Devs go bonkers for DSi storage

By Robert Purchese Published 3 October, 2008

Not so keen on the media bits.

The most significant feature of the new DSi will be the additional storage of the SD memory cards, opening the handheld up to online content.

That's according to developers Doublesix and Team17, which picked apart the new DS model for the dark side of our moon, GamesIndustry.biz.

"The most appealing aspect for Doublesix is the downloading of games direct to the platform using Nintendo Points," said James Brooksby, boss of the company. "Our focus is on digital distribution so this gives us another great platform to put some really innovative and fun games on."

"Adding an SD slot makes a bunch of sense for downloadable content given the way things are going," added Team17 chief Martyn Brown, although he hopes the DSi is "a better experience than the Wii's online store and system".

But he also urged caution: "I just hope they've done something to counter the mass piracy that exists via the R4 on the Lite. It scares me that with an SD card input, that might leave it even wider open that it was on the original device."

The DSi, unveiled yesterday, features 17 per cent bigger screens, a 0.3-megapixel camera, a built-in web browser and better audio playback. The GBA slot is being done away with.

Brooksby believes this added media functionality will not detract from the handheld as a games device, and also points to some "very interesting crossover opportunities that this could bring".

Brown, on the other hand, is less keen on the DS becoming a media Swiss Army Knife.

"I'm sure that the photo option will be good fun for kids, but I think that's straying into phone territory and since it's 0.3 megapixels, it's hardly setting the world on fire," said Brown.

"I'm sure the device will have a wider appeal, but most people I know who have a DS Lite tend to already have a phone and MP3 player with similar functions." However, Brown says the DS has come a long way since launch.

The DSi is due to launch in Europe next spring.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Halo.Jones #1 3 years ago

    I do not see any mention of Nintendo upgrading the wi-fi capabilities of the DS to allow it to connect to WPA networks? I guess this functionality is done via the addon they are going to sell?
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/08 @ 11:36

  • krudster #2 3 years ago

    0.3 megapixels? What the hell resolution is that?

  • spadge #3 3 years ago

    That's a Eurogamer error :-) Gi.Biz later corrected it.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #4 3 years ago

    They nreally need to upgrade the wi-fi to something more secure than WEP. I haven't been able to play games online ever because of this glaring oversight.

    And I assume that they have spent a long time working on making the sd card interaction as secure as possible. It would be commercial suicide to give hackers yet another way to pirate games for the system

  • IronCladChicken #5 3 years ago

    Lol@JohnnyWashnGo - I only use the internet when I'm wearing my tinfoil hat too!

  • penhalion #6 3 years ago

    Presumably the sd slot is going to contain encryption for games. So hackers will already be thinking about two obvious things

    1. How to get the DSi to download from a source other than the Nintendo Store (should be easy as downloads will almost certainly also have to be available from a pc to card system in case people don't have wifi.
    2. How to crack the encryption on the sd port (they cracked both cartridge ports so it's pretty naive to expect this system to stand up more than a few months).

    If anything I don't think Nintendo care too much about the piracy aspect as it clearly hasn't affected sales of the DS lite in any way, shape or form and shouldn't affect sales of the DSi hardware either. Nintendo software sales (first party) have also not been noticably affected by the likes of R4, which is clearly not as prolific as some scare mongering press reports would have software companies believe.

    The only issue I really see with the DSi is that, if there starts to be a trend where some games are only available to you if you have a DSi (exclusive download only titles), then people with lites will not be too pleased. Especially as the hardware is identical where games are concerned.

  • spazmo #7 3 years ago

    2 touchscreens! woohoo!

  • Cadence #8 3 years ago

    5 touchscreens and an 18 megapixel camera you say?!!

  • MavSkipper #9 3 years ago

    "0.3 megapixels? What the hell resolution is that?"

    Just a guess but it's likely a VGA resolution @ 640x480.

  • skillian #10 3 years ago

    I've read elsewhere that it's a 3 MP camera on the front, with a 0.3 MP camera on the inside.

    I'm not really a DS kinda guy so I haven't looked into it, but that would be similar to my phone and seems pretty likely.

  • dadrester #11 3 years ago

    hmmm... a camera? AR here we come!

  • spadge #12 3 years ago

    MrEdd: Well, basically I didn't say 0.3 megapixels :)
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/08 @ 10:27

  • miiiguel #13 3 years ago

    er..., I've been reading everywhere that it is 0.3 MP (vga resolution).

  • spadge #14 3 years ago

    No, Martyn/Team17

  • Carrybagma #15 3 years ago

    I don't see the point in anything more than .3MP (a common spec), because the DS screens can't display anything near that anyway. Who'd seriously want to use a DS for taking pictures anyway? David Bailey?

  • spadge #16 3 years ago

    The confusion probably arrives at the fact that whatever the megapixel resolution of the camera, the DS only has 49,152 viewable pixels on either screen (256x192).

    Obviously once taken and on an SD card, it'll view properly on PC/Wii or whatever. None of this was discussed in the interview btw, just a comment that at the time of the interview it was rumoured to be a 2mp camera.

    Given that many phones have 5mp cameras and very good dedicated compact digital cameras can be had for under £100 (8mp+) then I don't really see the benefit of sticking a camera on it - but then I use top spec Nikon DSLR gear :))

    Personally speaking, I'd much rather it's focus be on games (as the DS Lite is now) rather than web browsing/camera etc, whereas as I've mentioned, I don't think the screen rez is really competitive enough for quality browsing, when compared to that of the iPhone (which incidentally has a pretty bloody poor camera too!).

