The Nintendo DSi has been available for a while, but it is still an interesting product. Slimmer than its predecessor, the DS Lite, and, in my opinion, equipped with a bunch of fancy do-dads but lacking the compelling backwards-compatibility hardware necessary to play older games, the DSi is a fun but limited gaming system.
Available in four colors (white, pink [pictured above], turquoise, and black), it retails for $169.00 at Walmart, and comparable prices at other retail outlets. It features a camera, wifi access, the ability to record and play sounds and music, the capability to play any DS game title, the same touchscreen technology that is featured in the older DS models, along with dual screen and control buttons as well. Also, apparently the ability to change the brightness setting between five levels is important enough to merit its own information button on the official website for this product.
The marketing of this product has not appeared overtly gender-biased, however the games themselves are heavily weighted in favor of male or female gamers, specifically. Traditionally, gaming as a pastime has been a male-dominated field, but with the advent of Nintendo's progressively more powerful and smaller handheld gaming platforms, gaming has become a great deal more girl-friendly. Often you see games advertised that are marketed to the female spectrum, across age groups. Once girls became more familiar with games on the small systems, they have been more likely to play similar games on the larger game systems like the Playstation 3 or the XBox 360, or more especially, the Nintendo Wii.
Nintendo seems to have discovered the niche market of female gamers. Their game systems are less complicated, arguably more fun, and have many games adapted for a female audience. Microsoft and Sony, while also attempting on some level to access the girl-gamer market, have had nowhere near the success of Nintendo. I know a couple handfuls of girls and women who reach for their DS system when they get bored, to play Animal Crossing, or a number of other friendly games. I myself own a DS Lite. Every member of my household owns some version of the DS. It is a popular, and cheaper, gaming system alternative. And as far as Nintendo's marketing to women is concerned, they made a huge leap forward by abandoning the old "Gameboy" naming strategy, and embracing a wider, genderless audience with the "DS" designation.
The DSi is the newest member to the Nintendo lineup. My personal assessment is, as a gamer with a collection of older Gameboy games, that the DSi is not worth the upgrade from the stable DS Lite platform I currently enjoy. However, I know many people who only own DS-version games, and for them, the DSi with its camera, sound and music capabilities, and advanced internet options, is a good choice for the casual techno-gamer.
Wow, I didn't know the DSi had a camera, wireless and the ability to record sound. I've played the regular Nintendo DS and I think it's a lot of fun. I've played Guitar Hero and some mystery game and I really enjoyed. I prefer puzzle like games or games that have different games within the game. I'm not big on action or mission games. I agree that Nintendo is more girl friendly. I've seen pet games and fashion games. I think it's cool that Nintendo is thinking more about females, but at the same time I don't think it's fair for them to think of girls and then make a fashion game.
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