Nintendo DS

[Bigfoot]

I don't know, I doubt the DS Lite will drop in price anytime soon.

[Fire in the Hole]

I forgot another question. How does a White Lite hold up to wear? I've heard that the shiny outer casing can turn dull and speckled over time due to dust and dirt and finger prints and whatever else, but that this is no such problem for darker models like Onyx. Confirm/deny?

[The Damned]

Can someone explain the idea of Pokemon to me? If I'm right, it's basically turned=based battles with monsters that you've captured, bred, or traded, plus some standard RPG story elements and gameplay making it more than just combat. Is this basically it?

Pretty much. The whole point is that unlike pretty much every other RPG, even the other creature-collecting ones, you can make any team you want with almost any attacks you want. You can even get so specific as to choose which stats get bonuses, both battle and otherwise.

Why should I consider buying one of the Pokemon games?

Because they're fine games? Because they're solid titles in their own right? Because it's fun to make a team and use it to beat the shit out of other teams, whether it's in-game or against another person?

What is the difference between the two?

http://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/exclusives.shtml

Some older and newer pokémon show up only on one version. Trading is also a hell of a lot easier, so getting those missing ones is pretty simple.

If you have wi-fi, you can place the poke you want to trade away on the Global Trade System (GTS), and even when you turn the game off, the server(s) that handle the trading system on-line will store it for you. If another person has the poke you're looking for, and they agree to the few conditions you specified (like gender and level), they send their poke to the server. Once you turn your game back on, the system automatically completes the trade for you and taa-daa! You traded a pokémon without even having to be there.

[Bigfoot]

Just remember a few things.

Never play your white DS Lite after eating greasy foods.

I guess that's just one thing.

[Katsurugi]

I forgot another question. How does a White Lite hold up to wear? I've heard that the shiny outer casing can turn dull and speckled over time due to dust and dirt and finger prints and whatever else, but that this is no such problem for darker models like Onyx. Confirm/deny?

I haven't heard of those problems yet. My sister has had one for a couple of months now and it's still just as new as she got it. Fingerprints on the white one are almost invisible whe compared to the Onyx version which I have. I worry more about the L and R buttons changing some color over use due to the acidity of your fingers. But aside from that, it's like buying a white or black shirt/car/etc. The color itself has its own advantages. I think that the shell Nintendo uses for its DS is perfectly fine.

[Power Surge]

Even though I have a black DS lite, I still have my phat DS, which has a problem. Whenever I turn on my phat DS, the touch screen fades into a thick gray color after a few minutes, making it all but impossible to see anything on it; it happens every time. Is there a way to fix it? I'd like to keep it because games that use the D-pad, especially Metroid Prime Hunters, handle like ass on the lite because of its shitty D-pad.

[Bigfoot]

You could always send it in to Nintendo.

[The Damned]

I found and bought a black DS Lite, and I returned it.

There was a problem with dead pixels, yes, but that wasn't the real issue.

I found the glossy coating to be really, really annoying. Every time I touched it, it was like someone had rubbed bacon on it. The smudges were terrible. If it was a flat, matte black, I would have been fine with it. Gloss is a terrible thing to put on anything a person is going to be constantly touching.

NINTENDO, MAKE NON-GLOSSY DS LITES, PLEASE!

[Mr.Roboto]

I found and bought a black DS Lite, and I returned it.

There was a problem with dead pixels, yes, but that wasn't the real issue.

I found the glossy coating to be really, really annoying. Every time I touched it, it was like someone had rubbed bacon on it. The smudges were terrible. If it was a flat, matte black, I would have been fine with it. Gloss is a terrible thing to put on anything a person is going to be constantly touching.

NINTENDO, MAKE NON-GLOSSY DS LITES, PLEASE!

Yeah.Thats one of the main reasons I still have my DSPhat.(also the fact that the DSLite is very small.