  • spadge #17 3 years ago

    Carrybagma. Fair point, but I think Nintendo are hoping people may use the DSi to take pics and then transfer them to other devices (PC, Wii, etc) on the SD card. Your argument is like saying you wouldn't use a compact camera because the LCD screen on the back is only 2" and 180x90 resolution, if you get my drift. What matters is the file-resolution on the SD that the camera has taken.

  • udat #18 3 years ago

    Will the DSi come with a swanky video-enabled version of picto chat do you think?

  • moggsy #19 3 years ago

    @ Carrybagma

    I use my phone's 3MP camera for taking pictures - they make great prints actually.

    Edit: I have a Nikon DSLR too but don't always have it with me - I always have my phone with me however. The DS's camera is a convenience thing.
    Edited by 2 at 03/10/08 @ 10:53

  • skillian #20 3 years ago

    Will the DSi come with a swanky video-enabled version of picto chat do you think?

    Having a low-res camera on the inside of the machine, the first thing that made me think of was video chat. Why else have a second camera, let alone one that faces in, not out?
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/08 @ 10:53

  • Fodder #21 3 years ago

    The camera has potential for games, I guess. What's the betting we get some kind of Pokemon card type thing along the lines of Eye of Judgment? I suppose the problem would be doing that sort of image processing on an ARM9.

    The augmented reality demo that Gizmondo did was pretty impressive: http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Lfp8id6bpDU (about the only really interesting thing they showed on the console, to be fair). It'd be nice to see if the DSi could allow developers to do stuff like that.

  • moggsy #22 3 years ago

    @ MrED209

    But what would the marketing people have to talk about if the techies didn't keep increasing the pixel count? ;-)

  • Gaol #23 3 years ago

    Retail tech finally gets up to par with pirate tech over the last few years.

    It's naive to say that the R4 and clones aren't prolific - they are everywhere, especially in Hong Kong and Asian markets. The reason Nintendo care so little, it it actually increases hardware sales, on which they make a good profit. It's smaller third party devs that lose out.

  • Carrybagma #24 3 years ago

    @spadge (and moggsy): My argument is that it's a portable game console! I can't imagine anyone expecting to make serious use of the camera, therefore .3MP seems adequate and keeps cost down. Anyone for whom pictures are important would surely want something more suitable, like a decent phone camera or a real camera. I bet that 98% of all pictures taken on a DSi simply get overwritten or forgotten about. Actually, reading it again, I quite simply agree with what you wrote just prior to that reply.

    Anyway. Alien Breed on DSi then! Woooooo!

    I'm a bit worried about what you said about piracy on the DS. It indicates (to me) that the DS is not the preferred platform for the new Alien Breed. DS Ware maybe?

  • Carrybagma #25 3 years ago

    BTW - I really don't expect Nintendo to allow video chat. Imagine the child-grooming stories the Daily Mail would make up.

  • secombe #26 3 years ago

    But what would the marketing people have to talk about if the techies didn't keep increasing the pixel count? ;-)

    Indeed, lots of comments from people who clearly don't have a clue. Was speaking to a guy who bought a 14.9mp compact last week, I was shocked (didn't realise they had got to that stage), he assumed it would be the greatest camera in the world...never mind the fact the sensor is the size of postage stamp folded in half. Me, still using my 6mp Nikon D50, and I've not had any problems when I've had images published at A3 etc.

    For what it is and what it seems like it may be used for, 0.3mp (if indeed it is that) will be fine.

  • Marshall2008 #27 3 years ago

    Will probably pick one of these up when there is a new R4 for it :)

    IMHO £30 for what amounts to nothing more than a flash game is a total rip off. But then again thats what you get from nintendo. Inflated prices for yesteryears hardware.

  • IneptPercy #28 3 years ago

    As I own a DS Lite I won't bother with this.

    As for R4's and likewise, I know a few people who have never bought a game. With that if they wouldn't have bought the DS if the couldn't have got the R4 so is it a problem?

  • michaelius #29 3 years ago

    Little step for developers HUUUUUUUUUGE step for possible piracy.

    Not like I care Nintendo is like console version of Apple ripping people insane prices for underperforming hardware.

  • rogueJT #30 3 years ago


    Lol at the two posts above me "I know people who use the R4"

    Just stick your hands up and admit it's you.

  • spadge #31 3 years ago

    carrybagma: No Alien Breed DS planned currently! Safe enough to say that.

  • coolcoder #32 3 years ago

    Two things spring to mind; 1. The camera is most likely going to be used to extend the play opportunities, I am sure we will see Eye toy style games appearing or put your face in the game kind of thing. 2. With the storage, perhaps we will see Devs not only use this for saving more data - perhaps they will use this more intelligently, maybe procedurally generate content for games and save this to the storage.. this means they are not limited by the "cart size" as much.

  • deez #33 3 years ago

    Surely the DSi has two cameras, 3 and 0.3 mp? One on the back and t'other next to the mic?

  • hiddenranbir #34 3 years ago

    Who cares if it is open for pirates, focus on making a good product and we'll pay for it.

  • Carrybagma #35 3 years ago

    Just logged on for the first time in ages.

    No Alien Breed on DS???? Awwwww[link url=http://www.]http://www.[/link] Gutted.