Upgrade to a DS Lite?

DM7000

DM7000

CAGiversary!
Right now I have an old "phatty" DS, but I keep hearing how the DS Lite is so much better....So my question is would it be worth it to upgrade to a DS Lite by trading in my regular DS and pay the difference? Or is it just the same?
 
Spend some time playing with a DS Lite to see for yourself. I'd make the upgrade, but that's because I've never been able to live with the phat DS' backlight. The DS Lite has 4 settings and the lowest one is comparable to the phat DS. I could talk about aesthetics, too, but the backlight was the primary reason for me.
 
But does the brighter light take a toll of battery cause thats one of the small things that bug me, I'd be in a huge marathon of FFTA2 and then all the sudden I'd need to recharge. Is it about the same or shorter?
 
[quote name='DM7000']But does the brighter light take a toll of battery cause thats one of the small things that bug me, I'd be in a huge marathon of FFTA2 and then all the sudden I'd need to recharge. Is it about the same or shorter?[/quote]

DS Lite battery life is longer than the original DS. Apparently a three hour charge lasts fifteen to nineteen hours.

More info: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/dslite/battery_faq.jsp#last
 
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That's a lot longer than I get on my DS....I just might have to upgrade...on that note though, how much does GS or Gamecrazy give for a DS?
 
I don't know about GameCrazy's value, but GameStop is only giving $40 credit for the phat DS toward the purchase of a DSL, which isn't much considering that they'll give the same for a GBA SP.
 
WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3! I doubt that Nintendo will announce a new DS, but if they do, you're covered. I'll say it again. WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3!
 
I had upgraded my DS => DS Lite on the DSL launch. Lemme say this, I was absolutely amazed at this thing in comparison. I'm like.. how in the HELL did they get away with launching the phat at all ?!

So, yes. It is very much worth upgrading IMO!
 
[quote name='lilboo']I had upgraded my DS => DS Lite on the DSL launch. Lemme say this, I was absolutely amazed at this thing in comparison. I'm like.. how in the HELL did they get away with launching the phat at all ?!

So, yes. It is very much worth upgrading IMO![/quote]

Double agree.

I never picked up a Phat one, just because of what they did to the GBA and released an SP....

I waited, and behold a new Lite...

fortunately I didn't have to wait long, got it as a wedding gift from the wife :)

I would recommend replacing it.

Battery life is really long, and can be charged quickly enough. I think the lowest setting of brightness, which is matching the Phat can go for 15-19 hours...
 
Do it. I bought mine at launch and gave my thick one to my brother. I'll never turn back again, its insane that some of us used that turd brick so often.
 
[quote name='mcelfour']WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3! I doubt that Nintendo will announce a new DS, but if they do, you're covered. I'll say it again. WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3![/QUOTE]

Yes upgrade but wait until after E3...you never know...
 
Upgrade. I did right when it came out, despite initially saying I wouldn't, and have never regretted it.

The brighter screens make a TON of difference as you can see colors you couldn't on the Phat etc. Battery life is better, it's smaller and more comfortable to hold. It's well worth it if you play the DS a lot.
 
I dont like the dpad or the buttons on the lite at all. Its too thick and squishy. The original is flat. I feel like I'm much more prone to making mistakes now.

I usually play it on the lowest brightness, which I believe matches the original DS, just to conserve battery power.

It does look nice though.
 
[quote name='mcelfour']WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3! I doubt that Nintendo will announce a new DS, but if they do, you're covered. I'll say it again. WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3![/QUOTE]

That's a really good idea. (Although for all we know a new one could be WORSE, but at least that way you won't feel bad.)

[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']I dont like the dpad or the buttons on the lite at all. Its too thick and squishy. The original is flat. I feel like I'm much more prone to making mistakes now.

I usually play it on the lowest brightness, which I believe matches the original DS, just to conserve battery power.

It does look nice though.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, biggest difference is just the brightness, and that's the only reason I upgraded. I thought the regular was fine, but it pales next to the Lite (made it really hard to go back).

The buttons are...different. Probably worse overall. They feel different, and the d-pad is smaller which is a negative. They work okay for me though, so for me I still prefer the new one for the brighter screens (they're actually even brighter than the PSP on their higher settings).

The d-pad's still better than the Xbox 360's d-pad at least!
 
The original wasn't bad, and it's nowhere near the kind of jump the GBA was to the GBA-SP. In the GBA's case, games were almost literally unplayable for me. In the DS Lite's case, it just makes everything look prettier because it's so much brighter. I didn't even have a problem with the DS' brightness until I got my Lite.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']

I usually play it on the lowest brightness, which I believe matches the original DS, just to conserve battery power.

[/quote]

Yeah i usually play mine on the lowest brightness setting as well, i don't see why i'd need it to be any brighter than what it is, unless i were playing it in direct sunlight, which i doubt i'll ever do.
 
