Nintendo Announces The DSi XL

DS

At Nintendo's press event in Tokyo today, yet another new version of the popular handheld was unveiled. This time, rather than making the console more streamlined, or adding a new feature (sorry guys, no GBA compatibility this time), the focus is on the screens which have been made larger.

The Nintendo DSi XL will feature two 4.2" screens, a moderate increase over the standard DSi's 3.25' screens. As such, the console itself is considerably larger than the DSi, at 1.6x the size (see the attached pictures for a comparison). The "XL" in the name is a reference to the extra large sceen size. The redesign comes at the request of customers who said they wanted a larger screen, with the screen being a 93 percent increase over the DS Lite's screen size. The DSi XL (known as the DSi LL in Japan) is supposedly designed to allowing easier play on games that feature small text and precision gameplay. Another reason, according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, is "to offer a new play style, where those who are surrounding the game player can also join in one way or the other to the gameplay."

The console will come bundled with two stylus': a short one and a longer one, and will have three DSiWare titles pre-installed: two brain training games (one for humanities, the other for sciences) and DS Easy Dictionary. The new handheld will be available in three colours at launch - Dark Brown, Wine Red and Natural White which can be seen in the attached pictures. Set to sell for ¥20,000 (US$220) the DSi XL will be released on November 21st in Japan, and in the first quarter of 2010 in Europe and North America.

Reader Comments:

Posted by Julz 05/11/2009 10:49am

Make them stop....

Posted by 400 Turtles 05/11/2009 12:59pm

Make them stop....

Seems like a smart move. Well, I'm not sure about here... definitely in Japan though.

Posted by admeister 06/11/2009 5:27pm

Both the DS and PSP now have four different revisions under their belt, and we though the GBA was bad.

Posted by 400 Turtles 06/11/2009 5:48pm

This is really just an extension of the DSi line, made for those with vision impairments. Other than its size, it's no different from a regular DSi.

Posted by admeister 06/11/2009 7:20pm

True, though I reckon you could call the DSi an extension of the DS Lite line, with the addition of cameras and a bit of software.

Posted by 400 Turtles 06/11/2009 8:40pm

I don't think you could.

Posted by AusCube 27/11/2009 12:49am

The thing is massive and I want it. Kinda wish they'd make a DS with matte screens though..