Development of the DSi began in late 2006, and it was unveiled during an October 2008 Nintendo conference in Tokyo. While the DSi's design is similar to that of the DS Lite, it features two digital cameras, supports internal and external content storage, and connects to an online store called the Nintendo DSi Shop. This new functionality was intended to facilitate personalization, so as to encourage each member of a household to purchase an individual DSi.
Reviewers were generally positive in their reception of the Nintendo DSi; although they decried the console's lack of exclusive software, its added functionality caused many to recommend it to non-owners of prior DS models. CNET.com and PC World considered the DSi Shop to be the largest buying incentive for current DS owners.
History:
Conception of the Nintendo DSi began at the end of 2006, around the time of the Wii's release. Following instructions from his supervisor, Masato Kuwahara of Nintendo's Engineering Department started development of the project. Kuwahara reported that his team had difficulty marketing the handheld during production; he said of their goal, "We have to be able to sell the console on its own. It also has to be able to meld into the already-existing DS market". The console's digital cameras were considered early in development: Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata described the touchscreen as the Nintendo DS's sense of touch, and the microphone as its "ears"; a co-worker suggested that it should have "eyes". Yui Ehara, designer of the Nintendo DS Lite and DSi's casing, advocated a change to the six speaker apertures, as their circular perforations were redundant with the rest of the handheld's interface. He believed that this alteration also signaled a clearer distinction between the DSi and its predecessors while keeping the unit "neat" and "simple", in that Ehara desired little intrusion from the DSi's added features that would interfere with the iconic image he wishes the Nintendo DS product line to be—two rectangles, one on top of the other, with each half containing another rectangle inside.The DSi's original design included two DS game card slots, due to demand from both fan communities and Nintendo employees. However, speaking about the console's in-company unveiling in October 2007, Kuwahara said that "the response wasn’t that great, and, ... we’d sort of been expecting that". The second game card slot was removed, which slimmed the handheld approximately 3 millimetres (0.12 in); this model was publicly revealed at the October 2008 Nintendo Conference in Tokyo, along with its Japanese price and release date. While the DS product line's worldwide yearly sales figures had consistently surpassed those of Sony's PlayStation Portable, demand for it in Japan was decreasing; Nintendo's launch of the DSi was meant to stimulate sales. The company was less concerned with releasing the DSi in other territories, where market demand for the DS Lite remained high.
In 2007, Nintendo had designed a large DS Lite model with 3.8-inch screens, compared to the standard 3-inch screens; development of this new handheld advanced far enough that it could have begun mass production. However, consumer demand for the DS Lite and Wii stalled its release. Iwata pitched the idea of simultaneously releasing large and small versions of the DSi, but Nintendo's hardware team was incapable of developing two models concurrently. After finishing work on the DSi, Kuwahara jump-started the DSi XL project and became project leader.The DSi XL, a larger version of the DSi, has an improved viewing angle over its predecessor, which allows onlookers to see the screen's contents more easily. This feature was absent from the larger-screened DS Lite due to cost issues. At the time, cost also limited LCD screen size to approximately 3.8 inches. Various names for the DSi XL were considered, including "DSi Comfort," "DSi Executive," "DSi Premium", "DSi Living", and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto heavily vouched for "DSi Deka" (Japanese for "large").
Launch:
Universal's CityWalk hosted the midnight Gamestop launch event on April 4—5, 2009.
DSi midnight launch events were held on the western and eastern coast of the United States. Nintendo sponsored an official launch event at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles and the Nintendo World Store in New York City. The LA launch party featured several events including merchandise handouts, signings and art galleries from i am 8-bit, parkour demonstrations, and performances by Gym Class Heroes.Hundreds attended and over 150 fans waited until midnight before heading into GameSpot to get a DSi unit.
iQue released a Chinese DSi model in black and white, with a pre-installed version of Nintendogs, in December 2009; the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun reported that this model features improved security, in order to combat piracy.On April 15, 2010, the DSi was launched in South Korea in white, black, blue and pink, alongside the game MapleStory DS. MapleStory DS will also be bundled with a red limited edition DSi, which will have characters from the game printed around its external camera. Other countries the DSi was released in include Brazil, Russia and Turkey.