[Evilhead]

I have one of the light blue DS lites and I don't notice the smudges unless I'm looking for them. White seems like it's even better, but both of them get a little dirty as far as the matte parts go (mainly the hinge and L/R buttons). My black PSP also seems to get pretty smudged up but usually just around the d-pad and buttons. Black glossy things are just made to be scratched/smudged.

Still, not at all a reason to not get a lite, especially with the lighter colors available! While the regular DS has a more responsive d-pad, the lite vastly out performs it on just about every other level.

Also, on a different topic, have any of you guys experienced a self-fixing dead pixel? Right after I got my lite I noticed a dead pixel right in the middle of the lower screen. At first I was annoyed but it wasn't noticeable during gameplay. Then one day I realized it was gone completely and has yet to return. Anyone know how this happened? Maybe cycling through the brightness levels a bunch of times did it? I'm happy, but it's a little puzzling, since the dead pixel on my PSP has stayed dead for a long while now.

[The Damned]

Still, not at all a reason to not get a lite, especially with the lighter colors available! While the regular DS has a more responsive d-pad, the lite vastly out performs it on just about every other level.

I'd say that only the brighter screen settings make it any better.

The size and weight differences aren't that much, and the speakers on the Lite are pathetic compared to the DS. Play something (ideally the same game) in both a DS and a Lite, and you'll hear the difference instantly.

Also, while some people have left GBA games behind, there are still lots of us that haven't. The Lite leaves the GBA cart sticking out. Not a major issue, but it is sort of annoying.

Yeah, only the brighter screens really make a Lite worthwhile. And since most of us aren't in Japan, saying there are more colors out doesn't help any... Stupid Japan, getting like... twenty colors or something.

[Bigfoot]

The speaker difference doesn't bother me that much. Nothing a good pair of headphones can't fix. Besides, aren't the speakers on the DS Phat just louder? I use the Phat for EBA, and that YEAH! to get to the menu screen when you play the game is so freakin' loud, lol. The better screen is what wins for the DS Lite.

On another note, watching the new RE Umbrella Chronicles sparked something in my head. Why hasn't there been a rail shooter for the DS? It could work easily. Unless there is one that I don't know about?

[supremespleen]

On another note, watching the new RE Umbrella Chronicles sparked something in my head. Why hasn't there been a rail shooter for the DS? It could work easily. Unless there is one that I don't know about?

There's some zombie one comin' out.

[Katsurugi]

Also, on a different topic, have any of you guys experienced a self-fixing dead pixel? Right after I got my lite I noticed a dead pixel right in the middle of the lower screen. At first I was annoyed but it wasn't noticeable during gameplay. Then one day I realized it was gone completely and has yet to return. Anyone know how this happened? Maybe cycling through the brightness levels a bunch of times did it? I'm happy, but it's a little puzzling, since the dead pixel on my PSP has stayed dead for a long while now.

Dead pixels are white or black and irreparable. If it's any other color, red, green, or blue, then it's only a stuck pixel. I'm probably assuming that it was only stuck and they can get unstuck just by the hardware trying to use that pixel. Usually though, I find stuck pixels just as bad as dead ones. You must have good luck then!

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Yeah, I have s stuck pixel on my Onyx, and while it isn't a pain in particular when I'm playing games, it's still there, and my subconscious is killing me about it. That's not a bad idea cycling through the brightness settings. It's too bad there's no other way to fix the damned thing.

Also, any way to get rid of scratches on the exterior?

[Katsurugi]

It's really a case by case type of thing, but I don't have any luck with getting pixels to be unstuck, even if cycling through brightness settings on LCD screens in general. As for scratches, I guess it's going to be similar to that of cars... maybe waxing it? I don't know if that'd work too well, but it's an idea.

[atmuh]

I have one of the light blue DS lites and I don't notice the smudges unless I'm looking for them. White seems like it's even better, but both of them get a little dirty as far as the matte parts go (mainly the hinge and L/R buttons). My black PSP also seems to get pretty smudged up but usually just around the d-pad and buttons. Black glossy things are just made to be scratched/smudged.

