The Nintendo DS Lite has already been hacked to pieces, meaning that you can buy one of those shady flash carts and load all the ROMs on there you want. The DSi, however, had been incompatible with those same cards… until now! Yes, the Aekard 2i, which comes from a long pedigree of of such cards, is now fully compatible with the DSi. In short, you copy over a bunch of files—games and music and the like—over to a MicroSD card, then you put the MicroSD card in the Aekard. Turn your DSi on and off you go. (I had one of these types of cards for the GBA, worked well enough, I suppose.) Of course, the official reason these types of cards exist is to support homebrew. We all know that’s a codeword, though. The original Aekard DS runs for around $40, but prices vary wildy. Might want to shop around, then. via Hack A Day → Read More
The Nintendo DSi—meh? Hardly! As this short video shows, there’s a built-in parakeet-thing that repeats what you say into the microphone. Here, the guy says “say something,” to which the parakeet responds, “say something.” Very heaven. Now, does that take away from the fact that, save for the wireless store, the DSi can be described as a minor update at best? No, but for Pete’s sake it’s a talking electronic parakeet. Even though I’m a cynical killjoy I still find it “neat.” → Read More
A DS developer, who shall remain nameless, has encountered an issue that seems odd to them. A game they are developing on works flawlessly on their DS test hardware, but crashes regularly on DSi hardware. B-but, Nintendo said “All DS titles are compatible with DSi, with the exception of those that require use of the GBA slot”! Yes, and they’re sticking to that. Unfortunately, that means no support for the poor buggers (or debuggers, I suppose) who are trying to suss out the problem with the new gear. If a problem popped up so quickly on the radar, it doesn’t seem so unlikely that the DSi may have trouble with extant cartridges; I’m sure they designed it for compatibility, but who knows what effect the minor architecture changes and firmware tweaks have had. I’m skeptical of the DSi’s benefits anyhow, and Lites are about to drop to ridiculous prices, so I’d say buy one of those instead. Or better yet, a Super Nintendo. [via Kotaku] → Read More
In case you were wondering. “DSi software (software that is only compatible with DSi) is region locked, eg: European DSi software can only be played on European DSi consoles,” a Nintendo spokesperson has told CVG. “Nintendo DS software however is region free so you can play any DS software on DSi from any region. You can also browse the Internet on your DSi wherever you are in the world and exchange your photos with friends from around the world.” “DSi is region locked because DSi embeds net communication functionality within itself and we are intending to provide net services specifically tailored for each region. Also because we are including parental control functionality for Nintendo DSi and each region has its unique age limit made by different independent.” → Read More
In an interview with Nikkei, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explicitly stated that the DSi was not going after the iPhone. Why Iwata felt the need to clarify this is unclear based on the excerpt the Edge published, but I’d go out on a limb and say the Nikkei reporter asked the question. “We wanted users to have the device on them at all times,” he stated. “By downloading subway maps and other things, for instance, the DSi can be useful for applications other than playing games. We wanted to create an offering that would fit naturally into people’s everyday lives.” Just because something has a camera, a browser and music playback does not mean it’s been made to compete with the iPhone. It’s not the end all, be all of tech and I wish people would realize that. → Read More
I’ve ganked ‘em straight from the source just so you don’t have to guess which button it is that takes you to the good stuff. The new DS stuff looks fun, of course, but the Wii lineup is looking hot as hell. Punch-Out looks filthy, space exploration game looks awesome, whatever Tales game that is looks phantastic, and I’m sorry but I may have to buy a Wii solely on the strength of Harvest Moon. I love me some Harvest Moon. Click below for the Wiideo. → Read More
The DSi is 2.6mm thinner than the DS. The GBA slot has been axed. Screens are 17 percent larger, 3.25-inches. VGA camera. Music playback. SD slot allows you to transfer images to the Wii Photo Channel. Onboard memory. A DSi store will be launched to download content via Wi-Fi. You can use your Wii points, which is now being called Nintendo Points. Built-in Web browser. November 1 launch in Japan for 18900 yen (~$180). Press conference is over, there’s lots more after the break. More here at Nintendo’s site, and videos here. → Read More