Well I play it on it's highest setting, except sometimes when I'm basically in the dark I dial it down one notch.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Well I play it on it's highest setting, except sometimes when I'm basically in the dark I dial it down one notch.[/quote]

If your in the complete dark, than you can put it on the lowest settings. That's usually what I do when I do my night gaming so during the day I can crank it up to like the 3rd or 4th setting.

I say it's worth it man, besides you got all these colors to pick from.
 
[quote name='mcelfour']WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3! I doubt that Nintendo will announce a new DS, but if they do, you're covered. I'll say it again. WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3![/quote]

This is good advice. Highly doubtful, but it's worth waiting just to find out Nintendo's stance on the issue.

Oh and I upgraded to a DS Lite from an original GBA. The ones without the backlight. I think you can manage.
 
[quote name='mcelfour']WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3! I doubt that Nintendo will announce a new DS, but if they do, you're covered. I'll say it again. WAIT A WEEK, UNTIL AFTER E3![/quote]

Well yeah that was part of what I was thinking, but still does anyone know how much Gamecrazy gives for a Phat DS? The CAG wiki says 57 dollars but that was almost a year ago? Anybody got a newer estimate?

Also thanks everyone for helping me with this I really appreciate it.
 
[quote name='DM7000']Well yeah that was part of what I was thinking, but still does anyone know how much Gamecrazy gives for a Phat DS? The CAG wiki says 57 dollars but that was almost a year ago? Anybody got a newer estimate?

Also thanks everyone for helping me with this I really appreciate it.[/quote]

I will say, GS is running a deal where they double the amount for a phat (or SP) towards the purchase of a DS lite.

they usually offer $20 for both phat and SP. so technically $40 if you buy the ds lite @ the same time.
 
[quote name='Pestilence']I will say, GS is running a deal where they double the amount for a phat (or SP) towards the purchase of a DS lite.

they usually offer $20 for both phat and SP. so technically $40 if you buy the ds lite @ the same time.[/quote]

Do you know how long that's going to run for?
 
[quote name='DM7000']Do you know how long that's going to run for?[/quote]

Ends 7/20/08. Doesn't seem like such an amazing deal to me though, but things may have changed since a year ago when I got $50 for my GBA SP.
 
[quote name='dabebop']If your in the complete dark, than you can put it on the lowest settings. That's usually what I do when I do my night gaming so during the day I can crank it up to like the 3rd or 4th setting.

I say it's worth it man, besides you got all these colors to pick from.[/QUOTE]

I CAN, but hey, I've got that bright screen, I'm going to use it!
 
It's too much hassle for me to change the backlight settings. You have to power off, take out the game, power on without a game in, change the setting, power off, put game back in, power on.

I also find the Lite's smaller D-pad annoying, but not due to sensitivity, just to it's location. They shrunk the pad, but didn't center it higher after doing so. So the pad is lower and to the left than it should be, which means my big hands get even more cramped. Not that Nintendo cares anyway, since their home market all probably wear size small women's gloves.

The two major things I didn't like about the original DS: the light and that the "clamshell" wasn't a clamshell at all and didn't completely close. The Lite's shell closes more like a clam and has a seal all the way around.
 
I *really* don't get why they did that tiny d-pad on the Gamecube...at least the new DS has the excuse of being small (but the old one's was full size and so is the PSP's).

You have to power the system off, which is annoying, but you don't have to take the game out to change brightness. I guess there must be a setting in there to prevent it from booting a game if one is inserted-I forgot that was even a setting, I'm just used to it booting to the menu screen (I've got all my systems set like that).
 
There's an option in the system settings to toggle between auto and manual boot modes. I prefer manual since I often find myself in different lighting conditions.
 
[quote name='Zing']It's too much hassle for me to change the backlight settings. You have to power off, take out the game, power on without a game in, change the setting, power off, put game back in, power on.
[/QUOTE]

You don't have to take the game out, you can change the setting back to the default where it loads to the menu where you can do it--then you just have to touch either then DS game or GBA game to start.

Moot for me as I just leave mine on brightness level 3--hasn't changed off of that since I got it at launch over 2 years ago.
 
Try one out first.

The Lite Screens look a lot better, but IMO the original DS is a lot more durable, and the DPad is a lot better for diagonals. I miss my original DS occasionally.
 
I don't get it :D

For whatever reason I like all my systems to boot to their menu screens, even for the DS where usually there's nothing you need to do there. Maybe it's from years of playing PC games, I don't know.
 
That's....oh man, I hope they don't do that! :D I couldn't understand the point of the Micro as it is.
 
keep it there the same thing i wouldve kept mine but it broke :( so i had 2 getta slim which i found may be worse cuz of the battery
 
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