The Nintendo DSi XL (Nintendo DSi LL in Japan) was released in Japan on November 21, 2009 with three available colors: dark brown (bronze), wine red (burgundy), and natural white. The former two colors were available for its European launch on March 5, 2010, and its North American launch on March 28. In Japan and North America, it is more expensive than the original DSi—it carries a list price of $189.99 in the latter region. In Europe, Nintendo sells the console to retailers for a higher price than the original DSi, but lets them decide on the consumer sale price.The console launched in Australia on April 15, 2010 in bronze and burgundy. It adopted the former price of its predecessor, which dropped in price a day beforehand. Other countries the DSi XL was released in include Brazil, South Africa and Turkey. The Nintendo 3DS, the successor to the Nintendo DS series of handhelds, was announced on March 23, 2010. According to industry analysts, the timing of this announcement, which had drawn attention away from the launch of the company's still-new Nintendo DSi XL handheld, was likely intended to preempt impending news leaks about the product by the Japanese press.
Demographic and sales:
Comparing 2008 life-to-date DS and DS Lite sales to the best selling game console, Sony's PlayStation 2, showed potential in further expanding the Nintendo DS gaming population. To further promote the product line while expanding its gaming population, Nintendo modified its market expansion approach. Satoru Iwata has said that families often share DS and DS Lite consoles, so to encourage each family member to buy an individual handheld, Nintendo added personalization features to the DSi. The lower-case "i" in "DSi" symbolizes both an individual person ("I") and the handheld's cameras ("eyes"); the former meaning contrasts with the lower-case "i"'s in "Wii", which represent players gathering together.Iwata has said that the DSi is meant to be a first camera for children, and a social networking device for adults.A Nintendo representative said that the company "hope[s] that the Nintendo DSi becomes more than a game system and more of a personal tool to enrich our daily lives". In response to media commentary following the DSi's announcement, Iwata insisted that its new capabilities are not meant to compete with mobile phones, the iPod or the PSP.
The DSi helped maintain strong sales for Nintendo's handheld product line. The DSi accounted for 40% of its product line's 2009 sales in the UK and it frequently topped weekly sales charts in Japan during its first year of availability. In the United States, the console's initial three-month sales surpassed those of the DS, DS Lite and Wii. The average weekly sales rate of the Wii and Nintendo DS declined slightly in March; Nintendo DS hardware sales stabilized to over 200,000 units for seven months after the DSi's launch, while Wii sales continued to diminish. Gamasutra estimated that, during October 2009 and February 2010, 50% of Nintendo DS unit sales were DSi consoles. In an October 2009 interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime announced that the DSi had sold 2.2 million units in the United States. He said, "If you give the consumer great value in terms of what they pay, they're willing to spend, and we say [that] based on the experience of launching the DSi".
In an United States hardware sales estimate for July 2010 by Gamasutra, the DSi and DSi XL each outsold the DS Lite. The website also reported the DSi sold approximately 300,000 units in July 2009 and February 2010, which remains consistent for July 2010 if combined with DSi XL sales. As a result, the average price consumers were spending on the Nintendo DS hardware family rose to over $165, which is $15 more than the November 2004 launch price of the original Nintendo DS. Nintendo made its first price cuts for the DSi in Europe on June 18, 2010, for DSi and DSi XL consoles in Japan on June 19 and in North America on September 12. Nintendo shipped 7.35 million DSi XL units worldwide compared to 5.72 million DSi units for the period of April 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010.
Features:
The DSi has more extensive multimedia features than previous DS models; pictures taken with its camera, downloadable software from Nintendo and AAC audio files from other devices can be stored to SD cards for future use. Before taking a photograph with the "Nintendo DSi Camera" software, users may modify the viewfinder's live image with ten "lens" options. Images captured with the DSi can be uploaded, via SD Cards, to the Wii's Photo Channel, and—for consoles with the 1.4 firmware update or greater—to the social networking website Facebook.
The built-in "Nintendo DSi Sound" player has voice recording and music playback functionality. Voice recordings can be edited with audio filters, and manipulated through pitch and playback. Users may save and modify up to 18 ten-second sound clips recorded with the console's microphone. These clips are saved on the unit itself and cannot be saved to SD card for export. Users can also play music from SD cards with visualizations displayed on the upper screen. AAC audio with .mp4, .m4a or .3GP filename extensions are supported, but not non-AAC formats including MP3. Sounds like drum beats and the classic Mario jumping noises can be added with button presses. Playing music also has its own set of manipulation options similar to those used for voice recordings, as well as a group of audio filters. If headphones are in use, compatible music files from SD cards may be played even when the DSi is closed.
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