Still, not at all a reason to not get a lite, especially with the lighter colors available! While the regular DS has a more responsive d-pad, the lite vastly out performs it on just about every other level.

Also, on a different topic, have any of you guys experienced a self-fixing dead pixel? Right after I got my lite I noticed a dead pixel right in the middle of the lower screen. At first I was annoyed but it wasn't noticeable during gameplay. Then one day I realized it was gone completely and has yet to return. Anyone know how this happened? Maybe cycling through the brightness levels a bunch of times did it? I'm happy, but it's a little puzzling, since the dead pixel on my PSP has stayed dead for a long while now.

first off I WANT THE LIGHT BLUE ONE D:

they have them at nintendo world but theyre $50 more, so I have a white one

and yeah its the same with me with pixels

out and in

[Katsurugi]

They sell the light blue ones at Nintendo World? Hmm... I never noticed before. I guess my friend will be happy to hear the news then.

[atmuh]

They sell the light blue ones at Nintendo World? Hmm... I never noticed before. I guess my friend will be happy to hear the news then.

and the dark blue ones

theyre like $179

I WANTED ONE D:

and yeah they are in the same case as they regular lites

[Fire in the Hole]

Hmm... I think I might stick with the Phat for now. Since I don't really take my DS anywhere as is, the extra portability isn't worth much, and I wouldn't want poorer speakers because when I'm sitting around at home I don't use headphones. Really, the extra $40-$60 I would need to scrounge up to cover the difference for a Lite would only be for extra sleekness factor, and better buttons (but apparently worse D-Pad?), which I don't have a problem with anyway. My credit would be better spent elsewhere.

By the way, what do you guys mean about the Lite D-Pad being worse? I've played with it some on the demos and it seemed fine to me. You just mean that it's a softer press? Because if that's all, I actually prefer the Lite.

[KakTheInfected]

Some Lite D-pads have weak diagonals. It used to really bother me, but after you get used to it it's no big deal at all.

[atmuh]

Some Lite D-pads have weak diagonals. It used to really bother me, but after you get used to it it's no big deal at all.

mine had this

nintendo replaced it

[JoeFu]

Some Lite D-pads have weak diagonals. It used to really bother me, but after you get used to it it's no big deal at all.

I remember the time when Bigfoot AKA Kevin F AKA blah blah blah.

Man, that was freaking awesome, remember bigfoot who was also me and like 3 other people on 1up?

[Bigfoot]

I remember the time when Bigfoot AKA Kevin F AKA blah blah blah.

Man, that was freaking awesome, remember bigfoot who was also me and like 3 other people on 1up?

rofl, oh god. That stuff was crazy.

[Evilhead]

I just find the d-pad to be less responsive in general since it's so squishy. It works perfectly fine for most games, but compared to the regular DS's clicky d-pad it's just less accurate. I'm more likely to mess up when going very quickly in tetris for example. If they would have made the d-pad a little stiffer it would have been a perfect balance of form and function.

As for the lite, to me the screens make all the difference in the world and totally justify the purchase. The regular DS's screens were just awful, espcially the touch screen. It just looked like crap, and it was practically unplayable in sunlight. The size difference is a huge plus as well. I could only take the regular DS anywhere in winter when I was wearing a coat with big enough pockets. Now I can slip the light in even relatively tight jeans pockets. The speakers are a bit quieter, but most of the time I am playing the thing on the train with the sound off anyway. The lite's stylus is a lot easier to hold too. The start button on the lite is complete crap though. Too small, in a weird spot, and it's hard to push.

And I guess I had a stuck pixel since it was kind of a light blue color. Weird, because on my PSP it's pretty much the same color so I wonder if it will come unstuck one day. And for those of you with the ability to play homebrew, I saw some utility floating out there that's some kind of stuck pixel fixer. If you have a flashcart/card and some stuck pixels it might be worth a shot.