, which may be incorporated into gameplay or simply used to take photographs. The console allows for internal and external content storage, and connects to an online store called the Nintendo DSi Shop. These new features are meant to facilitate personalization, in order to appeal to the individual members of a household.

The Nintendo DSi received generally positive reviews. While reviewers criticized its lack of exclusive software, they recommended the console to those who did not purchase prior DS models, due to its additions to the DS Lite design. CNET.com and PC World considered the DSi Shop to be the largest buying incentive for current DS owners.